Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Ace (2010), 336 pages
Description
Scholar Phelan Cle is researching Bone Plain--which has been studied for the last 500 years, though no one has been able to locate it as a real place. Archaeologist Jonah Cle, Phelan's father, is also hunting through time, piecing history together from forgotten trinkets. His most eager disciple is Princess Beatrice, the king's youngest daughter. When they unearth a disk marked with ancient runes, Beatrice pursues the secrets of a lost language that she suddenly notices all around her, hidden in plain sight.
Media reviews
I’ve been reading Patricia McKillip’s books for more years than I want to admit at this point, and The Bards of Bone Plain has everything that has kept me coming back to them again and again, refined, distilled, and that much more potent.
World Fantasy Award–winner McKillip (The Bell at Sealey Head) offers a rich, resonant story of poetry, riddles, mystery, and magic.
User reviews
LibraryThing member beserene
Patricia McKillip has been my favorite living author for quite a few years now and every once in a while a new book comes out that reminds me why. There is something so lush about her prose that one can't help but sink into it. Her fantasies are always connected with something larger -- folklore,
The setting here is unusually blended; a lot of McKillip's novels are traditionally set in a medieval-esque fantasy kingdom, but in this book we have moved into a kingdom in shift, a place that includes early motorcars and ancient standing stones. Were I not so used to steampunk, I might have found the setting an odd fit (McKillip isn't writing steampunk here, but the flavor pops up occasionally in certain descriptions), but it works as a piece of the puzzle that the book sets up.
In many ways, the novel is about blending things (and people) that shouldn't fit. It approaches ideas of time, history, archaeology, tradition, romance, magic... all with an eye for the places and ideas that intersect, overlap, blur into each other. There are no hard borders in the novel -- everything seems to be a liminal space -- including the narrative itself, which switches back and forth from one perspective to another, until the reader gets close to the end and realizes what's been going on (I won't spoil it for you).
The romance angle is a little more subtle in this novel as compared to many of McKillip's others, as our attention is focused on the nature of other relationships -- father and son, master and student, conqueror and conquered -- but I very much liked the characters who did get together. McKillip tends to write strong, balanced women and uses a healthy measure of reality in her characterization, something that is occasionally lost in other fantasy literature.
Bottom line: I love this author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you enjoy good fantasy and have not encountered McKillip before, give her work a try. (To be honest, the first book by her that I picked up, I bought for the cover -- amazing work by Kinuko Craft, and I am happy to see Ms. Craft continuing to do these covers -- so sometimes you really can judge a book that way!) If you have already spent pleasant hours with her books, you will not be disappointed by McKillip's newest effort.
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fairy tales, regional traditions -- and that makes them feel richer and more satisfying than many. This particular novel, while not breaking my top three of her work (though, really, decent work from her still trumps master efforts from a lot of writers), continues that trend of richness.The setting here is unusually blended; a lot of McKillip's novels are traditionally set in a medieval-esque fantasy kingdom, but in this book we have moved into a kingdom in shift, a place that includes early motorcars and ancient standing stones. Were I not so used to steampunk, I might have found the setting an odd fit (McKillip isn't writing steampunk here, but the flavor pops up occasionally in certain descriptions), but it works as a piece of the puzzle that the book sets up.
In many ways, the novel is about blending things (and people) that shouldn't fit. It approaches ideas of time, history, archaeology, tradition, romance, magic... all with an eye for the places and ideas that intersect, overlap, blur into each other. There are no hard borders in the novel -- everything seems to be a liminal space -- including the narrative itself, which switches back and forth from one perspective to another, until the reader gets close to the end and realizes what's been going on (I won't spoil it for you).
The romance angle is a little more subtle in this novel as compared to many of McKillip's others, as our attention is focused on the nature of other relationships -- father and son, master and student, conqueror and conquered -- but I very much liked the characters who did get together. McKillip tends to write strong, balanced women and uses a healthy measure of reality in her characterization, something that is occasionally lost in other fantasy literature.
Bottom line: I love this author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you enjoy good fantasy and have not encountered McKillip before, give her work a try. (To be honest, the first book by her that I picked up, I bought for the cover -- amazing work by Kinuko Craft, and I am happy to see Ms. Craft continuing to do these covers -- so sometimes you really can judge a book that way!) If you have already spent pleasant hours with her books, you will not be disappointed by McKillip's newest effort.
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LibraryThing member atimco
The Bards of Bone Plain, Patricia McKillip's latest effort, leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, the writing is superb, delicate and intelligent, and no one can turn a phrase like she does. Every sentence is a gift. But I found the story itself strangely unengaging—maybe I was following
McKillip entwines two stories, the past and the present, connecting them by a character who is condemned to live forever as a punishment for failing the trials of Bone Plain. Nairn is the somewhat historical, somewhat mythical figure who haunts the pages; we get bits and pieces of his story even as we try to figure out what's happening in the present and what the connection is. History, legend, mythology, and folklore traditions meet—and duel—in the music of Caerau.
The cast is well drawn, as is usual with McKillip. There's Phelan Cle, a talented student who nevertheless cares little for music; Phelan's father Jonah Cle, a brilliant drunk with a passion for archaeology; Princess Beatrice, who works at the dig sites and is determined not to be married off; Zoe, a uniquely gifted singer who is next in line for the post of bard to the king; and several others, each deftly brought to life.
The world-building is nebulous; there are cars, it seems, but they are background noise, incidental mentions behind the medieval-fantasy world feel. The princess does archaeological digs and it seems most people don't look askance at it, but older attitudes are represented in her mother, who disapproves of such activities as wholly unladylike. The school trains bards and they learn an oral tradition, but there is a huge background of scholarship, articles and records and theses. And most of the scholarship is about the subject: the location of Bone Plain and its famous (and mysterious) trials. When Phelan finds himself inexplicably pulled into the age-old mystery, it suddenly becomes very personal, with huge implications for the future. The past does that.
Ultimately this novel left me vaguely dissatisfied. Though I love McKillip's prose, the plot wasn't coherent and strong enough to really draw me in. And a reader does not live on style alone.
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the lead of the first character to be introduced, Phelan Cle, who views the world with startling dispassion. I struggled a bit to finish this book, and this rarely happens with McKillip. McKillip entwines two stories, the past and the present, connecting them by a character who is condemned to live forever as a punishment for failing the trials of Bone Plain. Nairn is the somewhat historical, somewhat mythical figure who haunts the pages; we get bits and pieces of his story even as we try to figure out what's happening in the present and what the connection is. History, legend, mythology, and folklore traditions meet—and duel—in the music of Caerau.
The cast is well drawn, as is usual with McKillip. There's Phelan Cle, a talented student who nevertheless cares little for music; Phelan's father Jonah Cle, a brilliant drunk with a passion for archaeology; Princess Beatrice, who works at the dig sites and is determined not to be married off; Zoe, a uniquely gifted singer who is next in line for the post of bard to the king; and several others, each deftly brought to life.
The world-building is nebulous; there are cars, it seems, but they are background noise, incidental mentions behind the medieval-fantasy world feel. The princess does archaeological digs and it seems most people don't look askance at it, but older attitudes are represented in her mother, who disapproves of such activities as wholly unladylike. The school trains bards and they learn an oral tradition, but there is a huge background of scholarship, articles and records and theses. And most of the scholarship is about the subject: the location of Bone Plain and its famous (and mysterious) trials. When Phelan finds himself inexplicably pulled into the age-old mystery, it suddenly becomes very personal, with huge implications for the future. The past does that.
Ultimately this novel left me vaguely dissatisfied. Though I love McKillip's prose, the plot wasn't coherent and strong enough to really draw me in. And a reader does not live on style alone.
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LibraryThing member SlySionnach
The sense of completion that I get when I finish a McKillip novel is unrivaled by any other author. I’ve said it before, but this woman’s prose is magic. There doesn’t need to be a strong plot for me to enjoy it (though it helps that her books do have one!); there just needs to be these
The Bards of Bone Plain is a story told in two different sections: one following the life of Nairn, the Unforgivable and one following the lives of Phelan Cle, son of Jonah Cle - resident merchant, alcoholic, and collector of old things. Watching how these two stories intertwine to become one is an adventure.
Phelan is about to graduated from his bardic school and has to write a paper. He chooses the topic of Bone Plain, which has been done a hundred times according to his father. As he researches, he begins to find bits and pieces of a legend that hadn’t been explored before.
Jonah spends his time going here and there with the next bottle of rum before the arrival of a bard named Kelda. Then he suddenly starts going to the events he’s invited to just to watch this man, to the amazement of his family and friends.
The story within a story is the tale of Nairn, who has failed the test he was given many years ago and now must wander the world to try and redeem himself. It follows his life from when he first learned of music until it crashes into the other storyline.
The only complaint I have about this novel is minor, but jarring. At one instance, near the end when I’d figured out the twist already, a name was either mistakenly put it which revealed a secret, or she revealed the secret too soon. Either way, it confirmed my suspicions almost too early for me and made me upset that the double twist in my mind wasn’t going to happen. But that was me just over thinking things.
But that is just a drop of oil in the ocean of perfect, blue water that is this novel. If you’ve never read any McKillip, and you count yourself as a fan of fantasy, you’d better start. There aren’t many authors out there as poetically beautiful and creative as she is.
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musical words creating a symphony on the pages.The Bards of Bone Plain is a story told in two different sections: one following the life of Nairn, the Unforgivable and one following the lives of Phelan Cle, son of Jonah Cle - resident merchant, alcoholic, and collector of old things. Watching how these two stories intertwine to become one is an adventure.
Phelan is about to graduated from his bardic school and has to write a paper. He chooses the topic of Bone Plain, which has been done a hundred times according to his father. As he researches, he begins to find bits and pieces of a legend that hadn’t been explored before.
Jonah spends his time going here and there with the next bottle of rum before the arrival of a bard named Kelda. Then he suddenly starts going to the events he’s invited to just to watch this man, to the amazement of his family and friends.
The story within a story is the tale of Nairn, who has failed the test he was given many years ago and now must wander the world to try and redeem himself. It follows his life from when he first learned of music until it crashes into the other storyline.
The only complaint I have about this novel is minor, but jarring. At one instance, near the end when I’d figured out the twist already, a name was either mistakenly put it which revealed a secret, or she revealed the secret too soon. Either way, it confirmed my suspicions almost too early for me and made me upset that the double twist in my mind wasn’t going to happen. But that was me just over thinking things.
But that is just a drop of oil in the ocean of perfect, blue water that is this novel. If you’ve never read any McKillip, and you count yourself as a fan of fantasy, you’d better start. There aren’t many authors out there as poetically beautiful and creative as she is.
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LibraryThing member phoebesmum
In present-day Caerau, Princess Beatrice helps uncover the past under the charge of the flamboyant entrepreneur Jonah Cle, while Jonah’s son Phelan struggles to find an easy topic for his graduation essay from the College of Bards. A thousand years earlier, the peasant bard Nairn sees the
This is a typical McKillip, beautifully, lyrically written, and filled with delightful, charming characters with whom it’s a pleasure to spend time. It’s also more plot-driven than some of her books; the interweaving of the two timelines is skilfully done, and gives the story additional depth and weight. If she has a weakness, it’s that she doesn’t really like writing villains, so that often her final confrontations are anti-climactic, as is somewhat the case here. A lovely book, nevertheless.
One nitpick – for some reason McKillip has latched onto the word ‘genial’, and overuses it relentlessly. It gets bothersome after a while.
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individual kingdoms of his homeland swallowed up one by one by the invader Oroh, aided by Bardic magic wielded by his court mage, Declan. The war over, Nairn finds himself at Declan’s newly-founded Bardic College, caught up in Declan’s search for the land’s own magic, lost a thousand years earlier still and now existing only in glimpses of folk memory: riddles and runes. In both times, a contest is held to appoint the new Royal Bard; and in both times a stranger appears, seemingly from nowhere, and possessing skills that seem to make him unbeatable. Nairn’s attempt to best the stranger results in a disaster that will haunt him down the undying centuries – and, in the present time, it seems that similar disaster is inevitable.This is a typical McKillip, beautifully, lyrically written, and filled with delightful, charming characters with whom it’s a pleasure to spend time. It’s also more plot-driven than some of her books; the interweaving of the two timelines is skilfully done, and gives the story additional depth and weight. If she has a weakness, it’s that she doesn’t really like writing villains, so that often her final confrontations are anti-climactic, as is somewhat the case here. A lovely book, nevertheless.
One nitpick – for some reason McKillip has latched onto the word ‘genial’, and overuses it relentlessly. It gets bothersome after a while.
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LibraryThing member ABShepherd
While the story in this book was interesting, it was written in such a poetic or lyrical way that it was difficult to slog through to the end. I enjoy fantasy, and I liked the characters in this book, but overall it was not my style.
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
In the city of Caerau, Phelan Cle only has to finish one paper before graduating from the bard school. He's ambivalent about becoming a bard, but it is his father's, the archeologist Jonah Cle, dearest wish for his son. He chooses to write about the legend of Bone Plain, a topic that's been
As Phelan researches, he becomes more and more intrigued by the story of Nairn the Wandering Bard who participated in the first Bardic Competition. A find of a mysterious disc covered in runes by Beatrice eventually leads Phelan to answers and more questions.
Ms. McKillip is one of the premiere fantasy authors. Here she alternates the story of Phelan, Beatrice, and Zoe with that of Nairn. She cleverly melds extracts from Phelan's paper that ties the two stories together.
I started reading this a while ago, but about halfway through I lost it somehow on my reader and only recently picked it up again. I think I found some of the beginning a bit slow. But I very much enjoyed it now. Ms. McKillip always writes in a lyrical manner as if she were putting words to music. She adds in elements of Celtic phrasing that add to the fantasy aspects of the story.
It may have taken me a while to finish, but I found it well worth the journey.
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discussed many times before but never resolved. His friend Zoe is one of the best of the bards and hopes to win a bardic competition at some point to become the king's bard. And the king's daughter Beatrice works for Jonah, intrigued by the ancient finds they discover about the ancient lands existing before their more modern world. Today they have steam cars and other 'modern' amenities as well as music and magic. As Phelan researches, he becomes more and more intrigued by the story of Nairn the Wandering Bard who participated in the first Bardic Competition. A find of a mysterious disc covered in runes by Beatrice eventually leads Phelan to answers and more questions.
Ms. McKillip is one of the premiere fantasy authors. Here she alternates the story of Phelan, Beatrice, and Zoe with that of Nairn. She cleverly melds extracts from Phelan's paper that ties the two stories together.
I started reading this a while ago, but about halfway through I lost it somehow on my reader and only recently picked it up again. I think I found some of the beginning a bit slow. But I very much enjoyed it now. Ms. McKillip always writes in a lyrical manner as if she were putting words to music. She adds in elements of Celtic phrasing that add to the fantasy aspects of the story.
It may have taken me a while to finish, but I found it well worth the journey.
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LibraryThing member LadyJoana
I have never read a book by this author, but i can say she is now one of my favorites. Any author who can grab the readers attention right to the last page has my respect, and she is no different.
Who doesn't enjoy a book designed so well it will keep the reader from finding out till the last
This is not a book about romance, at least not as i view it, this is a book about magic, adventure, mystery and above all love. Love for music, love for their city, love for the mystery and love for one another and themselves.
As the story develops we find that music and magic are ultimately connected, but that not every mind, or heart, can truly understand what lies beyond that power, and this book teaches that sometimes it takes ages and many lifetimes through grief, love and life to truly understand just what that power is. This happens to one of our main characters, Nairn, as he travels the world alone after he has failed the trials, and is now doomed to live and roam the earth forever, without the ability to play or sing, the one thing he truly loved and knew since a child. But his story is not told in a straight line, his story is told alongside the story of Phelan a young Bard belonging to more recent days, and its fascinating that as the story develops we find out what is the connection between these two characters separated by time, and how together they come to break the everlasting curse, and be able to warn of any such pursuers who havent a heart filled with love.
In all i have truly loved this story, but the story did seem confusing at the beginning for this tale was told differently from every other story i have read, and it took me a while to find its pace. But being a so wonderful story this fact did not bother me.
I would have liked for the ending to have lasted a little longer, although it wouldn't be necessarie for everyone knew what would be the outcome of everything at the very end, so it actually lived up to its full potential.
I rate this book 5/5 and also consider it a favorite of mine, especially with that loving cover art.
Who doesn't enjoy a book designed so well it will keep the reader from finding out till the last
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possible moment, or for those more insightful till the middle of the book, exactly what was going to happen, and who or what we're keys to solve the whole mystery?This is not a book about romance, at least not as i view it, this is a book about magic, adventure, mystery and above all love. Love for music, love for their city, love for the mystery and love for one another and themselves.
As the story develops we find that music and magic are ultimately connected, but that not every mind, or heart, can truly understand what lies beyond that power, and this book teaches that sometimes it takes ages and many lifetimes through grief, love and life to truly understand just what that power is. This happens to one of our main characters, Nairn, as he travels the world alone after he has failed the trials, and is now doomed to live and roam the earth forever, without the ability to play or sing, the one thing he truly loved and knew since a child. But his story is not told in a straight line, his story is told alongside the story of Phelan a young Bard belonging to more recent days, and its fascinating that as the story develops we find out what is the connection between these two characters separated by time, and how together they come to break the everlasting curse, and be able to warn of any such pursuers who havent a heart filled with love.
In all i have truly loved this story, but the story did seem confusing at the beginning for this tale was told differently from every other story i have read, and it took me a while to find its pace. But being a so wonderful story this fact did not bother me.
I would have liked for the ending to have lasted a little longer, although it wouldn't be necessarie for everyone knew what would be the outcome of everything at the very end, so it actually lived up to its full potential.
I rate this book 5/5 and also consider it a favorite of mine, especially with that loving cover art.
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
McKillip is a master of combining romantic, poetic description with humor and realism, and in Bards of Bone Plain, as usual, she achieves a perfect balance.
The novel meshes two stories, set several hundred years apart. I love that both time periods have a realistic sense of history, of both past
The 'present' here is a steam-age monarchy, slightly hazy around the edges, but believable. Here, unmotivated student Phelan Cle decides to write his final thesis on the legendary figure of Nairn, a bard with a 'Wandering Jew'-type myth surrounding his historical record. And Princess Beatrice, much to her mother's dismay, insists on being involved in the archaeological digs organized by Phelan's alcoholic but brilliant father.
In the past, we discover the true story of Nairn - a musically talented farm boy who encounters Declan, a court bard who is attempting to reconstruct a system of true magic that once was associated with the bardic arts.
Music and magic combine in a gorgeous swirl of alchemy, as the two stories progress in parallel, culminating in a bardic competition where more is at stake that anyone might guess.
The novel meshes two stories, set several hundred years apart. I love that both time periods have a realistic sense of history, of both past
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and future. Too often, books are like: "Well, this is the past, and this is the future." Nope. here, even the past has a past...The 'present' here is a steam-age monarchy, slightly hazy around the edges, but believable. Here, unmotivated student Phelan Cle decides to write his final thesis on the legendary figure of Nairn, a bard with a 'Wandering Jew'-type myth surrounding his historical record. And Princess Beatrice, much to her mother's dismay, insists on being involved in the archaeological digs organized by Phelan's alcoholic but brilliant father.
In the past, we discover the true story of Nairn - a musically talented farm boy who encounters Declan, a court bard who is attempting to reconstruct a system of true magic that once was associated with the bardic arts.
Music and magic combine in a gorgeous swirl of alchemy, as the two stories progress in parallel, culminating in a bardic competition where more is at stake that anyone might guess.
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
In the nation of Beldan, the princess prefers archaeology to balls, and the roads are traversed by steam-powered horseless carriages. After the princess digs up a strange coin, her friend Phelan begins finding other clues that the riddles and songs he's spent his life memorizing might be
I love Patricia McKillip's work, but her recent books have a tendency to start strong, build to a confusing climax, and then abruptly end. This book is no exception. Mckillip draws characters with a light, sure hand; her magic feels magical, her plots are believable. If she'd had another hundred pages to tell this story, it would have been impeccable. As it stands, it's merely very enjoyable.
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magical...and that the metaphorical immortal bard Nairn might be real after all. While Phelan searches through dusty records, a new court bard challenges Beldan's bard. Interspersed with all of this are Nairn's own adventures while learning music and magic generations before. But the past and the present can't stay apart for long...I love Patricia McKillip's work, but her recent books have a tendency to start strong, build to a confusing climax, and then abruptly end. This book is no exception. Mckillip draws characters with a light, sure hand; her magic feels magical, her plots are believable. If she'd had another hundred pages to tell this story, it would have been impeccable. As it stands, it's merely very enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member Asata
This book seems to be dragging. I have read several others of hers and enjoyed them, but this one not so much. It is morose and glum, with overtones of frustration. Not sure I want to finish it...
LibraryThing member epersonae
Beautiful. Enjoyed the multi-layered narration, even the trope of sections being a character's final thesis. Caught a wonderful sense of history, engaging characters, etc., etc. Fast read, too. The archaeologist princess & crabby grad student (so to speak) were particularly delightful.
LibraryThing member Herenya
The Bards of Bone Plain is about music, poetry, family and the intersection of history and poetry with the present day. The story wanders between Phelan Cle, who plans to write his final paper for the bardic school on Bone Plain, Phelan's friend Zoe, daughter of the school's steward, and Princess
For me, reading McKillip involves picking up a book, hoping that it'll be magical and wonderful, and knowing that even if it isn't, I'll love her poetic prose, her turns of phrase, or enjoy the way she can imbue humour and capture relationships in her dialogue. Or I'll warm to the characters and their struggles, or be fascinated by the story itself. Even if I don't like all of it, there will still be reasons to find it compelling and original.
I found The Bards of Bone Plain an almost, a not-quite: it had moments of all of those elements I like about McKillip's writing - and I certainly loved those moments - but they were only moments. Its potential was never fulfilled in the way I hoped, and it was never quite the story I wanted it to be.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. I think I'm content with McKillip's novels being unexpected and often hard to pin down.
"I miss you in the kitchen," she said one morning when he came down for breakfast. "You used to scatter words like little gifts in odd places. You used to see what I needed done almost before I did."
He mumbled something absently around a bite of bread and butter, swallowed, and saw her face with unexpected clarity, instead of an indistinguishable blur in the background of his thoughts. It looked wistful, uncertain, words he hadn't learned yet from the "Circle of Days".
"I'm finding my way into something," he said a trifle incoherently. "I'll come back on of these days, I think."
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Beatrice, who digs up ancient things for Phelan's eccentric father. It is also about Nairn, who attended the bardic school in its early days and who has, by Phelan's time, wandered out of history and into poetry. For me, reading McKillip involves picking up a book, hoping that it'll be magical and wonderful, and knowing that even if it isn't, I'll love her poetic prose, her turns of phrase, or enjoy the way she can imbue humour and capture relationships in her dialogue. Or I'll warm to the characters and their struggles, or be fascinated by the story itself. Even if I don't like all of it, there will still be reasons to find it compelling and original.
