Audiobook Review: The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: HarperAudio (March 9, 2021)
Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Soneela Nankani
The Bone Maker is the sort of book you don’t see too often, in that it features an “aftermath” story. That is, the battle of epic proportions has already happened. The good guys prevailed, while the evil villain was vanquished forever. Everyone rejoiced and went home happy.
Or did they? Twenty-five years ago, a renegade bone maker named Eklor used his corrupted magic to raise an army of monsters against the realm. Five heroes, led by their leader Kreya, managed to defeat him but at a great cost. Only four of them came out alive, and the fallen was none other than Kreya’s beloved husband Jentt. As the rest of the world celebrated the survivors, celebrated their victory, Kreya retreated into solitude with her grief.
But what no one knew was that Kreya had a plan, one that could destroy her if she was discovered. For Jentt’s body had not been burned according to tradition, which was designed to prevent human bones from being collected and worked by magic. Any bone maker caught doing so would be committing the highest crime of their order, but that was exactly what Kreya had in mind. Before his death, Eklor had developed a method using human bone to resurrect the dead, and unbeknownst to all, Kreya had stolen away his grimoire and perfected the spell. All this time, she had kept Jentt’s body with the goal of one day bringing him back to life.
Still, human bones being so difficult to come by, she had never been truly successful, bringing him back for only days at a time. For the spell to last, she will need a large store of bones, and there is only one like that in existence—the very battlefield where Eklor was defeated all those years before. Problem was, getting there will be dangerous, not to mention an unforgivable violation of the law. For her to have any chance to succeed, Kreya will need help. But after so long, will any of her old comrades still heed her call, especially once they find out what she’s been up to?
Not too many authors can pull off a story like this, but I was confident that if anyone could, it would be Sarah Beth Durst. I’ve been a huge fan since The Queen of Blood, and once again she has shown me why I adore her work. One of the reasons why The Bone Maker works so well is its concept. Sure, the beginning of the book may have a “postscript” feel of sorts, but once readers are introduced to Kreya and her current dilemma, we are quickly made to care about her new purpose. For even though the great battle against Eklor happened a quarter of a century ago, the tale unfolding now is a more personal one. After all, we don’t often get stories about what the heroes get up to after the final showdown, but Durst explores a possible outcome that is not so glorious, where the winners don’t all get to live happily ever after.
Another reason why I think this story has legs is the way it flowed, almost like a great season of a TV show, in an episodic fashion. Once a conflict was resolved, another one would swiftly arise and continue the momentum of the plot. Past and present ultimately came together, filling in the gaps of the last twenty-five years and beyond, including world-building details and specifics related to the fascinating bone-based magic system. Gradually, it was revealed that maybe things hadn’t ended the way our heroes thought at all.
Of course, I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the characters. A middle-aged widow, Kreya isn’t your exactly your typical epic fantasy heroine, though writing unconventional albeit ferociously strong and well-developed female protagonists happens to be Durst’s forte. Case in point, I didn’t always agree with Kreya’s motivations and actions, but I could understand where they came from, thanks to the incredible layers of nuance woven into her character. Along the way, we also got to meet her old team, in a process that was very reminiscent of Kings of the Wyld. While each member had moved on, achieving various levels of success and stability (or lack thereof), all of them were affected by the war in some way. As far as “old gang getting back together” stories go, this one wasn’t anything too different, but the unique backgrounds and personalities of all those involved kept things fresh and interesting.
I know that I say this about pretty much all of the author’s books, but you really must read The Bone Maker to experience the wonder and surprises for yourself. Sarah Beth Durst has managed to pull off a challenging narrative by putting her characters first, building a riveting story around their lives while imbuing past and the present with the weight of history and complex magic. Truly, I never wanted this journey to end.
Audiobook Comments: My hat’s off to Soneela Nankani, who gave a fantastic performance. I believe this might be my first audiobook with her narration, but I’ll certainly remember her the next time. An excellent listen, and highly recommended.
The BiblioSanctum 
Middle aged hero? Call me in! I‘ve got far too many adolescent Hero‘s journeys to care anymore.
As for your rating, your review reads more like 4-5 stars. Where’s the bad side in the book?
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There wasn’t really a bad side, but usually my 5 stars are reserved for books with that extra emotional “oomph” if that makes sense 🙂 This one was a really good read, but it did not speak to me that way.
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You seek emotion, I seek lasting thoughts for five stars. Interesting!
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Oh yes I did read this one as well and enjoyed it!
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This sounds fabulous, and while I wasn’t totally on board with Sarah Beth Durst’s previous book, I can attest to her unique style and ability to create compelling, multi-dimensional characters. I’ll be looking forward to reading it!
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You nailed it! Her characters are my favorite aspect of her books 🙂
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Sarah Beth Durst is one of the authors I keep telling myself to sample, because reviews – and yours in particular – make her work sound very tempting. This book’s core concept is nothing short of fascinating and I love what you say about the main character. This goes at the top of the “wanted” list! 😉
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I hope you get to try her soon! She has a very unique style that makes her books easy to read, but they usually tackle more mature characters and subjects.
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Not usually my kind of book but you make it sound so tempting! Especially wit agreat narrator!
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Great review! I will be reading it soon myself, and the awesome reviews just make me more and more excited to read it.
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I skimmed your review because I’ll be reading this soon. I love seeing such a high rating for this book!
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You always really like the books I have passed on *headdesk* YA just scares me
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It’s not YA, so you’ll be fine 🙂
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Wonderful review! I love the sound of this one – the aftermath story is always one that I enjoy and having a middle-aged female protagonist is always a huge plus!
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And SBD is so good at writing middle aged female protagonists!
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Well that’s always a huge draw for me!
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I recently finished The Queen of Blood and really enjoyed it, and up next is The Deepest Blue. If I enjoy that one, too, then I’ve no doubt I’ll eventually get to The Bone Maker. Glad to hear how much you enjoyed it.
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I adored the Queens of Renthia series! The Deepest Blue was not bad either, though it read like a Hunger Games type story. Race the Sands was incredible though, and this one wasn’t far behind! Looks like you have lots of great reading ahead of you!
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Glad you’re enjoying this! I’m reading my second ever Durst book now, The Deepest Blue, and wow I did not expect the brutality in this hahaha. It’s really good though and definitely puts me in mind to read more of her work. I’ll probably check this one out!
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Oh lol yes that one was more brutal than her Queens of Renthia series even though they take place in the same world. I think she went the Hunger Games route with Deepest Blue, haha!
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Yeah, it definitely gave me some Hunger Games vibes lol.
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A middle-aged hero and an aftermath plot sound very tempting.
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Wow, that is quite the setup! I’ve always been curious about Sarah Beth Durst’s stuff, but never gotten around to it. But that will have to change now! (I feel like I’ve said that a lot on here 😂 you’re really adding to my TBR you know?) From the pitch it sounds like a dark kinda tale, but how dark is it?
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Not that dark, actually! I mean, there’s some death and destruction, but compared to some of the grimdark stuff on the market, her stories are practically sunshine and lollipops. Even her most brutal book (in my opinion), The Deepest Blue was not that bad.
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Hmm. I don’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
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Well, you’ve convinced me. It goes on the list.
Sounds wonderful.
Lynn 😀
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