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The Books of Blood and Iron #3
Bone War
The author of Blood Storm and Iron Axe returns with the third Book of Blood and Iron—where Danr the half-troll must stop two vengeful queens from razing the world to the ground...
From their sacred Garden, the three fates control all life and maintain balance in the world. But one of the fates has been captured by the evil elf queen, placing the future of every being, including Death herself, in jeopardy. And only one hero can defeat the elf queen: Danr the half-troll.
In order to rescue the missing fate, Danr must first acquire the fabled Bone Sword. Normally Danr would expect his companions to help. However, they are currently in pursuit of a mysterious creature who seems both oddly familiar yet dangerously unknown. But one thing is certain for all of the adventurers: failure is not an option.
From their sacred Garden, the three fates control all life and maintain balance in the world. But one of the fates has been captured by the evil elf queen, placing the future of every being, including Death herself, in jeopardy. And only one hero can defeat the elf queen: Danr the half-troll.
In order to rescue the missing fate, Danr must first acquire the fabled Bone Sword. Normally Danr would expect his companions to help. However, they are currently in pursuit of a mysterious creature who seems both oddly familiar yet dangerously unknown. But one thing is certain for all of the adventurers: failure is not an option.
- GenresFantasy
366 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 2, 2016
7 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Steven Harper
53 books120 followersA pseudonym of Steven Piziks
Steven Harper Piziks was born with a name that no one can reliably spell or pronounce, so he often writes under the pen name Steven Harper. He lives in Michigan with his family. When not at the keyboard, he plays the folk harp, fiddles with video games, and pretends he doesn’t talk to the household cats. In the past, he’s held jobs as a reporter, theater producer, secretary, and substitute teacher. He maintains that the most interesting thing about him is that he writes books.
Steven is the creator of The Silent Empire series, the Clockwork Empire steampunk series, and the Books of Blood and Iron series for Roc Books. All four Silent Empire novels were finalists for the Spectrum Award, a first!
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 8, 2017
It is from the Fates that Danr and his friends have learned that every action, every decision, every act, no matter how small, will cause ripples throughout the world and twist the future down a different path. Now the future of that world is in jeopardy once again when one of the three Fates is kidnapped by the wicked Elf Queen.
The two Fates that are left enlist Danr to find the missing Fate. But first he must find a legendary sword known as the Bone Sword. The Fates will also need Aisa’s help during this dark time. Danr and Aisa will be separated from their companions but in the end all characters will converge as this trilogy comes to an end.
This final book in the trilogy wraps things up on a more serious note and brings into question Danr and Aisa’s continuing relationship as the Fates cause them to examine life and the future. All of the loose ends are nicely tied up, giving us a final showdown between Death and Queen Vesha, and most of all, letting us know what on earth will happen with Aisa. Girl has so many options!
The Books of Blood and Iron is a series that follows in the footsteps of other great fantasy works, with all of the expected characters, but Steven Harper has given us a fresh perspective on these characters. I have to say I liked them a lot! Well most of them (I really wanted to smack the Elf Queen). The Norse-based mythology is very well done. I also really liked the way the author addresses the growing pains of a new love and how two people will handle the obstacles put in their path. This is an enjoyable series full of adventure and well worth the read.
I want to thank the publisher (Berkley Publishing Group) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
The two Fates that are left enlist Danr to find the missing Fate. But first he must find a legendary sword known as the Bone Sword. The Fates will also need Aisa’s help during this dark time. Danr and Aisa will be separated from their companions but in the end all characters will converge as this trilogy comes to an end.
This final book in the trilogy wraps things up on a more serious note and brings into question Danr and Aisa’s continuing relationship as the Fates cause them to examine life and the future. All of the loose ends are nicely tied up, giving us a final showdown between Death and Queen Vesha, and most of all, letting us know what on earth will happen with Aisa. Girl has so many options!
The Books of Blood and Iron is a series that follows in the footsteps of other great fantasy works, with all of the expected characters, but Steven Harper has given us a fresh perspective on these characters. I have to say I liked them a lot! Well most of them (I really wanted to smack the Elf Queen). The Norse-based mythology is very well done. I also really liked the way the author addresses the growing pains of a new love and how two people will handle the obstacles put in their path. This is an enjoyable series full of adventure and well worth the read.
