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Boneyard
Boys don't cry.
Lazlo lives by his wits on the mean streets of First City. Stolen from his mother when he was twelve and used as a lab rat, he'll do whatever it takes to return home.
Slinging dust is a crime, but it pays the bills.
During a police raid, Lazlo is caught holding the bag. Just like that, he's sentenced to ten years in prison-a quarter of an outsider's lifespan. When the warden offers him a chance to halve his sentence by working the Line, Lazlo believes his luck is changing. Too bad he doesn't know what he's agreed to.
Body breaking labor in a harsh desert. Electrocution. Severed limbs. But there are worse things that can kill a human. The Line is all that stands between civilization and the monsters on the other side.
And Lazlo's got a target on his back.
If he ever wants to see home again, he'll need to escape prison and cross the Line. He must face his fear of what lives in the forest. But can he face himself?
Lazlo lives by his wits on the mean streets of First City. Stolen from his mother when he was twelve and used as a lab rat, he'll do whatever it takes to return home.
Slinging dust is a crime, but it pays the bills.
During a police raid, Lazlo is caught holding the bag. Just like that, he's sentenced to ten years in prison-a quarter of an outsider's lifespan. When the warden offers him a chance to halve his sentence by working the Line, Lazlo believes his luck is changing. Too bad he doesn't know what he's agreed to.
Body breaking labor in a harsh desert. Electrocution. Severed limbs. But there are worse things that can kill a human. The Line is all that stands between civilization and the monsters on the other side.
And Lazlo's got a target on his back.
If he ever wants to see home again, he'll need to escape prison and cross the Line. He must face his fear of what lives in the forest. But can he face himself?
260 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 18, 2022
On the brink of turning eighteen, Lazlo almost has enough money stowed away from slinging dust to leave a life of crime, but he gets caught in a raid. Not yet an adult, he’s *luckily* just sentenced to 10 years in prison and spends the first in juvenile detention. Looking at a quarter of his life in prison, Lazlo whiles away the long prison hours using his lab-rat-induced abilities to cause mayhem amongst the other juvenile inmates. When the warden offers Lazlo a chance for a reduced sentence, he’ll jump at it, no matter the cost. Working with adult prisoners, Lazlo agreed to help clear the line, the wall that stands between civilization and the oxygen forest with its larger-than-life creatures that threaten to break through weak points. The labor is tough, the bugs are human-sized, and most of the other inmates aren’t that great either. Will there be a chance to escape or will he end up being an orb weaver’s next meal?
Pandora may be a utopia while the world Darroch creates in the Sylvanus Saga is a dystopia but both are richly vivid and alive. After recently rewatching Pandora, I felt a similar sense of wonder and sensory detail come alive in Boneyard. The world is beautifully and carefully crafted. Darroch is a master of the senses and this unique dystopian world she has created in this saga. I’m blown away by how real both the world and the characters feel to me as I read. I’m amazed, that yet again, the author has created another world. This new world is both at the line and on the ground. It is completely separated from The Canopy above the forest but still connected to it by more than just a shared history.
Boneyard feels like an entirely separate book from Canopy, at least at first. I was amazed at how well constructed this second book is. As a middle book in a series, I was pleasantly surprised that it was just as good as book one, just as entertaining, just as well written, and still slowly tying together pieces from the first book into the next book of this series.
Lazlo, the main character, feels darker than the main character of book one. He has more of a sympathetic backstory but he also seems to make more questionable choices and presents himself in a less than positive light in the beginning. The way the author writes him still makes me empathize and sympathize with his plight and his choices. I’m still rooting for him, wanting him to make good choices, but also understanding to an extent why he chooses to do some of the things that he does to other people. Lazlo uses his power for both good and bad and that makes him more complex, more fascinating, and more human. I was drawn into his story immediately.
I love how imaginative the world is and how the plot fits together. The pacing felt right. Similar to book one, I had a hard time putting this book down. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series or anything else Darroch chooses to write.
I received a free ARC for an honest review.
Pandora may be a utopia while the world Darroch creates in the Sylvanus Saga is a dystopia but both are richly vivid and alive. After recently rewatching Pandora, I felt a similar sense of wonder and sensory detail come alive in Boneyard. The world is beautifully and carefully crafted. Darroch is a master of the senses and this unique dystopian world she has created in this saga. I’m blown away by how real both the world and the characters feel to me as I read. I’m amazed, that yet again, the author has created another world. This new world is both at the line and on the ground. It is completely separated from The Canopy above the forest but still connected to it by more than just a shared history.
Boneyard feels like an entirely separate book from Canopy, at least at first. I was amazed at how well constructed this second book is. As a middle book in a series, I was pleasantly surprised that it was just as good as book one, just as entertaining, just as well written, and still slowly tying together pieces from the first book into the next book of this series.
Lazlo, the main character, feels darker than the main character of book one. He has more of a sympathetic backstory but he also seems to make more questionable choices and presents himself in a less than positive light in the beginning. The way the author writes him still makes me empathize and sympathize with his plight and his choices. I’m still rooting for him, wanting him to make good choices, but also understanding to an extent why he chooses to do some of the things that he does to other people. Lazlo uses his power for both good and bad and that makes him more complex, more fascinating, and more human. I was drawn into his story immediately.
I love how imaginative the world is and how the plot fits together. The pacing felt right. Similar to book one, I had a hard time putting this book down. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series or anything else Darroch chooses to write.
I received a free ARC for an honest review.
June 19, 2022
Boneyard is the second novel of the Silvanus Saga. You can read Boneyard as a standalone novel as it takes place completely outside the scope of the first novel, Canopy. However, with the way Boneyard ends, you may want to read the first novel if you are planning on continuing with the series.
It follows a young man named Lazlo who was jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. We meet him just before he is caught by the police, and we experience his story as he makes his way through incarceration and, eventually, The Line.
This novel is a dystopian read, and technically a fantasy. It takes place in an undetermined time in the future when humans save the planet from climate disaster, but not without consequences.
I really love how the characters in this novel were developed. Lazlo is a super relatable character and I love the bond he has with Dusty. There’s a lot of morally gray happening in this book from numerous characters, and you get a “how far will you go” vibe. The storyline for this novel is easy to read and follow. I like how both independent stories in the series so far converge, and I can’t wait to see what D.M. Darroch has in store for the next book(s?) in the series.
I will certainly, without a doubt, recommend this read to people who like YA dystopian/hero novels (The Hunger Games, Shadowhunters, etc). It’s a nice and easy read that will leave you impatiently waiting for the next book.
It follows a young man named Lazlo who was jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. We meet him just before he is caught by the police, and we experience his story as he makes his way through incarceration and, eventually, The Line.
This novel is a dystopian read, and technically a fantasy. It takes place in an undetermined time in the future when humans save the planet from climate disaster, but not without consequences.
I really love how the characters in this novel were developed. Lazlo is a super relatable character and I love the bond he has with Dusty. There’s a lot of morally gray happening in this book from numerous characters, and you get a “how far will you go” vibe. The storyline for this novel is easy to read and follow. I like how both independent stories in the series so far converge, and I can’t wait to see what D.M. Darroch has in store for the next book(s?) in the series.
I will certainly, without a doubt, recommend this read to people who like YA dystopian/hero novels (The Hunger Games, Shadowhunters, etc). It’s a nice and easy read that will leave you impatiently waiting for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews