2.5-⭐️: The concept of this book is really cool: calcium as currency? People selling their bones to make ends meat? <i>Dark</i>. But the more I think of it, how does it come to this? Calcium as money doesn’t make much sense. We don’t really get an answer to this, which okay, I’ll just accept it and read on.

I feel like I’m one of the unpopular opinions of this book, because I didn’t care for any of the characters, especially the protagonist, who felt stilted. The plot, which was noted as a sci fi, is very much so a cop-gone-rouge drama, so I may not have been the intended audience for this due to the genre bend. I get the impression that actions were inspired by cop dramas like <i>Law and Order</i>, or <i>CSI</i>. I got a sense of space (scenery and location), but I never felt immersed in the world.

I do <i>like</i> the story, but I don’t love it because I wanted more sci & less cop. I think most of the issues I had with this book were due to POV; a 3rd person delivery would have cleaned up character tropes and offer more creative freedom to describe each scene and planetary history.

The story does touch on some social themes which I think may make it good for a book club discussion. There’s a lot on class and the economic market delicacy. Intergalactic colonization. The balance of power.

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Thank you NetGalley for offering me the opportunity to review an advanced reader copy.

Much more enjoyable than I'd hoped. Not thrilled with the ending wrap up but overall enjoyable. I'd read at least one more by the author.

The title, the cover, and the idea of calcium as a currency got me to read this book, and I'm very happy they did!

10,000 Bones is a quick, easy read and very entertaining. I would like to have had a bit more character development but overall I found the book to be very entertaining. Just think about it , calcium as currency. What lengths would the poor go to to get calcium? Or anyone really?

I definitely recommend this book to sci-fi and thriller fans.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This book went into my did-not-finish column and for the first time I can remember it wasn't because I couldn't connect with the characters or the plot. Taryn was a vivid, if a bit stock, character whose motivations were well crafted. What lost me for this book is that I couldn't believe the world.

Lack of calcium? Sure, I can get that. Calcium becomes currency? No... not really. There have been plenty of examples of hydraulic empires in the past, so it certainly is POSSIBLE. It is, however, unlikely in an environment where continuous interstellar travel is a thing. There would be WAY too much economic benefit to outsiders in bringing or smuggling calcium to the planet.

The book seemed crafted to create a world populated by stark haves and have-nots where greed could be the only cause, probably for the sake of making an anti-capitalism argument. Since anti-capitalism is so popular these days, I'm not surprised by that, but I kept comparing this book unfavorably to Destiny's Road, by Larry Niven..

Destiny's Road attempts the same kind of hydraulic empire and does it much more deftly by eliminating that regular contact with other worlds. If there was contact, demand would outweigh nearly any kind of control scheme on the supply that the government attempted.

Even so, I kept trudging through the book, despite it's problems, for the sake of finishing what I started, until the plot started to thin a bit too much. I can take two out of three between plot, character, and setting, but one out of three lost me.

This is quite a nice book, easy to read, with an interesting story regarding intrigue, politics, economics but you do get your fair share of action.

I do believe there's something lacking on some of the characters though, not the main one, we get to know Agent Dare pretty well with the way she interacts and all her backstory but the second most important character which would be Kearns we hardly got to know him really, maybe it was to help with the plot to have her doubt of him but in the end what it did made me feel is that there's no reason for her to fall even a little for him romantically since she doubts him every step of the way.

The same goes for some of the other characters I felt there was lacking in the development.

But in general is a really nice refreshing story at least for my taste.

This novel had a cool concept but I couldn't really get into the plot. I liked the main character, Taryn. I liked the odd calcium currency system. But 20% in I felt myself wanting to skim and getting bored. So this book was not for me.

A good sci-fi book that includes mystery and well-written characters. A well executed dystopian story with a unique approach to currency. It was interesting and include a little romance. Liked it overall.

Premise of book is a little hard to believe. Planet upon which calcium is deficient mineral and it's treated as money. Story is about a Collection Agency person responsible for recycling calcium.

There have been some memorable movie tag lines over the years. ‘In space, no-one can hear you scream’, ‘Check in. Unpack. Relax. Take a shower’, and ‘Man is the warmest place to hide’ (kudos if you know all three) are some which immediately spring to mind. However, I can’t recall ever being compelled to read a book just from the tagline. That is, until I saw the cover for Joe Ollinger’s 10,000 Bones;

‘On a planet where calcium is cash, the black market trades in bone’

High concept and macabre sounding science fiction? Hell. Yes.

10,000 Bones tells the story of Taryn Dare, a collections agent on the planet Brink, whose job is to recover calcium from the black market so that it can be reintroduced into society as currency. Brink, which feels like a cross between Tatooine and the American Wild West, is deep and vivid in its imagining; the planet and its inhabitants feel incredibly real and detailed. Ollinger, perhaps inspired by current trends back on planet earth, has created a world where the contrast between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ pervades so many elements of the book. While the wealthy spend their time in beautiful modern buildings with access to extravagant off-world luxuries, those less well-off don’t even have access to enough calcium to remain healthy, often resorting to selling their body parts to try and survive.

While the book’s concept and setup are very well executed, I felt that the plot soon lost its appeal. What starts off as a science-fiction inspired mystery story devolved rather rapidly into a rather generic thriller. If I’m being honest, it was my interest in Brink and Ollinger’s universe that saw me through to the end rather than a desire to find out Taryn’s fate. Furthermore, the romance element involving Taryn and Brady, which seemed forced and unnecessary, was wholly uninteresting. The character of Brady felt flat and unbelievable, something noted even by Taryn herself on multiple occasions.

