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Reckoning of Dragons #2
Roll the Bones
The epic fantasy trilogy continues. In a world fearfully waiting for the return of the dormant dragon god, a triumvirate of evil villains rises up to take advantage of the chaos. Reluctantly pitted against them is Kal Moonheart, an adventurer and gambler, marked for a life of danger at a young age. But Kal has friends to stand with her—honest thief Will Straightarrow, smuggler and pirate Lula Pearl, knight-errant Rafe Firehand, and wiley policitian Benedict Godsword. There will be blood. There will be a reckoning …
In ROLL THE BONES, the fate of a city rests in Kal's hands. An immortal killer stalks the streets of Amaranthium, leaving a trail of mutilated corpses in its wake. A week before the summer elections, Kal is called before a clandestine gathering of the city's elite, and charged with ending the murders before a terrible secret can come to light—one that threatens to shake the Republic by its very foundations. As Kal hunts the killer, her courage, loyalties and heart are put to the test, and she must decide if she can trust even her closest friends.
In ROLL THE BONES, the fate of a city rests in Kal's hands. An immortal killer stalks the streets of Amaranthium, leaving a trail of mutilated corpses in its wake. A week before the summer elections, Kal is called before a clandestine gathering of the city's elite, and charged with ending the murders before a terrible secret can come to light—one that threatens to shake the Republic by its very foundations. As Kal hunts the killer, her courage, loyalties and heart are put to the test, and she must decide if she can trust even her closest friends.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Rob May
10 books21 followersRob May studied English at Lancaster University and is the author of Reckoning of Dragons, a trilogy of fantasy thrillers featuring Kal Moonheart, adventurer, gambler and thief.
Rob lives in Warwickshire, England.
Rob lives in Warwickshire, England.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 24, 2014
Kal Moonheart finds herself in the center of a murder mystery and will stop at nothing to protect her friends.
I have to say that I just plain love Kal. She's got tons of moxy, is tough without being macho, and has street smarts for days without becoming an infallible fantasy stereotype. I've enjoyed both of her adventures so far. This story is action packed and managed to present a mystery that I couldn't solve (which is truly a rare thing!).
May's fantasy world is well established with a rich history of dragons and war. Tons of thought has gone into this world, and I appreciate all of it. As much as I love Kal, I wouldn't mind strolling through some other time periods and meeting new characters. It's an intriguing place, and one that I enjoy visiting.
Speaking of characters, Roll the Bones presents some fun new ones. At the top of the list is Nim, who acts as a sort of Q from James Bond. She's eccentric and awesome, and invents some incredible new gadgets for Kal. She's a perfect sidekick and a great person to have around in a tight spot. Also new to the series is Will, who I found highly entertaining at times. He reminded me a lot of Robin Hood as played by Cary Elwes in Men in Tights. He added humor early on and gained my seal of approval by the end.
Events taking place between books one and two are nicely woven in as the murder mystery unfolds. It is not necessary to read book one in order to enjoy book two. This is a full story on its own, and the characters are painted so well that any reader can easily figure out what they're about without having to read the earlier installment.
With not only dragons, but murderous crabs and clever legal tactics, this book is sure to have wide appeal. Anyone who enjoys a good story and likes to have a fun time reading will enjoy this. It's definitely one I hated to put down, but oh those pesky interruptions (like eating and sleeping)!
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say that I just plain love Kal. She's got tons of moxy, is tough without being macho, and has street smarts for days without becoming an infallible fantasy stereotype. I've enjoyed both of her adventures so far. This story is action packed and managed to present a mystery that I couldn't solve (which is truly a rare thing!).
May's fantasy world is well established with a rich history of dragons and war. Tons of thought has gone into this world, and I appreciate all of it. As much as I love Kal, I wouldn't mind strolling through some other time periods and meeting new characters. It's an intriguing place, and one that I enjoy visiting.
Speaking of characters, Roll the Bones presents some fun new ones. At the top of the list is Nim, who acts as a sort of Q from James Bond. She's eccentric and awesome, and invents some incredible new gadgets for Kal. She's a perfect sidekick and a great person to have around in a tight spot. Also new to the series is Will, who I found highly entertaining at times. He reminded me a lot of Robin Hood as played by Cary Elwes in Men in Tights. He added humor early on and gained my seal of approval by the end.
