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The Bone Shard Daughter
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"The Bone Shard Daughter" - Discuss Everything *Spoilers*
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Spoiler thread is now open for business! :)
This will be a bit all over the place because I finished the book a week ago, but here's what still stands out: I loved Mephi!
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I liked it. It started off a bit slow and I had trouble differentiating between narrators at the beginning, but by the end I couldn't put it down.
The author's plot twists caught me by surprise, and while I did realize Lin was a construct before she did, I still gasped when I figured it out.
I thought the magic system and world-building were unique and interesting.
Sometimes the writing was too much for me (took me out of the story) but there were also some beautiful lines that resonated with me.
Also, personally I dislike when every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. For me it feels like the story doesn't flow as well.
Finally, what is Lin going to do about the ethics of bone shard magic now that she knows the truth about her identity?
The part of the book that freaked me out and caught me off guard the most (there were a lot) but Sand’s ending 😳
I have so many questions!! At first I thought she was Lins mom (can’t remember her name) because of the missing fingers but then she was a construct too?! Why does she have memories then? So Many questions!
I really liked Mephi though. He might’ve been my favorite.
Natalie, I agree! This is definitely the first in a series as it left me with a lot of questions! I'm also curious about the idea of constructs finding ways around their instructions (like Sand thinking about an "accident" as opposed to directly planning violence)
I feel like the author did a great job at tricking us into forgetting about the main plot (or what I see as the main plot anyway) and that’s the sinking islands/waking statutes. I think they are connected and it has to do with the...other race. I can’t remember their name. I was wrong about everything else though so who knows 🤷♀️.
But I thought she did a great job at distracting us with Lin and Mephi and the rebellion that, at least I did, forgot that it’s called The Drowning Series and that freaking islands are sinking.
Anyone else? Just me? Lol
The Jovis and Mephi parts were my favorites. On the whole thought it was a well written fantasy
Just finished it. I liked concepts, but they looked as underdeveloped for me. For example I initially assumed constructs as undead robots (they are from different animals, I presumed dead animals) and bone shards are like programmer code. Not an unique concept, but a nice relatively rare idea. But later we find out that constructs are alive, they can be quite easily killed (unlike 'classic' undead), they have feelings (Lin as a primary example) and the code links to concepts that should not have been in animal brains. E.g. there are one-shard creatures with instructions more complicated that you can give your dog to follow.The 'growing up' of Lin was intended to be from loving daughter to pateracide committer, but the Emperor from the start is set as a quite negative character. I'd prefer the plot going more toward the Emperor was right and absence of his protection lead to mass murder of civil population by the Alanga. Here we have the idea that the current authority is wrong (both central and local) and rebels are right - a too straight forward setup
Also the total number of population and tech levels aren't precise - it seems a medieval (swords, sails, emperors) and modern (ordinary people can read/write, wanted posters are widespread = most likely printed). And is the loss of one island is equal to 1/10 of the empire, or 1/100 or 1/1000
Mephi was soooooooo cute oh my gosh!!! Overall the story was good! It was a very unique and engaging read, but I did feel like the multiple perspectives were disorienting at times. I knew that at some point all their stories will collide, but it was just hard to keep track at certain points. I listened to the audiobook, and I hated the narration of Phalue's part because it was almost like whispers the whole time.
Overall, I thought the character development and world-building were great for the first book. I kind of expected the ending with Lin having Emahla's eyes, because my theory is that she was an experiment done on Emahla.
Well, the title was pretty clear. The story dragged a bit in the middle; perhaps I was waiting for the inevitable reveal, which took 336 pages to arrive. Yes, Mephi was sweet as a young; it will be interesting to see how he continues to mature. I hope she gives him good depth.
All in all, a good read, but unlike many, I am frustrated by the series form. Leaving too many open questions is great for a sequel, but poor writing in a stand alone book.
Liane wrote: "All in all, a good read, but unlike many, I am frustrated by the series form. Leaving too many open questions is great for a sequel, but poor writing in a stand alone book."I agree - everyone tries to write a trilogy nowadays,
I'm a little confused - isn't this the first book in a series, and not a stand alone? Or did you mean you'd rather not read the series style?
I also thought the fact that it isn't black/white between the Emperor/rebellion was one of the themes. Jovis brings it up more than once, and I would say it's something that became clear to Ranami when not everything goes to plan.
Stephanie wrote: "I'm a little confused - isn't this the first book in a series, and not a stand alone? "Yes, it is the first volume of an expected trilogy, but there are series, where some volumes can be read as stand alones. This one roughly completed the current arc - setting and regicide + meeting of two main characters, and if not for the last few chapters, which hinted about more, it can be read as a standalone
Okay, I see what you mean. Thanks for explaining your perspective. I didn't mind this one, because it did resolve a main conflict, but also left some mystery for the future books.
I rated this one 3.5 stars, I enjoyed it well enough, but I could see not prioritizing reading the next installment. It felt like it was borrowing some themes from Star Wars (evil empire, rogue with a heart of gold who owes something to someone, small creature who speaks oddly and bestows powers, droids, etc.) but it did feel different enough to still be interesting. I feel with time I could see this either drifting to a 3 or 4 star read for me, I'll see how it ages.
Stephanie I agree. I didn’t fell this was a stand alone book. You’ll definitely need to have read the first to read the second and a stand-alone book implies you can pick up any number of the series and be able to read it. While this completed a main arc it left too much unanswered. Which I personally liked. 🤷♀️
Normally this amount of unanswered questions bother me but I feel like I was so engrossed in the story of questions right along with the characters that it worked.
Exactly, Oleksandr! The openings for the next book were just too big for me to feel this book was complete. eg, Will Lin be a terrible leader and fall into habits of her “father”? What’s up with Mephi (future) and Lin’s new...acquisition?/friend? I could go on. I mind less when it’s an old series but waiting a year for the next installment? I guess I am impatient.
I tend to forgive the openings and cliffhangers in the first book in a series, but I totally agree - I am also impatient and prefer series where all the books are readily available. I did enjoy this one though, I really appreciated how heteronormativity wasn't the default and I do look forward to continuing the story, especially Mephi!
Haasmik wrote: "I loved the software programmer parts of the magic system. Was I the only one that got a hat tip to AI via the Constructs and their sort of 'rebellion' against their creator because he has effectively made them 'too' sentient? (With Lin being the Singularity and now the constructs have the ability to self reproduce)"I agree that programming was a very cool idea. However, execution is lacking - from the idea that you need to learn new words (instead of new algorithms) to the unclear source of verbal knowledge of constructs (what patrol means) to highly emotional Lin (why constructs feel anything not directly linked to their goals?)
"Haasmik wrote: I think Mephi and Thrana are Alanga."I just finished it! In one and a half day... yes, that's how good I thought it was :)
I love these mysteries, trying to pussle out the truth alongside the characters. I had a similar thought to you Haasmik, but I was thinking Jovis was Alanga... and Mephi the Alanga power. But then Lin the construct formed a bond with Thrana in a matter of seconds, and now I'm not sure what to think. Maybe someone Lin is made of is Alanga?
I also shuddered when Jovis regocnised the eyes of his wife in Lin, so sick really.
I'm really curious of Sand and my thoughts on her is that maybe the entire island is testsubjects to make the emperor and his wife. Maybe that's also were Lin and Bayan started out. The big question for me is wether they are people, being controlled by shards, or if they are also made from several humans and thus doesn't have a true identity. I'm hoping for the first one.
That's my thoughts for now!
Yay Mephi! Stephanie wrote: "I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I liked it. It started off a bit slow and I had trouble differentiating between narrators at the beginning, but by the end I couldn't put it down."
I started to write something like this, and then realized you'd already said pretty much what I wanted to. I liked the author's writing style from the start, but grew more and more impressed with the story and world-building as the book went on.
The constructs reminded me a bit of the servitors in Ninefox Gambit, which made me happy and I think also primed me to accept things not being strictly logical. Although I did still have some questions about how they understood human language.
One thing I did notice was how convenient things often were - it was almost funny how whenever someone tried to have a rebellion, someone else would show up at the same time with the same idea.
Elin wrote: ""Haasmik wrote: I think Mephi and Thrana are Alanga."I just finished it! In one and a half day... yes, that's how good I thought it was :)
I love these mysteries, trying to pussle out the truth ..."
I thought maybe the Alanga were actually the pairings between humans and... whatever Mephi and Thrana are.
And I also had a lot of questions about Sand's island. They definitely seemed like they were probably test subjects.
Kaa wrote: "And I also had a lot of questions about Sand's island. They definitely seemed like they were probably test subjects.."They lack memories. Maybe they "fuel" memory machine?
This was fun, if rather predictable. I knew before the first chapter was over that Lin was a construct and the rest of the story followed similarly. However, despite there being no surprises, I really enjoyed reading this.
