At first glance in my cursory sweep of the LDStorymakers Conference bookstore, this title caught my eye. Then I saw the sign that said it was written by a 15 year old, while my interest peaked, all my cynical hackles did, too.
I liked Christopher Paolini's Eragon, I really did - but it was entirely obvious that it was written by a teenager: gimmicks in place of emotion, long stretches of relying on travel for action, and a certain amount of predictability.
Bone Warriors is SO MUCH BETTER! Brom Bahlmann is a fabulous writer! I kept expecting to find things that showed his age through his writing, and there were a couple of times I thought I found it - only to be proven wrong.
Derrick and Tweaks are best friends, and when their families are kidnapped by the evil Necromancer, they go to rescue them and save the day. But its not that easy for a couple of kids on a quest. Along the way, they end up with an enemy officer as a prisoner, a giant cow that saves their lives, and menagerie of unique creatures to face and outwit, each more menacing than the last.
Bone Warriors is a fantastic adventure - with two main characters that are real, believable, loveable boys. There are so many twists and turns, mixed with so many unique characters, there is no predictability - right to the very end, you aren't sure what's going to happen. The beginning is fabulous, the middle is tight, and the ending is somewhere between "happily ever after" and "cliffhanger", but I'm not sure which one is closer. You will want a hankie toward the end, but I'm not telling you why, just trust me.
It's so good, that the only tiny speck I can find to critique about it is the use of the word "lycan". Lycan is one of those words like "orc" - it was created by one story(Underworld, Orc is from Tolkien), and is quickly making its way into common usage. That's it. That's my one nitpick. Believe me, I looked for more, but that was all I found. I completely enjoyed the book. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes an adventure, and I will be keeping my eye out for more by this fabulous new author!
Well done, Mr. Bahlmann! Well done, indeed!
Bone Warriors
Bron Bahlmann
ISBN:978-1-59955-322-1
Available for pre-order on Amazon.
www.bronbahlmann.com
4 comments:
Wow. I love your review! And that awesome side bar with your picks. Nice! Now I'm going to have to pick up the book. =)
You sure do great, in-depth reviews! And your little check mark sidebar is very classy... almost as classy as yellow kitty cat pajamas! ;0)
I think lycan is close enough to lycanthropy that it wouldn't necessarily bother me. Maybe Underworld made it popular, but shortening words happens all the time in language, so . . . I'll have to see!
Just got the book today, by the way. I'm going to try to read it this weekend.
Oh, and I'm not saying that Underworld didn't create the word, either by shortening it, but it kind of makes sense to shorten it. I mean who wants to say lycanthropy? I can't even pronounce it! ;)
I had to add that on because when I re-read my post, yes, after I posted it, I realized that I made it sound like lycan was common before the movie.
Am I making sense? I need to go to bed!
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