The Bone Maker

Durst (Race the Sands) sets this richly drawn fantasy in a world where magic wielders called bone makers use animal bones to animate lifeless objects. Twenty-five years ago, Kreya Odi Altriana and her fabled team of heroes defeated Eklor, a corrupt bone maker who illegally used human bones in his spells, in the bloody Bone War which cost Kreya her husband, Jentt. Overwhelmed with grief, Kreya secretly turned to forbidden magic to resurrect her husband by trading years of her life for his. But the incantation won’t last much longer without human bones, and Kreya convinces her former best friend, Zera, to help her steal bones left unburied on the Bone War’s battlefield. They soon discover a threat that lurks within the skeleton-littered plains—Eklor is alive and rebuilding his army. Now Kreya must assemble the remainder of her retired team to defeat Eklor once more. Though Durst relies a bit too much on the legendary reputations of her heroes and their actions in the first war, leading the present-day epic action to feel a bit unearned, the exquisite worldbuilding and inventive, macabre magic system more than make up for this flaw. Durst’s fans will be delighted. [em]Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Literary. (Mar.) [/em]