I found The Bards of Bone Plain an almost, a not-quite: it had moments of all of those elements I like about McKillip's writing - and I certainly loved those moments - but they were only moments. Its potential was never fulfilled in the way I hoped, and it was never quite the story I wanted it to be.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. I think I'm content with McKillip's novels being unexpected and often hard to pin down.
"I miss you in the kitchen," she said one morning when he came down for breakfast. "You used to scatter words like little gifts in odd places. You used to see what I needed done almost before I did."
He mumbled something absently around a bite of bread and butter, swallowed, and saw her face with unexpected clarity, instead of an indistinguishable blur in the background of his thoughts. It looked wistful, uncertain, words he hadn't learned yet from the "Circle of Days".
"I'm finding my way into something," he said a trifle incoherently. "I'll come back on of these days, I think."
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LibraryThing member kmaziarz
Phelan Cle, a student at the bardic school in Caeru, never really wanted to be a bard. His decidedly unmusical and eccentric father, Jonah had other ambitions for his son, however, pushing Phelan toward music at every turn. Now that Phelan is about to finally graduate, he’s determined to make
Lyrical, complex, and mythic in scope yet entirely human in detail, “The Bards of Bone Plain” is an example of McKillip at her best.
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things easy on himself . He’s chosen perhaps the most commonly researched, straight-forward topic possible for his final dissertation…the myths and songs surrounding Bone Plain, said to be the origin of bardic tradition, poetry, and song, the place where Nairn the mysterious Wandering Bard failed the equally mysterious Three Trials and vanished from history. No one knows the location of the Plain, or even if it ever existed outside of metaphor and folklore. However, as he digs into the stories and records, he begins to piece together the surprising truths behind the tale. Meanwhile, his archaeologist father and his best student, the unconventional Princess Beatrice, continue digs of their own. When Beatrice discovers a mysterious artifact and and even more mysterious buried doorway, the final pieces of the puzzle surrounding Bone Plain and Nairn the Wanderer begin falling into place.Lyrical, complex, and mythic in scope yet entirely human in detail, “The Bards of Bone Plain” is an example of McKillip at her best.
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LibraryThing member undinesprite
McKillip's use of language, spare and elegant, about characters that compel me to fall in love w/them makes me linger over the story. I stretch out reading it - balancing on the edge of wanting to know what happens next and not wanting the story to end. Book bliss.
LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
McKillip is like a soothing, happy drug, every time I dip into one of her books I come out feeling like the world is slightly richer. This is no exception - another story about the power of words, of names, and of true selves. The story flicks between a modern kingdom (motor cars are rare
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creatures, and it is a kingdom with kings and princesses and bards,) and the time of the kingdom's founding. But the legend of the bards of Bone Plain has earlier roots in a time long lost to history, and in a language and power lost even to legend. I was especially fond of the archaeological princess. Show Less
LibraryThing member thetearose
I love McKillip's dreamy writing style. Her prose is fantastic, and the characters really come alive.
LibraryThing member Karlstar
A novel set in two different times, as two different bards try to find the magic behind bardic music. A really fantastic novel. I enjoyed the setting, the characters and the plot, though the real strength of this book is the writing. It is entertaining, engrossing and amusing.
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2011)
Endeavour Award (Finalist — 2011)
Locus Recommended Reading (2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010-12
Physical description
336 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
9780441019571
Local notes
Scholar Phelan Cle is researching the fabled Bone Plain. Her father, archaeologist Jonah Cle, is also hunting through time, piecing history together from forgotten trinkets. His most eager disciple is Princess Beatrice, the king's youngest daughter. When they unearth a disk marked with ancient runes, Beatrice pursues the secrets of a lost language that she suddenly notices all around her, hidden in plain sight.