Events taking place between books one and two are nicely woven in as the murder mystery unfolds. It is not necessary to read book one in order to enjoy book two. This is a full story on its own, and the characters are painted so well that any reader can easily figure out what they're about without having to read the earlier installment.
With not only dragons, but murderous crabs and clever legal tactics, this book is sure to have wide appeal. Anyone who enjoys a good story and likes to have a fun time reading will enjoy this. It's definitely one I hated to put down, but oh those pesky interruptions (like eating and sleeping)!
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 6, 2014
Roll the Bones, the second book in the Kal Moonheart series, begins right where Dragon Killer leaves off, with action and adventure and Kal dropping right into the fighter woman character that she is. The opening scene involves Kal caught up in the robbery of the local gambling house by the King of Thieves. In order to pin down the thief and find out his identity Kal gets caught up in further trouble, involving murder and an ancient ghost of ancestors past.
The Kal Moonheart series focuses much on the main character Kal Moonheart and her adventures in the fantasy world Amaranthium (and beyond). Rob May does the unpredictable and accomplishes a difficult feat in literature by not forcing the gender-neutrality, as if the world just naturally exists as it does without walls and glass ceilings and labeling people into corners. His main characters and, in fact, all females in his books overcome the fighting female trope. Kal is the what-would-happen-if-a-girl-played-this-role character that one normally sees a guy play. She isn’t just a female in a male’s role. She IS the characteristics of a macho, strong, take none of your crap character that doesn’t flaunt gender stereotypes as the norm. Rob May creates a new norm in Kal that every reader, male and female, will enjoy reading. Kal is a role model for girls in that she doesn’t have to overcome the prejudices of being female or a woman, she just is herself. I love her for this and you will too (or you might not even notice and just enjoy her story and how she kicks butt).
She is more than just a role model for girls, she is a role model for any reader because she is confident and collected. She doesn’t get carried away by emotions or let herself get weakened by pain or failure. On the other hand, she isn’t too fictional because she doesn’t always win. She isn’t invincible, just impervious to pain. She can get hurt. She can get caught. It is the way she evades death and despair and the way she gets out of the more rough situations that makes her a true hero.
If Kal wasn’t enough woman for you, one of the more aggressive characters is also female, which is unusual for most novels. Those in power and those who are more war-oriented are generally male, but Rob May breaks these stereotypes by giving us General Cassava, another strong woman and character.
Roll the Bones continues the intermingling of one of Kal’s past adventures with her exciting present predicament so the reader once again gets two stories in one. Rob May also continues to interweave the characters from book one into book two, giving us more background information on Kal’s benefactor Ben.
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the adventures and strength of Tarzan, the fun cockiness of Crocodile Dundee, or a novel with a young kick-butt female hero.
The Kal Moonheart series focuses much on the main character Kal Moonheart and her adventures in the fantasy world Amaranthium (and beyond). Rob May does the unpredictable and accomplishes a difficult feat in literature by not forcing the gender-neutrality, as if the world just naturally exists as it does without walls and glass ceilings and labeling people into corners. His main characters and, in fact, all females in his books overcome the fighting female trope. Kal is the what-would-happen-if-a-girl-played-this-role character that one normally sees a guy play. She isn’t just a female in a male’s role. She IS the characteristics of a macho, strong, take none of your crap character that doesn’t flaunt gender stereotypes as the norm. Rob May creates a new norm in Kal that every reader, male and female, will enjoy reading. Kal is a role model for girls in that she doesn’t have to overcome the prejudices of being female or a woman, she just is herself. I love her for this and you will too (or you might not even notice and just enjoy her story and how she kicks butt).
She is more than just a role model for girls, she is a role model for any reader because she is confident and collected. She doesn’t get carried away by emotions or let herself get weakened by pain or failure. On the other hand, she isn’t too fictional because she doesn’t always win. She isn’t invincible, just impervious to pain. She can get hurt. She can get caught. It is the way she evades death and despair and the way she gets out of the more rough situations that makes her a true hero.
