Tom Mock

Them Old Bones | Worldbreaker |
Wow. I found two more great openings, one macabre with a subtle sense of humor, and the other a fantasy adventure off to a roaring good start!
(from Before We Go Blog)

134. Astor Y Teller, Them Old Bones

The succinctness of the writing especially struck me in this quirky and macabre fantasy opening. I am of course a fan of lavish descriptions and grandiose, dramatic scenes. That doesn’t mean I can’t delight in the underplayed as well.

Being brief is not the same as lacking detail or energy. The opening of Them Old Bones proves this out. Charles Bukowski, the drunken, sneering American poet, described his proffered approach as writing lines that have “juice.” The juice is here, and it’s sweet.

We know what we need to know to set the scene as we read. We are not overwhelmed by the setting. It is simple and rural. The characters take center stage.

Here, a stupid farmer lounges under a tree in worn motley. Our bone collector dressed in black like a brigand arrives. The dialogue takes the scene, along with our narrator MC who is trying not to lose their temper.

They have quite a temper too. They are impatient. They are not social. They are not like our simple farmer. They are also not alive.

The tone is strikingly medieval to me. Humorous, irreverent, but at the same time I feel there is something deathly serious lurking nearby. Death, for the moment, may be played for a bit of a sardonic laugh, but it is still dark humor.

I can little guess what our bone collector who is “not really” a bone collector is doing, but they are most certainly here for a bone. Through what reports and channels they have heard of it and what do they want it for?

I’d like to know. The pages keep flying by and I keep reading with no sense of abatement if interest. This opening feels fresh and unique. I bought the book! I’m in!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195641810-them-old-bones

135. Becca Lee Gardner, Worldbreaker

This adventure fantasy is off to a thrilling start. It’s packed with urgency, character, and a building sense of a dangerous, strange, magical world.

Our adventures leap off the page, each instantly distinct. This has great competence of prose and dialogue, and I read it with relish. It tells me just what I need to know to hook me into the story and the danger our characters are in.

The action climax of chapter 1 of nearly crashing a ship into the harbor is handled with the same expert pace and intensity as the rest of this opening. My eyes darted down the page with growing intensity. Lovely stuff.

This also has humor and heart! From a little animal companion who gets up to mischief, to a sister dying of fright for her brother who can only be healed by magic, and guilt because it is from her creeping darkness that the thing that wounded him sprang.

Based on opening alone, I would have called this a shoe in for finalist! It had every quality a reader could ask for in a Dnd-type fantasy adventure. It’s familiar, and yet seen through an exciting new lense.

But this is only my gloss on the opening chapter. And if the next few dozen pages deliver as much pleasure as this opening, the ebook will have more than paid for itself!

 It reminds me of the best of RA Salvatore and the forgotten realms books. Fans of Delicious Dungeon and shows of that ilk, dive in! I’d love to know what this not-entirely companionable party gets up to from here. I’m in!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203949584-worldbreaker

((Not about this book, but a broader conceit that it was written under: from the forward, I gather this novel is written as part of a shared universe with other writers – just like other beloved fantasy sandboxes like The Forgotten Realms

I think this is an inspired idea! I’m excited to see where it goes and how the world these author’s conjure together takes on a life in the mind of new readers! Check it out!))

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