From the comments and my reading so far, it seems this is a retelling of the “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H. G. Welles. Anyone else think this is where the author borrowed the concept. Genius invents beings only to have them become sentient and turn on the creator. I thought of this immediately when the Emperor, Bayan and Lin were discussing the first construct, a sad looking deer with a monkey tail, fangs, and wings. Instead of operating on the animals like Dr. Moreau, the Emperor uses bone shards and magic to make the constructs. I also thought of this when Lin has no memory and the Emperor says she is broken. This all goes to show as my literary professor once told me it’s very hard to invent anything original. But you can build on what has gone before and add original twists and turns.
Jerry-Book wrote: "From the comments and my reading so far, it seems this is a retelling of the “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H. G. Welles. "It is an interesting comparison, but I doubt it was a conscious choice of the author. I guess she chiefly borrowed from much later SF about robots/AI getting conscience/free will, but put it into a fantasy setting
It was a fun reading and the story was told with a confidence that we don't see that much on debut novels. Jovis and Lin were charismatic characters, and Mephi was pure charm. For all of this, I can't rate the book lower than three stars. However I have some issues with it.Before anything else, this was built as a first part of a series and it shows. Ranami, Phalue and Sand's chapter adds little to the narrative. They seem to be included here purely based on the fact that they'll become important in the latter books, because in this one they seem like a distraction from the main plot. Jovis and Lin have arcs that feels way more like background/prologue for their future development than an actual introduction. Even the world building is more of a tease than an actual building.
But there some little problems that also bothered me. The internal conflicts that were presented and solved very quickly, which makes them way more superficial than they should be. The writing of the thoughts were reduntan instead of complex. I didn't find the character's "voices" very different from one another. The world itself is kinda derivative instead of inspired by other works.
I don't mean to sound so negative (I liked the reading!), but I had to talk about theses things that bothered me, because they are the reason that, as of now, I don't find myself compelled to continue reading the series. I feel like if I read the spoilers for the next books instead of the books themselves, I'll be just as satisfied as would be if I read them.
Haasmik wrote: I think Mephi and Thrana are Alanga.I thought the same thing, but then I remembered that they had pictures and carvings of Alanga, so wouldn't they have recognized them? It is possible that both Mephi and Thrana are not fully grown and that they will look different once they are fully grown. I also liked Kaa's idea.
Kaa wrote: I thought maybe the Alanga were actually the pairings between humans and... whatever Mephi and Thrana are.
I wonder how that works with a construct and whatever Thrana is though? Would it be different to a human and creature pairing?
Lana wrote: " It is possible that both Mephi and Thrana are not fully grown and that they will look different once they are fully grown. ."I think they are dragons. This doesn't mean that they cannot be Alanga at the same time
Wow! I didn’t even think of them as dragons. Now I hope that’s true.
I thought they might be dragons too! Although dragons with fur is something I haven't come across yet. I really enjoyed this read. It's one of those books where I can completely understand the issues other people had with it, but they didn't bother my reading experience. I'm really intrigued by all the mysteries we have yet to learn, I wish the next book would come out sooner!
Bertie (LuminosityLibrary) wrote: "I thought they might be dragons too! Although dragons with fur is something I haven't come across yet. "When you said dragons with fur, the first image that came to my mind was the Lion Dance done as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I looked it up and apparently they are based on Nians - Chinese mythological lion-like creatures that live under the sea...
Oleksandr wrote: "Just finished it. I liked concepts, but they looked as underdeveloped for me. For example I initially assumed constructs as undead robots (they are from different animals, I presumed dead animals) ..."I completely agree with the bone shard magic concept being a bit underdeveloped... That one is still a question mark for me after reading. Of course the first book in a series can leave you with questions after reading, but this one just felt too big. What is a construct? How are there so many people-constructs? What were they created for? Will we ever find out? As Lin already killed her father.
I don't know if anyone has seen Westworld, but towards the end I was thinking of that series quite a bit when reading.
I also absolutely loved Mephi, as it seems pretty much everyone else did too!
Mod
Super glad so many of you enjoyed it! And Mephi is very cute.
Mod
Laurie wrote: "But sometimes I just want a fun adventure, which this book definitely was for me, with the extra bonuses of not having to deal with casual misogyny and heteronormativity (unfortunately the least common part about this book). Oh also, no f*king love triangles. Any book without that gets an extra star from me."YES exactly!
Laurie wrote: "But sometimes I just want a fun adventure, which this book definitely was for me, with the extra bonuses of not having to deal with casual misogyny and heteronormativity (unfortunately the least common part about this book). Oh also, no f*king love triangles. Any book without that gets an extra star from me."
