Customer Reviews

The Bone Doll's Twin

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

...but deliciously so! Lynn, you genius, you've done it again: just when I was convinced that the fantasy genre had nothing new to offer, you set the whole thing on its ear. This was one of the most delightful reads I've had in a loooooong time! Clear writing, believable and continuously developing characters, and a premise that will leave you reeling... this book has it all.

Fair warning to those in search of a light romp: you won't find it here. This is NOT "Stalking Darkness". This is a moody, suspenseful, often disturbing story, on par with Edgar Allen Poe. For the first two chapters, I wasn't sure if Lynn was divinely inspired or taking strong meds. But after chapter two, I didn't care! I was sucked in so deeply that I heard the creak of the floorboards (ooohhh...), the rustle of skirts down the unlit hall (gasp!), felt the chill, ghostly breath on the back of my neck (shriek!!!)... okay, you get the idea. For those of us with highly vivid imaginations, this book sparkles. An ideal read for All Hallow's Eve.

In addition to the sheer entertainment value of the story, it raises some very deep questions, primarily: Do the ends always justify the means? Toss aside all your preconceptions at the door, 'cause none of the characters is entirely what s/he seems. No one wears a white or black hat... this book is all about shades of grey. You're shocked to discover the depths to which the "good guys" will plunge in order to secure a future for their world. And you're surprised by the likeability of some of the "bad guys".

I can't recommend "Bone Doll" highly enough! Clear your calendar for the next few days so you can completely immerse yourself in this engrossing, thought-provoking, delightfully eerie book!

Having read Flewelling's other three books in the "Nightrunner" series, I snapped up "Bone Doll's Twin" with a little bit of frustration: it was a prequel. I wanted more from Alec and Seregil, not new characters, so I resisted for a while before settling down to read this book.

I'm glad I waited, because now I'm salivating over the next in the trilogy.

The story is actually rather straightforward, and one we know quite a bit about already as "history" in the Nightrunner series. There was a mad king who killed off all his female relatives, so that the ancient prophecy of a Queen on the throne could not come to pass: even though the prophecies were clear: the kingdom wouldn't prosper without a Queen on the throne.

Enter the heroes. When twins are born to a royal bloodline, one a girl, and one a boy, the heroes kill - yes, kill - the baby boy and wrap the baby girl up in an illusion of being male that will last long enough to keep the girl alive to the point of taking the throne. Alas, the girl herself doesn't even know what's going on - she believes she's a boy named Tobin, and the dead brother is a haunting demon-spirit, rather upset at being murdered in such a way...

The empathy and pathos of this story was remarkable. The heroes had to get their hands dirty from step one - and it's still coming - and you can't help but be drawn into their plight as they do truly evil things for the greater good. Likewise, poor Tobin is living a lie throughout the book - and you can keenly feel his sense of not being "quite right," and his desire for a normal life with a good friend.

Where this series is going seems likely to be even darker, and the characters all seem to hover in a fragile state: you get the impression that many of these folks are going to die a nasty death. It's truly captivating. Fans of James Clemens or George R.R. Martin should definitely give this series a shot.

'Nathan

After discovering Lynn Flewelling's books last year, I was prepared for an exciting adventure in Bone Doll's Twin. Boy, was I wrong! I didn't get an adventure ... I got fantasy, mystery, horror, tragedy, and little snippets of humor. You want an angry ghost? Got one right here. Warped twisted bindings and death magic? Yep, that too. I wasn't disappointed by Lynn's latest book; I was absolutely amazed at the richness of her characters and her world.

The first book in a new trilogy, Bone Doll's Twin explores timeless topics, such as: do two wrongs make a right; does the good of the many outweigh the good of the few; can evil truly be fought with more evil, without making the outcome evil as well? Here, Lynn delves into the shades of grey that exist in life, especially in relation to complex and life-altering decisions.

Tobin has got to be one of the most haunting characters that I've ever encountered in my years of reading fantasy, and his friendship with Ki was one of the most moving parts of the story. After losing so much in his short life and under such horrifying circumstances, Tobin craves normal things, like a good friend who isn't scared of an angry ghost.

