H. Cat

Jalan is an amusing narrator and a refreshing flavor of character. His opening line where he declares himself a coward hooked me immediately. It was the reason why I bought the book in the first place. Unfortunately, he was not enough to carry me through the story.

There are elements to the plot that have so much potential, but they are lost to the fact that this book is about two guys traveling north. Even the reason for their travel felt weak. Snorri is set on their destination, but there is a lack of urgency to him. And Jalan is just being dragged along for the ride.

There were enough little moments to carry me pretty far into the book. I was 10 hours in when I realized that I didn't care about the characters or the plot at all so I quit. I'm sure others will enjoy this book, and Jalan, as a character, deserves to be appreciated. He was different and I would have loved to see him in a book where I could have appreciated him more.

I really wanted to like this book. I got on board with the concept as I began reading and had high hopes on it being interesting. Unfortunately, after reading 200 pages I realized that I had no interest in any of the characters and I was still waiting for the plot to actually grab me. :-(

I loved this book from the opening paragraph to the end. I thought it was beautifully written and I gobbled up about 90 pages in my first sitting. I love stories that utilize the mythology of crows (in this case rooks) bringing the dead to the other side and I thought it was used well in this story.

The story does focus very strongly on the main character, somewhat to the detriment of developing characters around him, but in this case it works. The main character is so focused on his own goals and to do lists that he pays no attention to the world around him. In doing so, he misses the whole point of his own story up until the very end. I think this shows a strong characteristic of human nature where many people are narrow-mindedly focused on their own perceptions that they can miss the big picture.

I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. I love the cross-dressing disguise for a purpose thing. It's steampunk and a mystery. All of that is right up my alley, but I just couldn't get into the story. At page 95 I still wasn't hooked by the plot, and I had no interest in the main character. Perhaps it's timing and my mood isn't right for this book, but I'd prefer to spend my time reading something that grips me and makes me want to leave work early just so I can read more.

I read this book in 3 days. If work hadn't interfered it would have been done in a day. I couldn't help gobbling it up and I already want the next one.

One thing I love about this book is the realism in which something that was created with good intentions can become rotten and twisted, and although there are people trying to bring this problem to light they are not necessarily doing it in the right way. The real world is not black and white, and neither is the universe in “Ink and Bone”. As I was reading I could clearly see echoes of our own history reflected in the story. Our past is saturated with similar themes. It is a disturbing thought and yet I want more of it. I want to know what happens next and what the characters that I have become fond of are going to do about it.