Reviews

The Bone Hunters by Joanne Burn

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thepetitedragon's review against another edition

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dark tense

3.0

luluslittlebookshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

travelsalongmybookshelf's review

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

‘Ada isn’t a hunter of fossils for the sake of impressing the visitors to Lyme. Orion even to make a living - not truly. She hunts because she always has.’

Ada Winters is a woman born out of her time, much like Mary Anning, the inspiration for this character. Not recognised for her intelligence and worth by Societies created by men, who claim her work as their own.

‘It is a paddle, she thinks, of some aquatic creature, and she has seen no fossils like it previously…her heart kicks hard in her chest, for laid at her feet is a mystery.’

Ada is dismissed because she is a woman and it makes me furious reading this. I was so engrossed in her struggle to unearth a monster, the descriptions and detail are fabulous. I love Lyme Regis and know it well and have walked in Ada’s steps searching for fossils, it has also had me back down some rabbit holes reading about Lyme and Mary Anning again.

‘I understand the skull came from Street in Somerset.’

This story is just beautifully written, at times tense, at times utterly enthralling and completely gripping.

Joanne Burn, I salute you, for this is something truly special.

ibumble's review

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

amshalls's review

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dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

barefootmegz's review

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5.0

I am in awe of The Bone Hunters. What starts off as a gentle (almost too slow) atmospheric read set in early 19th century Dorset, England, becomes a tense race between humans and history, violence and enlightenment, exclusion and freedom.

The protagonist, Ada Winters, is a “peculiar” young woman and a gifted palaeontologist, excluded from The Geological Society of London based on her sex. Not only is this a period of great geological discovery, but it is also a time of shifting ideas regarding nature, religion, and science. Ada finds herself torn between her scientific mind, her pagan ancestry, and her Christian community - a community which shuns her and her withdrawn mother.

TBH is a gritty novel set in an old coastal England where the patriarchy reigns and ancient superstitions simmer just below the surface. Having never been particularly intrigued by dinosaurs or fossils, I nevertheless found myself sucked into this story. I don’t have to be a dino-buff to appreciate what fossil discovery did for human development.

TBH features a protagonist that is (almost certainly) asexual. Ada’s sexuality is never given a name, but she discusses her aversion to sex at length, while non-sexual friendships are thematic throughout the novel.

A gentle warning to sensitive readers that the novel does feature an episode of graphic sexual assault.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.