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The Bone Ships

Winner of the Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel

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The Bone Ships

By: RJ Barker
Narrated by: Jude Owusu
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About this listen

 'Excellent . . . one of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years'
ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY

'Brilliant'
ROBIN HOBB, author of The Assassin's Apprentice

***Winner of the Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel***

TWO NATIONS AT WAR. A 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.

A brilliantly imagined saga of honour, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships starts an epic new trilogy from David Gemmell Award-nominated RJ Barker.

'A vividly realised 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


'An epic tale of duty and obligation and honour, and what bravery really means . . . I can't recommend it enough'
PETER MCLEAN, author of Priest of Bones


'A viciously exciting adventure. I loved every second of it'
TASHA SURI, author of Empire of Sand


'Swashbuckling awesomeness . . . a fascinating world and a twisty plot, both rooted in characters I came to care about. A definite winner'
JOHN GWYNNE, author of MALICE


'The Bone Ships has already built up plenty of anticipation - and with good reason ... Barker's previous series, the acclaimed The Wounded Kingdom Trilogy, was a powerhouse of gritty fantasy, and The Bone Ships promises to launch one of this season's greatest, grandest dragon sagas'
NPR©2019 RJ Barker (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Dragons Transportation

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All stars
Most relevant  
Really great concept and language. I like the narrator. Looking forward to seeing how the story develops. I'm not that bought in to any of the characters just yet.

Great so far

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Action packed adventure on the high seas with an original twist.
Just started the second book and I’m glad it’s the same narrator who did an excellent job.

Swashbuckling Adventure

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This is one of the most original fantasy books I have listened to in years. The story paired with the narration is unbelievable he and the author Must be up for some kind of award? It’s like Star Wars and Darth Vader’s voice without it it’s not what it was meant to be

Superb Story and narration

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The Bone Ships is the first book I’ve read from RJ Barker, so I didn’t have too many expectations going in. Actually, my expectations were very low indeed, because I was second guessing myself whether it was a good idea to request a copy. I mean, I always knew nautical fiction wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but in recent months I learned that I’m really not a fan of the subgenre. That being said, The Bone Ships was nothing I feared it would be and was much more than I ever expected.

I have a bit of love-hate relationship with audibooks as they make it easier to devour a book while doing something else, but on the other hand, it’s easy to miss the nuances, and the details of the world building. Also a lot depends on the narrator, the way they deliver a story. It can put you off entirely or get you totally enthralled. While I listened to Jude Owusu‘s incredible voice, I wondered whether I would have loved The Bone Ships as much as I did if I read it instead. I probably would, but one thing’s for sure: you really have to try the audio book, because as limited as my experiences are with audio books, none other made me feel like Jude Owusu managed to. But then, it takes two to waltz as they say, and without Barker’s exquisite writing the magic wouldn’t have worked quite as well.

The Hundred Isles is not a place you’d call happy or peaceful or a paradise on Earth for that matter. It has an interesting society structure – people’s place in it is based on their birth: whether they were born healthy, or if their mother survived. The more healthy children a woman gives birth to, the higher her respect is. The Thirteenborn is on the top of the ladder who practically rules the Hundred Isles and its fleet. The most valuable thing on the isles is arakeesian bone – arakeesians are something you’d call a sea dragons, who once filled the seas, but now they were pretty much extinct. Their bones are used to build ships, hence they called bone ships. It is usually an honor to serve on a ship like that – unless we are talking about a black bone ship, in which case it’s more of a condemning. Those who commit a crime are sent to serve on one of these ships until they die – either in raid, or from alcohol poisoning. Once someone is marked by a black band, there is no way back.

Joron is determined to drink away his days and not to care much about Tide Child – a black ship he is the captain (or as they called in this world: shipwife) of, until Meas Gilbryn challenges him and takes charge. Joron soon enough finds himself on an adventure which will make him question everything he knew about people, the world and even himself.

We read about the events through Joron’s eyes, which is a really interesting choice of POV, as he is not the hero of the story. Not in the common meaning of the word anyway. Meas is the fearless leader, the one who always knows what to do, always has a plan and has a charisma that makes people respect and obey her. Something that Joron lacks. You’d expect her to be the focus of the book, the main POV character – and still, Barker is not one to go for conventions and the expected way. By choosing Joron as his MC, he lets us see Meas from a different light – she is still the hero, but we actually get to see WHY from an unbiased POV while we can also witness the changes in Joron’s character the more time they spend together. He gains self-confidence, finds his own voice, challenges himself and his views, and makes friends, if unusual ones.