Something like this has (most likely) been done before, but Lynn has added her own unique twists and turns. I was so enthralled with the story that I was practically on the edge of my seat as the book got closer and closer to the cliffhanger ending.

I can say, without reservation, that this is one of the best fantasy novels that I've read in years. Bone Doll's Twin exceeded all of my expectations, and I'm eagerly awaiting Book 2.

There are only so many LOTR/Dragonlance knock-offs you can read in this world, which is why this series is such a breath of fresh...er, dark and haunting air. It does still have all the good high fantasy elements like magic and swordplay, but Flewelling takes it in a new direction with her ghostly, gender-twisting storyline.

I agree with a previous reviewer that this series is more brooding than the Nightrunner one, but it still shares the same detailed world and characters. You really get to understand them and live inside their heads. You can also tell Flewelling isn't making up Oreska magic or other details as she goes along. She's thought about this stuff and thought about it deeply--hence making you think deeply about it and want more.

Final analysis. If you like dark fantasy, read this. If you only like cute fantasy, read it anyway. You need to get in touch with your darker side.

This is, I believe, the fourth time I've read this book. It's a mark of quality that a book is so rereadable, and it's something I've found with all of Flewelling's work. Although there are occasional shaky spots in the structure of her writing, her storylines and characters are fascinating, and her world is built on a solid foundation.

So, what is it about? Well, one rather ignorant reviewer says this: "I just cant buy the girl hidden in boys clothes until s/he is 13 storyline... its used too many places and its too unlikely that one could make it that long without the true gender being exposed in one form or another. I mean someone, somewhere is going to see this person naked, or going to the bathroom, or something!"
I can assure you that this person read neither the book or even the back of the book. Right in the summary on the back of the book, it states that the main character, Tobin, is a girl hidden by magic in the body of a boy. This means that her body is male, right down to the genitals, and she is quite convinced that she's a boy.

Flewelling pulls it off with great success. Tobin's "voice" is distinctly male; it's easy to forget that the character is really a female beneath the magic. Even once she is made aware of the truth, her "voice" continues to be male, although it begins a very slow, very subtle shift to female. Part of what makes this book and its second so fascinating is the struggle Tobin goes through upon realizing "he" is not what she thought.

Some insist the book is too gloomy. Yes, there are moments of sadness and darkness...quite a few, in fact. This is a fantasy novel, not a Disney movie. But there are moments of humor, made funnier by the somber tone of the rest of the book. There is also a clear feeling of hope, of dreams on the verge of coming true. This is empowering, not depressing.
While magic and the gods have quite a hand in the goings-on here, the people themselves are very human, caught up in a whirlwind of things unknown and frightening. Fate, the book emphasizes. Fate becomes a chilling notion, and is both friend and foe to all characters herein. There is no character that remains untouched by the events, unlike other fantasy books, where the author feels a need to coddle their characters.

Dark and creeping? Yes. But it's certainly better than the abundance of "give the farmboy a magic sword and have him kill the evil one" books that are apparently reigning supreme on the fantasy shelves (I wouldn't know, as I only read interesting books like Lynn Flewelling's, and only pick up stuff like that as research). If you're someone who's sick and tired of that fantasy formula, give this book a try.

Fate has an important role in this story about the first years of a future hero --who is, in fact, a heroine-- and the ever-present ghost of his twin brother. We see the life of Tobin from the beginning until he (she) realizes who he (she) really is. The tension is built to have its climax in the moment of final discovery, where the novel ends. Even though we witness the secret event and know the truth from the beginning, the author manages to have us thrilled and turning pages at a fast pace to learn HOW what-we-know is going to happen. I also loved the no-nonsense use of magic, always logical and justified, and the role that the "old religion", the Goddess religion which has almost disappeared, has in the story.There is also love,fear, friendship, loyalty and adventure. I simply loved this novel and will read everything that I find by the same author.

Lynn Flewelling, The Bone Doll's Twin (Bantam, 2001)

There oughta be a law. Really. Ending books like George Martin ended A Storm of Swords or Lynn Flewelling ended The Bone Doll's Twin is simply cruel and unusual punishment. I'm very glad I read this in 2005, when the sequel is already out and I can pick it up ASAP. (I've been gnawing my own arm off for five years waiting for the next Martin novel.)

