The premise of this book was interesting (hello sea dragon!) and the world is quite a bit different from the ones in which we find the usual sea-farers. I actually didn't like the world much (see "corpselights"), but neither did one of the MCs, so that just means the world was well-built.

The story starts with plenty of action, but not much of the plot is revealed until about 1/4 through the book, so I felt a little lost until then. And there are unfamiliar ship-related terms that took a bit to get used to.

But after that point, the story itself sailed along pretty predictably, full of crew-building, ship-fixing, and battles at sea, and kept my attention.

I did feel myself skimming over the in-depth descriptions of the mechanics of the battles, like pages devoted to how to shoot one of the ship's bows.

All in all, an entertaining story in a unique world. Thanks to Orbit and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Wow! I loved this book! The world building was amazing, and this is the first book I thoroughly enjoyed that had anything to do with ships. Some of the terms and events confused me a bit; but one beautiful thing about this novel is how unique it is. There was action, awesome adventures, dragons and just a wonderful story I enjoyed getting lost in. The book was a but bigger than what I normally read, but I went through it fast because I could not put it down. I definitely recommend this book for those who love unique fantasy worlds. I am now interested in more books from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Argh. The Bone Ships! How to review this? Let's start with the beginning, where we are thrown in with Joron, a drunk shipwife who has absconded from his ship to drown his regrets in alcohol, and Meas, who finds him and fights him for his role on said ship. Great opening - I was right in there. In fact, much of the tale is fantastically done, and I can't fault the author for character development, a glorious mythical creature, great battles and exciting adventures. All of that is here. Where RJ Barker lost this reader occasionally was in the terminology. They are not sails, they are wings. There are deckholders, deckkeepers, shipwives, and boats are male. Which, ok, I suppose if the first sail like thing you see is a wing, you would call them wings. If you are ruled by a woman, ships might be male and captains might be shipwives. But there is the bern, the berncast, the kept. Gullaime, coursers, Skearith! I found myself stumbling on all the new terminology built into this world, and it was delivered as though I should have enough context to figure it out. It took me a while. And perhaps that is a fault of mine.

So I give this high scores for being well built, well written with the caveat that it is slightly rough with its plethora of new terms for the reader. The character development, like I said - fantastic throughout. My one recommendation for those reading? Look briefly at the glossary at the end prior to starting. Just dip your toe in. Then go on, meet Joron. Meet Meas. Learn of the Gullaime, who I loved, and the wyndwyrm. I think you'll like it. I don't think you'll be sorry. In the aftermath of reading, even as I type this review, I think, "OK, the kept makes sense, really, considering the women lead society." Even now I start to understand, dear author, what you were doing. When the next one comes out, I will read it. But I may reread this one first, with my mind ready for the wave of it all.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

the bone ships (R.J. Barker)

Title: the bone ships

Author: R.J. Barker

Publisher: Orbit Books

Publication Date: TODAY!! (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-0316487962

Source: NetGalley

I had been meaning to check out this author's books for quite some time.  Well when I saw this gorgeous cover, I knew the day had come.  Sea dragons mateys!  I was not disappointed.

This is a slow burn type of fantasy with a ton of world building.  The plot doesn't really pick up until about the half way mark.  But the ships!  The ships!  They are made out of the bones of the sea dragons of long ago.  There be two opposing island nations that have been raiding and warring with each other for centuries.  At the center of that fight be the bone ships because whoever has the most ships has the upper-hand (Arrrrr!).  But each ship lost at sea be a huge travesty because there be no more dragons.  Bone and the bone ships be at the center of trade and politics.  Bone supplies be ever dwindling.

Joron Twiner be the shipwife on a black bone ship called the Tide Child.  These black ships are crewed by the condemned whose lives are forfeit.  They crew the ship and fight for the navy until the Hag calls them home to the deep.  Joron is an unfit, dastardly drunken cur who fled his duty to both the ship and the navy.  He drowns in grog until one day Lucky Meas Gilbryn shows up to duel his ship away.  Joron doesn't stand a chance.  He believes his life is over but is surprised when Meas offers him a position as the deck keeper, basically the second in command, instead. 

The easy living is no more as Meas is a fierce shipwife who be determined to whip her unsavoury crew into shape.  But this be no simple task.  The ship has been severely neglected, the crew is sullen, and Joron is hardly great leadership material.  It should be a losing proposition.  But there are battles to be fought and when a potential sea dragon be sighted it's all hands on deck!  A storm be a brewin'.

Personally I love fierce female captains (biased I know!) and I also love redemption stories.  Watching Meas whip her crew into shape and watching Joron learn and step into the role he has been given is delightful.  Meas is a crafty b*tch and I approve.  Give no quarter!!  I also particularly love the windtalker, a Gulliame, an avian magic creature who controls the winds.  I wish I could be friends with the Tide Child's windtalker and commandeer her to me own ship!

While there be tons of naval terminology and history in this book which was well done and loved, I will admit that it did seem to take a bit too long for the sea dragon to make its appearance.  I was impatient.  The dragon also didn't get nearly enough page time.  But what ye did see of it be awesome.  The pace of this book was also a bit uneven despite the sea battles and such.  Overall the pace was slow, if engaging, and the scenes didn't always flow well.  But by the time I be finished, I certainly wanted to know what happens next!

