About the book…
The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.
Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.
Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.
Published by Orbit Books in 2020, and available in hardcover, paperback, e-book and audiobook formats, ‘The Bone Shard Daughter’ is the debut novel by Andrea Stewart and the first in the projected sequence, ‘The Drowning Series’. My thanks to the publishing team at Orbit for my gifted review copy.
Good LORD but this is an ambitious, brave and bold book!
Within the first quarter you have been introduced to Lin, the Emperor’s daughter who is desperately missing her mother. She is locked out,literally and figuratively from her rightful inheritance by her father’s preferred successor,Bayan.
Lin’s father is the Bone Shard Emperor,he has control over the lives of anyone who has ceremoniously given him a slice of bone, from behind their ear. He uses these to make what are called ‘constructs’ but we would term them abominations. The creepiest of these is a monstrous Construct of Spies which made my hair stand on end!
Then you find yourself whisked away from the city to a world of moving (and sinking) islands, rebellion and kidnappings.
The creatures and people which inhabit this world are rich and diverse and unforgettable.
You are swiftly drawn into each narrative strand and the richness of the prose makes the relatively short chapters feel a lot longer.
It is a book of schemes,plots and secrets, one which is the literal equivalent of Bluebeard’s Castle where our heroes and heroines need to find the right key to the right door, regardless of what may lie behind it. Because,there is a chance, it could be the key to a better future.
About the author…
Andrea Stewart is the Chinese American of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States.
Her parents always emphasized science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books.
When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn’t pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California, and in addition to writing, can be found herding cats, looking at birds, and falling down research rabbit holes
Links-http://www.andreagstewart.com/
Twitter @andreagstewart @orbitbooks
Author
bridgeman.lenny@gmail.com