Like most pieces of epic fantasy I've read in the past number of years, The Bone Doll's Twin gets off to something of a low start. I'm finding, however, that the slower the start, the better the book is likely to be. Odd, but true. You'll likely go through a period of confusion while acclimating yourself to Flewelling's world and the various terminology that seems mandatory in fantasy worlds. Once you get to the point where everything clicks, though, there's a story to be had, and it's a good one. It's also rather surprising, in a number of ways.

The book opens with a pair of wizards and a hedge-witch attending a royal birth. They're there because the present king, trying to get around a longstanding prophecy, has been having all the female children of the extended royal family killed. This particular birth results in twins, so the wizards and hedge-witch kill the male child and use magic to bind the male child's features to the female child. The male child's spirit, however, refuses to stay dead, and (of course) wants revenge on everyone involved, including his twin sister.

Dark enough for you yet? The rest of the book focuses on the surviving twin, named Tobin, who is raised away from court in a secluded summer house owned by his father. It also jets off every now and again to Iya and Arkoniel, the pair of wizards from the birth, whose sections serve to report to us, the readers, how things are faring in the wider world. (A nice conceit, that, and subtly done.)

If there are flaws in The Bone Doll's Twin, they are two; the slow beginning, already mentioned, and the fact that this one's mostly setup. Not surprising in the first of a trilogy, but it's a bit on the obvious side. Still, that doesn't make it any less gripping once things get off the ground, and Flewelling looks to have a winning trilogy in the wings.

Now I just hope that the third book, Oracle's Queen, comes out on time (supposedly early in 2006, as of this writing). I don't want to have to gnaw my other arm off waiting for this one. *** ½

I don't have words for how much I love this book and the series. Flewelling has brought us a wonderful story from the same world as her Luck series. I finished this book and IMMEDIATELY went to the store to buy the next installment, so enthralled was I in the plotline.
There's a lot of criticism as to the content of this book, that it's the same old rehashed fantasy stigmas. I agree that this isn't the most oringal story every written, but it is definately one of the best I've read in a long while. Rather than shoving the fantasy down your throat, Flewelling makes it more of a subtle backdrop,integral to the story but not detracting from it like happens in other books. People don't get new powers left and right, and we don't have the steroetypical mage/archer/swordsman etc. technique that Flewelling is even guilty of in her first series.
Instead this story is very well written and flows extremely well. I found myself caring for a lot of the characters, even the ones who were on the opposing force. Flewelling pays a lot of attention to details, which I think really makes or breaks a book. The reason there are so many poorly written, rehashed fantasy books out there is because so many people think they can take the same combo and mix their own plot line in, without planning for well written dialogue, the right touch of description, and decent storytelling.This book has all of that and more. It's merely storytelling at its finest.

This book was impressive.

Maybe it's only a fantasy book, but the characters seem so real that the only indication that its world is not the same as ours some centuries ago is the little magic used in it.

The main character is Tobin, a feminine child whose real identity has been hidden in order to save her life from the king who wants to suppress every feminine heir to the throne: a spell has changed the girl's appearance into a boy's. A prophecy links Tobin to the throne: she must become queen, otherwise her land will be destroyed...

The "boy" (Tobin doesn't know his real sex) is haunted by his twin brother's demon, murdered at the moment of birth, and by the dangerous presence of his mad mother. The character description is among the most spectacular I've ever read: the author tells with unbelievable richness how the boy feels. Tobin is a real child: he suffers, he hopes, he feels lonely, he fears, he loves his parents and his few friends.
Growing without any friends and only with some old servants and foul spirits trying to harm him makes Tobin wary of people and you suddenly find yourself straining to catch and help him: he is such a wonderful character that he takes hold of you and never let you go.

Fantastic.

Read this superb and unique new fantasy novel --
you won't regret it! Lynn Flewelling's three
previous novels are fun yarns, but this one is
in a whole different class. The only problem
with it is that it leaves you craving for the
next book in the series, which unfortunately has
yet to be written...