If Kal wasn’t enough woman for you, one of the more aggressive characters is also female, which is unusual for most novels. Those in power and those who are more war-oriented are generally male, but Rob May breaks these stereotypes by giving us General Cassava, another strong woman and character.
Roll the Bones continues the intermingling of one of Kal’s past adventures with her exciting present predicament so the reader once again gets two stories in one. Rob May also continues to interweave the characters from book one into book two, giving us more background information on Kal’s benefactor Ben.
I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the adventures and strength of Tarzan, the fun cockiness of Crocodile Dundee, or a novel with a young kick-butt female hero.
July 24, 2014
Rob continues to stretch his writer’s muscles with this next installment in the series. While the prior book was fantasy-thriller, this was fantasy-action adventure. We’re also treated to a compelling courtroom drama, a who-done-it mystery, one heist-genre theft after another, and some swashbuckling picaresque characters that recall a good Robert Luis Stevenson novel. It should seem like a genre-bender, but strangely all this mayhem seems to fit solidly within the fantasy genre. I doubt a less accomplished writer could have pulled off the synthesis with the same aplomb.
Kal holds on to a youthful spirit and a simple, straight forward nature, befitting her age, and contrasts well against this world rife with complex but ultimately unpalatable characters whose fecund natures make them ripe enough to explode from the gaseous buildup of all their internal rot. A heroine with a honest, says-what-she-means nature gives us an anchor to hold onto, what’s more, so we’re not entirely adrift amidst all the political intrigue and corruption; there’s enough of it that it’s hard not to feel, well, like we’re living in the present day. The author even managed to pull off a one liner to the effect of “it may be a snake pit, but at least these are democratic vipers!” I haven’t stopped laughing yet. Hopefully the fantasy context of the story will thus help the reader process some of his or her distaste for gridlocked government in the here and now.
My only real sticking points with this installment were, firstly, that it took me a while to adjust into the more leisurely pace coming off of the thriller pacing of the prior novel. It actually seemed slow by comparison, at least at times, until I reminded myself, there really is a lot going on here, there’s just a different tone to the writing, and the nature of the tension is different. Secondly, some social issues are raised but never fully examined. For instance, gnomes are being used as servants in the city; this time and place’s idea of racism and discrimination. But there’s never any back story to contextualize this. There are a lot of causes for social unrest in the city of Amaranthium beyond this one. But again, they’re treated more as background noise than fully developed themes that tie into and drive the plot. A thicker, more robust-sized novel might have given the author the page count to justify building out these secondary story threads better. But it’s hard to fault a guy for trying to make a living in ebook land where it’s desperately difficult to get someone to pay more than 2.99 for an ebook, and thus harder to justify the extra page count, at least until attitudes change. And, well, in the final analysis, none of it seems to get in the way of the fun.
Kal holds on to a youthful spirit and a simple, straight forward nature, befitting her age, and contrasts well against this world rife with complex but ultimately unpalatable characters whose fecund natures make them ripe enough to explode from the gaseous buildup of all their internal rot. A heroine with a honest, says-what-she-means nature gives us an anchor to hold onto, what’s more, so we’re not entirely adrift amidst all the political intrigue and corruption; there’s enough of it that it’s hard not to feel, well, like we’re living in the present day. The author even managed to pull off a one liner to the effect of “it may be a snake pit, but at least these are democratic vipers!” I haven’t stopped laughing yet. Hopefully the fantasy context of the story will thus help the reader process some of his or her distaste for gridlocked government in the here and now.
My only real sticking points with this installment were, firstly, that it took me a while to adjust into the more leisurely pace coming off of the thriller pacing of the prior novel. It actually seemed slow by comparison, at least at times, until I reminded myself, there really is a lot going on here, there’s just a different tone to the writing, and the nature of the tension is different. Secondly, some social issues are raised but never fully examined. For instance, gnomes are being used as servants in the city; this time and place’s idea of racism and discrimination. But there’s never any back story to contextualize this. There are a lot of causes for social unrest in the city of Amaranthium beyond this one. But again, they’re treated more as background noise than fully developed themes that tie into and drive the plot. A thicker, more robust-sized novel might have given the author the page count to justify building out these secondary story threads better. But it’s hard to fault a guy for trying to make a living in ebook land where it’s desperately difficult to get someone to pay more than 2.99 for an ebook, and thus harder to justify the extra page count, at least until attitudes change. And, well, in the final analysis, none of it seems to get in the way of the fun.