*applause*
I feel the same way! I'm out of patience for books with casual misogyny, and books without heteronormativity are a breath of fresh air.
Also, I don't think I've read some of those other books referred to,(but maybe I need to?) (I've only read #1 in GOT for instance) so I think the content still felt fresh to me.
One thing that bugged me: if the dad created her using her mom as base and Bayan as his copy, did he mean them to rule as a couple?Also, that probably explains Lin's attraction toward Bayan.
The more I think about it, the ickier it gets.
Thank you Silvana! I noted this down for myself, but it's been so long since I read it I no longer remembered the details, so couldn't bring it up myself. Yes, that totally icked me out! There was one point where Lin was talking about her "father" in the same sentence/paragraph as she was thinking about being her "mom". Eugh.
yeap that part....I could not help but thinking oh yikes, her dad playing Victor Frankenstein with the body parts of missing people (including Emahla's) but these parts had to match/resemble Nisong's body parts too. Why not just create construct of his wife? why a daughter? Did he not see her as his wife at some point, which makes it even ickier....
It seemed to me like the father was trying to figure out how to give memories to constructs? So at some point he wanted Nisong's memories transferred Lin? hm...it's already been over a month since I returned it to the library. I think he needed a daughter as a plausible heir for political reasons? Lin was seen in public, right, even if it wasn't often? (I do remember people questioning her existence/health though)
But I'm not sure that he ever actually viewed Lin as a real daughter, although I wouldn't say his mental health was good, so it's hard to know.
The body parts portion was def not something I wanted to dwell on. -shudder-
(edited for grammar)
He gave Nisong's diary to Lin and had her believing it was Lin's. Maybe there's something in Nisong's mind he wanted to have but... I don't know (or maybe already forget) even why he erased Nisong's memory and exiled her to an island. What happened to their (political) marriage? That memory machine is intriguing. Though, like Laurie, the vat thing brings me back to the memories of precogs and cylons, not just Westworld robots. Aaanyway I might be interested to read the sequel but will read trusted reviews first.
The bone shard magic itself was quite interesting. I can't help but thinking about talismans in xianxia movies/series that could be modified. I wonder how it would look visually - like, as easy as plunging your hands into a construct body. And the practitioners must be quick with their handwriting if they still have time to write codes during fights ;p Laurie wrote: "But sometimes I just want a fun adventure, which this book definitely was for me, with the extra bonuses of not having to deal with casual misogyny and heteronormativity (unfortunately the least common part about this book). Oh also, no f*king love triangles. Any book without that gets an extra star from me.
..."
+1
Oh that's right! There was a lot of manipulation involved. (And to what end? Could he really ever achieve his goal [and now I'm not sure I entirely understand what his goal was] in a meaningful way?) I sort of felt like the 'island' was a place for the failed experiments? Or somewhere he kept people he hadn't used yet/might come back to later?
(ugh)
Maybe.... And for Nisong/Sand he probably did not reformat her correctly or forgot to empty the memory's recycle bin. Or maybe she was just too powerful to be completely erased, it seemed like she was a great practitioner herself...
I loved this. It wasn't deep, but it was lot of fun. I personally love books where there are a ton of mysteries you are trying to figure out the whole time and I guess I'm not super familiar with the construct trope....so that wasn't something I figured out right away. I had a ton of different ideas about how different things might be. I too have been considering that Mephi is Alanga or at least related somehow. I was hoping that Sand was Ehmala. Seems like she isn't. :-/ I thought it was weird how Bayan was the "foster" son, but Lin was the real daughter. I guess that was because she was replacing a real daughter. I was hoping they could find romance honestly. I don't always need a romance for all my characters, but Lin just seems so lonely and unloved. I want her to find someone who understands and loves her. Maybe Jovis, although I could see that being weird.
The island seemed like either a place for failed experiments or a pasture or something for fresh material. I'm wondering if it is possible to put shards in normal people. That is what I bet is going on with the island people. I wonder what the difference is between a construct and a normal person with shards.
Z, I wouldn't be surprised if the next book has a plot similar to what you are suggesting where Lin discovers it is really hard to protect the kingdom without constructs or shard magic.
Do we know when the next book will be out?
Silvana wrote: "Do we know when the next book will be out?"Goodreads says Sept 2021: The Bone Shard Emperor
Emmett wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Do we know when the next book will be out?"Goodreads says Sept 2021: The Bone Shard Emperor"
Thanks!
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The Bone Shard Emperor (other topics)
The Bone Shard Emperor (other topics)
