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The Bone Ships

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A brilliantly imagined saga of honor, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships is the epic launch of a new fantasy from David Gemmell Award-nominated RJ Barker.
Two nations at war. One prize beyond compare.
For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.
The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.
Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.

Praise for The Bone Ships:
"A vividly realized high-seas epic that pulls you deep into its world and keeps you tangled there until the very last word." —Evan Winter, author of The Rage of Dragons
"The Bone Ships is excellent. Aside from the standout writing, it's one of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author

The Tide Child TrilogyThe Bone Ships
For more from RJ Barker, check out:
The Wounded KingdomAge of AssassinsBlood of AssassinsKing of Assassins
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 12, 2019
      Unusual attention to detail makes a water-covered world come to life in Barker’s first Tide Child fantasy epic. A ridge of mountains separates sprinklings of small islands, and the only material strong enough to make oceangoing ships is sea dragon bone. However, dragons are long extinct and the old ships increasingly ramshackle, so a bitter and destructive conflict between the Hundred Isles and the Gaunt Islands may at last sputter out. The sighting of a dragon sends conspirators after the beast, some hoping to harvest its bones and others intending to kill it before its carcass can be used to renew the war. One of the seekers is Meas Gilbryn, a disgraced aristocrat turned pacifist. At the novel’s opening, she seizes control of the Tide Child, a ship crewed by men and women who have been condemned to death, by slapping down its pathetically failed captain, Joron Twiner. Much of the rest of the novel feels like one of Patrick O’Brian’s richly detailed sagas of seamanship as Meas rebuilds her ship and its crew, including restoring Joron’s self-respect, while pursuing the dragon. Though characterization is declared more than demonstrated, this is a very promising beginning for a proposed trilogy.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from September 1, 2019
      Readers will set sail to a world with ships made from dragons' bones, demanding shipwives, flesh-eating sea monsters, and ever-present death in this beautifully crafted trilogy starter. The Hundred Isles is a culture built on the bones of dead, extinct dragons, its brutality fostered by decades of war. In any world of war and islands, the navy is essential, and on the Hundred Isles, criminals are conscripted as sailors on the black ships of the dead. Joron Twiner has been the shipwife of Tide Child until Meas Gilbryn defeats him in combat. Meas is different because she seeks to change society by ending the war. When word gets out that a dragon has been spotted, she and Joron work together to assemble a crew worthy of killing the mighty beast?but this world still has a few secrets yet to be revealed. The first in the Tide Child trilogy presents a unique and memorable world?harsh and brutal and full of sharply realized, powerful female characters. Barker has managed to craft a story inspired by Moby Dick, Game of Thrones, and pirate lore, and readers will be drawn in and fascinated.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Jude Owusu narrates a vibrant nautical fantasy featuring a ship made from the bones of dragons and populated with criminals. Centuries after the total disappearance of dragons, the sighting of one lone creature propels two nations into a race to capture it. Owusu gives lively and colorful accents to the staggering cast of characters, including the enslaved Gullaime, a slave birdlike creature used to control the winds via magic. Owusu's narration balances humor and gravitas while capturing the story's strange nautical vocabulary and magical concepts. Fascinating lore, memorable characters, and snappy banter fill the ears, thanks to Owusu's sweeping narration. It's a great start to a new series that will ensnare listeners with a unique story and an immersive world that seems tailor-made for an audio experience. J.M.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

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