This book was a curiosity-driven ARC request as the cover initially did not really draw me in, and the synopsis felt very vague to me. I was immediately hooked as the story unfolded. I don’t want to say too much about what captivated me, because a large part of my enjoyment came from not knowing what to expect. Every twist and turn caught me off guard, and I loved that sense of surprise. There were several truly masterful moments, and it’s a book I’d be interested in rereading, if only to see how those moments were set up now that I’m more familiar with the world and the story.

Bolted to the Bone started off as an original fantasy with elements of Celtic mythology and merged into a sci fi thriller with more twists than a labyrinth.

While the first 30% of the book was difficult to get into as you navigated a new world and new language, the last 70% was an action packed fun time, even if the book ended and I still had questions!

Overall, A highly enjoyable, original story. Looking forward to reading more set in this world (or off it!)

Bolted to the Bone
By Bart Carroll

This book has an old school fantasy adventure feel mixed with sci-fi elements. If I'm not mistaken this is a debut novel making it that much more impressive.
I enjoyed this book. It's dark, gritty and fun.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book early in return for my honest review.

Bolted to the Bone by Bart Carroll was dark, unhinged, emotionally rude in the best way

This book is what happens when faith, guilt, revenge, and science fantasy all get thrown into a blender. A broken saint, a disgraced commander, a dying sky, and missing kids in the middle of a forced holiday celebration is already insane. Then the monsters, the enemies, and the mutual hatred kick in and it gets personal.

The world is brutal and strange and way too easy to visualize. The tension never lets up. The characters are damaged in ways that feel earned and uncomfortable. Their relationship is pure resentment with emotional shrapnel flying in every direction.

This is not cozy. This is not gentle. This is a hurt your feelings on purpose kind of book.

Final verdict
It stressed me out. I loved it. I will think about it later against my will.

This review is from an ARC provided by NetGalley

Bolted to the Bone contains quite a bit of substance for the average fantasy reader. The cover itself suggests an Arthurian take with a helmeted hydra lurking underneath a headless (or simply dormant) suit of armor, and I went into it assuming it was an average fantasy tale.

Bolted is filled with the following:

* a shattered Earth wherein the continents and islands lie under a ceiling of giant glass panels, far distant from Earthen lore outside of the occasional mythical reference

* an undercurrent of deception and evil, and conflicting moralities

* a devout order of saints whose order is affixed to their skeletal system (see title)

Bolted does this beautiful thing with the lore where it treats the reader like an adult--you learn nothing that is absolutely necessary but with each progressive revelation the horror, shock, and awe of these revelations is quite profound. The lore is spliced throughout the book, giving you bits and pieces of stories and references.

Bolted will majorly appeal to readers who appreciate dark fantasy, love connections to the real world while maintaining a distinct fantasy atmosphere (especially readers who enjoy Celtic myth), characters who have conflicting motivations, and of course some massive twists to the fantasy formula that stretch the possibilities of what one assumes is possible in sword and sorcery.

3.5 rounded up. I enjoyed this book well enough but didnt love it. A lot of it felt like it would be better as a revisitation of a world I had exposure to before, rather than trying to do all this world building AND political intrigue surrounding the world building in a single book. Because of trying to do both the twists/reveals didn’t have any punch.

This is a fantastic science fantasy epic. The deep, complex and skillful worldbuilding is definitely the star of the show. The writing is pacy, fun and in some places really beautiful.

The tone is very D&D, great for fans of actual play stories such as Worlds Beyond Number and Critical Role. But that isn't the only market for this. I think people who enjoy Terry Pratchett's Discworld will find a lot of shared DNA here, especially in the sense of humour. There are also shades of Tamora Pierce.

On one level, it's a Christmas flavoured heist, not unlike Hogfather. On another, it's a clever allegory about colonialism. If you're familiar with the legend of Saint Nicholas, there's some especially juicy fun with that.

Carroll isn't afraid to go very dark, and swerves a redemption arc that would have been the obvious choice, and the story is better for it. The ending is satisfying without being saccharine.

I would recommend this book to lovers of science fantasy and classicly shaped fantasy epics with quests and monster battles.

Big thanks to the publisher and Mr. Carroll for letting me read this netgalley copy.

Bolted to the Bone is one of the more unique books I've read in awhile - the tie ins with Celtic mythology is one of the reasons I requested this ebook initially. The worldbuilding was fantastic and I didn't feel bogged down by the details - You learn what you need to learn as the story progresses, and via context clues. The marriage of both fantasy and sci fi was fantastic, I haven't read many books that (In my opinion) do it right, and Mr. Carroll has succeeded in that.

