The Bone Shard Daughter

Highly praised for inventive worldbuilding and tempting me with their really beautiful covers, these books seem to have high ratings and positive reception on Goodreads. I picked up Andrea Stewart's trilogy in the hopes of finding a lush fantasy world to sink my teeth into. While the novel certainly delivers on the imaginative front, I'm somewhat uncertain about continuing with the series.

Plot

The Bone Shard Daughter takes place against the backdrop of the Phoenix Empire, where the emperor currently rules using bone shard magic which is used to power constructs, which are animal-like servants. The book follows four different characters around the empire whose storylines eventually converge.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and the heir to his throne, but he doesn't seem too excited about the prospect of her succeeding him. She's still in the process of learning the bone shard magic that her father excels at - but he's a reclusive man with too many secrets and not keen on sharing his knowledge.

Sometimes I felt as if my entire life was a test.

Jovis is a smuggler with a tragic past, who's on a mission to find a missing family member. On the way, he gets caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor. Then we have Phalue and Ranami, two characters entangled in a local coup on an island as they face choices between loyalty and freedom. Did I mention that the story takes place on floating islands, which keep migrating and may even drown? That was cool! Last, but not the least, there is a woman called Sand stuck on one of those islands. She’s not sure about how she got there and seemingly missing her memories.

I have to say that the premise was excellent. Lin, especially, has a very intriguing narrative that involves mastering the bone shard magic by any means necessary. She soon begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding her father's rule and her murky past. As she uncovers dark secrets about how the bone shard magic works, it urges her to challenge the oppressive regime and save her people. Jovis, on the other hand, starts with a single goal in mind and soon finds himself in the heart of something bigger than himself.

When a shark offers up a pearl, be wary of its teeth. My father liked to tell me that when we were sailing, though I found this lesson most often applied on land.

Unfortunately, despite some great twists, I don't think I could fully enjoy the story. The titular Lin doesn't get as many chapters as I would have liked, which are instead used to narrate Jovis's story. Jovis is a good man, but most of the book just involves him getting into fights with the same people and doing the same things over and over - I just wasn't interested enough. I can say the same thing about Phalue and Ranami. Sand's storyline was intriguing enough, but it felt a little disconnected from the other's, until the ending, which revealed some interesting secrets.

Despite the potential, I found myself ultimately disappointed by the execution of the story. Part of my dissatisfaction comes from how underused the worldbuilding felt and how few explanations we got for certain things. I was excited about the whole bone shard magic and floating islands thing but deflated to not get a lot of time exploring it.

Characters

Lin

While the book introduces a range of characters, Lin emerges as the most compelling figure. Her determination and complex relationship with her father provide some of the book's most intriguing moments. There were times when I almost gave up reading the book, but Lin's chapters kept me going. It was refreshing to see her take charge of her education and do whatever it took to deal with the bone shard constructs.

Jovis, Phalue and Ranami

Jovis gets as many chapters as Lin does (I counted!) and I'm not sure why. His story is not particularly interesting and served to bring forth some small reveals, but that's it. He's a smart and kind man, but even a cute pet couldn't get me quite invested in his story. Phalue and Ranami's plot threads revolve around the Alanga, an old enemy of the empire, but they lacked exposition and the chapters felt quite like filler. I did, however, appreciate the representation here, especially the fragile bond between Phalue and her father, quite similar to Lin and the emperor.

Worldbuilding

The Bone Shard Daughter had easily some of the most original ideas I've recently seen in fantasy. The bone shard magic which is a central part of the story was extremely intriguing and left me wanting more after every chapter. This magic is powered by stringing together shards of bone and engraving commands on them to form constructs: animal-like creatures who follow these commands. Lin's chapters in particular focus a lot on this aspect, which is why I was disappointed to not have more of them.

I was Lin. I was the Emperor’s daughter.

And I would show him that even broken daughters could wield power.

The Phoenix Empire itself feels vast and lived-in, with its tiny floating islands. One of the characters mentions how the islands migrate at certain times of the year and I was intrigued to know why or how it happened - but we don't get much beyond some vague references. The same goes for the empire's history with the Alanga, its once sworn enemies, where we once again don't get any real depth about what happened in the past.

Writing Style

Stewart's writing style is elegant and flows well without being overly verbose. I do wish the writing had been a little richer, befitting the world and the characters that live in it. However, for the most part, the story is an easy read, ending each chapter with a sense of anticipation. The balance between action-packed sequences and quieter moments of introspection creates a dynamic rhythm.

In Conclusion

I wanted to love this book. I think it had amazing potential and a refreshing take on the concept of magic, which often tends to feel a little cheesy in other books but didn't in this one. However, I just did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I liked the story and the characters, but I didn’t love them. There were too many points at which I felt like giving up since there were too many parts where the story just sort of meandered. Despite my reservations, I think there might be people out there who’ll enjoy this novel much more than I did. I'm still not sure if I'll continue the series. Perhaps, I might decide to pick this back up one day.