The Bone Shard Daughter

De: Andrea Stewart

Narrado por: Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller

An emperor fights to reclaim her power and her place on the throne in this "utterly absorbing" fantasy tale of magic, mystery, and revolution (Emily Duncan).

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.

"One of the best debut fantasy novels of the year." —BuzzFeed News

"An amazing start to a new trilogy." —Culturess

"It grabs you by the heart and the throat from the first pages and doesn't let go." —Sarah J. Maas

"Epic fantasy at its most human and heartfelt . . . inventive, adventurous and wonderfully written." —Alix E. Harrow

"Utterly absorbing. I adored it." —Emily Duncan

"A thoroughly fantastic read." —Kevin Hearne

"Stewart's debut is sharp and compelling. It will hook readers in and make them fiercely anticipate the rest of the series." —Booklist

"Groundbreaking epic fantasy for a new age." —Tasha Suri

"Begins with a spark of intrigue that ignites into a thrilling adventure." —Hafsah Faizal

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The Bone Shard Daughter is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. With stunningly intricate world-building that leaps off the page and characters who are so vibrant that you wish they were real, it grabs you by the heart and the throat from the first pages and doesn't let go until long after it's over. This book is truly special."—New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas

"Epic fantasy at its most human and heartfelt, concerned with the real lives caught in the gears of empire and rebellion. Inventive, adventurous, and wonderfully written."—Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January

"[A] richly told, emotional, action-laced debut...Readers will finish this eager for the follow-up."—Library Journal (starred review)

"[An] action-packed, must-read epic fantasy...One of the best debut fantasy novels of the year."—BuzzFeed News

"A fascinating world with characters who have deep foundations, and who will quickly capture readers' hearts ... Stewart's debut is sharp and compelling. It will hook readers in and make them fiercely anticipate the rest of the series."—Booklist

"[The Bone Shard Daughter] deserves as much attention as it can get."—Locus

"Original and intricately written."—Ms. Magazine

"An absolute stunner of a fantasy debut...Simply awe-inspiring."—FanFiAddict

"Stewart gives us eerie, grungy bone magic that permeates through every layer of a fascinating and dangerous world. Strange monsters--some friendly, most not--unsettling rituals, and a cast of wonderful characters trying to fix a world on the brink of shattering, The Bone Shard Daughter is utterly absorbing. I adored it."—Emily Duncan, NYT bestselling author of Wicked Saints

"There's a bold, ambitious imagination at work here - and this is a world you'll want to linger in."—M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts

"A triumph of fantasy and science fiction populated with memorable characters and bone-chilling secrets that keep you turning the pages."—K. S. Villoso, author of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro

"The Bone Shard Daughter begins with a spark of intrigue that ignites into a thrilling adventure you cannot miss-with a unique (and painful!) magic system to boot."—Hafsah Faizal, NYT bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame

"A grand, ingenious and sweeping tale of power, magic and heart, The Bone Shard Daughter is groundbreaking epic fantasy for a new age."—Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand

"Stewart etches this story into your heart, filling it with everything I love about fantasy: a well-realized world, dark magic that challenges your presumptions, and deep questions about identity. Highly recommended."—Marshall Ryan Maresca, author of The Maradaine Saga

a very excellent read

I love love love this book. well written well narrated. can't wait to read more

I didn't like it

I am a few hours in and have been actively avoiding listening to this book. I'm a big fantasy nerd and have been very interested in reading books from female authors recently because, a) I spent a childhood not knowing there were any female epic fantasy authors and b) well, they tend to write 3D female characters, and it's nice to relate to a character of your own gender on more than a superficial level.

First, the good. I like the storyline with the guy with the watercat. It's fun and a bit swashbuckling. I also like the story with the key lady, it's mysterious and full of tension.

Now, the bad. I hate the story with the relationship in this novel. Firstly, it feels like it was written as a heterosexual relationship and then the male pronouns were swapped out for female ones.

And that would be absolutely fine, except so far it's been painfully 2D, the characters seem happy to completely disregard their main character motivations to stay together. Specifically, the more feminine character does this.

The more masculine character behaves like a very traditional man. Asking for manly relationship advice from her sword teacher, not really listening to anything her partner says, justifying treating her partner like her opinion doesn't matter because of how much she loves her... Which is apparently only for her grace and beauty, and less for the books on democracy she makes her read.

It was so bad, so traditional fantasy bro (Robert Jordan I'm looking at your gravestone), it made me go check to see if the author was indeed a woman (She is).

The world has enough stories like this, I don't need to read another one, and maybe you don't either. If that relationship does ever resolve into something less painful, I'd appreciate a summary!

Refreshing and Unique

‘The Bone Shard Daughter’ by Andrea Stewart was phenomenal!
Andrea’s storytelling, world building and unique magic system made this a 5 star read!
I enjoyed reading about how the constructs were made, given commands, and how complex those commands could get. I’m eager to learn more!
It did take me a few chapters to really get into the story but around chapters 3 and 4 was when I dived right in!
The audiobook narrators captured my attention and gave each of the characters a distinct voice. I was never confused while listening and I enjoyed the cast very much!
I’m anxious to see how the main characters will navigate the new changes in the Empire and I’m very much looking forward to the next book!
Also I want a Mephi 🥰

Magical bones

Andrea Stewart’s The Bone Shard Daughter is the first installment in the bone shard trilogy. There are three separate storylines. The title character is the daughter of an emperor. The magical power that makes the ruler is the use of bone shards from his subjects to power constructs that perform human function. The daughter is vying to succeed her father against a foster brother where both are mastering the bone shard magic. The second tale concerns a smuggler who becomes a rescuer of children who are to be sacrificed for bone shards. He eventually becomes a rebel and spends most of his time avoiding both the authorities and organized crime. The third tale is an island of mango harvesters where one woman slowly come to conclude that they are bone shard constructs. They succeed in hi-jacking a ship to escape the island.

Stewart crafts a complex world with a unique form of magic. At the same time, there’s a despotic ruler and a society where no one seems to be enjoying themselves, although everyone is kept busy.

The audio has multiple narrators, one for each perspective with decent character distinction. Pacing is a tad slow.

Audiobook Sold Me on the Series

I have had this book on my TBR for a while but adult fantasy novels can sometimes be difficult to get into so I've been putting it off. I finally took the plunge and downloaded it and I am SO happy I did. The narration in this story was beautifully done and I actually ended up going out to buy a physical copy as well so I could listen while driving in my car and read when at home. I fell in love with the characters and even though they are flawed, found myself rooting for them as they went through this journey. Wonderfully well done! I can't wait to keep exploring this series.