May 27, 2014
Protagonist and Dragon Killer Extraordinaire, Kalina Moonheart, returns in Rob May’s novel, Roll the Bones. And along with Kalina, Rob May’s excellent pacing and prose style.
In this book Rob does an extraordinary job of mixing fantasy and adventure, along with mystery. I am not going to lie that when I read this book I thought of Dan Brown, but without the bogged down descriptions. The reason I make this comparison is that Rob keeps his chapters short, allowing us as readers to breeze through the novel all in one sitting—a style very much similar to Dan Brown. Also, the mystery and suspense in it remind me of Brown’s style as well, as well as the ending actually, but since it is not overused and recycled continually it had a strangely organic feel to it.
The greatest improvement that I noticed in this book, compared to the first book in the series, is Rob’s ability to interweave multiple story plots throughout the novel. There is Story A going on with the election, then Story B going on with trying to find a murderer who is killing off consuls in the elections, and finally we have Story C which involves a love interest to Kalina Moonheart, Will Straightarrow and his actions throughout the novel. Now, although this may sound complex, Rob does an excellent job at tackling each story line and interweaving all three of them together into one dynamic resolution.
What jarred me as a reader, though, is when, all the sudden, we get taken back in time (that’s not clearly defined) and Kalina is remembering something that happened with her friend Ben. We go from 3rd-person limited to all of the sudden, 1st person and I didn’t know exactly why the flashbacks always occurred. Usually something triggers a flashback, but sometimes I felt as though these came on arbitrarily. On top of that, some of the scenarios were a little over the top in my opinion. For example, there is a point late in the novel, where Kal is nearly killed by a dragon and the whole place is about to explode and she and her love interest Will are taken to a tower by someone who leaves, Will leaves and both of those individuals make it out okay, but Kal has to parachute her way from the tower. I guess, why couldn’t Kal just leave easily with the rest of them? Why did this person know a parachute was going to be needed? Maybe I missed something, but it was an over-the-top instance that I think could have been planned better.
Now, did these things detract from characterization of Kalina Moonheart, or Rob May’s prose and deftness at crafting a story? Absolutely not. Rob still shows that he has a deft hand in writing and a clear voice in telling, when he crafted this novel.
In this book Rob does an extraordinary job of mixing fantasy and adventure, along with mystery. I am not going to lie that when I read this book I thought of Dan Brown, but without the bogged down descriptions. The reason I make this comparison is that Rob keeps his chapters short, allowing us as readers to breeze through the novel all in one sitting—a style very much similar to Dan Brown. Also, the mystery and suspense in it remind me of Brown’s style as well, as well as the ending actually, but since it is not overused and recycled continually it had a strangely organic feel to it.
The greatest improvement that I noticed in this book, compared to the first book in the series, is Rob’s ability to interweave multiple story plots throughout the novel. There is Story A going on with the election, then Story B going on with trying to find a murderer who is killing off consuls in the elections, and finally we have Story C which involves a love interest to Kalina Moonheart, Will Straightarrow and his actions throughout the novel. Now, although this may sound complex, Rob does an excellent job at tackling each story line and interweaving all three of them together into one dynamic resolution.
What jarred me as a reader, though, is when, all the sudden, we get taken back in time (that’s not clearly defined) and Kalina is remembering something that happened with her friend Ben. We go from 3rd-person limited to all of the sudden, 1st person and I didn’t know exactly why the flashbacks always occurred. Usually something triggers a flashback, but sometimes I felt as though these came on arbitrarily. On top of that, some of the scenarios were a little over the top in my opinion. For example, there is a point late in the novel, where Kal is nearly killed by a dragon and the whole place is about to explode and she and her love interest Will are taken to a tower by someone who leaves, Will leaves and both of those individuals make it out okay, but Kal has to parachute her way from the tower. I guess, why couldn’t Kal just leave easily with the rest of them? Why did this person know a parachute was going to be needed? Maybe I missed something, but it was an over-the-top instance that I think could have been planned better.
Now, did these things detract from characterization of Kalina Moonheart, or Rob May’s prose and deftness at crafting a story? Absolutely not. Rob still shows that he has a deft hand in writing and a clear voice in telling, when he crafted this novel.
August 19, 2014
This is a good continuation of the series. With some new interesting characters and we also get to read more about our main characters history. Romance was a theme once again and I liked Will character and the twist at the end shocked me and I hope that our Dragon Killer has more luck in the next book.
October 17, 2016
This continuation of the Dragon Killer story line didn't have the same exciting start as book one, but as the story progressed I was caught up in this slowly-built plot and was soon enjoying the ride… in fact, despite the slow build up, I think I enjoyed this one better. Great plot, lots of villains, surprising twists, and lots plenty of action. A fun read.
February 1, 2016
A better mystery than the previous book in the series.
September 9, 2025
so many twists and turns! a great read!
November 4, 2018
Kal is caught up in a robbery at her favoured gambling establishment, then attends a high-class event at her friend Ben's house where one partygoer is murdered right in the middle of the crowd. Tasked to find the murderer, Kal has to juggle this responsibility with discovery who turned over the King of Thieves. Luckily, she has help from new friends Will, a swashbuckler with leanings towards Robin Hood, Lula, smuggler and all-round best mate, and Nim, who appears to be this world's version of Q from the Bond movies.
This was probably my favourite of the three books in the trilogy. Where the first book was very much a quest-action fantasy, this one is much more of a murder mystery with a goodly dose of political infighting and intrigue. That made the plot feel much deeper this time around, and it didn't suffer with the abrupt ending of the first volume.
I'm still not entirely sure I actually like Kal. Yes, she's kick-ass and self-sufficient, and she moves through the world with confidence and assurance, but there are moments when her chosen course of action doesn't make an enormous amount of sense to me. I'm also still not sure quite where the target audience is for this book. I think it's hovering somewhere between mature YA and actual adult readers, as there are some very gory bits, but it seems to veer a bit between the two, leaving some sections feeling a bit fluffier than others. There were a fair few flashbacks as well, which gave a lot more detail about Kal, especially her relationship with Ben, though sometimes these were dropped in a what seemed to me to be odd moments in the story.
But, all that said, this was still a lot of fun, with plenty of suprises to keep you guessing as to the identities of the thief and the killer(s), until they are ultimately revealed. The world building gets into finer detail this time, and flesh out a good setting for the story without being obtrusive. I enjoyed it.
This was probably my favourite of the three books in the trilogy. Where the first book was very much a quest-action fantasy, this one is much more of a murder mystery with a goodly dose of political infighting and intrigue. That made the plot feel much deeper this time around, and it didn't suffer with the abrupt ending of the first volume.
I'm still not entirely sure I actually like Kal. Yes, she's kick-ass and self-sufficient, and she moves through the world with confidence and assurance, but there are moments when her chosen course of action doesn't make an enormous amount of sense to me. I'm also still not sure quite where the target audience is for this book. I think it's hovering somewhere between mature YA and actual adult readers, as there are some very gory bits, but it seems to veer a bit between the two, leaving some sections feeling a bit fluffier than others. There were a fair few flashbacks as well, which gave a lot more detail about Kal, especially her relationship with Ben, though sometimes these were dropped in a what seemed to me to be odd moments in the story.
But, all that said, this was still a lot of fun, with plenty of suprises to keep you guessing as to the identities of the thief and the killer(s), until they are ultimately revealed. The world building gets into finer detail this time, and flesh out a good setting for the story without being obtrusive. I enjoyed it.
March 31, 2017
Have the trilogy box set..
Want to read
August 10, 2017Very disappointing. I wanted to like this series, but I barely made it through the first in the trilogy, and DNF this one. The characters are flat, the world building is almost non-existent, the writing style is unremarkable, and most notably, the story is DULL. I stopped reading when I started fantasizing about being done so I could start a different book. Only complimentary thing I can say is that the copy was void of grammar/spelling/editing errors, as far as I saw.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews