BoneKeeper: Part one: The Lady of the Bones

by Magnus Attfield, Shawn Vickers, Tenel Horozoglu (Illustrator)

659 pages, Paperback

Published August 21, 2026

Reviews

[Underthewillowtree]

Bonekeeper was such an unusual and immersive read, with wonderful world-building and a fantasy setting that felt genuinely fresh.
Bonekeeper herself is terrifying, and yet somehow incredibly likeable. She’s certainly not your typical fantasy protagonist, which was one of the things I enjoyed most about her. She has done some terrible things, but this is the life she knows. Her loyalty to her master is absolute, even though he is completely undeserving of it, and I found myself understanding her more and more as the story progressed.
I really liked the way the story unfolds between the present and Bonekeeper’s memories of her past. It gradually gives you a better understanding of who she is, how she became this person and why her loyalties run so deep.
The prose was easy to settle into, and for the most part I found the story fast-paced and compelling. There were a few dips where the pace slowed for me, and I do think the book could have been slightly shorter without losing anything from the story.
But overall, I definitely enjoyed this. It’s strange, dark and different, with an unusual fantasy world and a genuinely unique protagonist. It was refreshing to read something that didn't feel like a story I'd already encountered in another form.
A really interesting debut and absolutely worth 4 stars.

[Calum Lewis]

Took a chance on this after seeing it pop up in a few places in the fantasy corner of Insta and the like and I actually really ended up loving this book despite my reservations about the genre and fantasy space as a whole nowadays. It merits worthy of a real novel that stands apart from the ‘genre’ and sits on its own above a lot of the usual sword and shield hero type crap. Its a dark fantasy that I really got into and it takes chances and offers something different –themes of abuse and power / dominance but a lot more existentially (you’ll get it if you read it) Towards the end there’s a scene that takes a really big risk but for me it pays off. Some might find the book a lbit long, but every time I came back to it, I found myself reading more. I don’t usually leave reviews but defo recommend this as I can see this becoming a cult hit if and when it manages to find its audience and im looking forward to the next instalment if there is one. I just hope the writer sees this and gives me more because im addicted to this world now!

[Sare G]

Absolutely loved this! The main character is completely unlike any fantasy protagonist I’ve come across before, and I loved how interesting, unusual and utterly cool she was.
The themes around power, control and abusive relationships give the story a great psychological side, and I found myself thinking about some of the ideas long after reading them.
The world is dark, strange and really immersive, and I liked that the story doesn’t just give you a straightforward good vs evil situation. There are some uncomfortable and deliciously dark moments, but they make you think rather than just being there for shock value.
A really fantastic debut and a refreshing change from more predictable fantasy. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next!