Bone Song is a 2007 novel by British author

John Meaney John Meaney (born 1957 in London) is a British science fiction author. Biography Meaney grew up in London and Slough, England with his brother Colm (who is not the same as the Star Trek actor Colm Meaney). He has studied martial arts since chil ...

. It was the first novel in the ''Tristopolis'' series, followed by ''Dark Blood'' (2008), ''Tristopolis Requiem'' (2018), ''Tristopolis Howling'' (2020), ''Tristopolis Revenge'' (2021), and a short story collection ''Two for Tristopolis'' (2019).

Plot summary

The novel is set in Tristopolis, a fantastic city where humans live side by side with

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

, wraiths,

mage Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction *Mage, a character class in s ...

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

es, talking

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s and other mystical creatures. Death is a prominent theme in the culture of Tristopolis, with the characters using the names of

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...

and Hades in place of "God", and the bones of the dead serve as the city's primary energy source. The story revolves around the police detective Donal Riordan who is assigned to protect the opera diva Maria daLivnova against the Black Circle, a group of assassins who target gifted artists with the intent of trafficking their bones. After Riordan fails his mission, he realizes that he was set up as a pawn by his higher-ups, and is recruited into a task force which investigates the Black Circle and their connection to the higher ranks of the Tristopolis society. At the same time, Donal falls in love with his new superior, the beautiful

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

woman Laura Steele, and they begin a passionate romantic relationship.

Reception

A number of reviews praised the inventiveness of the novel's setting, with ''Fantasy Book Critic'' comparing it to

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

's ''

Corpse Bride ''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...

'',

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, and

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

's '' Harry Potter'', and ''SFFWorld'' drawing parallels with the movies '' Se7en'' and '' Dark City''. A review by ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in September 2000, and ...

'' compared ''Bone Song'' to

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''Anita Blake: Vampire H ...

's '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series and noted that in both works, prejudice against undead creatures (vampires in ''Anita Blake'' and zombies in ''Bone Song'') serves as a metaphor for real-life

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

. ''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

'' gave the book a generally unfavorable review, but complimented the "interesting character" of the female lead Laura Steele.{{cite web, url=https://www.sfsite.com/08b/bs254.htm, title=Bone Song, author=Jakob Schmidt, date=2007, publisher=

, accessdate=January 11, 2022

References

2000s horror novels 2007 British novels 2007 science fiction novels British detective novels British horror novels British science fiction novels Human-zombie romance in fiction Neo-noir novels Urban fantasy novels Dark fantasy novels Zombie novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books