The Bones of the Earth: A Bound Gods Novel

In this protracted middle leg of the Bound Gods dark fantasy trilogy, the muddled plot lacks urgency. Joros and his company have finally found and burned the hand of Fratarro, one of the evil twin gods who fell to Earth hundreds of years ago (as recounted in In the Shadow of the Gods), to prevent him from rising again. The assorted members of the group are now left to suffer the consequences of their adventure. Scal is gravely wounded, and not inclined to continue the search for further pieces of a god who means nothing to him. Anddyr is falling further into insanity, and Joros is losing what little authority he had. So the troupe of misfits changes plans abruptly: why race hither and yon to find and destroy fragments of Fratarro when those who know how to raise the gods are holed up in Mount Raturo? This installment suffers from the predictable sluggishness of a middle section’s task of pulling bits and pieces closer, but not together; the characterization is still solid, as is the dialogue, but the story is lethargic. Agent: Matt Bialer, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (June)