Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) [Paperback]

Jeff Smith (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2004

Trapped in a dungeon while the fate of the Valley is decided by two raging armies, Thorn is haunted by the dangerous and mysterious object of power known as the Crown of Horns. Guarded by dragons, the Crown of Horns is the only thing that can stop the Locust and end the war... but how, and at what price? Fone Bone believes he knows the answer, and he must decide where his heart truly lies...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After a dozen years, the Tolkienesque saga of the Bone cousins and their friends reaches its end. As this final collection of the acclaimed series opens, Briar Harvestar appears within reach of usurping the throne from her sister Rose, as Fone Bone and Thorn seek the Crown of Thorns, a mystical object that holds the power to stop the war for control of the Valley. The epic tale's conclusion features a monumental battle, inspiring heroics, and noble sacrifices. Throughout the long-running series, Smith's remarkable, animation-inspired storytelling skills have never flagged, and his attractive drawing style has remained consistently compelling. Even in this suspenseful, action-packed finale, he demonstrates his uncommon capability for switching gears from drama to humor in the space of a single panel. Ongoing series as beautifully sustained as Bone are rare in the comics medium. Fans will miss the characters they have come to love during the past decade, but they can always hope that Smith will someday return to the Valley. In the meantime, his next gig is a revival of the 1940s superhero Captain Marvel, an assignment that seems perfectly suited for his singular blending of adventure and whimsy. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Cartoon Books (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888963166
• ISBN-13: 978-1888963168
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,667,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The end of a great thing, September 11, 2004

By 

S. Marzioli (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) (Hardcover)

[This will offer spoilers]

I can go on and on about how wonderful Jeff Smith's Bone series is. I'm more fond of this series than any other comic ever created, and collect only the hard cover books for my collection. Crown of Horns is the last of the series, and it delivers a pretty solid punch. All of our favorite characters make their appearance, and all the things we wanted to see happened pretty much happened.

Nevertheless, it was probably the weakest with storyline than all of the other books. It felt a little rushed, and was actually anti-climactic as a whole. The attack of Alethia could have been mined for at least a few extra comics on its own, without overdoing it. The release of Mim and her continued possession by the Lord of the Locust could have been a mini-series! But the action ended about halfway through the book, making everything except the "road home to Boneville" seem like a summary as opposed to the story itself. Since this was the last venture into the Bone reality, I really needed alot more!

I loved this book, and will read it many times before I finally put it on the shelf with the rest. In fact, I'll probably read the the series as a whole a few times before I give another series a go. Smith is brilliant in these comics, as no other writer and illustrator before him. Criticizing his work is almost like criticizing gold because it weighs too much. This is a must read, and a must buy. But take note, if you loved this series as much as I did you probably will be depressed over the same things I mentioned above, and a whole lot more.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Weakest of the series..., February 14, 2006

By 

Levi Nunnink - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) (Paperback)

This is a good book, unfortunately it falls below the high standards set in the previous books. For two reasons.

1) The art. Jeff Smith's art is still good but in this volume it feels rushed. Characters and landscapes lack the attention to detail that Smith usually provides. If you don't believe me, just take a look at The Great Cow race and compare it to The Crown Of Horns. The art is noticeably not as good. In my opinion Smith peaked at The Dragonslayer and started paying less attention to detail from then on.

2) The plot. It just doesn't make a lot of sense. It feels like Smith started the series without a clear idea of how to tie everything together in a climax and had to introduce all these mystical plot devices at the last moment, just to wrap it all together. It wasn't quite satisfying and a little too weird in parts.

Still it's a good conclusion to an epic series that reaches greatness on many occasions. It just isn't up to the usual standards.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last of a great series..., July 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9) (Paperback)

The Bone books are, to put it bluntly, really, really good. The art is beautiful, especially the forest scenes. The characters are funny, and imaginative, and the plot is very original, intriging, and all together, well, good. I can not think of a better comic than this. This comic rates up there with Tolkien, and I love Tolkien books. It is to bad that the series has to come to an end... other than that though, this is an excellent series, you are an idiot if you pass up reading these. Anyone who loves these books as much as me is my friend.