The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford


The old Khan has died and the new Khan has decided that all of those that live in the Tapestry should leave their nomadic life and settle in Karkorum. The Rakada a group of Raiders in the Tapestry are wholly against this idea but as the Khan's soldiers continue to take out other Raiders they know that at this point their only option is to flee The Tapestry and give up everything they've ever known and loved. Sayana, a princess turned Rakada refuses to give up and hatches a truly last ditch plan: kidnap a hunter with an extraordinary gift for taming animals and have her tame an Araatan for them, the Khan would never dream of taking on a giant fire-breathing lizard. Unfortunately for Sayana nothing goes as planned. 

This book was a blast from beginning to end! Jackson has created a truly unique fantasy setting with some exceptionally lovable characters. And yes prepare for some character gushing because omg I *loved* them all!!

Sayana, of course, is my favorite, she is super relatable at least for me. People don't take her seriously enough for a multitude of reasons but the main one is that she's a spoiled little rich girl. What makes this super annoying is yes, fine, disregard her because of that but I mean she's got to have some smarts if she escapes the palace, lives for a time on her own in the Tapestry, and then becomes a Rakada. Not going to lie Sayana succeeding was one of my favorite parts of the book. I love Hogelun for similar reasons, she is again disregarded as just big and dumb but in her case, she never fights it. She's probably got the most growth in the book as she really has to come to terms with the way she views herself and the way she let's others treat her. I still think she's going to have some issues w/ this in book 2, hell, I'd probably be upset if she didn't, she gets put through the ringer.

Side characters were great as well, honestly all of them. The women of the Rakada especially just worked really well together. Given that Jackson only focuses on two of the girls I was afraid they would miss some of the camaraderie necessary for this type of group but not only did they not they nailed it. Maybe a little too well cause Im still mad over a certain plot twist!


The world building here though is genuinely where Jackson shines. Instead of going super in-depth about this Mongol inspired world he drops a few things and thats it. Quite frankly I find it brilliant. I'm not sure I could have gone through a long drawn out explanation of Mongolian spiritual beliefs. And that is really in line with everything Ive ever read, you either believe or you don't, its not hurting anyone for you to not. So while I feel that readers that need a lot more explanation than they are going to get in this first book will feel like its lacking, those who don't need that intense world building will love this. 

I absolutely will be continuing this series and will be pre-ordering my copy next paycheck for sure! 

As always thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eArc!


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