Heaven's Bones: A Novel of the Mists (Ravenloft: the Covenant)

by Samantha Henderson

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Wizards of the Coast (2008), 320 pages

Description

Love and death walk hand in hand... Dr. Sebastian Robarts is a man paralyzed by the fate of his adored wife, dead in childbirth, their only child with her. He searches for a way to build angels from women, a pastime known to Scotland Yard as murder. Robarts meets the Vistani seer named Trueblood, who becomes his assistant and leads him to the Antebellum-era domain of Riverbend, controlled by the sadistic Dr. Weldon, to create angels, unfettered by conventional morality, or even rules. When the murderer returns to earth, it is the task of a Vistani policeman and a woman with a strange connection to Robarts to stop him. If he can be stopped. Heaven's Bones skillfully blends horror and steampunk and classic Victorian literary style into something exotic and fascinating.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jchines
If not for the Wizards of the Coast logo, I never would have realized this was a tie-in. Heaven's Bones is a Ravenloft title, putting it into the dark/horror side of the gaming world. Henderson puts the evil mists of Ravenloft to good use, setting much of the book in 19th century England, where
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impenetrable, putrid smog is just part of the London scenery. (Although 19th century Whitechapel is a bit of a giveaway about what's coming. There are no direct Jack the Ripper references, though.)

There are a number of different storylines which come together by the end of the book. The primary stories are those of Dr. Sebastian Robarts, and the Vistani called Trueblood. Trueblood was born with the gift of cursing. While this doesn't make him evil, he chose a dark path, and was punished by his people. His name was stripped from him, and he found himself living in the mists.

Dr. Robarts is a tragic figure, a skilled surgeon who loses his wife and child in childbirth. Trueblood reaches out to Robarts, driving him mad. Robarts begins kidnapping women, using a combination of his surgical skills and Trueblood's magic to reshape them in horrible ways, with the goal of creating angels of humans, gifts for his lost wife and child.

I was a little disoriented at first -- Henderson introduces one set of characters, and as I'm getting into their story, we jump to another. But one of the pleasures of the book is starting to see how these storylines all begin to intersect and inform one another across multiple worlds and times. It's an ambitious book, one Henderson pulls off quite well, for the most part. (I didn't feel like Fanny's story fit as tightly as the rest, though the very end does justify their inclusion.)

Heaven's Bones is a disturbing read at times, which is to be expected from a Ravenloft novel. I think the most disturbing aspect is how well Henderson brings us into Robarts' mindset, his fascination with reshaping these women. In reality, Robarts is a fearsome creature, torturing and enslaving his victims. Yet as we follow his work, using magic and scalpel to cut away organs and flesh, rebuilding bone and trying time and again to craft wings capable of flight ... on some level, a part of me wanted to see him succeed. Every once in a while, for a paragraph or a page, I shared his madness ... seeing past the horror to the ultimate goal, something that transcends humanity and becomes beautiful. Becomes angelic.

The book is full of horribly fascinating ideas. The "angel" from the cover art is a particularly twisted example. Seriah, the recording angel, is a brilliant character. There is no gore for the sake of gore, no cheap thrills. It's a dark novel, but the darkness is there for a reason.

My only complaints would be that Fanny's storyline seemed less connected, and as I read her parts I found myself getting impatient to return to the other storyline. And our heroes Sophie and Artemis never felt quite as... developed? engaging? ...as their foils Robarts and Trueblood. Neither of these are serious concerns.

Overall, this is an impressive book. Not one I'd recommend to everyone, but if you like a darker, more complex story, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.
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LibraryThing member terrier1
I chose this book as I had come across some of Samantha Henderson's work on Escape Artist podcasts. She is also a contributor to the Sofanaut podcasts, particulary her for poetry. So I gave this book a try. I have to say that I was unaware of the Ravenloft link so I think some of the storyline
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passed me by.

I did find the story a bit slow in places and it skipped around a bit too much for my liking. The basic premise of the evil in London worked well but I got lost a bit once the mists came into play and the time travel began.
The stye of writing is beautiful, as another reviewer says, it does betray the authors poetry leanings. The words cleverly paint a strange world covering a harsh side of victorian London and the old plantation worlds of the south. This is not a book to read quickly. You need to read it slowly to fuly appreciate and enjoy the skills of the author.
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Awards

Scribe Award (Nominee — 2009)

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

320 p.; 4.26 inches

ISBN

0786951117 / 9780786951116
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