Priest of Bones was my first experience dipping my toes into what most people refer to as Grimdark or Dark Fantasy. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was almost flinching before I started reading because I was expecting something truly horrific. That’s not what I found, even the portions that were tough to read had a purpose, the difficult events serve the story and characters.
The book starts off with our main character, Thomas Piety and his group of soldiers, returning home after a difficult war campaign. What they find returning home is that the life they had prior to going to war isn’t what that remember, the world has moved on while they were away.
Being a fan of gangster movies like ‘Goodfellas‘ and ‘The Godfather‘, I quickly felt comfortable with the story. If you’ve seen ‘Peaky Blinders‘ you’ll feel right at home here, at times there are a little too many similarities. There is political maneuvering, trying to outsmart your enemies and not showing weakness. Or maybe showing weakness to lure them into a trap or deception. The characters are mostly scumbags, murderers and thugs. As the story goes along you’ll begin to get attached to them, much like we do in stories like ‘Breaking Bad‘ or ‘The Sopranos‘. The more you discover about the characters and learn what they’ve experienced, you hope they are able to defeat their equally or more revolting enemies. I’m not sure if I want to have a drink with them or walk on the other side of the street, they float in the middle of right and wrong. Are they a product of their world, doing what they have must to survive, or are they just bad people?
The world and people are well defined. You aren’t inundated with information, you know enough to get through the story and understand motivations and main players. I really dislike when a fantasy novel dumps the world on you in the first few pages, but it evolves naturally here. The pacing is spot on, the chapters are mostly on the shorter side.
I would have liked more information about the war they are returning from, it could have added to the story but it’s a small complaint.
This book left me contemplating issues I didn’t expect, such as PTSD and how it can change you and mold you into something you’d never expect. What used to be appalling suddenly becomes the norm. When they went off to war, they left their homes and families behind and those lives moved on while they were gone to the point that they are strangers in a place they called home. For those of you looking to try something in the Dark Fantasy genre, this is a great place to start. It’s very easy to read and has more of a gritty feeling to it, focusing more on characters than magic systems and huge worlds.
