The Bone Witch - Rin Chupeco

   2017; 412 pages.  Book 1 (out of 3) in the “Bone Witch” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Paranormal Fantasy; Teen & Young Adult, Coming-of-Age.   Overall Rating: 8/10.

 

    It was undoubtedly the saddest day so far in Tea’s brief life.  She and her family had to watch as the casket containing her older brother, Fox, was solemnly lowered into the ground.  He died while serving in the kingdom’s army.  “By creatures unknown” the general said.  Most likely he was attacked by one of those ferocious daeva beasts.

 

    It isn’t fair, Tea thought, he isn’t really dead.  She broke away from the group of mourners and ran toward the grave.  Suddenly a fiery symbol appeared in the air in front of her, and she felt the compulsion to trace it with her finger, again and again.

 

    Then the ground trembled, splintering was heard, and a cold, gray hand pushed up from the grave into the air.  Tea can summon up the dead, which means her magic is that of a bone witch, a perilous and often feared vocation.

 

    So not only is this the saddest day of your life, Tea.  It’ll probably be your worst day as well.

 

What’s To Like...

    Let me be clear, I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise.

 

    Is that a fantastic opening line for a book, or what!  The Bone Witch is the first book in Rin Chupeco’s dark fantasy Bone Witch trilogy.  The series is set in a place called “The Eight Kingdoms” which are situated throughout a group of islands, and whose rulers spend most of their time fighting either the evil “Faceless Ones” or amongst themselves.

 

    I loved the worldbuilding.  The use of magic is common, and wielded mostly, but not solely, in the hands of women, who are called “asha”.  Rulers of the Eight Kingdoms are just as likely to be females as males.  People wear something called “heartglasses” around their necks, glass medallions that change color depending on their wearer's mood, veracity, and/or the type of magic they can command.  Girls who show spellcasting potential enter schools in their teenage years and besides magic, are taught things like history, dancing, singing and fighting.

 

    The tale is written in the first-person POV, Tea’s.  31 chapters cover 412 pages, with short interludes chronicling a second, more recent, storyline in between each chapter.  More on that in a bit.  For the most part, we follow the lives of Tea as she trains to be a full-fledged bone witch.  The Eight Kingdoms are running rather short of them.  Fox's new lease on undeath is also a major plotline, as he takes on the role of Protector of his sister.

 

    Some thrills-and-spills arise along the way, but mainly this is a character-driven, coming-of-age account.  Tea struggles with her studies, Fox struggles with his undeadness, rulers struggle to keep their kingdoms in existence, and asha struggle to not get killed by beasts, swords, or sorcery.

 

    The ending is good, with a couple neat twists, and a tense battle featuring both spells and brawn.  Sometimes might accomplishes what magic fails at doing.  The story stops at a logical place, and sets up, I presume, the next book in the series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Bezoar (n.) : a small, stony concretion that may form in the stomachs of certain animals, especially ruminants.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 3,433 ratings and 554 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.69*/5, based on 44,739 ratings and 7,063 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Parmina?”  It wasn’t a voice; it was a roar that could have rattled glass, though none of the people running around so much as blinked.  The largest and hairiest man I had ever seen in my life stepped into view.  He was so tall that the top of his hair grazed the ceiling, and his arms looked as if a brown bear had mated with the fuzziest carpet in the land and produced twins.  I could barely see his face, for his beard started somewhere near his eyebrows and ended at a carefully trimmed point several inches away from his chin, at the center of his chest.  (pg. 128)

 

    “Are you sure about this?” she asked me in a softer whisper as the other Deathseekers began making their preparations.  “We’re treading in unknown territory, and I’d hate to die on a ‘maybe.’”

    “The runes may not work, but I can still sense it.  And I was able to control it to some extent back in Ankyo.”

    “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Zoya said from behind us.

    “As I recall, you insisted on coming,” Polaire pointed out.

    “It’s never too late to regret things.”  (pg. 367)

 

“You think in the same way men drink, Tea, . . . far too much—under the delusion it is too little.”  (pg. 2)

    I only recall one cussword in the entire book, which fully justifies Amazon labelling it as a YA book.  There are no “adult situations” either, although I suspect there is some Romance headed Tea’s way.

 

    Rin Chupeco incorporates a lot of made-up words (such as asha) into the text, and defines each one the first time it is used.  I thought it really helped make the fantasy setting feel “real”.  There’s a map of the Eight Kingdoms at the start of the book, and brief descriptions of each realm in the back.  But it would’ve been nice to also have a Glossary back there for easy reference as to the invented vocabulary.

 

    One character displays transgender traits.  I felt this was a nice, daring touch by the author.  It was deftly done, and I’m hoping that person will have a recurring role in the saga.  But homophobes should probably avoid this series.

 

    Overall, I enjoyed The Bone Witch.  Character-driven plotlines are usually not my cup of Tea (pun intended, and the protagonist's name is pronounced differently), but here there was enough magic, fighting, and fascinating beasts and characters to keep me turning the pages.  Now that Tea is a fully-accredited asha, (Which isn't a spoiler.  You knew that would happen.) I’m looking for some serious butt-kicking and spellcasting to show up in the sequel, The Heart Forger.  Rin Chupeco has written several other intriguing fantasy series that I'm eager to get acquainted with. 

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Deities play a very small part in this tale.  Three of them, Dancing Wind, Blade That Soars, and Great World Spirit, are mentioned, but have virtually zero impact on the goings-on.  It will be interesting to see how this aspect plays out as the series progresses.