The characters felt very dimensional in that you learn about their past, and can see both sides of viewing them as a villain or a tragic hero. The characters all felt morally grey, which I found realistic as everyone has their own desires and goals and how to attain them.

I also normally don't read stories that seem too dark plot wise - but I liked this, as it is yet another callback to traditional myths and fairy tales, and how there really isn't a good ending for anyone involved.

An extremely creative and fresh read!

This book had so much potential - a mysterious plot and a great world-building. But the last 15% were way too rushed confusing and messy and I’m still not sure what made sense or not. Or maybe I’m just too stupid to comprehend this ending.
Again, the world-building and the magic system are very unique with a mix of fantasy and sci-fi. The setting is complex and deserves to be explored within a series (a standalone is too short to truly enjoy it… there was so many things to process and so few pages… I think that’s why it was confusing).
The story and the characters have strong bones and unfortunately the ending didn’t make them justice (in my opinion - I think some readers will truly enjoy the ending because it’s so unconventional.)

Dark, high fantasy, rich character-driven plot and intricate worldbuilding, Bolted to the Bone was a twisted, dystopian treat from start to finish. Thank you to Bart Carroll for the Advanced Reader copy.

We follow Alexandra, a saint, and her squire, Dawkins, investigating the destruction of a small town after a panel fell from the artificial sky of the Emerald, a world of Shattered Earth. Her story is joined by Scrounger, a former commander who has been disgraced and assigned to corpse cleaning, who discovers that three boys are missing from the ruined town.

The worldbuilding and plot are evocative and build tension very effectively, leaving you second-guessing every plot point and motivation of the characters you meet along the way. The stories of our two main characters - their heated old animosity towards each other and their own mysteries to be unravelled - were interwoven seamlessly. I loved stoic Alexandra and curious Dawkins, but I had a soft spot for Scrounger. The lab-brewed monsters and enemy saints added to the intrigue, and I was a big fan of the little luchormen!

I think this is one of those rare cases where the book could have been longer! There was so much lore to pack into just over 300 pages, but Carroll did this without losing out on any of the worldbuilding. If you're a fan of N.K. Jemison, or The Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett, I highly recommend Bolted to the Bone.

This is one thick book, but if you are willing to put in the time, it is 100% worth it. This is true epic fantasy at its finest. The way these extremely odd characters come together even with their past problems and how it all comes together, leads to a very interesting and complicated adventure. If you like traditional old-school fantasy, and if you like D&D vibes, this is gonna be for you all the way. It has very good banter. The creatures are very creative and you just feel very in touch with the whole book. You feel like you’re on the adventure with them, which is what I love the most about reading fantasy books, especially if they are going to be this long. Very well done.

I haven’t read a long epic fantasy novel in a while – this was a great choice with which to return. I will be telling every friend I have that enjoys sci-fi/fantasy to put Bolted to the Bone on their list.

I’m going to avoid much plot synopsis, because personally I found the “reveals” even early on to be satisfying and I’m glad I didn’t know any of them going in. Just the explanation of what “bolted to the bone” refers to (immediately in the first chapter) felt like a little mystery solved right off the bat.

However, for some very brief context: We initially meet Alexandra, a saint, and her squire Dawkins, off to investigate the disaster site of a panel of artificial sky that has fallen and destroyed a town. Then we meet Scrounger, Alexandra’s former commander who has been stripped of his sainthood and reduced to cleanup of that very site. He has his own mystery – three children of the ruined town are not among the dead. The two investigations progress in tandem.

The worldbuilding unfolds gently from the beginning, evocative and intriguing without long, overwhelming expository sections. Character development, plot, and worldbuilding are woven together such that learning about the setting feels character-driven and natural. The experience of reading is one of mystery after mystery married with discovery after discovery.

Carroll gets us invested in Alexandra and Scrounger immediately – the enmity between them is palpable from the start even as we know so little about its source. I could feel Alexandra’s horror and fear at seeing him again, even as I felt a little defensive of him because he’d already grown on me. Their plotlines are interwoven beautifully and balanced well – Scrounger’s is more action packed to meet Alexandra’s more conversation-based investigation.

I would recommend Bolted to the Bone to any science fantasy fan, but you would enjoy it particularly if you:
- Like intricate worldbuilding, discovered gradually alongside the characters à la N.K. Jemisin or Tamsyn Muir
- Liked Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books as a child. I felt the spirit of Alana in Alexandra, and you experience the relationship between saint/knight and squire from the adult’s perspective.