The Bone Ships: Winner of the Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel (The Tide Child Trilogy)

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Barker continues to create a beautifully atmospheric world that is gritty, yet hopeful. As Meas and her crew continue to try to avert war, we learn more about the politics of the Hundred Isles and the gullaime, as well as see more locations within the world. He takes the already interesting world and expands it even wider, giving the reader more room to imagine and explore. When the crew of the tide child intercepted a mysterious ship they know they are running out of time… Thankfully, Joron Twiner is never alone. Readers of The Bone Ships will know that found family is one of the key themes of the series, and I’m gratified to state that Barker nailed the growth of the other characters as well. The themes of loss, sacrifice, responsibility, and loyalty were established, and they’re indeed pretty savage, but the crew of the Tide Child knows they are all in this together. Being battered non-stop by waves of pain and blood, it’s only by working together they can put a dent in their seemingly unbending end. Whether they succeed or not, I’ll leave that for you to find out for yourself. I enjoyed what I’ve read, and the growth of the characters—I won’t mention their name to avoid spoilers—was incredible. Bad things,” it said again. “Yes, and Meas will stop them.” “And Joron! And Gullaime!” “Yes.” “And Farys, and Means and Solemn Muffaz and Anzir and…” The gullaime went on, joyfully naming the crew and Joron felt sure if he had not interrupted it the creature would have carried on until it had named everyone aboard the ship. “Yes. All of us.”

Call of the Bone Ships - Goodreads Call of the Bone Ships - Goodreads

So maybe he had, for once, woken with the idea of how wonderful it would be to have a little pride. And if there had been a day for him to give up the two-tailed hat of shipwife, then it was not this day. This one felt more like a grand, epic pirate fantasy with tons of twists and turns and with generous heaps of action throughout. My only criticism that I could possibly come up with in terms of this story is that I am sad that this is only a trilogy and that my journey in this world is soon coming to a close.One of the things that I have been most impressed with for this series is the author’s ability to create a gripping and consistently well-written maritime story. Narratives that are primarily set aboard boats are notoriously hard to write, but Barker has risen to the challenge, writing a novel rich in naval and maritime detail, with a major fantasy fiction edge to it. Call of the Bone Ships contains an intense amount of intriguing detail about the coming and goings aboard the ship out at sea and Barker does an amazing job highlighting the various day-to-day actions a crew are expected to undertake, as well as all the unique features that makes a ship in this fantasy universe different from real-world ships. This impressive attention to detail translates extremely well into several naval battles and combat sequences, and it was cool to see the Tide Child engage in battle with other ships in some outstanding and beautifully written sequences. In addition, Barker ensures that every major character in this novel had a real nautical feel to them. Everything about these characters, from the way they spoke to how they act or think aboard the ship made you think of old sea-salts who had spent a lifetime on the waves, which helps to bring an interesting ring of realism to the story. I also really love the intense and encapsulating atmospheres that Barker creates with his excellent writing ability, and you get a real sense of the moods of the entire ship throughout the novel, whether it be despair at something bad that has befallen the ship, or the sense of repetitive boredom that arrives from the ship doing the same action day after day with no break in routine. All of this helps to produce a truly exceptional narrative, and I cannot emphasise how impressive the author’s various nautical inclusions are.

The Bone Ships - BookPage The Bone Ships - BookPage

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. If we do not try we are nothing. You are right there. Better to lose it all for what is right than to live in fear.” Just like this debut series, Barker's writing was always engaging and never failed to pull at the heart strings. Although the narrative was dark and brutal, there was also a lot of heart which made it even more captivating. This book put me through the wringer many times, and from what I've come to expect from the author, the finale will likely be even worse. Call me a fool as I'm all for it, because nothing beats an emotionally powerful conclusion that rips my heart to pieces.

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What poor final words for me,” he said. “To die with another’s advice in my ear.” Did something cross her face at that, some deeply buried remembrance of what it was to laugh? Or did she simply pity him?

The Tide Child Series by R.J. Barker - Goodreads

Quite simply, I am in love with not only the main characters in this book, but all the side characters that get presented as well. This book is a masterclass in character writing, both in making you cheer for the ones you like, and utterly despise the ones you dislike. Many new characters have been introduced here, and some have been given a much brighter spotlight.

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A large part of why I enjoy these books so much is the characters, and the bonds between them. Joron is imperfect but oh so willing to learn and oh so ardent in his desire to do better. Meas is a hard taskmaster but a brilliant leader, with a firm understanding of right and wrong, even when those definitions contradict the societal norm. Gullaime, or should I say Officer Gullaime, is sweet, stubborn, and sometimes simply hilarious. Then there’s Anzir, Farys, Solemn Muffaz, Dinyl, Coughlin, Aelerin and more. None are perfect but all are loyal and their hearts are in the right place. So you can fight.” Her blade came up to ready. Light flashed down its length. Something was inscribed on it, no cheap slag-iron curnow like his own. Excellent. One of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years."—Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author He lived by the blade and when that was your profession the now was the only guarantee you had, for the future may not exist, as it no longer did for poor Berhof, and the past was a place full of sorrows and lost friends." Maybe that is the true nature of prophecy—we can only change what is within our reach. So do not worry about the gullaime, do not worry about their prophechy. Hold close those you care for. Worry only about tomorrow, and the day after. Think not on the day after that for we fly the ship of the dead, and the Hag calls us all. To plan far ahead is to ask for the Maiden to thwart all you are. We are in the now. We fight for what we believe is right. We can do nothing else.”