![]() ![]() Everything that I would give a mixed review seems brighter and better when I try to sum it up. ![]() The high-concept work in this novel is brilliant. But Vox uses clear point of view characters, excellent “tight shots” of individual moments of action, and then excellent summaries to breathe life into a fading trope of military fiction. Even more impressive is his rendering of Roman Legion battles, because they’ve been done to death in fiction. That’s not an easy thing to pull off and Vox Day does it well. The battle scenes are coherent, believable, clear, and engaging. The battle against his demon-werewolf Aalvarg involves Norse shield-wall tactics and free-wheeling medieval cavalry. Speaking of military, Vox does an excellent job with two very different styles of combat. ![]() There are three major stories told within the novel, and any one of them would suffice for a standard mass-market paperback: one tragic story, one political drama, and a military tale as well. Vox’s critical thinking skills and systematic approach to things supply a rare solidity to his fantasy world. ![]() In the critical concept-related portions of his novel Throne of Bones really shines through. The structure of the church, administration of the republic, and the political maneuvering between nobles are all based on fascinating concepts. Vox’s novel shines in the realm of ideas and formula. It robs something of the sense of wonder from the story, but makes the more mundane successes of his mortal heroes all the more compelling because they are not inevitable. There are no supermen here, only flawed mortals (all things being relative in a story with elves) doing their best according to their nature. Corvus has his unbending legalism, Clericus his matching idealism, and so it goes for every character. Every character has at least one major flaw. Vox’s characterization also harkens back to the great traditions of epic lore. His villains, the corrupt politician Patronus and his worldly daughter are living illustration of everything nauseating about Roman history and Byzantine corruption. Fjotra, the Norse princess is another strong antagonist, whose own journey highlights the better parts of her culture as well as making an interesting commentary on the roles of women in warrior societies. The Valerian nobles are strong male leads, the elder, Corvus, presents us with a useful embodiment of the classical Roman virtues of piety, family, and patriotism while his younger son Clericus (a joke because of his faith) is a fine officer in the standard fiction role of a freshly-minted officer earning his spurs. Theudric the mage is as close as any character comes to an Everyman. Throne of Bones has a strong cast of protagonists, each with unique strengths to their points of view. The humanity of the church’s officers comes through, as does the mystery of potential supernatural goings-on behind the scenes. Throne of Bones itself refers to the seat of the Not-Catholic Church in the heart of Not-Rome, and the novel begins with a strong voice and a fine characteristic introduction. I have already spoken about Vox’s strong amalgamation of Roman and French medieval worlds with standard Western tropes in my review of The Last Witchking. My first foray into Vox Day’s long fiction was his novel Throne of Bones, one of his stories in the fantasy world of Selenoth. ![]()
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