The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis: Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived.

Since then, Kreya, the group’s leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice—for each day he lives, she will live one less.

She’d rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is illegal in Vos. The dead are burned—as are any bone workers who violate the law. Yet Kreya knows where she can find the bones she needs: the battlefield where her husband and countless others lost their lives.

But defying the laws of the land exposes a terrible possibility. Maybe the dead don’t rest in peace after all.

Five warriors—one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn’t stop just because someone once said, “the end.”

Review: It’s been a while since I’ve found a good fantasy novel, but I must say that I was very surprised by this story.

Twenty-five years ago, Kreya was leading a small troupe that managed to save the world by killing a hateful man: Eklor. But then, during this attack, her husband was killed. Since then, she studies the ancient forbidden texts and she has found a way to resurrect her husband, but it won’t be easy. She has to go against all the laws of her country and find bones. But in a world where people burn their dead, it’s very complicated. There is only one solution: to go to the forbidden zone, this former war zone where the bones of the warriors were left where the warriors died. This visit could well reserve some surprises and Kreya will have to go back up his troop to face a new danger that threatens them all!

It was a very good novel and I was curious to discover this author and to see how it was going to lead her story and her characters. Each protagonist is touching. They were all touched by what they went through, and in 25 years, they all evolved in a different direction. Yet they will do everything they can to save their world.

It was a story full of original ideas and I am curious to discover other novels of the author!