Book Review | The Bone Orchard

In The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller, a dying emperor tasks his necromancer concubine, Charm, with solving his murder and disposing of his wretched sons so they cannot seize the crown.

The story takes place in a Victorian-esque era and uses a unique blend of guns, magic, and technology.

As the name implies, the bone orchard grows bones, and Charm uses them to construct “boneghosts”— Frankensteinian beings that are imbued with a fractured part of her personality and memories in order to protect the most innocent part of herself. I thought this was an interesting way to explore trauma à la fantasy, and as confirmed in an interview, the concept of the boneghosts was inspired by Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

For me, the creative magic system and the boneghost named Pain, who is able to absorb the pain of others, are the highlights of the story.

However, as intricate as this world is, there are gaps in the worldbuilding and magic system that go unexplained. For instance, it’s unclear why psychics go mad without the intervention of a mindlock, and also while we’re told that Inshil holds psychics sacred, we’re told virtually nothing about their religion. I would have loved to have seen this fleshed out more.

On top of that, the antagonists unfortunately fell flat to me. Except for Luther, all the princes were one-dimensional and mostly yelled bitch over and over again. I get that we’re supposed to hate them, but they could have at least changed up their insults and been given distinct personalities in order to make for more convincing villains.

Gripes aside, The Bone Orchard is a vividly imaginative and gothic murder mystery filled with twisty court intrigue—perfect for dark fantasy lovers.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : March 22, 2022

Publisher : Tor Books

ISBN : 1250776945

Pages : 432

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