A review by cheye13
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

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

3.0

This was a lovely story, but I'd call it more of a prequel than a first book. The writing and the immersion in the world is beautiful. This fantasy narrative had the worldbuilding carry most of the story, but it works well. The concept of the world and its magic and political systems are all so interesting.

I do think this story is a little misrepresented; I picked this up because of the necromancy/undead tagline, yet that's almost an inconsequential detail of the story – it doesn't matter so much that bone witches raise the dead, but that they carry vast global responsibility when there are so few of them.

The beginning is very slow, and I liked the vignettes of the future to vary pace and keep me reading, but ultimately it left me wondering which was the real story – is the second book going to pick up with the bone witch, the bard, and the familiars, or are we going back to Tea's asha training and filling in the gaps? Or are we sticking with the dual timeline/frame narrative? Overall it felt like a really long first chapter or Prologue– nothing  much happened story-wise, and while it was still interesting to read, it leaves the rest of the story up in the air.
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