more facts about the book! - it's upper YA (the MC is 18 and in her first year of uni) - Ava considers idark academia novels really have the best titles
more facts about the book! - it's upper YA (the MC is 18 and in her first year of uni) - Ava considers it a 'true' romance book - it's set in a secondary fantasy world based on mid 20th-century England/Wales and influenced by Welsh mythology f*ck yeah welsh mythology on the rise - it fits in the dark academia subgenre - the journey to writing this book began with an interest in anti-Stratfordian theory (basically the theory that Shakespeare was a fraud) - and "I wrote this one for survivors - for the people who aren’t believed, who don’t have ownership over their own narrative, who tell themselves stories in order to cope."
Somehow this lovely little book eluded me until a friend of mine mentioned it incorporated Welsh lore and - well. I ran. Nabbed myself a copy and begaSomehow this lovely little book eluded me until a friend of mine mentioned it incorporated Welsh lore and - well. I ran. Nabbed myself a copy and began reading it, rather appropriately, in Wales. Welsh lore is rich in inspiration but somewhat scarce in (sff) literature, so whenever I find it I snap it up immediately and hope the writer treats the well of folklore and mythology that they draw from with tenderness and love.
The Bone Houses carries the bones (ha ha) of pre-2000s early UK children's fantasy literature - think Diana Wynne Jones and Susan Cooper. (Alternately, the The Chronicles of Prydain, which Lloyd-Jones cites as an influence.) It is a evocative standalone set in a fantasy world that closely parallels medieval Wales. There are lovespoons (I have a rather zealous fondness for the tradition of lovespoons), and heaps of references to Welsh lore. Also, the best literary goat companion ever.
Following Ryn (Aderyn) and Ellis, the two quest to Castell Sidi, previously home to the Otherking Arawn, in the hope of breaking the curse that is motivating the bone houses - risen corpses. The Bone Houses is a charming novel that feels intimate and warm in the smaller scale of its worldbuilding, which stretches from the town of Colbren to the surrounding forest and the mountains of Annwvyn that hide Castell Sidi. This allows it to focus even more strongly on the novel's beating heart: for all that it is a story about the risen dead, it is also a story about the enduring capability of love.
Ryn and Ellis are excellent narrators over dual POVs. I was very fond of them both - axe-wielding gravedigger Aderyn and tender-hearted mapmaker Ellis (who has chronic pain which was very thoughtfully done) - and they complimented each other well. Their relationship was built steadily and tenderly over the course of the novel, and the novel itself I completed over the course of a few hours in one sitting. The narrative is rather straightforward, but in this case it serves the book well - allowing the emotional beats to flourish and contributing back that nostalgic feeling of old British literature.
Truly, I just find myself very fond of this book. The longer I linger on it, the more it feels like a little pocket of home - but I grew up in the rolling green vales of Wales and was raised on this folklore, so I'm a little biased.
“epic horror-fantasy” okay this is my favourite genre crossed with my least favourite genre because I’m an actual pansy? And BASED ON FAUSTUS AIIIYEEE
“epic horror-fantasy” okay this is my favourite genre crossed with my least favourite genre because I’m an actual pansy? And this actually sounds terrifying?
also I’m not fond of the cover - the publisher could’ve done so much better and we all know this, there was floods of potential...more
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