The Lair of Bones

The Runelords, Book 4

By: David Farland

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Prince Gaborn, the Earth King, has defeated the forces arrayed against him each time before: the magical and human forces marshaled by Raj Ahten, who seeks immortality at any cost and has given up his humanity in trade; and the inhuman, innumerable, insectile hordes of the giant Reavers from under the Earth, whose unknowable motives are inimical to human life.

Now there must be final confrontations, both on the field of battle, with the supernatural creature that Raj Ahten has become, and underground, in the cavernous homeland of the Reavers, where the sorcerous One True Master who rules them all lies in wait—in the Lair of Bones. The survival of the human race on Earth is at stake.

Spend some more time among the Runelords.

©2003 David Farland (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

“The Runelords Saga comes to a gripping conclusion in David Farland’s The Lair of Bones…Farland’s imaginative use of magic and detailed world-building contribute to the impact…. Gaborn is a flawed but likable hero whom readers will be sorry to leave behind. Fans of Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind will enjoy Farland’s Runelords.”( Romantic Times)

“David Farland’s Runelords books are among the best fantasies on the market today. Great characters, a fascinating concept, and some really nasty monsters make each novel a pleasure to read.” (Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times best-selling author of A Forest of Stars)

"The suspense is real, the action is nonstop, and the characterizations continue to convince. . . . [this is] a series that has put Farland on high-fantasy readers' maps." ( Booklist)

A very good ending to the series

My review for the whole series (including this book) is pretty much the same as i gave it for the last book which i am copying below. The great thing about this book is that it completes the series.

If you are looking for the 'fantastic' part in a fantasy, this is your book.

World is vivid, and it is serious where people with power held up to serious responsibilities. The magic system is unique, and story line moves at a fast pace. Characters are flushed out, and narrator does justice to them.

My only gripe is that this is a very serious book and does not stop for any light moments. Though, given the background and pace of the book, i am not surprised.

I highly recommend this series.

A nice finish

loved this series. a bit bloody, definatly not for kids, but a good story. Narration was good, I liked it and enjoyed Ray's voice and different characters.

Set playback speed to 1.2x or greater (spoilers)

My biggest complaint about this narrator is you never know if it’s the end of a sentence, paragraph or chapter until he starts speaking again. Even a simple comma can drag on long enough to forget what was being said.

As far as the story, killing off the MC in the third book is kind of brutal but it makes sense in the way it happens. So much has changed in only three books that it seems like this was meant to be the end of the series. I’m interested to see what happens in the next.

Fast paced epic adventure

I was pleasantly surprised by this series of books and would highly recommend them to anyone who is a fan of good fantasy. My only problem with the story is that it takes place in just over a week yet vast distances are traveled by armies. Other than that I was really swept away in this adventure and feel as though I know these characters very well.

Satisfying

While there were some predictable parts to this there were also some surprises. Overall this is a fast paced book that keeps your attention until the end.

I do have to say that I was very tired of the narrator by the end. There are multiple spots where the book switches to another subplot and there not even a pause between sentences. I had to back up and really pay attention to catch the change.

The Saga ends...and peace begins.

Gaborn's journey to becoming the Earth King comes to a dramatic and victorious end. He maintains his humanity even though he has caused the lose of life and innocent along the way. This audible edition is an enjoyable listen and is recommend if you enjoy epic fantasy and telling of a tales and myths.

Great ending to a great series

This book wraps up the series perfectly. All the fast paced action that you would expect from the first three books, plus an epic ending. I can't wait for the 4 books in the second series to become available on audible.

MacGuffin Quest

MacGuffin Quest.

A MacGuffin is "an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself."

That's "The Lair of Bones." Farland's 4th Runelords novel (and series generally) introduces a new MacGuffin in every book for its separate plot lines to pursue but other than having cool-in-a-D&D-sense names (Lair of Bones, One True Master, Rune of Desolation, etc), these areas and the characters that surround them exist only to give the POV characters something to do/oppose. So people are captured, tortured, manipulated in a very Snidely Whiplash sense without any real pathos or significance. It checks all the blocks of high epic fantasy, but there's little soul here.

Ostensibly, reborn Earth King Gaborn is still trying to save the Earth from the demonic Reavers but we quickly get into "endowment math." Farland's magic system has people gifting abilities like strength, wit, grace, etc to their lords to make them more powerful. While it works as an abstract concept, Farland leans too far into the difference between 32 endowments of brawn vs 47 endowments of metabolism to be anything other than fake nerd math in support of a fake system.

The other big bad, Raj Ahten, underwent a significant change in the last novel and is now more an elemental fireweaver, but still basically a runelord king? I guess.

And that's kind of my problem with this series....on paper these are clearly momentous and world changing events, yet the way Farland writes them it feels so very pedestrian. Characters undergo outward changes but they remain largely cardboard cutouts. In high fantasy, it's usually the main protagonist that fills that Everyman role with more colorful side characters around him/her to keep the reader engaged. But here, EVERY character just kind of exists such that with all this chaos surrounding them, the reader feels strangely disengaged.

ill step out here

i have stuggled to stay interested in this series since the first book. the world building is amazing but the character building leaves something to be desired.
im guessing it is the overpowered nature of the characters. you always know they are not in danger. so there are no stakes.
this ending wraps up nicely, so I'll see my way out.

What an imagination!

I love all of his books and enjoy listening to them so much. The reader is the best!

Conclusion.

A good ending to the first Runelords saga, with a properly epic scope of large battles and underground quests. Far from the best fantasy I've listened too, but definitely worth my time.

A satisfying conclusion!

An epic conclusion to Gaborns story which I very much enjoyed, it was full of action and some truly gripping moments. But above all it was the ending to a journey which I have thoroughly immersed myself in and found exciting and thrilling. Certain characters finally get there well deserved comeuppance which I found very satisfying. But it was the end for the journey and for many characters and I carnt help feeling I have lost some good friends but I'm looking forward to the next four books and the next chapters in this incredible world.