Lieutenant Donal Riordan has been given the most bizarre of new cases. Four famous stage performers have died in recent months, thee of them in state capitals within Transifica, the fourth in far Zurinam. And now the idolised Diva, Maria deLivnova is coming to Tristopolis. Donal's boss is determined that nothing like this is ever to happen in his city. Donal is to have anything he needs as long the Diva lives. And so begins a dark investigation through a world where corpses give up their pyschic energy in the massive necrofulx generators that power the city, where gargoyles talk, where wraiths work in slavery, a world of the dead where corruption is alive. This is an extraordinary SF novel set in alternate universe quite unlike any imagined in SF before; a universe where magic and the supernatural and the undead are given a scientific rationale and horrifyingly plausible rationale. The novel's setting, Tristopolis, is the ultimate noir city; an immense baroque creation of haunted stone skyscrapers, black metal and city-wide catacombs. Its hero Donal Riordan is immensely likeable and easy to identify with. Even once he's dead.
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"Meaney's creepy, death-haunted world lingers in the long after the book is closed. A smart and spooky read." (THE TIMES )
"Filmic action aplenty and lots of weird imagery." (SFX )
"Fast paced, very entertaining and out of the ordinary. Meaney throws together familiar elements of multiple genres and creates something both haunting and engaging. (SFFWORLD.COM )
"Bone Song is crisply written and the gruesome aspects of Tristopolis are vividly portrayed." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )
"Think Dirty Harry in a city created by the bastard love-child of Jeff VanderMeer and China Mieville. The backdrop of a hardboiled crime plot cleverly disguises stories of human interaction, trust, mistrust, loyalty, morality, acceptance, and love while delivering a great mystery." (NETH SPACE. COM )
"Filmic action aplenty and lots of weird imagery." (SFX )
"Fast paced, very entertaining and out of the ordinary. Meaney throws together familiar elements of multiple genres and creates something both haunting and engaging. (SFFWORLD.COM )
"Bone Song is crisply written and the gruesome aspects of Tristopolis are vividly portrayed." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )
"Think Dirty Harry in a city created by the bastard love-child of Jeff VanderMeer and China Mieville. The backdrop of a hardboiled crime plot cleverly disguises stories of human interaction, trust, mistrust, loyalty, morality, acceptance, and love while delivering a great mystery." (NETH SPACE. COM )
Book Description
John Meaney joins the Gollancz list and launches a new genre: dark SF
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was getting very bored by Paranormal PIs until I read Bone Song. This is NOT another goodguy/gal werewolf/vampire/witch hunting down (while having hot, rampant sex with a sort-of-good-sort-of-bad partner) the badguy/gal werewolf/vamp... well, you get the picture. Yes, there are security deathwolves, wraiths which act as the force running inanimate objects such as lifts, cars, etc and there are zombies. The characters are, perhaps, a little typical; strong but silent cop and wisecracking twin cops but the antihero, Donal Riordan, is a cop whose lover/boss is a zombie who has to plug her black heart into the mains (energy comes from the tortured emotions of flayed and executed criminals) every few days to "live".
There is action aplenty. No one is who they seem to be; layers upon layers of conspiracy (I LOOOOOVE a really good conspiracy story)abound.
I couldnt really think of comparable authors - hence the title for the review - but take a dash of the Nightside series minus the humour, a chunk of Richard Morgan and stir in a soupcon of Karen Chance and you may have an idea, but this book (and the sequel, incidentally) is very dark and bleak and while satisfying in the denouement, still leaves you desperate for more. On the bright side, there is a sequel.
There is action aplenty. No one is who they seem to be; layers upon layers of conspiracy (I LOOOOOVE a really good conspiracy story)abound.
I couldnt really think of comparable authors - hence the title for the review - but take a dash of the Nightside series minus the humour, a chunk of Richard Morgan and stir in a soupcon of Karen Chance and you may have an idea, but this book (and the sequel, incidentally) is very dark and bleak and while satisfying in the denouement, still leaves you desperate for more. On the bright side, there is a sequel.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Lyle
Format:Hardcover
Bone Song is an interesting read - it takes an alternative view where everything is powered by corpses (hey, don't blame me, I only read the thing) which makes for a very dark and gothic-feeling novel, with some interesting ideas about wraiths, ghosts, and how the dead are processed into energy.
All told, I'm going to be looking out for more of John Meaney's stuff - I'd thought he was a new author, but it turns out he's been around for a while.
If you like authors like Peter F Hamilton, Richard Morgan and the like, Bone Song will probably be right up your street.
All told, I'm going to be looking out for more of John Meaney's stuff - I'd thought he was a new author, but it turns out he's been around for a while.
If you like authors like Peter F Hamilton, Richard Morgan and the like, Bone Song will probably be right up your street.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a strange and unusual novel. Set in a kind of alternative reality where some things are similar but also blended in is a city that exists off the energy of the bones of the dead, and wraiths and zombies are part of the society.
I have read many novels with a taste of this, but s has been pointed out by other reviewers this is NOT a vampire girl, Jim Butcher type thing.
This is a detective thriller set within a unique and interesting premise and it delivers the story well while letting you get a taste of the world the author has created.
Refreshingly different blend of thriller, sc-fi and the macabre
I have read many novels with a taste of this, but s has been pointed out by other reviewers this is NOT a vampire girl, Jim Butcher type thing.
This is a detective thriller set within a unique and interesting premise and it delivers the story well while letting you get a taste of the world the author has created.
Refreshingly different blend of thriller, sc-fi and the macabre
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Original, good plot, slightly weak atmosphere.
Having greatly enjoyed the first two instalments of the Ragnarok trilogy I thought I'd try something a little different while I waited for the concluding volume. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Willy Eckerslike
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something to refresh the jaded palate
If you feel a bit bored with fantasy and underwhelmed by urban fantasy, try this book. Meaney has taken a traditional cop story and dropped it into a strange dark world. Read more
Published 13 months ago by toomanybooksnotenoughtime
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book - dark fantasy crime
Been a while since I last read some of his books.
Took a chance buying both Bone Song and Dark Blood - and they are just a great read. Read more
Took a chance buying both Bone Song and Dark Blood - and they are just a great read. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2010 by Torben Berg-sorensen
5.0 out of 5 stars
it's dark in here!
I was surprised by this book. It nearly made me jump! Some of the ideas are very dark; I'm not going to precis it though... you can be scared by it too. Read it at halloween. Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2010 by Adam Golding
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping tale set in a dark and vivid world.
Wow, what an amazing book. The world that Meaney creates practically leaps off the page and is unlike anything I have read before. Read more
Published on 1 July 2008 by Clinton Green
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange and enthralling
This story takes a while to get into. It's a strange world that he brings you into and it unfolds slowly around you as you read, no sudden information here but a slow realisation... Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2008 by Wyvernfriend
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bones are burning
A haunting Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale that fits in well with one of the current trends where authors merge multiple genres, in this case Sci-Fi with a touch of the macabre. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
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