Joron Twiner, an ineffective drunkard with low self-esteem, is the shipwife (captain, basically) of Tide Child, a bone ship made of the bones of a supposedly extinct species of sea dragons. When we meet Joron, he’s in port, sleeping off the booze, when a fierce woman named Lucky Meas attacks and easily subjugates him. As the new shipwife of Tide Child, with Joron as her second-in-command, she plans to whip the pathetic crew into shape and to redeem the reputations of both Tide Child and herself.
When Tide Child is given orders to chase down the rumored sighting of a sea dragon and secretly work with enemies to escort it to safety, Joron wonders who his new commander is really loyal to. After acquiring a new crew of mostly prisoners and outlaws, Joron and the Tide Child set off on a (slightly) Moby-Dick-like adventure which will involve dangers that come from both onboard and outside the ship.
The fantasy world of R.J. Barker’s The Bone Ships (2019) is intriguing with its island nations, bone ships, supposedly extinct sea dragons, corpse-lights, and enslaved wind-talkers. I enjoyed spending time there.
I also liked Joron. It’s satisfying to watch him develop under the tutelage of his new shipwife. At the beginning of The Bone Ships he is drunk, lazy, unproductive, and impotent. Once he’s given a mentor, a purpose, and some inspiration, he begins to grow into his leadership role and to realize that an effective leader is also a servant.
Though I enjoyed many aspects of The Bone Ships, including the writing style, I thought the plot of this first book in the TIDE CHILD series was a bit simple and slow-going. But there were definite bright spots when the tension ratcheted up due to a battle, a plot, or a mutiny. The ending was absolutely spectacular.
Overall, The Bone Ships didn’t thrill me (except for the ending), but I’m intrigued nonetheless and am likely to pick up the next book, Call of the Bone Ships, which will be released in November. I’d like to explore more of Barker’s world and continue to watch Joron’s growth. There’s a lot of potential here.
Hachette Audio’s edition of The Bone Ships is beautifully narrated by Shakespearean actor Jude Owusu. It was so good!
I’m thinking this is one I’d like to read.
I’m a sucker for anything with skeletons or bones it, so I will give this one a go. I guess my day job (archaeologist) has a lot to do with this. The audiobook version sounds especially fab!