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Publisher Unknown, Kindle Edition
Description
Bijou the Artificer has been a wizard of Messaline for eighty years, building her servants from precious scraps, and now she is ready to rest. But a former apprentice brings her a child poisoned by a sorcerous infection, the first sign that Kaulas the Necromancer--Bijou's old nemesis and love--is unleashing a reeking half-death on the City of Jackals.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kmaziarz
Elderly Bijou is an artificer, a wizard in the city of Messaline who specializes in the building of semi-robotic constructs using the bones of once-living animals, jewels, and metal…the bone and jewel creatures of the title. Her quiet, ordered life is upset one day when Brazen, her former
However, it quickly becomes obvious that the child’s poisoning was not an isolated incident: people and animals all over the city are being poisoned in the same way, many of them rising after death to serve Kaulas as Bijou’s constructs serve her. Old rivalries and old betrayals are at work once again, and the aging artificer must come out of semi-retirement to resolve the plague of undeath ravaging the city’s poor and defeat her old nemesis at last--or die trying.
Despite the short length of this novella, the world of Bijou, Brazen, and the others is fully sketched. Artful hints as to the nature of the city, the government, and the nature of magic expand the world-building far beyond the normal constraints of the shorter form. One hopes for more stories set in this world, featuring these richly drawn characters and settings.
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apprentice, arrives at her door carrying a feral child—raised in the streets of Messaline by jackals—who has been poisoned by the magic of Kaulas the Necromancer. Bijou is able to replace the wounded child’s arm with a construct of bone and metal, and sets about the slow task of domesticating the wild girl. However, it quickly becomes obvious that the child’s poisoning was not an isolated incident: people and animals all over the city are being poisoned in the same way, many of them rising after death to serve Kaulas as Bijou’s constructs serve her. Old rivalries and old betrayals are at work once again, and the aging artificer must come out of semi-retirement to resolve the plague of undeath ravaging the city’s poor and defeat her old nemesis at last--or die trying.
Despite the short length of this novella, the world of Bijou, Brazen, and the others is fully sketched. Artful hints as to the nature of the city, the government, and the nature of magic expand the world-building far beyond the normal constraints of the shorter form. One hopes for more stories set in this world, featuring these richly drawn characters and settings.
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LibraryThing member TerryWeyna
Subterranean Press continues its course of publishing lovely novellas in book form with Elizabeth Bear’s Bone and Jewel Creatures. Bear appeared on the scene in 2004 as if she were Athena, sprung fully formed from Zeus’s forehead to be a major player in the science fiction and fantasy genres.
I discovered that Bone and Jewel Creatures is being marketed as a story for young readers from nine to twelve years old only after I finished reading it. I was surprised; this novella strikes me as a very sophisticated, adult tale with plenty of allusions and implications that would go right over the heads of all but the most well-read of children. It does not seem at all childlike in any way.
Bone and Jewel Creatures is a sort of fairy tale, though; a story of magic and wizards and necromancers. The protagonist is Bijou, a very old woman crippled with arthritis, a wizard who creates creatures out of clean old bones and sparkling jewels. Her former apprentice is Brazen the Enchanter, a man who clearly loves her as a mother. He has been trying for a decade to get her to take a new apprentice, “someone youthful and broad-back who could pump the bellows and heave the ingots, who might tend the maggots and the corpse-beetles, who would haul the ashes and stir the porridge.” She has consistently refused. But one day he makes the choice for her, bringing her a feral child who bears a terrible wound on her hand, one that requires that her arm be amputated at the elbow. Bijou takes the child in, performs the necessary surgery, and forms for her a new arm made from her own bones and beautiful semi-precious stones. She names the child Emeraude.
Emeraude’s appearance augurs more than a new apprentice, however; her wound is not natural, but the work of Kaulas the Necromancer. Kaulas, Bijou and Brazen have a shared history, and not a happy one. Now Kaulas seems to be creating an army of undead creatures to serve some unknown purpose, to be infecting the living with putrefaction that kills them but keeps their flesh animated. Bijou and Brazen must act to stop him.
