Book Review - A RITUAL OF BONE by Lee Conley

(Title: A Ritual of Bone / Author: Lee Conley / Publisher: Self-Published / Publication Date: June 17, 2019)


I've read a lot of zombie fiction in my day and I've also read a ton of medieval fantasy, but never before have I read a book that melds the two into a singular story.  A RITUAL OF BONE is the first volume in British author Lee Conley's The Dead Sagas series, and to say it is one of the more original works of horror fantasy that I have read in quite some time would be an understatement.  For one thing, the book is actually divided up into a number of separate smaller story lines that all converge in the end to make up one overarching main story.  

One story line deals with Master Logan and his apprentice, who are playing with a magic that has long been forgotten but which has incredibly dark ramifications if used unwisely.  It seems that another Master of their order has found a way to bring the dead back to life and in his extreme hubris, he unleashes something that will allow the dead to walk freely again and in large numbers.  Logan and his apprentice are unwilling contributors but the Pandora's Box has already been opened and what that means for the kingdom of Arnar could be catastrophic when all is said and done.  

Another storyline tells the tale of Bjorn, who is a hunter being held captive by a cannibalistic tribe.  Very early on in the book Bjorn escapes his captivity but essentially runs out of the frying pan and into the fire (no pun intended) when his escape into the forest brings him face to face with the unspeakable horror that is amassing across the countryside.  Bjorn eventually teams up with an unlikely ally and utilizes his skills as a hunter to attempt to battle the menace that is slowly taking over every corner of his countryside.  Then there's the story of Arnulf, a commander of the guard of Arnar who is struggling to keep his men together as he sees many of them fall victim to a strange plague that causes them to bleed from every orifice and die in incredibly gruesome ways.  At the same time he also must protect his homeland from a strange invasion of undead creatures the likes of which has never been seen before.  Or has it?  

Perhaps the only hope is to consult The Great Histories of the Dead Sagas in an effort to reveal certain clues of a long dead people that might stop the horrendous evil powers now loosed upon the world.  And yet another storyline follows the travails of a woman named Nym who is simply trying to protect her little brother as they live in squalor in a putrid town where the only way for them to survive and eat is for her to sell her body.  Her struggle is perhaps the most compelling as her bravery and perseverance in the face of such wanton brutality is both honorable and inspiring.  She literally goes to any lengths to protect her brother, whom she loves more than anything.  What role will Nym have to play in the invading terror that is to come?  As these separate tales converge, we get the picture of a kingdom of Arnar battling for its very existence and the only hope for its survival may lie in the hands of the characters at the hearts of all of these storylines.  

A RITUAL OF BONE is one of those books that came at the perfect time for me.  Obviously, we are close to Halloween and this book has so many horror elements in it that it felt like a really intense and scary read.  I enjoyed turning the pages well into the night over the past couple of weeks.  To dismiss this book as simply a zombie horror book would be to sell it very short however.  It is much more than that as this book strikes an incredible balance between horror and medieval fantasy.  I think this is the main reason why I enjoyed the book so much as it wasn't just a one-dimensional read.  

I never felt like I was reading a splatter zombie adventure book because of the medieval setting and also the ever-changing story lines.  I'm not usually a fan of books that are broken into smaller stories but the author did an amazing job of seamlessly integrating different story lines into a cohesive book that ultimately felt unified.  It didn't ever feel like a collection of short stories to me and I always had this notion in my head as I was reading that all of these characters and stories were interconnected and essential to the eventual conclusion.  Yes there is a good deal of gore and blood but it wasn't done in a heavy-handed way and there was a great deal of suspense that counter balanced the really violent parts.  

At the core of this book though is the stories of survival that we feel with every character and how the rampaging zombie evil affects each one in a different way.  We get to experience the struggle to stay alive against outrageous odds and as a result of that, we become intimate with these characters as we follow them along their individual journeys.  Please do give A RITUAL OF BONE by Lee Conley a try, especially if you enjoy medieval fantasy with a good deal of horror, adventure, and intrigue.  I liked this one a lot.  Can't wait for Book number two in The Dead Sagas!

(My Rating: 8/10)