Title: The Bone Ship’s Wake
Author: RJ Barker
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2021
Pages: 543
Goodreads Rating: 4.35
Rating: 9/10
“I was sent to die and in death found purpose.”
Joron and his Tide Child crew have developed quite the reputation. Why? To exact revenge on those who have taken their beloved shipwife. How? By showing no quarter to any and all Hundred Isles ships that cross their path. Tide Child is on a rescue mission and there will be blood in the water. Prepare yourself for an epic finale to a tremendous series.
Pros
Immediately captures your attention
The first chapter instantly sucks you into the story. The reader is met with a torture scene that acts as the perfect catalyst to harden your resolve towards the evil organization in this series.
Worldbuilding details
Continuing to build on what we learned in Call of the Bone Ships, we get more details about the Gullaime, the prophecy, and the arakeesians. Dead arakeesian bodies are especially fascinating and you get to witness the impact that one can have on a city.
Shocking moments
Without going into spoilers, there were three epic, shocking moments in the book. I’m limited in what I can say… so I’ll leave it at this. All three were goosebump moments that turned the tides of the story.
Warm and fuzzy ending
The last 100 pages are bleak… our beloved Tide Child crew are in a dire situation. Sickening sacrifices must be made. But there’s a sliver of peace and justice that is found and it brings all of the warm and fuzzy feelings.
Cons
Torture length of time
One of our main characters experiences over a year of torture. This character was broken down and told the captors what they wanted to know. However, the torture continued after they got the info. It just didn’t make much sense… why not hold this character captive as bait without torture?
Poor communication
One of my most hated tropes is the poor communicator… When a character is unable or unwilling to clearly say something and causes an issue. And the communication between Joron and the Gullaime was pretty poor throughout the book. If they had a moment to openly discuss what was going on, it would have resolved a major issue that was built up and handled towards the end of the book.
Overall…
What an incredible end to a tremendous series. RJ Barker, thank you for introducing me to one of my absolute favorite series.
Caroline’s Library 