That makes this novella sound like a very straightforward tale. In some ways it is; but it is also more complex than a plot summary suggests. Part of the story, for instance, is told from the point of view of Emeraude. This child, raised by jackals, must figure out where she belongs in the world, and that is not an easy task. And then there are Bijou’s creatures, described with elegance and a wonder to behold in one’s own imagination. This story would be a beautiful graphic novel, but left to my own devices, I was able to build Bijou’s home and illustrate her work with a lot of detail thanks to Bear’s lovely writing.
Set aside an hour or two to spend with this book. It may be a trifle compared to Bear’s more challenging trilogies or novels, but it is a lovely trifle – a jewel.
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Her first project was the science fiction thriller Jenny Casey space opera series beginning with Hammered, but in short order books by Bear began appearing at least every six months. In 2005, she won the John W. Campbell award for Best New Author; in 2008 the Hugo for Best Short Story (“Tideline”); and in 2009 the Hugo for Best Novellette (“Shoggoths in Bloom”). I briefly met her at Readercon several years ago, and expressed my astonishment at her sudden, prolific appearance. She assured me that she had been laboring for many years in complete obscurity, and was clearly relishing that she did so no longer.I discovered that Bone and Jewel Creatures is being marketed as a story for young readers from nine to twelve years old only after I finished reading it. I was surprised; this novella strikes me as a very sophisticated, adult tale with plenty of allusions and implications that would go right over the heads of all but the most well-read of children. It does not seem at all childlike in any way.
Bone and Jewel Creatures is a sort of fairy tale, though; a story of magic and wizards and necromancers. The protagonist is Bijou, a very old woman crippled with arthritis, a wizard who creates creatures out of clean old bones and sparkling jewels. Her former apprentice is Brazen the Enchanter, a man who clearly loves her as a mother. He has been trying for a decade to get her to take a new apprentice, “someone youthful and broad-back who could pump the bellows and heave the ingots, who might tend the maggots and the corpse-beetles, who would haul the ashes and stir the porridge.” She has consistently refused. But one day he makes the choice for her, bringing her a feral child who bears a terrible wound on her hand, one that requires that her arm be amputated at the elbow. Bijou takes the child in, performs the necessary surgery, and forms for her a new arm made from her own bones and beautiful semi-precious stones. She names the child Emeraude.
Emeraude’s appearance augurs more than a new apprentice, however; her wound is not natural, but the work of Kaulas the Necromancer. Kaulas, Bijou and Brazen have a shared history, and not a happy one. Now Kaulas seems to be creating an army of undead creatures to serve some unknown purpose, to be infecting the living with putrefaction that kills them but keeps their flesh animated. Bijou and Brazen must act to stop him.
That makes this novella sound like a very straightforward tale. In some ways it is; but it is also more complex than a plot summary suggests. Part of the story, for instance, is told from the point of view of Emeraude. This child, raised by jackals, must figure out where she belongs in the world, and that is not an easy task. And then there are Bijou’s creatures, described with elegance and a wonder to behold in one’s own imagination. This story would be a beautiful graphic novel, but left to my own devices, I was able to build Bijou’s home and illustrate her work with a lot of detail thanks to Bear’s lovely writing.
Set aside an hour or two to spend with this book. It may be a trifle compared to Bear’s more challenging trilogies or novels, but it is a lovely trifle – a jewel.
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LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
Bone and Jewel Creatures is a lovely little novella - a bit short on plot, but long on inventiveness and full of delightful, mostly non-human characters. (The feral child who thinks she's a jackal is excellent.)
No complaints, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
No complaints, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
LibraryThing member glitrbug
This is a jewel of a book. Ms. Bear creates a whole world full of well rounded characters that you learn to love. The whole idea of creating creatures from bones, wire, jewels and a bit of magic is worth the read and then there is a whole rich story about creating a family for yourself and passing
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down your knowledge. It that was very satisfying to me. Normally I stay away from short stories and novellas because they seem like an idea that needs to be fleshed out. This one is finely crafted and perfect. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
I've sat on this novella for a while. I tend to do that with novellas and I just wait until I want to read an entire story in one sitting but don't want to commit a lot of time to it. I'm happy to say that I can read more about this universe since it is set in the same world as the Eternal Sky
The story is set in a world of magic and the beginning of a wizard war in the city. The necromancer is making a bid for power over the other wizards. Bijou is brought a feral child by her old apprentice and she creates a hand out of bone and jewels to replace the infected one that had to be removed. Her home is filled with the magical bone creatures that serve her and she creates more of them for her customers. In the space of a few pages you find out how the city politics work and a lot of history between the wizards. A good read and I'm glad there is more for me to read as well.
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series. Now this means I will have to start reading it in my spare time. The story is set in a world of magic and the beginning of a wizard war in the city. The necromancer is making a bid for power over the other wizards. Bijou is brought a feral child by her old apprentice and she creates a hand out of bone and jewels to replace the infected one that had to be removed. Her home is filled with the magical bone creatures that serve her and she creates more of them for her customers. In the space of a few pages you find out how the city politics work and a lot of history between the wizards. A good read and I'm glad there is more for me to read as well.
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LibraryThing member JalenV
Bijou the Artificer (her craft name), a 96-year-old wizard, creates the title Artifices of Bone and Jewel Creatures. Bijou is a follower (as much as she follows any god), of the goddess Kaalah, the Lady of Moths, goddess of transformations and borderlines. Given what she meakes, it's no wonder that
Bijou has prospered considerably since she became a wizard of Messaline, city of jackals, 80 years ago. She lives alone except for her Artifices, the ones she didn't make for others. Bijou hasn't had a man since Kaulas the Necromancer dumped her for a foreign sorceress. Still, Bijou reared Kaulas' son, who grew up to be Brazen the Enchanter.
Brazen never knew his biological mother. Bijou is his mother in all that matters. He gives her the love and respect he denies his father. Kaulas has never forgiven Bijou for this. Instead of trying to win his son's affection and respect in legitimate ways, the evil Kaulas has hatched a nasty plot.
A feral child, reared by jackals, is the first victim we meet. She's only six or seven years old. Bijou speculates that the child's mother exposed her because she was born with a deformed hand. That hand is suffering from a creeping necrosis. Bijou can't save it, but she might be able to save the child.
Bijou names the girl Emeraude. Part of this novella is from Emeraude's point of view. She considers herself a jackal cub and longs to return to her pack. In the meantime, she learns to trust Bijou and her Artifices.
We are given enough detail to understand the motives of the main characters as well as the character of the city they live in. Kaulas doesn't appear in many of the pages, but when he does, he proves to be even worse than his former lover and his son thought he was.
The author does a good job of portraying a feral child. I wonder how Emeraude's future turned out.
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Bijou follows a goddss to whom the moth, scarabs, bottle-green blowflies, and jackals are sacred. Her oldest surviving Artifice is Ambrosias, a giant centipede, whom she made 70 years ago. Bijou has prospered considerably since she became a wizard of Messaline, city of jackals, 80 years ago. She lives alone except for her Artifices, the ones she didn't make for others. Bijou hasn't had a man since Kaulas the Necromancer dumped her for a foreign sorceress. Still, Bijou reared Kaulas' son, who grew up to be Brazen the Enchanter.
Brazen never knew his biological mother. Bijou is his mother in all that matters. He gives her the love and respect he denies his father. Kaulas has never forgiven Bijou for this. Instead of trying to win his son's affection and respect in legitimate ways, the evil Kaulas has hatched a nasty plot.
A feral child, reared by jackals, is the first victim we meet. She's only six or seven years old. Bijou speculates that the child's mother exposed her because she was born with a deformed hand. That hand is suffering from a creeping necrosis. Bijou can't save it, but she might be able to save the child.
Bijou names the girl Emeraude. Part of this novella is from Emeraude's point of view. She considers herself a jackal cub and longs to return to her pack. In the meantime, she learns to trust Bijou and her Artifices.
We are given enough detail to understand the motives of the main characters as well as the character of the city they live in. Kaulas doesn't appear in many of the pages, but when he does, he proves to be even worse than his former lover and his son thought he was.
The author does a good job of portraying a feral child. I wonder how Emeraude's future turned out.
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LibraryThing member Isana
I love books like this. Books about unusual protagonists: old women who are going to die, a feral child. It's very Patricia A. McKillip, if I am allowed to say so. A short story that feels as though someone is there telling you a story rather than calling you into an epic journey. I love this kind
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of story. Show Less
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Novella — 2011)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Novella — 2011)
Locus Recommended Reading (Novella — 2010)
Original publication date
2010-03