California Bones

Executive Summary: Fun, quick read. Interesting magic system, so-so characters/plot.

Full Review
This book author wasn't on my radar at all until it was made the pick for Sword & Laser. I wasn't blown away by the blurb, so I decided to borrow from the library instead of buying it.

It was a VERY fast read, not only is it 300 pages, the word density per page is pretty low. It made me feel like a speed reader. It's not just the length though. The plot moves along at a pretty good pace.

It took me a while to warm up to Daniel Blackhand and his crew. They were all fine, but as far as heist crews, they were far less memorable than those from Gentleman Bastards or Six of Crows.

I am a sucker for a fantasy heist story though. This was fun enough, and sets up some interesting things for future books, but just not as good as some of the aforementioned series.

The magic system is one of the most interesting/unique/disgusting ones I've come across. Eating things to gain magic isn't a new idea, but bones? Yeah, no thanks. I'll stay a Muggle.

Overall this was enjoyable enough that I'll pick up the next book in the series to see where it goes next, but I won't be rushing out to read it right away.