Priest of Bones

War for the Rose Throne, Book 1

By: Peter McLean

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety heads home with Sergeant Bloody Anne at his side. But things have changed while he was away: His crime empire has been stolen, and the people of Ellinburg - his people - have run out of food, hope, and places to hide. Tomas sets out to reclaim what was his with help from Anne, his brother, Jochan, and his new gang: the Pious Men. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, everything gets more complicated.

As the Pious Men fight shadowy foreign infiltrators in the back-street taverns, brothels, and gambling dens of Tomas' old life, it becomes clear: The war is only just beginning.

©2018 Peter McLean (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The first in an unmissable series, Priest of Bones is a fresh and compelling take on grimdark fantasy. Mashing together soldiers, gangsters, magic and war into a heady mix that is a hulking big brother to The Lies of Locke Lamora." (Anna Stephens, author of Godblind)

Amazing

This was the perfect grim dark story of might makes right. The MC is a character you really care about even when he is makes tough decisions. The drama is not so over the top that you think everything sucks. The story follows a fun but dark path where what needs to be done is done, and you feel you would do the same give the circumstances. The action is amazing and you feel like you are right there.

The narrator is amazing!

Absolutely one of my favorite all time series!

NOTE: This is a review of the entire series, not just Book 1. No spoilers.

I first met Tomas Piety soon after the audiobook for Priest of Bones was added to Audible in 2018. I’d been searching for something new, in one of those lulls between really great favorites. I liked the sound of the book in the description. I’m so glad I did, because now this series is one of those all-time favorites that I use to judge future materials.

There are a few unique features that make this a recommendation I will likely always give to any reader. It’s about adults, for one thing. I’m not talking about adult-like material, since the so-called YA movement has been quite dark for a long time. It’s the characters who are adult. Full-grown, way past the coming-of-age tropes, and already well established in personality. And oh boy, McLean takes us into this world through a first-person POV via the most believable narrator I’ve ever read. Every word is true to Tomas. There are no exposition dumps or awkward conversations that may intrude on a first-person POV. It’s truly one of the most faithful-to-character voices I’ve read.

Another difference in this series and many others is the distinct lack of romance. Just like many readers, I do appreciate romance in its many forms. At the same time, it’s annoying to have it front and center in every single book. It becomes a forced subject and a distraction from the plot that actually is the bones of the story. If you like pizza, you don’t decide to have it for every single meal, and for once there is a book that has decided if romance doesn’t further the plot or enhance characters, it isn’t necessary. There are love interests, and some relationships that are very important for the full series, but it’s where it needs to be and in the amounts it should be. Again, we’re talking about full-grown adults here, and if there’s one thing that makes me scream loudest in YA, it’s the idea that no one can take a step forward or solve a problem without first making sure the love interest is in place.

There are many sensitive subjects that McLean approaches masterfully. If you’re already a grimdark fan, then you’re familiar with the themes. There’s war, the resulting PTSD, the terrible choices one has to make in a violent world, and living with those choices afterward. There are some subjects that could trigger others, such as mention of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and hate crimes. However, while I understand that my sensitivity is not as high in these topics, I truly believe that the way McLean approaches these subjects is extremely tactful, and every trigger is a point that is pertinent to the plot and character growth throughout the series.

The ending of this series will blow you away. I don’t say that lightly. I can’t even say that I exactly love what happened, but I’ll say this: It’s one of the more perfect endings I’ve ever read. If you’ve read Stephen King’s Misery, Annie Wilkes has a discussion with the author Paul about endings, and how she hated endings that ‘cheated.’ Well, this is no cheat. To do anything different may have left the reader with a great feeling, a nice little warm happily ever after, but that would have been so completely unfair and cheating that I’m so glad Peter McLean followed Tomas’s lead.

NARRATION: I like John Lee, but he does have a particular kind of cadence to his speech that can wear on me after a long listening session. However, I really think that his speech & voice were perfect for Tomas. When I saw the change in narrator on book 3, I was a little leery. Any audio fan will know that initial displacement of having a suddenly different narrator. It’s not even about whether they’re good or bad, it’s DIFFERENT than the one we’d gotten used to, and that’s just sometimes uncomfortable. I read lots of very long, complex series, and no matter how much I love both narrators, the initial change can be jarring. In this, however, again I was completely happily surprised. David Morley Hale is certainly not the same voice but he did homage I believe to both John Lee’s original Tomas and the character as well. Don’t worry about that change if you’re listening to the audio version of these books.

Game ot Thrones meets Pinky Blinders

A grim dark tale that tries too hard to be grim and dark. The narrator was good.

what a ride. I really loved this gritty story.

I tried this based on a review by Mark Lawrence. He described it as grimdark and gave it a 5 Star rating which I totally agree with. The pacing was perfect. The main characters are complex enough without going into the tedium of their inner turmoils. I would say this is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to in a year or more, and I listen to several dozen every year.

Fantasy version of Peaky Blinders

If you took the script for Peaky Blinders and rewrote a fantasy version you would get War for the Rose Throne.
And this is not a bad thing. Peter McLean writes in all the grit and attitude of Peaky Blinders with several familiar plot lines. Small family crime business. Brothers back from the war. Ambitious brother wanting to make it bigger. Reckless drunk brother. Female secret agent behind the bar. Gang wars, opium, corrupt men at arms, secret government intrigue. Its all here. Well written with flawed believable characters.

John Lee delivers per his usual excellence. He is without a doubt one of the top 3 narrators of fantasy in the business.

Sound start

I felt like there was a fair amount of world building in this book that isn't going to come into it's own until later books, but it was a solid start, I enjoyed it, and will be reading or listening to the follow up volumes.

Fantasy Peaky Blinders

I was a bit leery of this title during the first chapter, being somewhat burnt out on grimdark fantasy, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

It's like fantasy Peaky Blinders with a slice of The Black Company and Gentleman Bastards. Quite an original mash up, even if the plot itself is not exactly full of surprises.

McLean completely hits the mark with Tomas Piety's voice -- I've caught myself saying "I could not let that pass," throughout my day when someone irks me -- and Lee brings the account to life with his Northern accented recitation.

I heartily recommend this for fans of dark fantasy and gangster fiction alike, although be warned that it deals with veteran's PTSD and child abuse among other traumas.

Holy Hell!

Now, I recently discovered Joe Abercrombie and read all of his books with a furious passion. I couldn't get enough of the humor and style and action and desperate sorrow that filled his world to the brim. and I haven't been able to find anything that even comes close... for almost 6 months of searching. I gave up on thinking that there were any authors, besides Terry Pratchett, that could match his sobering imagery but also provide brutal action (unlike Pratchett) that had such devastating consequences. And then I experienced this. Oh my goodness gods, y'all. The author is just brilliant in the way he writes his characters and the narrator is a f#%$!#g genius! Give. Me. more!

Unexpected and original

The world felt real to me and lived in
And the characters Relatable and endearing

This book was the love child between Godfather and Robin Hood and a touch of blackmail

Broken People

Thomas Piety returns from one war to fight another. The characters are not compelling or original, but the author uses the archetypes to their fullest.