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

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I did not for one moment long to be alone; in fact, my loneliness was as much a prison as this brig is. I simply longed for someone who would let me be as I wished to be.”" All who are brought on this ship, Gullaime, are criminals, and lost and unwanted and hated by others. Meas say Tide Child is a new start.” RJBarker wrote one of my favourite fantasy series of all time, The Wounded Kingdom trilogy. So, when I heard that he was writing a brand-new series called The Tide Child trilogy, I was excited. And by excited, I mean I might have shouted about it to one or two, or seventy random people. I am a huge fan. You may wonder why it did not get a higher rating then. The truth is that this was a very good book in the end, but it took its time in getting there.

The Bone Ships: Library Edition (Tide Child Trilogy)

Excellent. One of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author

Never lunge with a curnow, Joron Twiner,” she said quietly. “Did they teach you nothing? You slash with it. It is all it is fit for.”

Tide Child Trilogy - RJ Barker The Tide Child Trilogy - RJ Barker

Where The Bone Ships was an exciting adventure fantasy, this book had a lot more mystery involved and a plot that had plenty of tension throughout. That's not to say that there aren't moments of action fight scenes, and adventure. Oh there are! I'm just saying that it's a slightly different book in plot and pacing but delivers all the same when taken as a whole. The redemption story of Joron in particular was a joy to read for me. Here is a character who took a beating in the first book and really got tested time and time again. In CALL OF THE BONE SHIPS we wee how that experience is changing him and his evolution is clearly happening before our eyes. Eloise Hopkins (19 Apr 2021). "CALL OF THE BONE SHIPS by RJ Barker. Review". British Fantasy Society . Retrieved 28 Jul 2022. 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.” Well, Joron Twiner, I am neither, despite my name,” she said, eyes grey and cold. “Let’s get this over with, ey?” Nineteen years on the sea and condemned to die. The world pulsed, the blue sky darkening at the edges.

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.” And of course I was right. As I was sitting there, staring at the last words of Call of the Bone Ships, all I could do was scream “noooooo” in my head. Partly because of the ending and partly because I realized that we have a year waiting ahead of us until the next book. And that’s just so goddamn unfair. But hey, I can torture myself with a reread (or a relisten more like, especially if Call of the Bone Ships will have the same narrator, who I’m sure will just put the book on a whole another level and I swear I’m damn excited to get my heart broken all over again by his voice). Andrew Liptak (22 Feb 2021). "Here Are the Winners of the 2020 British Fantasy Awards". Tor.com . Retrieved 28 Jul 2022. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of RJ Barker's Wounded Kingdom series, and when I recently reread the first book in the Tide Child trilogy I was once again reminded how much I love his stories and I kept on thinking about the story and the characters long after that reread. So when the time came around for myself, TS and Petrik to resume our buddy read with the Call of the Bone Ships I was more than excited to plunge into this world again and I was overjoyed to find that it was every bit as good as I'd hoped.

Tide Child trilogy - Wikipedia

As mentioned, less worldbuilding is required in this book, but it's still very much present as more parts of the map of the world are filled in and history and lore are expanded upon or hinted at. Personally, I hope we get to learn much more about the lore and that it is not left to the imagination, but I think the author will oblige us as there is surely a treasure trove’s worth of things we still don’t know about Gullaime and Arakeesians and the Song within Joron and I can hardly wait to find out all the things. I…” His head refused to clear; the world swam before him in a thousand bright colours that twisted like his aching guts. Absolutely fantastic. Right up there with Hod King as a favorite of 2023 so far. I thought book 1 was really good, but this may be the best middle book to a trilogy I've ever read. And to take it even deeper, I think Ch. 41 of this book may be the best individual chapter I've ever read in a fantasy book. Only our crew is not going to stand for it. And a race to discover what exactly is going on and stop it ensues...

While I liked this book overall, with its colorful characters and a wonderful, dangerous world, the second book emphasizes deficits from the first book and adds a few.

The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker - Goodreads Editions of The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker - Goodreads

I could read a book that involves literally no action, with just these characters interacting with each other and I would still greatly enjoy my reading experience. Appealing to the adventurer in all of us, The Bone Ships is an excellent book for any reader in search of a fantastical journey.Heroes and readers continue to explore new aspects of the interesting world of the islands. The second book is more focused on sea voyages - it is very good that their subtleties are conveyed in a comprehensive and diverse way. Various concepts of seafaring are successfully reworked in a fantasy style, but remain recognizable. Worldbuilding is revealed in a consistent and logical way - this can be seen in the examples of gullaimes and sea dragons.