Jaga’s Bones (Chronicles of Gloam Book 1) by Simon McHardy

Author Simon McHardy holds nothing back in Jaga’s Bones, a visceral and at times disturbing tale of sisterhood, sadism, and survival.

When Jaga’s father condemns her to a cruel sisterhood of necromancers where death is a constant threat looming around every corner, this young and tenacious heroine must find the will to rise above her captors, and the others she is competing against to live. When you worship a voraciously hungry god of death, however, gore and violence is a natural part of life, which gives this book a savagely dark edge.

This type of dark fantasy can easily become repetitive, but McHardy focuses deeply on character development and motivation, and Jaga’s rich inner world is compelling to witness. As the book progresses, the ethical and philosophical elements of the story come into clearer focus, as does the author’s probing questions about justice, morality, loyalty and self-preservation. McHardy known how to thrill and turn a reader’s stomach, but he also has the ability to tug on the right heartstrings and plant interesting self-reflective seeds.

The story and Jaga’s fiery personality hold the novel together, but the dialogue through much of the book feels stilted and functional, rather than authentic, and some of the scenes do drag through redundant narration. As a whole, Jaga’s Bones is a remarkably bold, bloody, and ambitious start to a new series.

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