The Bone Fields

by Mitchell Lüthi

When the crew of the longship Varúlfr take refuge from a storm on a mysterious island, they are confronted by the relics of an ancient belief, and the remnants of a long forgotten civilisation. As the true horror of the island reveals itself, they're forced to wonder if they really have stumbled upon Hel's kingdom... or something worse. In The Bone Fields, Mitchell Lüthi paints a bloody picture of Vikings, the old faith, and the perils of the high seas.

Honorable Mention in the 2020 L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Competition.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Historical, Fiction

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 22, 2021

About the author

The Pilgrim Illustrated Limited Edition Kickstarter is launching in September 2024! Check it out here: https://t.ly/xsNeh

The limited edition includes 12 full-page illustrations by artist Tyrone Le Roux, 9 character illustrations by Filipe Pagliuso, full-colour book ends by Alicja Tereszczenko, an illustrated slipcase by Anthony Ventura, custom interior design, medieval chapter drop caps, metallic rose gold on the front, spine, and rear, gold-edged pages, and a ribbon bookmark.

Mitchell Lüthi is a writer and producer based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has written a number of scripts, short stories, and radio plays. "Pilgrim" is his first full-length novel.

In addition to his writing, Lüthi produces and scores the Sentinel Creatives Podcast. With a passion for storytelling, Lüthi has established himself as a versatile writer who can create compelling narratives across various genres.

His short story, "The Bone Fields", received an honorable mention in the 2020 L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Competition. The story is available in the Write Like Hell: Kaiju anthology.

Reviews

[Ash Evan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know how you make a horror story about Viking raiders exploring an island cursed by an ancient evil boring, but here we are. This was a brand new level of unengaging, actually. Boredom as an overpowering physical sensation. Trudging through page after page made my bones itch. I developed restless leg syndrome. I felt my individual brain cells writhe and pop and melt into sludge. It hurt like nothing I’ve ever known. I’m surprised I survived. Maybe I didn’t. I don’t know who I am anymore.

The crazy thing is that the writing itself is solid. But amongst the half dozen characters here there’s not a distinguishing trait to be found betwixt the lot of them. The result is a contextless, slogging tour of cliche-land, featureless enough to make your eyes blur. What’s meant to pass as dialogue is in fact just faceless blobs dispassionately exchanging what could only charitably be called “information.” You barely register that events are occurring. Meaning disintegrates. Language fails.

I wouldn’t have finished this but it’s only 70 pages and I’m a world-class masochist.

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook was not good, in my opinion.

[Olivia Bowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only listened to this because it was included with the audiobook for His Black Tongue and it was less than two hours long, so I thought I’d give it a try. As I suspected, Lovecraftian eldritch horrors just do not scare me.

[Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟

Excellent soundscape; mostly average story and accents.

[andi [under construction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

[Valeria Mura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to try a new genre and this book seemed inspiring but it got boring kinda fast. The idea was there and writing too, but it was too rushed and with a very un-climactic end.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short story included with His Black Tongue Audiobook. It had the same audio-drama quality as His Black Tongue and that kept me engrossed with the story. I liked the characters and the building suspense. The premise of the short story was interesting. A group of Vikings get stranded on a mysterious island and what lurks deep within the island is a thing of nightmares.

The ending is what kills it for me. It felt unfinished. It just ended at the climax of the story! I wanted more but at the same time it left a bitterness in my mouth and was good with moving on from the story. I will say the author is very good at making distinct characters full of personality in a short time frame. I liked the band of Vikings we followed on this not so deserted island. Overall I'm glad it was included with His Black Tongue and not a separate thing. 

[Dre · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars for story, 4 for the audio drama.

I listened to The Bone Fields as part of His Black Tongue and the voice cast and sound design was wonderful for both! Strongly encourage listening versus reading, really helped keep the tension and atmosphere.

The world building was solid and the author really captured the nature of Vikings and their bloodlust well.

Spoilers —
The ending is very anticlimactic and leaves a lot in the air. I guess they want the reader to assume the ending? It felt very abrupt for me.