My most favourite character is probably the Gullaime, a birdlike creature which can command the winds, and are the most useful member of any crew. But they are also feared and respected. Joron, to his disbelief somehow finds a way to make him help them on their journey and earning his respect he also earns his friendship. As much as you can call that a friendship anyway.

The Bone Ships is definitely a character driven nautical fantasy, and Barker did fill this world with intriguing characters from the arakeesian and the gullaime, through the crew members to Meas and Joron. And though journey takes them from the Hundred Isles to the far North through many dangers, there are a surprisingly few action scenes – or at least what I’d call an action scene. There are fights, yes, but they are not drawn out and don’t take up endless pages. And we are definitely not drowned in nautical jargon – that’s partly because Barker created his own terminology which works really well. It’s not a book I’d call fast paced necessarily, but I also wouldn’t say it’s dragging. I think the best way to make a nautical fantasy work – for me at least – is to create memorable characters and make the book depend on their interaction for the most part, because, well, they are stuck together on a ship for the majority of the time. Barker did nail that perfectly and I was so wrapped up in the way he waved the story together that I forgot to be bored. The plot itself is not that complex, or there aren’t many unexpected twists, but I really didn’t care about that. I was more invested in the characters and in finding out how their quest will work out. In fact, I’m so invested, that I can’t wait to read about what’s in store for the crew of the Tide Child next. I’m pretty sure there’ll be consequences to some of their actions, and not everyone will be happy how they handled their side of the bargain.

If I have to complain, I probably would have liked to learn a bit more about how the society works and about the Hag, the Maiden and the Mother. But as I said, I’m pretty sure a few details flew over my head due to listening to the audio book version.

The Bone Ships is the nautical fantasy I didn’t know I needed in my life. I loved the characters who weren’t just “good” or “bad”, I loved the different creatures that made this world so vivid and mysterious, I loved how Jude Owusu made me feel and react to his reading. If you are looking for a character-driven fantasy, which is not filled with fighting scenes but focuses more on exploring human nature, then look no further. I’m pretty sure the Tide Child and the arakeesian would be grateful for the company of another adventurer.

Nautical fantasy I didn’t know I needed in my life

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But I didn’t overly enjoy the performance. I found the gruff Meas’ voice grating and wouldn’t be surprise if an Arrr Jim Lad would have snuck in now and then. Comic pirate impersonation aside, the story grew on me and I quite enjoyed it.

Good story

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You are literally in at the deep end with this fantasy naval novel. I was captivated. I've never read anything like it!

original and fantastic storytelling

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The performance of the narrator was so-so. At times really good at setting the atmosphere and the different characters, but the grating sound of Meas, probably the most prominent character, and especially the guillame were painful to listen to. The world is interesting and a great departure from standard high fantasy settings, but I just couldn't connect with the story, nor did it grab me at all. I found myself spacing out with the depictions of different endless tasks carried out on a ship, the slow pace at which the story sets it's course onto the main objective and the different characters, of which I don't think I can name too many of. Interesting book, but not for me, DNF at about half-way.

Interesting premise, uninteresting characters

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I have to admit I'm not close to finishing this, and I'm not sure I ever will.

I am enjoying the story, but I am really struggling with the narration. His tone and pitch are great, and it fits the text, but he just doesn't seem to really understand the text. choosing the clearly wrong pronunciations of a word (bow, most memorably pronouncing it as the weapon rather than the act of formal greeting), to stressing the wrong words in descriptive text, and taking inappropriate pauses within a flowing sentence. The cadence and misunderstanding of words has repeatedly pulled me out of the narrative and made me vsry aware that I am listening to someone reciting a story, rather than allow me to get lost in it. it just feels careless, and is disappointing.

Again, the story itself is compelling, and I am likely to find myself a physical copy to read, I just think that this narrator has not polished their performance enough to enjoy as an audio book.

narrator pulled me out of the story (repeatedly)

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Characters and story are really good, entertaining. Characters have some depth and there's some interesting development in there too.

The narration is really hit and miss and is just about acceptable: for me it was very overdone with almost comic grating pirate voices and sonorous tones in spades. Every now and then there's a surprising mispronunciation to take you out of the story: (ochre pronounced as okra; bow (the action) pronounced as bow (like bow-tie); lobed pronounced lobbed etc.)

Hopefully the next instalment has a different narrator, if not I'll probably just read rather than listen.

Great story, grating narration

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Spot on. Just what the doc ordered. Original and imaginative, action-packed, tense, humourous, well thought out, clever and cinematic. I could go on. Read it!

Absolute high seas adventurous fantasy

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