California Bones

In this story, the author has come up with a novel mechanism for magic. At least, I don't recall anyone making magic work like that before. I try not to visualize the action while reading those sequences, because it's truly disgusting.

The descriptions of the viper serum and the firedrake scales are a little over the top. They're sort of like the unstoppable force meets the unmovable object. The logic of the two items is not consistent. At one point, the viper serum can only be contained because it's in a container strengthened with firedrake. Later, the firedrake walls can only be dissolved with the viper serum. How do you take a liquid described as so powerful that it spilling it would cut all the way to the other side of the earth - and use it to burn through a few feet of cement - which you're bound to brush up against when you crawl through the hole?

I guess that's why they call it “Magic” . . . it doesn't have to make sense.

Executive Summary: Fun, quick read. Interesting magic system, so-so characters/plot.

Full Review
This book author wasn't on my radar at all until it was made the pick for Sword & Laser. I wasn't blown away by the blurb, so I decided to borrow from the library instead of buying it.

It was a VERY fast read, not only is it 300 pages, the word density per page is pretty low. It made me feel like a speed reader. It's not just the length though. The plot moves along at a pretty good pace.

It took me a while to warm up to Daniel Blackhand and his crew. They were all fine, but as far as heist crews, they were far less memorable than those from Gentleman Bastards or Six of Crows.

I am a sucker for a fantasy heist story though. This was fun enough, and sets up some interesting things for future books, but just not as good as some of the aforementioned series.

The magic system is one of the most interesting/unique/disgusting ones I've come across. Eating things to gain magic isn't a new idea, but bones? Yeah, no thanks. I'll stay a Muggle.

Overall this was enjoyable enough that I'll pick up the next book in the series to see where it goes next, but I won't be rushing out to read it right away.

I was really not into the description of this book, but I'm very glad I read it any way. It looked to gritty for my taste, and indeed it is pretty bleak, but the world-building and magic system were interesting enough to keep me intrigued. The characters, with the exception of Gabriel and Max, are maybe a bit pat and we don't get into a lot of the reasoning behind their out of control proficiency in their skills, but it doesn't matter quite as much given the literal magic in the air.

I'm not sure if I loved it quite enough to bump other books off my to-read list in order to finish the series, but it was a pretty exciting romp through alternate Los Angeles. If you like your fantasy heavy on the the thriller, I'd give this series a shot.

There must be a magic to California that draws books of this genre. When I first read James Blaylock and then Tim Pratt all those decades ago, their stories tended to take place somewhere in the golden state, a place where a certain kind of magic still reigned. Sitting somewhere in the borderland between magic realism and urban fantasy, their books blended the ordinary with the extraordinary, hidden magic.

Greg Van Eekhout's “California Bones” takes a rightful place in this pantheon. Set in a not so alternate world where magic is real and California has seceded from the United States, this is largely the story of Daniel Blackland, son of a powerful magician and orphaned at the age of 12. Fast forward to an alternate LA - one where the streets are watery canals and the movie wizard DIsney and the water wizard Mulholland are among the powerful - we find Daniel all grown up, a thief with special talents.

One of Van Eekhout's smartest moves in this book was in not trying to tell us too much. This is a heist story, a crew of thieves sent out to lift some merchandise and a magic sword, and for the most part it stays within the confines of that story. Van Eekhout presents a concise story, one that rarely strays from the heist and the after effects of that heist. What little backstory we get is only in supporting our understanding of our focal character, Daniel. Even when we switch POV characters to Gabriel, grandson of the Heirarch of Southern California, we're still moving towards bringing to conclusion the main story.

Even if you don't care for heist stories (I'm not the biggest fan), you'll still find yourself drawn into this well written story. Although the central story arc is around the heist, this story is really about power, both taken and earned. From the first moments when we see just how osteomancy works and how the Heirarch acquires his power, to the climatic end, we recognize the heist itself as just a means to an end.

Many thanks to Tor-Forge for sending me a copy for review - I devoured the book in five days, bones and all.