If ye like sea dragons (and who doesn't?) then I do suggest ye get yer greedy hands on a copy.  Heave ho, me hearties!  Yo ho!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye Orbit Books!

Side note: I still be planning to read the author's Wounded Kingdom trilogy!

Goodreads has this to say about the 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.

To visit the author’s website go to:

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the bone ships - Book

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Epic! Great world building and unlike anything I’ve read before. I love the whole concept of the bone ships. By the end of the book I felt like part of the crew of the Tide Child. I look forward to book two.

For generations, the people of the Hundred Isles have used the bones of slain ancient dragons to build their ships to fight in an endless war. Although, the dragons have all disappeared, the battle for supremacy has raged on between the two great nations. Now, the first dragon in centuries has been spotted, and the race is on to capture it and turn the tide of power in their favor. For whoever can capture the dragon, not only wins the glory but the war as well. Despite such an interesting premise, I was bored throughout this entire book. Nothing about the plot, characters, or writing interested me at all. I just found it so dense and slow. There wasn't technically anything wrong with the book, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

This is the first book I’ve read by RJ Barker. I liked the premise - Joron and Lucky Meas meet aboard the ship Lucky Tides and pursue a sea dragon. The world building was rich but the writing style was too filled with jargon and the first 15% of the book was hard to get into for me. I would like to give the author another try (I have heard good things about the Wounded Kingdom trilogy) but would rate this at 3 stars.

The world-building in RJ Barker's The Bone Ships: The Tide Child #1 is original and bold. Barker has created a new world, full of detail, history, and culture for this series.

In the world of the Hundred Isles, ships have been built from the bones of sea dragons--white, gleaming ships, equipped with corpse lights. But there are also black bone ships, captained and crewed by condemned criminals. And Joron Twiner finds himself on Tide Child, a black ship, in retaliation for killing the son of a powerful official in a duel.

Joron Twiner presents an intriguing protagonist as he gradually grows from an angry, depressed, nineteen-year-old and begins to question the rules and history of his society. I found this particularly interesting as the growth is slow and not readily accepted as Joron clings to the traditions he has been raised to accept.

Lucky Meas takes command of the Tide Child from Joron and not only allows him to live, but gives him second in command. Lucky Meas has been Shipwife (captain) of one of the most famous of the bone ships and has become a legend for her courage and skill in battle. How did she become condemned to a black ship? Whatever the reason, Meas is a leader and she is able to get both ship and crew into shape through force of will.

Meas, Joron, and the crew of the Tide Child are in search of the last sea dragon and the attempts to protect it or kill it.

(At the end, there is an appendix ranks in the Fleet and the Hundred Isles that (in my opinion) should have been at the beginning to help the reader adjust to this new world. Definition of the bern, berncast, Fleet ranks, etc. would make entering the world easier.)

I had not read RJ Barker before, but as soon as I finished The Bone Ships (knowing it would probably be a year's wait before the next in the series comes out), I ordered Age of Assassins, the first in Barker's Wounded Kingdom trilogy. Which lets you know how much I liked the book and the author. I literally put my Kindle on large print and walked while reading--mostly inside because adding the heat index to 98 degrees make walking outside too damn hot.

Read in August; blog review scheduled for Sept. 2.

NetGalley/Orbit Books
Fantasy/Adventure. Sept. 24, 2019. Print length: 512 pages.

The Bone Ships is book one of a new fantasy series. Don’t be thrown about by the concept of a handful of warriors chasing after the world’s last sea dragon. This is not a children’s book. It is a bold, exciting, adventure that is dark, gritty, and ruthless. At first, it may be difficult to enter this world because the prose - the incredible prose - is filled to the brim with terminology that is unfamiliar and customs and history that are often only hinted at. Nevertheless, this is a book with a great payoff. It is well worth the time to dig into this.

It is a fantasy world where almost all the action is naval in character. Two great warring island nations do battle on glorious ships made of dragon bone. And, the dragons 🐉 are gone for three generations now so any hint of dragon bone is more valuable than gold. Nothing else that ships can be built with floats like this bone. And, there are all kinds of bows, crossbows, and siege engines mounted on these boneships.

To be a part of the dragon bone fleet is to have the values of duty, loyalty, honor, and bravery. But, alas, our hero, Joron Twiner, rides not on a magnificent fleet ship, but on a black ship of death manned only by condemned prisoners, the Tide Child. He is in command- sort of - on a drunk more like it while his sailors let the ship rot in a forgotten bay.

Those looking for a strong female lead will look no further than Lucky Meas, the toughest, most ornery, sea captain to ever sail the however many seas they have there. Meas takes Joron and his motley crew and turns them into the most tenacious crew to ever sail.

This is a book chock full of action and all kinds of fascinating creatures, particularly the Gulliame (or windtalker) who can fill the ship’s sails with wind. And, the giant sea serpents and of course, the sea dragons, mightiest of all, who are referred to as Keyshan or Wakewyrm.

The biggest problem is that the sequel is not due out till Fall 2020. It’s going to be a long wait.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.