I want to thank the publisher (Berkley Publishing Group) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
October 6, 2023
This was a great improvement over book 2 in this series. Again, the stakes are existential, but this time that seems less arbitrary. All the elements of the story here were very good indeed; this returns to the quality of the first book in the series.
Recommended.
Recommended.
November 4, 2016
Better than either of its predecessors, mostly because there's a proper villain with some proper power who isn't immediately dispatched like the first one, and actually does give the heroes a run for their money. There are some cool fireworks as well, such as Grandfather Wyrm's entrance into the final battle, along with Death and Vesha's duel at the same. These books are surprisingly low on violence for a series called "The Books of Blood and Iron".
Metaphysical and cosmic weirdness is the order of the day here as we tread a familiar road in fantasy - the struggle to preserve all of existence from an abrupt for-all-the-marbles end. But...rather than winning simply by killing someone/something bad, the real struggle is to overcome Natural Law and replace it with something "better".
On that note, I can't tell if any of the Nine Gods are real except Grick, and that's only because we saw her in the first book. Which brings me to a weird reflection - the male characters in these works and setting are pretty useless next to the women. All the power resides with the ladies, with the lone exception of Danr and his truth-seeing (and shape magic, but that is so far behind Aisa's as to be irrelevant.) There aren't even any male deities that appear. I counted three Fates, Death, and the supposed Queen Mother of the Nine in this trilogy. Not a single god, just goddesses, presiding over a world full of powerful ladies and men who get swept along in their wake (mostly).
But I've consumed buckets of escapist entertainment in my time, and lots of it didn't have a single female character worth a hoot. I concede that it doesn't feel very nice to have your own gender represented as such an afterthought. Will simply turning that stereotype on its head fix everything, though? I wonder. Is that a fantasy author's job? Maybe, but not entirely. There's entertaining, craftsmanship of language, character creation/development, world-building, and commenting on literally everything else in existence, to a point. So gender equality isn't the whole of an author's responsibility. Still, it feels weird, and I hope that if I ever get published, I do a better job creating characters of both sexes who actually DO things.
The usual stylistic oddities are present from the previous two books - the occasional clunker of a line, deities who speak gnomically but occasionally sound like annoyed Michiganians in times of stress, the weird bursts of obscene/profane dialogue, though in this volume it evens out a bit more. The feelings of absent gravity is less pronounced here, because of the end-of-the-world subject matter, but it still skulks in the background. The overly-enthusiastic storyteller in the prologue who serves as a framing device - that whole sequence sort of falls flat. Maybe the sense of humor isn't the same as mine.
Characters continue to grow, and Harper does a good job of keeping them current with the things that have happened to them and letting it inform their actions (this is rarer than it sounds). However, this is only really true of the main characters. The nameless extras and minor characters tend to be reliably unpleasant, ignorant, and bigoted, which is basically the cardinal sin in Harper's world of Erda. Keep an eye out for the Obsidias, some major villains from the previous book who have a short return here. It's pretty well done.
On the whole, this series has some bright spots in terms of characters (even if the men are bronze medallists at best), and a somewhat distinctive setting, and an adventuresome plot that doesn't revolve around violence. This third volume, especially, begins to ponder some heavier ideas, such as the necessity of certain violence balanced against its unsatisfying nature, or the nature of clones (are they truly real and alive?) and love (could you love a clone of your soulmate, even if the clone had your love's memories?). But its style and tone can be off-putting to certain tastes.
This trilogy was interesting, but I won't be hanging on to it.
Metaphysical and cosmic weirdness is the order of the day here as we tread a familiar road in fantasy - the struggle to preserve all of existence from an abrupt for-all-the-marbles end. But...rather than winning simply by killing someone/something bad, the real struggle is to overcome Natural Law and replace it with something "better".
On that note, I can't tell if any of the Nine Gods are real except Grick, and that's only because we saw her in the first book. Which brings me to a weird reflection - the male characters in these works and setting are pretty useless next to the women. All the power resides with the ladies, with the lone exception of Danr and his truth-seeing (and shape magic, but that is so far behind Aisa's as to be irrelevant.) There aren't even any male deities that appear. I counted three Fates, Death, and the supposed Queen Mother of the Nine in this trilogy. Not a single god, just goddesses, presiding over a world full of powerful ladies and men who get swept along in their wake (mostly).
