“I am already deeper in the knowledge of the Feather than he is. If he doesn’t join, I’ll take his soul from him, and he can come as a book in my library.”
Bone Shroud is the second installment in Andrew D. Meredith’s ongoing epic fantasy series, The Kallattian Saga and follows the first novel Deathless Beast.
Slow burn, detail-oriented fantasy series can often become overshadowed in the current market trends, but there are many gems deserving of more spotlight, and The Kallattian Saga is one of them. Meredith’s storytelling style is reminiscent of a hearthside bard drawing us in to tell a grand tale of good and evil and the flawed heroes who find themselves at the center of that struggle.
One of the first things that struck me about Deathless Beast that I mentioned in my review was the tone of the storytelling, and that is true again here with its sequel Bone Shroud. Meredith dual wields a classic worldbuilding style alongside characters and themes that will appeal to modern audiences. The prose is sophisticated but never feels dense. I’m constantly amazed at how much exposition Meredith can work into his stories without ever tripping over the dreaded “info dump” wire.
I’ve found that while many authors deal with moral and religious themes in their fantasy novels, few delve as deeply and as thoughtfully into those themes as Meredith has in his Kallattian Saga. Set against a backdrop of intricately designed culture, geography, and economy, the perspective characters battle demons within and without, each layered with their own individual nuances of faith or lack thereof.
Characters introduced in Deathless Beast continue to guide our journey in Bone Shroud, as well as a few new perspectives from the fringes of the main cast. Jined Brazstein, the faith-bound paladin, remains my favorite character. I also found a lot to love in the narratives of Seriah, a sight-deprived servant of the god Nifara, and the young mercenary Hanen Clouw.
The cast of characters ranges along a full spectrum of involvement in the many religious and political orders of the Kallattian world, offering the reader a variety of perspectives on the growing dangers and conflict. And danger spreads its dark wings over our protagonists in a steady rush of tension through to the final page, building on the foundation that Meredith meticulously constructed in the first novel.
There were times in Bone Shroud when I struggled to keep the amount of detail straight. The worldbuilding is incredibly complex, which is both a tribute to the author’s years of work and dedication, and also present a tall order for readers who may be less detail-oriented. However, the characters are more than capable of offering a shoulder to lean on through the complexities of the world.
Fantasy readers who love to delve deeply into worldbuilding with flawed and intricate characters should have this series at the top of their TBR.
