City of Bones by Martha Wells
City of Bones by Martha Wells
Introduction
In the City of Bones by Martha Wells, Khat is a krisman living in the city of Charisat on the edge of the Waste. Ancient Mages created the krismen to live in the Waste. Khat has come to the city to earn his fortune in the relic trade with his human partner, Sagai. The Warders, mages who serve the Elector of Charisat, want to use relics to solve an ancient mystery. Will Khat help them even though the empowered relics could destroy the world?
Summary
City of Bones by Martha Wells’s main character is Khat. Khat is a krisman, a type of marsupial with a pouch created by ancient mages in the time the Waste was formed. The krisman is at the bottom of the social order. The Warders of the Elector of Charisat don’t believe they are people because they don’t have souls according to them. Khat leaves the safety of his people’s Enclave to earn his fortune in the human cities. He teams up with Sagai, a human, to sell relics in the city of Charisat.
Khat needs a big score to pay off a debt, so he agrees to guide the Patrician to ancient towers called Remnants. The central mystery of the book is the mystery of why the ancient mages built the Remnants. The viewpoint characters are Khat, Sagai, and the Patrician. Khat wants to find a place where he belongs, Sagai wants to protect his family, and the Patrician wants to solve the mystery. Can they accomplish their goals without destroying the world?
Recommendation
City of Bones is a great self-contained single novel, and they haven’t published a sequel so far. Khat is an interesting character. He deals with prejudice, misunderstanding, and identity. His redemption arch is why I recommend this novel. The first chapter is difficult to understand on a first reading. There are many characters, many ideas, and much world-building packed in it. Once the focus is on Khat, Sagai, and The Patrician, then the novel proceeds relentlessly to the end. Khat is knocked out too many times and recovers too quickly. I’m glad I decided to read this novel after I read the author’s Murderbot Diaries.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page for City of Bones by Martha Wells.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6599368-city-of-bones
This is a link to my review of All Systems Red by Martha Wells, Book 1 of The Murderbot Diaries.
Book Review of Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, a series of four novellas. SecUnit calls herself Murderbot. She has feelings of companionship for her human employers. What lengths will she go to protect them?
This is the link to the Goodreads page for Network Effect by Martha Wells. They published this Murderbot novel on May 5, 2020.