Bone and Jewel Creatures

Bone and Jewel Creatures is set in the same world as the Eternal Sky trilogy, but other than the shared setting they are unrelated. This novella focuses on the 96-year-old wizard Bijou, who also appeared in the prequel novella Book of Iron. Although it's not absolutely necessary to do so, I am glad I read the prequel first since it provided more background on the conflict in this story.

This isn't a book to read for the plot, which is slow moving, but one to read for the lovely writing, the imagination that went into Bijou's menagerie of bone and jewel creatures, and the two major characters. Bijou herself is a wonderful, and it's also partially told from the perspective of a feral child who's been living with jackals that is very different from viewpoints I've encountered in my reading before.

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/04/review-of-bone-and-jewel-creatures-by-elizabeth-bear/