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Review: Bone Music: The Legend of Genghis Khan by Katherine Roberts

Bone Music: The Legend of Genghis Khan
Katherine Roberts
Greystones Press, 2018
Paperback, 420 pages, £9.99
ISBN 9781911122210

Katherine Roberts has established herself as the premier writer of Young Adult Historical Fantasy. She has previously tackled Alexander the Great, King Arthur, and Cleopatra, as well as writing fantasy books for younger readers featuring mermaids and unicorns. Bone Music is told in three parts, narrated by the three different main characters: Temujin, his blood brother Jamukha, and Borta, Temujin’s bride, a girl with a powerful shamanic vision. Temujin grows into manhood vowing revenge on his father’s rivals and swearing he will one day reunite the Mongol tribes and lead them. Jamukha vows to help him achieve this, but Borta’s visions are of a bitter and blood-soaked future. When Temujin returns to his camp and finds his bride and his blood brother missing, the scene is set for a war that will tear the tribes, and the friends, apart.

This is an emotional page-turning tale about the passions of youth and friendship and the bitter disappointments of betrayal. Roberts is a powerful storyteller with incredible imagination bringing to life a period of history steeped in myth and fable. The reader will get lost in this fascinating tale which the author has created weaving the scraps of surviving poetry with her own powerful vision. Perfect for fans of Celine Kiernan, Finbar Hawkins and V. E. Schwab.

Lisa Redmond

This book may be difficult to purchase, so if you have difficulty we encourage you to check your local library.