[Merry Weather · Rating 2 out of 5]

The short story was really good! I listened via audible ( Spotify) Which has a great production. I did get a little confused with so many characters they all seemed fully fleshed and real though. I do think this story could have been a bigger story! The ending was confusion and frustrating.

Trigger Warnings! This story contains:
Gore
Body horror
Brief mentions of sex/slavery
Isolation
Religious Psychosis * Possible

[Patty Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Liked this book very much and I read it from the very beginning to the very end.

I liked the storyline was very good and this was my opinion.

The characters were so good and I thought this makes the story so much better in my opinion.

I go this book for free with an honest review freely given.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this story for an honest review.

I really liked this story. Short story, about an hour-ish to read, but keeps you gripping your seat the whole way.

A group of Vikings went to an island to wait out a storm, but some mysteriously disappeared. The story is well-told. Good world-building, good story, interesting characters.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitchell Luthi absolutely throws the reader into this tale. You start off at sea in the longship and feel the cold and the weather. You feel the danger and bit by bit the terror mounts. I can't imagine the amount of research he had to do to make this happen but I'm so glad he did. This is a story they'd be happy to tell in Valhalla.

[Kiara Burak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure if I got an older edition but this novella was part of “His Black Tongue” and contained multiple mistakes. At least 3 times a character who was not there was mentioned and one of the character’s name was spelt wrong, Jarl Hover instead of Havlor. Ultimately, these mistakes took away from the immersion of the story.

[Nick Scruggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Good descriptive writing. Dialogue can be cliche at times as expected. Creative writing shined bright during times of combat and moments of horror and darkness. Felt like it needed a little more closure and ended way too swiftly. Good use of Norse mythology in dialogue and in the story itself.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a bit more from this book. To many characters mentioned yet not enough info about them. Filled with chaos upon chaos that it gets a bit confusing. Trying to end on a cliff hanger but just stops.

[George A Gusick Sr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

This is a wonderful story of the bravery of the Norse that fought a wicked group and a massive animal. Thank you Mitchell Luthi for you words. The characters were amazing. I look forward to additional stories.

[Lonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
Pretty short, but moves at a good pace, and builds tension very well. It's length works in it's favor because it keeps the antagonists a mystery and doesn't kill the vibe with excessive lore dumping.

[Haley Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good! It would have been better if it was longer. I really didn't like how rushed the ending was and how it ends on a cliffhanger. I know it was a short story but I feel like I've listened to horror anthology podcasts that had more developed history and lore than this one.

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an audio copy of this book for review; all opinions are my own.
This is more than just an audiobook; it's a whole show! Anna Capraro and Scott Miller provide amazing voice work for the variety of characters and the score and sound FX by the author add an amazing touch!
When the crew of the longship Varúlfr takes refuge from a storm on a mysterious island, horror and relics of the past await as each Viking must deal with the horrors of the bone fields. I loved the story. I am a huge fan of the Norse time period as well as its religion. These stories typically include kick-ass shield maidens which I love to read about.
This is hands down a great presentation!

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish it was longer :-(

[Erin Myler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook; surprise add on to His Black Tongue. I don’t love Vikings, but the story was decent enough.

[Viridian Silvocia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good pacing and it did well to keep you guessing. It was a short story and the dramatic reading I listed to was great for immersing you into the events.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, Vikings are badass.

[hartfullofbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing audiobook that was a perfect atmospheric read.

[Dan Zalewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average and fine. Listened as an audiobook, and the lack of visual identification of names really gave my visual-learner-ass some trouble with all the deeply Norse names.

[Rob Crypt · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved how tense this story was. the audiobook is, once again, phenomenal

[Armando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was intense.

The same with His Black Tongue, the production value on this audiobook was amazing. And this book left me in a fever dream like state. Crazy.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this was more than just a short story! but what i did read was cool. also an audiobook.

[Marte Lindholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

En kort historie inkludert i den forrige boken jeg leste. Skuffende, særlig rett etter den første, som var utrolig bra.

[Starry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love some good viking horror