- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Spectra (Feb 26 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0553385143
- ISBN-13: 978-0553385144
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,835,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This mélange of mystery, dark fantasy and over-the-top gothic horror marks a dramatic departure from Meaney's existential SF epic, the Nulapeiron Sequence. In Tristopolis, where corpses are incinerated by the thousands to produce the necroflux that sustains the city and its undead inhabitants, police lieutenant Donal Riordan learns that a disturbingly well-organized cult is killing the world's most talented artists. Tasked with keeping a visiting opera diva safe, the intrepid cop soon finds himself caught up in a sweeping necromantic conspiracy that could involve the very highest ranks of government. Meaney makes extensive use of dark colors and gothic imagery (a golden clock, formed of interlocking metal bones; the bat-winged ambulance), and Tristopolis is at times more fascinating than its inhabitants or the relatively conventional hard-boiled story line. With many plot threads left untied or simply ignored, readers will have to wait until future installments to pass judgment on this ambitious saga. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A remarkable book featuring a unique dark Fantasy/SF world and great writing. The police procedural plot, creepy technology, and seamless, fascinating world make it a real page turner, full of great twists and details. Bone Song has really got it all: fantasy, horror, science fiction, cops, crime—even a love story and a dose of dark, dry humor. A great read and I can't wait for the next one."—Kat Richardson, author of Greywalker
"John Meaney brings a city of death to richly textured life. In an amazing blend of noir mystery and dark fantasy, Meaney doesn’t just build a world–he creates an eerie culture that you can truly visualize and feel. Bone Song is a thrilling and suspenseful beginning to a great new series."—Mark Del Franco, author of Unshapely Things
“Brilliantly fuses SF with elements of gothic fantasy.” —SFX
“Crisply written and vividly portrayed.”—Guardian, UK
“Grittiness is a word that all too often is thrown around, but I will apply it to the street-level, no nonsense Riordan. Fast paced, very entertaining and out of the ordinary…both haunting and engaging.”—SFFWorld.com
“[A] fanciful, macabre romp... straddles the line between gothic fantasy and detective fiction.”—Booklist
"John Meaney brings a city of death to richly textured life. In an amazing blend of noir mystery and dark fantasy, Meaney doesn’t just build a world–he creates an eerie culture that you can truly visualize and feel. Bone Song is a thrilling and suspenseful beginning to a great new series."—Mark Del Franco, author of Unshapely Things
“Brilliantly fuses SF with elements of gothic fantasy.” —SFX
“Crisply written and vividly portrayed.”—Guardian, UK
“Grittiness is a word that all too often is thrown around, but I will apply it to the street-level, no nonsense Riordan. Fast paced, very entertaining and out of the ordinary…both haunting and engaging.”—SFFWorld.com
“[A] fanciful, macabre romp... straddles the line between gothic fantasy and detective fiction.”—Booklist
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Addams Familyesque World, Mar 6 2008
By JFBeilman "Bibliophile" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bone Song (Hardcover)
I just finished reading this book today and it is so good that I had to write this review. The first thing I liked about this novel is the worldbuilding, which reminds me of the Addams Family. There's a similar gothic creepiness and dark humor. Imagine if the whole world were like the Addams Family! This parallel Earth, has perpetually dark skies, multiple sentient species in addition to humans, and "necroflux," which is a form of energy produced by the "dead."In the story, cop Donal, uncovers a sinister conspiracy which among other things, murders artistic people for their vivid "bone dreams." They also want to deprive non-human sentients of their civil rites, which is reminescent of the X-men series. There are multiple twists and turns, including a major one for Donal. I can hardly wait for the sequal were Donal adjusts to his new "status."
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing second half, but great first half and worldbuilding, Mar 30 2009
By Minsma - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bone Song (Mass Market Paperback)
2.5, maybe. I haven't been so disappointed in a book since I don't know when, chiefly because it has such incredible worldbuilding and because the first half of the book absolutely blew me away. I was completely enmeshed in the world and the characters and couldn't wait to get back to it each time I put it down.About halfway through, though, it seemed to have a schizophrenic breakdown. The previously tight and compelling POVs (split between two main characters) mushroomed into multiple, shallow head-hopping POVs which seriously diluted the flow of the story and the characterizations. That would have been bearable (because the worldbuilding remained amazing and compelling, the plotting intricate), but then the characterizations and plot went to hell as well. People started falling in love instantaneously for no apparent reason; others launched on paths of boneheaded revenge for really cooked up motives that had more to do with authorial convenience then true motivations. Even the characters, late in the book, admitted they were stupid. Plot points were thrown in for no good reason except that, again, the author needed to get someone from point A to point B and show off more worldbuilding; the main character turned into a Maury Stu-type character that could do no wrong and was the best of the best, easily victorious in any contest; and absolutely no care was given to the emotional underpinnings of the story. Things happened, we were supposed to care, but they were so paint-by-number, handled so woodenly and shallowly, that I found myself not caring at all.
But that worldbuilding! Wow. I kept reading long after I would have put most books down because the depth and originality of this world dominated by death, the macabre, and the dead was truly breathtaking. If you love books with dazzling settings and don't care overmuch if the characters have no more depth than a video game and the plotting bears more resemblance to a software program, you'll probably enjoy this book more than I did. I think if the first half of this book hadn't had everything going so damned well, I wouldn't have been as severely disappointed. As is, I'm not sure I'll bother reading any more in this series.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deliciously Dark, May 31 2007
By Scott Masterton - Published on Amazon.com
John Meaney's latest book "Bone Song" is on one hand a departure from his Nulpeiron Sequence novels while at the same time highlighting Meaney's greatest literary gift: the ability to create new and original worlds.Donal Connor is a cop in the classic noir sense; he lives in a world where humans and supernatural creatures coexist and often times work side by side. Although the book is people by interesting three dimensional characters, the real "character" of the book is the city of Tristopolis; a gothic city (picture London coupled with Paris with no daylight). The world in which Tristopolis is situated is literally powered by the dead. Computers replaced by sentient spirits and magic; werewolf security systems not to mention a sexy boss/partner that also happens to be a zombie.
After a series of brutal murders of famous artists, Donal is given the mission of protecting a glamorous Diva who is possibly next on the list and the fun begins there. Although the novel is incredibly dark, Meaney takes that darkness and plays with it, creating interesting shades of grey.
It seems these days that the science fiction book market is filled to saturation with vampire slaying, Dominatrix type novels aimed at readers that previously had subscriptions to the "romance paperback of the month Club". If this is your cup of tea, then take a pass on Bone Song. However, if you're interested in something truly different, Bone Song might be your latest page turner. Definitely worth the read.
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