But I've consumed buckets of escapist entertainment in my time, and lots of it didn't have a single female character worth a hoot. I concede that it doesn't feel very nice to have your own gender represented as such an afterthought. Will simply turning that stereotype on its head fix everything, though? I wonder. Is that a fantasy author's job? Maybe, but not entirely. There's entertaining, craftsmanship of language, character creation/development, world-building, and commenting on literally everything else in existence, to a point. So gender equality isn't the whole of an author's responsibility. Still, it feels weird, and I hope that if I ever get published, I do a better job creating characters of both sexes who actually DO things.
The usual stylistic oddities are present from the previous two books - the occasional clunker of a line, deities who speak gnomically but occasionally sound like annoyed Michiganians in times of stress, the weird bursts of obscene/profane dialogue, though in this volume it evens out a bit more. The feelings of absent gravity is less pronounced here, because of the end-of-the-world subject matter, but it still skulks in the background. The overly-enthusiastic storyteller in the prologue who serves as a framing device - that whole sequence sort of falls flat. Maybe the sense of humor isn't the same as mine.
Characters continue to grow, and Harper does a good job of keeping them current with the things that have happened to them and letting it inform their actions (this is rarer than it sounds). However, this is only really true of the main characters. The nameless extras and minor characters tend to be reliably unpleasant, ignorant, and bigoted, which is basically the cardinal sin in Harper's world of Erda. Keep an eye out for the Obsidias, some major villains from the previous book who have a short return here. It's pretty well done.
On the whole, this series has some bright spots in terms of characters (even if the men are bronze medallists at best), and a somewhat distinctive setting, and an adventuresome plot that doesn't revolve around violence. This third volume, especially, begins to ponder some heavier ideas, such as the necessity of certain violence balanced against its unsatisfying nature, or the nature of clones (are they truly real and alive?) and love (could you love a clone of your soulmate, even if the clone had your love's memories?). But its style and tone can be off-putting to certain tastes.
This trilogy was interesting, but I won't be hanging on to it.
January 2, 2017
For the three fates, watching over the world in their sacred garden, they control all life and maintain balance in the world. But that balance is shattered when an evil Fae queen kidnaps one of the fates, placing every being in jeopardy. They ask Danr, the half human/half troll to help rescue their sister and defeat the fae queen before the tree tips fully and the world as they now it, even their lives are gone in a blink.
In order to rescue the missing fate, Danr must find the Bone Sword. But as he and Aisa travel to find the sword, their other companions are forced to stay behind and figure out who is making familiar unknown creatures. With their future on the line, Danr, Aisa and their friends are racing against the clock because if the tree tips, they and their world will cease to exist…forever.
BONE WAR is the final book in the Books of Blood and Iron series and is totally one I couldn’t put down. I am so glad I took a chance on this series and this new to me author. I fell in love with his world building and the characters were so unique and different. This author definitely turns on its head the usual suspects-fae, goblins, trolls, etc- and makes them fresh and unique. I loved how the author portrays Danr as just wanting to be normal yet his destiny isn’t going to be denied. The scenes between Danr, Aisa and their friends are at times light and playful and other times, serious and in depth. The author does an amazing job in capturing the characters vulnerabilities and hidden depths. He does an amazing job in creating characters that grow with each book, showing the reader more of their personality even as they face against adversity. You just can not help but fall in love with them. Add in a few familiar faces we met in the past two books that show up to move the story along well you get a sense that this time the journey is about to get rougher for this merry band of friends.
This is the final book in the trilogy and it definitely amps up the adventure these characters take. We met the fates in the past two books and there is a lot going on in BONE WAR that if you didn’t read book one, The Iron Axe, or book two, Blood Storm, you might be a tad confused over some mentions from the past adventures these characters took. I highly recommend reading the trilogy in order so you can get the full back story on all the characters and their adventures before this final book. I loved how the author takes something old and tired and makes it fresh and new for readers to enjoy. If you enjoy a new take on fae, trolls, goblins and other fantasy creatures, then you will enjoy this highly entertaining trilogy about a half troll/half human boy that finds that the simple life he wants isn’t what is in store for him or his friends. I look forward to seeing where this author goes next after this thrilling conclusion to the Books of Blood and Iron.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement
August 5, 2016
A thrilling conclusion! I'll miss these characters. Looking forward to Mr. Harper's next series!
December 31, 2016
I'm in this one.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews