Magic System: I dug this quite a bit; there are two different magic systems - the hard magic that is bone shard magic, and the softer type of magic that Jovis gains and Lin appears to have as well by the end? Hmm. Bone shard magic, which involves taking bits of bone from living humans (dead humans seem to stop the flow of magic) and creating constructs out of them using combinations of different animal flesh. To me, it's basically magical programming - bone shard magic can be (a bit simplistically) summarized as magical if-statements and while loops. That doesn't mean it's boring, though - Stewart manages to come up with interesting and innovative uses for it throughout the book, and it can get quite complicated (like real-life programming *sigh*). There's also a softer magic system that works through Mephi and his kind? I hope the sequel expands on what exactly they are. It appears to bestow accelerated regeneration and significantly boosted strength and speed, and I suspect some kind of water manipulation eventually as well, since Jovis always seems to sense the wetness and water around him.

Seriously, I am like a step away from shouting from my rooftop about this book, both to inform people of its existence, & inform them of it’s life-changing, simple perfection... *sighs* I was Lin. I was the Emperor’s daughter. And I would show him that even broken daughters could wield power. Agency is another key theme in The Bone Shard Daughter. Each of the four viewpoint characters is given a different lot in life, from Lin at the pinnacle of power, to Sand, who has nothing. Rather than accepting their position in life, each character makes choices on their own behalf to change their circumstances. The theme of agency is perhaps most clearly illustrated through Lin’s story. As she grows as a character, she realizes that no one is truly powerless to make choices over their own life—a sentiment that is echoed in Sand’s story, albeit in a very different way. All the Alanga had powers, but their rulers had more than most. When one island’s ruler fought with another, the clash of their magics had killed so many hapless bystanders. Enormous walls of water, windstorms that flattened cities. The greatest of them, Dione, could drown a city while saving all the flies, but most Alanga didn’t have that level of control. One of my favorite tropes in fantasy is when the main character/s stumbles into becoming a “hero” or reluctantly takes up that kind of position. We see that in Stormlight Archives with Kaladin and we see that in Jovis in this book.As a note though, this book is being comp'd to THE POPPY WAR/for fans of TPW and beyond them both being under the umbrella of Asian fantasy, I just want to put out there that if you are reading them because of this . . . don't necessarily come into this expecting the same kind of story? THE POPPY WAR (if you haven't read it . . . well, read it) is grimdark military fantasy; TBSD isn't. TBSD has a very different narrative. The worldbuilding of the two are different, taking influences from different parts of East Asian culture. (On that note, TPW has way more of a historical influence too.) Both are awesome though, and worth a read. Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! The Bone Shard Wargives us answerspretty early on even as it weaves in new mysteries which are solved in their own time. Some of the larger revelations totally reframe the series, giving it a ton of re-read value. That to me is always a sign of a well-executed finale. The minute I finished The Bone Shard War, I was eager to revisit the earlier books and comb through them for clues I missed on the first go.

Is anyone tired of these little caveats? It always seems to me that I should let readers know if I got the book for free, or if I'm best friends with the writer. Anyway, in the interest of honesty, I'll probably keep doing them!) Lin’s chapters are full of intrigue and espionage and honestly, even though I guessed some of the plot twists before they were revealed, some of them took me completely by surprise. Some parts are dark and twisted, but it is a great book because of this darker dimension. Jovis’s and Phalue’s chapters are full of action as the former is trying to evade the law and the criminal gang he owes money to, and the latter gets pulled into a rebellious group because of the woman she loves. The magical system played as large a focus as the rife political discontent and I was intrigued by the interplay of the two. I found them both endlessly interesting aspects to explore. The magic was unique in its construction and continued to be built upon throughout. The reader and the characters were invited to heighten their understanding together, further enhancing the bond I had with them. The political focus involved rebellious gangs, espionage, failed heists, and all the action and intrigue I could desire to read about. Ranami: a commoner and freedom fighter at heart, she is now in a relationship with Phalue, and working to convince her of the inherent injustice of the hierarchical and exploitative social structure. Those five words immediately swim through a thousand questions flooding the reader’s mind. The questions will be answered eventually— most of them, anyway—but not before Andrea Stewart makes us at home in the minds of four different narrators. In that sense, the plot of The Bone Shard Daughter feels like a fist clenching a tangle of threads, and the most vivid of those threads begins with Lin.

Recent Comments

The pacing was slow at first and then it gets faster later in the book, the last 25% were crazy awesome with all the plot twists and reveals and everything fell into place which made them my favorite part and which increased my rating of this story to above 4 stars! Anyway, bone shards are used to power creations of the Emperor’s— Constructs (Which my GOD did I LOVE this completely unique and refreshing concept!); The shards also each contain a plethora of commands that have to be organized JUST RIGHT. These constructs must follow their given commands, although compliance of these commands can be a bit iffy, as some Constructs are extremely complex with much room for error! Even in simple constructs there’s always a chance for unintended mistakes or loopholes ! 😏

Liptak, Andrew (2021-02-16). "Here Are the Nominees for the 2021 Compton Crook Award". Tor.com . Retrieved 2022-04-05. a heartbroken smuggler who's been looking for his wife and who wants you to know that if he sometimes does the right thing, it's with reluctance, he's not a good person, thank you very much ;Constructs are SOFREAKINGCOOL! They can look like animals, or, well, they can take any shape the creator wishes— they can EVEN take the shape of humans— or humanoid shapes even! Without a doubt, the Bone Shard Daughter is a superb opener to The Drowning Empire trilogy that delivers on its promising premise with a highly entertaining story. I am extremely eager to see what direction Andrea Stewart takes with this story and have no qualms in recommending this one to all fantasy readers. And finally, Sand’s chapters were some of my favorites to read, though they appeared the least throughout the book. Sand has forgotten everything about her life before now, where she moves through her day in a fog, on an island full of other people with lost memories. I wanted to know everything about her, and the reveal did not disappoint.