As I’ve said, the book’s premise, and the universe in which it takes place, was of great interest to me. With the book’s open ending hinting at the possibility of sequels being written, I would be excited to learn more about Brink, Farraway, and many of the other planets that the human race has settled on. Just as Taryn decides to give her home planet a second chance, I would be willing to give Ollinger a second chance were he to write a sequel. He gathered all of the right pieces for a great sci-fi novel, he just wasn’t able to assemble them all together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Author, Joe Ollinger's timing is just right. The science fiction genre is saturated with dystopian novels that ask questions of the reader, "What if there were no water? Or Food? Or Sunlight?" None I have seen until now have asked the question, "What if there is no calcium?" It is a perfect question to ask. In the reader's mind, calcium is the most benign of things, and it surrounds us. Ollinger creates a vibrant world built around the procurement of calcium tinged with mystery, adventure, and a kick-ass female protagonist. 

The world Ollinger creates resembles a world that, to me, is a cross of a wild west town and a city from the TV show Firefly. Named Brink, it is all hot and bright with a thin patina of red dust the encapsulates everything. It is full of inhospitable people scrabbling out a living in the dirty, dusty land, and always in need of calcium and water. Ollinger describes it as "...a last chance gas station on one of Earth's old, long highways - a staging area, a waypoint to more promising, more hospitable worlds..." Also present is the very visible Oligarchy of the rich described as having more elegant clothes, healthier bodies and a distinct lack of hypocalcemia bruising often found in the poor.  The dichotomy of the poor versus the wealthy is fascinating here. Something as simple as drinking a glass of milk is considered the highest of high falutin living.

This book is in the classic "who done it" style. We have our heroine, Taryn. A rough and tumble collections agent described as muscular and robust that wears body armor. Her job is to seek out leaks of unauthorized calcium currency and return it to the government. In this world, calcium is cleverly written as tradeable currency.  Doing her job, she is always surrounded by the unlawful, the dying and the dregs of society. This brings up shattering moments from her past that often play a part in her decision making in the present. She also has a wealth of empathy, tho to function in her position as a collections agent, and by extension survive in this society, she has to suppress it. She reminds me very much of Marvel's Jessica Jones. She has a similar attitude and position minus the superpowers. 

The story progresses with Taryn becoming enemy #1 of the state as she hunts for who is stealing the calcium supply. It is exciting and turbulent all within the context of an investigator type mystery. Along the way, we meet various side characters including a sidekick/romance interest of a sort in the form of a wealthy calcium auditor, Brady. He is a described as "looks more like a business executive than a bureaucrat." The absolute only complaint I have in this story is I found Brady to be a tad unbelievable. His motivations as a character and dialog were muddy. This threw me out of the story at points. I just could not suspend belief when it came to Brady's and Taryn's interactions. However, this book could easily have a sequel. If so, as a reader I would love to know more about Brady's backstory and have him fleshed out as a more substantial character. 

There are beautifully created images throughout the story that keep the pages turning as the reader seeks out the "who did it." All of this climaxes into a rather explosive denouement. This, in turn, finalizes into an open ending that is rife with a possibility for sequels. 

The author asks us, "What if there is no calcium?" As a reader, I can say "I know that one. It looks like this..."

An engaging and entertaining sci-fi books.
I loved the world building and the characters.
The plot gives you a lot of food for thought due to how the world in the book is working.
I think this could became the first in a series of other books could be set in this universe.
I look forward to reading other books by this writer.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

Fantastic Sci fi adventure! It hints of The Expanse, another cracking sci fi series, and follows through with a strong female character as our protag, and all the best Sci fi models. The Brink (perfect sci fi name!) uses calcium as cash. And without it, the peoples bones will shatter. So it's cash and also medicine, and having such an integral substance suddenly used as a commerce system makes for some really fun reading. It's well thought out, and made me really think about what it would be like to rely on your currency to keep you alive, literally. The protag is like an enforcer for the calcium trade - making sure people aren't harvesting it illegally or trying to sell in the black market, and she stumbles into a big, big conspiracy.
It's lots of fun! I enjoyed every page, and happily read the whole thing in one sitting.
Recommended for Sci fi fans that are familiar with the genre and like to see little nods to classics littered throughout. However! New scifi readers will also get a kick out of this, too.

10K Bones starts with a good idea - we're on a planet where calcium is rare and has become their currency. They spend oversized Tums pills and a black market has arisen for teeth and bones from all sources. The rich drink milk and the poor have sores, brittle bones, and all that comes with it. The author follows the trope of a sci fi - detective novel crossover, which has really played out in the genre as far as I'm concerned. His style is sparse, either because of the "hardboiled" approach or because that's how he writes, and there is little to no exposition. Characters come and go without leaving much to remember them by, and when they later turn out to be important it's hard to remember who they are. The biggest flaw for me was that despite starting with a really good idea, we only had that one idea and the whole thing bogs down by the halfway point into a mundane search for some missing calcium. Much of that is padded out with our protagonist avoiding a lesbian affair and then avoiding a straight affair and I finally have to say "enough".

It's a first novel so I'll extend some leeway for that. That is a universe that could support multiple stories, once the author polishes his craft. Hang in there, keep trying, and let's see what you come up with next time!