1. 

   5 out of 5

   Rating by Jamsco on Dec 3rd 2012:

   A Twisting Fascinating Epic Fantasy

   A decade or so ago, I watched the Michael Chrichton movie Twister, and the early dialogue explained that the protagonist researchers had three complex and expensive measuring devices and their goal was to successfully place one in a tornado’s path during a superstorm. So, I said to myself, the movie’s plot will be them failing twice and then being triumphantly successful with the last machine, against all odds and competing against a more fully funded research team. And this is exactly what happened [Oh, I’m sorry, Spoiler Alert!]. So I (along with, I presume, most alert viewers) knew the basic structure of the entire plot, including the ending, before getting twenty minutes into the movie.

   In extreme contrast to that experience is the reading of ‘A Throne Of Bones’ by Vox Day. On a micro and macro level, the reader is surprised (not to mention shocked and stunned), narrative directions are turned 180 degrees and assumptions are ripped away. I never knew where it was heading next.
   And here’s the good news: It’s a delightful experience.

   When I reviewed ‘Summa Elvetica’, Vox Day’s last fiction book, I wrote, ‘My feeling here is that this book could be a “The Hobbit”-like prelude to a much more significant fictional writing.’ This, I’m pleased to say, is what the author has done. ‘Throne’ is placed in the same universe as that book and only a few years (months?) later.

   And what is this universe? Just like with Summa, imagine Rome in the fifth century, complete with a Christian heritage. Now add in magic. And elves. And dwarves and goblins and some kind of new immortal creature.

   But the geography is completely different. The Empire is Amorr. In it, there are two very strong family houses that are growing more and more at odds with each other. In one of these houses, two brothers are in conflict – for good reason. And dark tidings are reaching its neighbor to the north, Savonne, about the ulfin, semi-sentient wolf-men, attacking it’s northern neighbor.

   Vox has clearly done his research and I’m guessing that there are few books that give a better picture of what it must have been like to be in an armed conflict in a Roman legion. It puts you right into the battle. One of my favorite chapters has a stream of narrative following the downfall of several named but nameless fighters. In other sections, the reader is also given a fascinating (and I’m guessing fairly realistic) view into the inner-mechanics of Roman/Amorran politics.

   Each chapter is from the perspective of one of nine different characters – A rebellious daughter, a general, a princess, a dutiful son, a crafty dwarf. All of these characters are flawed. All of them are interesting and complex.

   I will say that in giving this five stars, I’m rounding up. I’d like to give it 4 ½ stars. The book is not perfect. To wit -

   The author says in his acknowledgements that he won’t be letting his kids read this book yet. This, I think, is wise. Unfortunately. I’d love to give most of this book to my 14 year old son to read. Perhaps 98 percent of it. The offending two percent is some brief PG13 level sexual content and some fairly graphic battle violence. And some scatological stuff. Oh well.

   My other disgruntlement is that this book ends very suddenly, with very little by way of denouement (yes, I just looked up how to spell that word – by all means, let me know if I’ve used it improperly). True, this book is the first of a set, but my thought is that a first book should tie up a few loose ends or have more of a cliff-hanger. You know, like winning the battle at Helm’s deep, or leaving Frodo with the Orcs in the Tower. (I must admit, however, that it does have a face-off that was somewhat satisfying and one mystery solved, slightly disappointingly, right in the last few chapters).

   But overall this is a very readable book that made me want to keep on reading. It is, in turn, humorous, shocking and exciting. There are beautiful moments, there is clever dialogue, there is deep mystery. It took some level of genius to write it. I recommend you read it.
2. 

   5 out of 5

   Rating by Clint on Dec 13th 2012:

   Right up front, let me say that I read Vox every day. His blog is on my list of daily reads, I read his articles, and I have read several of his books, both fiction and nonfiction. To this point, I have always found him to be a gifted writer of non-fiction, and an average fiction author. I say that with respect, since most people are simply not overly proficient in both styles. This book changes that perception. It is not only Day’s best fiction book by a mile, it is one of the finest SF/F novels I have read. I don’t say that lightly, and I draw upon 30 years of reading SF/F. I have read Eddings, Anthony, Jordan, Martin, Brooks, Weiss/Hickman etc. Some I loved; some I hated.

   This novel, A Throne of Bones, revisits the world Day created in his Summa Elvetica, and has some crossover of characters. When I read SE, I enjoyed it, but it was a flawed book. It was not bad, but it wasn’t great, either. ATOB is different. Sure, it has many of the same characters. Sure, it is in the same world. The content is vastly superior. If you enjoyed SE, you will absolutely love ATOB. If you disliked SE, give this one a try and see if it doesn’t change your mind.

   The characters are well-developed. The story line is engrossing and comprehensive. The various plot threads, which seem to be unrelated, quickly become intertwined, and events in one part of this fictitious world soon have an impact on others. For those who are imagination-challenged (or simply need a refresher on the topography of the book), a fine map is provided that helps the reader to picture where these various events are taking place, and in what relation to the other events.

   One area where I have thought Day was lacking in previous fiction efforts was his descriptions, which were often too simple and/or perfunctory. That is not a problem in this novel. It has fantastic description.

   If you are a fan of George R.R. Martin (or were until the last couple of dismal efforts in his Game of Thrones series), then give ATOB a read. It is what you wished Martin had done, except even better.

   OK, the two things that I would critique in ATOB:
   1. It is hard to keep up with names. Some of the characters have multiple names/titles and I almost felt like I should be taking notes to keep up with them.
   2. Toward the end, one of the major characters has a conversation with a supernatural creature. I realize that the dialogue was providing some important background information, but the conversation was simply stilted and I had a hard time envisioning that supernatural creature REALLY taking the time to explain things that way.

   That was it. Those were the only minor quibbles that I had with the book. They did not really detract from the overall quality of the book. I am pleased that this is simply the first in a series; I didn’t want it to end, though it nearly 1000 pages. I could have kept reading for another 1000 and been totally happy. I look forward to the next installment in a way that I have not looked forward to a sequel in many years.

   I say again, this was not only Day’s best fiction, but one of the best SF/F novels of the past decade, if not longer. Read it; you will not be disappointed.
3. 

   5 out of 5

   Rating by codejunkie_78 on Apr 8th 2013:

   This book was simply amazing. Not meant for young teens, but it is simply amazing. I am very picky about what I read. I’ve shied away from George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire because of all the nasty sexual things he throws into it. I’ve been longing for something in the fantasy realm as epic as Lord of the Rings, but just wasn’t finding it.

   And along came this book. It caught my eye right away. The comment about content did raise some caution in me. But rather than ranting and screaming, I engaged the publisher to learn the specifics. The sexual content is mostly a scene between a husband and his wife and that focused on how much they love each other. It isn’t graphic, though I will confess it was more that I would have liked. But it was forgiveable in my opinion, because the purpose of the author’s was to show what love should be like, rather than the twisted things the world throws at us. Plus it was only about one page out of about 850 some pages. Easily skipped if you care. There is one mention of a nude elf too, but otherwise, Vox doesn’t linger in that area like a lot of modern writers do.

   Yes there is language in the book, but it is done tastefully in the sense that Vox depicts how people actually speak. It isn’t pervasive (meaning every page) and it differs per character, much like in the real world (some people swear, others do not). There are no “f bombs” though (which I appreciate).

   Now that I’ve mentioned the “questionable” content, we get to the meat — the plot. The plot was slower initially as it set up all the characters, but it quickly twists and turns as all the characters’s stories begin to intertwine. The more I read, the more I kept thinking, this book is amazing! And his descriptions of the world make it both fantastic (having dragons, elves, dwarves, magic, etc.) and realistic (having peoples that feel like Romans, French, and Vikings). This world just felt so real, it sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. I only wish more time had been given to Lodi the dwarf. He felt short changed that way.

   Overall, I give the book 5 stars! I wasn’t thrilled with the little bit of sexual content as I mentioned above (and I think the story would not have been lessened for it), but again, I understand what the author was trying to do. As for the rest of the book. Flat out amazing. The worst part was finishing it and realizing I’ll have to wait almost 2 years for book 2 (sigh). Though, I can’t wait to read Summa Elvetica and some of the other short stories of Selenoth!

   Overall, I suggest this book. You won’t be disappointed.

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