BOOK REVIEW | COMPANY OF BONES | BRENNAN MORTON
ABOUT THE BOOK
And just maybe, redemption.
Shrouded in mystery, this ragtag band of elite misfits has been dispatched by the enigmatic Broker to right an egregious wrong.
Under the dark canopy of the Oldwood trees, a boy flees the shattered dreams of youth as his ancestors’ blood wars within his veins. Haunted and hunted, the boy must find a way to live with his brutal past or be swallowed by it.
Get swept away by an epic fantasy saga that transcends the boundaries of time, weaving a spellbinding tale of intrigue, heroics, and magic – The Pendulum Series.
REVIEW
Company of Bones tells the story of a mercenary company, funnily enough called The Company of Bones.
Starting on a hillside where the Golden Wolves, a legendary company of bandits prepares to descend on the local farmers, hoping to loot and pillage, amongst other things. Whilst making sure that everything is ship shape and Bristol fashion, Tar Hardhammer receives an invitation to parley.
Preparing to receive a war leader, Tar Hardhammer is instead faced with a foppish man waving a flag of underwear. Insults are thrown, terms are bandied about and a challenge is made. The challenge is between the champions of the two companies, Gulath and the unknown champion of The Company of Bones.
Whilst waiting for the champion, Nimble Jack, the leader of the Company of Bones tells a story, a story of a young half - orc who one day suffers tragedy. He also tells of a thief, Garlan, who in a bid to clear his debts from one of the most dangerous criminals, ends up jining a band of criminals who have been hired to find a witch and bring her back to become a slave. However, Garlan soon finds out that the company that he has joined has created a heinous act and are subsequently being chased for a bounty.
Company of Bones wasn’t a bad book at all. As I said, the story starts with a group of bandits attacking a village, who are approached by the leader of the Company of Bones. In the main, the story is told through flashbacks, telling the story of an unknown boy who is raised in the woods by his human tracker father, and his orc mother, who we learn has been banished from her tribe due to the fact that she had taken a human as a lover and forsaken her Orcish ways.
The structure is a familiar one, and is obviously influenced by The Name of the Wind, as well as things like Abercrombie and Glenn Cook, as well as D & D. Now I like a book that wears its influences on its sleeve and tries to do something original with the material.
It doesn’t always work, for instance, at times I found that the pacing of the story was a little off and did tend to sag in the second act of the book. In addition to that, I found the conceit of moving backwards and forwards through time periods was a little jarring. However, I ended up liking this story a lot, especially the ending. The characters were good. Obviously the main character experiences PTSD after a traumatic incident and this affects him for most of the book. I wasn’t particularly enamoured of the second POV. This was a thief called Garlan, and I wondered how his storyline intersected with the main characters, but I suspect that this will become clearer as the story progresses in the second book, which I will definitely be reading the second book as I want to know what is going on.
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