The Thread That Binds the Bones
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Winner of the Bram Stoker Award: Tom can see ghosts—and that’s the least of his gifts. Now he must harness his newfound magic to save Chapel Hollow. A drifter trying to hide his extraordinary powers—and find a place where he belongs—Tom Renfield has recently settled in the small Oregon town of Arcadia. But when Laura Bolte gets into his cab, he’s plunged deep into a world of magic he didn’t even know existed. The pair is thrown together by supernatural forces, and Tom learns that Laura is the gifted daughter of an ancient family who lives in the nearby enclave of Chapel Hollow. But the mysterious clan has dark—and dangerous—secrets. If Tom is to have any hope of finding the kinship he’s been looking for, he and Laura must find a way to protect the home of her ancestors and the innocent citizens of Arcadia. The debut of a Philip K. Dick Award nominee who has been called “this generation’s Ray Bradbury,” The Thread That Binds the Bones is an extraordinary fantasy novel by the author of A Fistful of Sky and The Silent Strength of Stones (TheSunday Oregonian). The Thread That Binds the Bones is the 1st book in the Chapel Hollow Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. This ebook includes the bonus stories “Lost Lives” and “Caretaking.”
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3 primary books4 released books#1 in Chapel Hollow
Chapel Hollow is a 4-book series with 4 released primary works first released in 1993 with contributions by Nina Kiriki Hoffman.
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3 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
A man who can talk to ghosts winds up in a small town where one isolated clan has strange powers of its own.
I've read only a few of Nina Kiriki Hoffman's books (including the sequel to this one) and stories, but I've liked their clear, evocative language, and their simple, unaffected characters. I opened The Thread That Binds the Bones with enthusiasm. I left the book with less.
The book starts well, with the same strong prose, the same engaging characters. Unfortunately, what Hoffman gains in simplicity, she loses in credibility. All her main characters are amiable and affable, and they solve all their disagreements with a friendly word or two. It's not credible, and it quickly becomes so flat as to be both facile and painful. There's a fair amount of repetition - of circumstance, philosophy, simplistic life lessons. Characters either gush or sulk (but only briefly). The big, bad, evildoer is readily (and quickly) redeemed, and accepted by all (including his victim), replaced by a diabolus ex machina who's only barely sketched in.
I found the book severely disappointing. It's not bad per se, but it's far from the elegant work that I expected from seeing Hoffman's other work. The approach is in some ways suitable to a YA audience, but frankly I think some of the life lessons provided aren't so wise. For staunch Hoffman fans only.
Received free copy of book in exchange for honest review.
