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Kingdom of Ghosts #3
The Bones of the World: An Epic Fantasy Series
Two kings. One throne. Three ghosts. Merrik Niles has his hands full.
Wallowing in grief and self-pity, Merrik Niles finds himself at the bottom of a bottle of brandy, straining the patience of anyone who might care about him. Shamed into shaping up, Merrik decides his bystanding days are over. He’s going to rejoin the war effort against the cruel hunchback currently vying for the throne of Greymond.
That’s easier said than done.
Along the way, Merrik must rescue himself and his companions from shipwreck, form an alliance with a sorceress who previously tried to murder him, infiltrate a city under siege, and concoct an unlikely plan to bring the war to a quick conclusion … all while trying to keep himself and his friends alive. The enemy will stop at nothing to kill him … if his friends don’t do the job first.
There is one problem. Even if Merrik and his friends should prove victorious, there is a bigger threat looming, one that threatens existence itself. The key lies with the ghosts inside him, but which ghost wants to help him save the world? And which wants to betray him?
Sorcery battles, dueling swords, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. The Bones of the World is the exciting conclusion to Victor Gischler’s Kingdom of Ghosts trilogy.
Wallowing in grief and self-pity, Merrik Niles finds himself at the bottom of a bottle of brandy, straining the patience of anyone who might care about him. Shamed into shaping up, Merrik decides his bystanding days are over. He’s going to rejoin the war effort against the cruel hunchback currently vying for the throne of Greymond.
That’s easier said than done.
Along the way, Merrik must rescue himself and his companions from shipwreck, form an alliance with a sorceress who previously tried to murder him, infiltrate a city under siege, and concoct an unlikely plan to bring the war to a quick conclusion … all while trying to keep himself and his friends alive. The enemy will stop at nothing to kill him … if his friends don’t do the job first.
There is one problem. Even if Merrik and his friends should prove victorious, there is a bigger threat looming, one that threatens existence itself. The key lies with the ghosts inside him, but which ghost wants to help him save the world? And which wants to betray him?
Sorcery battles, dueling swords, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. The Bones of the World is the exciting conclusion to Victor Gischler’s Kingdom of Ghosts trilogy.
614 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2023
21 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Victor Gischler
369 books413 followersVictor Gischler is an American author of humorous crime fiction.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 23, 2024
After dealing with months of grief and depression, Merrik Niles has finally decided to rejoin the war efforts. Unfortunately for him, his name and acclaim as Hero of Whiteout Pass still carries a lot of weight and his enemies have no interest in Merrik coming to the aid of King Lee. King Lee and King Rodwik are still locked into a war to determine who will rule Greymond. The threat of the Union of Territories still looms over all the inhabitants of Greymond.
The Bones of the World was a fine story that was still riddled with the same problems the prior books had, namely typos and lackluster storytelling at times. The story's strengths also shown through as Merrik continued to grow as a person and the magical story of Ghosts inhabiting him came to its conclusion. The notion of Ghosts and the way Wizards had to continually learned magical spells were the highlights of the story for me.
In the end of the story I have to say I feel bad for Lee. Effingham and the others largely ruined the young man's life to try to defend Greymond and the church. Making him out to be King and then putting the pressure of uniting the Scattered Kingdoms, being the shining example to the people, and defeating the Union of Territories was cruel in retrospect. He deserved better and I feel for him. Once he got swept up in Effingham and the churches machinations, there was no more room for Lee to grow up. He was expected to rule and he perfect.
The Union of Territories was a let down. They were the boogyman to be feared, but that was largely the extent of their contribution to the story. At one point I assumed that the Union was crumbling only for them to be fully prepared to invade with enormous numbers of troops. They were largely an afterthought in the conflict between Lee and Rodwik.
The Bones of the World was a solid story and I'm glad I finished the series. I do believe many aspects of the story could've been better, but there were undoubtedly some things to enjoy.
The Bones of the World was a fine story that was still riddled with the same problems the prior books had, namely typos and lackluster storytelling at times. The story's strengths also shown through as Merrik continued to grow as a person and the magical story of Ghosts inhabiting him came to its conclusion. The notion of Ghosts and the way Wizards had to continually learned magical spells were the highlights of the story for me.
In the end of the story I have to say I feel bad for Lee. Effingham and the others largely ruined the young man's life to try to defend Greymond and the church. Making him out to be King and then putting the pressure of uniting the Scattered Kingdoms, being the shining example to the people, and defeating the Union of Territories was cruel in retrospect. He deserved better and I feel for him. Once he got swept up in Effingham and the churches machinations, there was no more room for Lee to grow up. He was expected to rule and he perfect.
The Union of Territories was a let down. They were the boogyman to be feared, but that was largely the extent of their contribution to the story. At one point I assumed that the Union was crumbling only for them to be fully prepared to invade with enormous numbers of troops. They were largely an afterthought in the conflict between Lee and Rodwik.
The Bones of the World was a solid story and I'm glad I finished the series. I do believe many aspects of the story could've been better, but there were undoubtedly some things to enjoy.
December 8, 2024
I'm actually surprised to see that this book has the highest rating of the trilogy. To me, it was the weakest story and it dragged at times.
Still, I overall enjoyed it. I'm very glad to have stumbled upon this series somehow; I don't remember how it got on my radar. I'd recommend it for fans of fantasy, reluctant heroes, and minimal romance.
Still, I overall enjoyed it. I'm very glad to have stumbled upon this series somehow; I don't remember how it got on my radar. I'd recommend it for fans of fantasy, reluctant heroes, and minimal romance.
June 14, 2025
Huge fan of Gischler and I was super surprised at how grand and epic this series turned out. Fast paced, fun to read fantasy series, and no waiting for decades for the next book. Just don't get too attached to any likeable characters, because they will die. A+++, will read again.
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December 11, 2023Must read
Thank you Victor for another spellbound trilogy. Your work is wonderful and a joy to read. Hope for more of Merrlik adventures.
Thank you Victor for another spellbound trilogy. Your work is wonderful and a joy to read. Hope for more of Merrlik adventures.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews