Book Review: California Bones

California BonesCalifornia Bones by Greg Van Eekhout

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There must be a magic to California that draws books of this genre. When I first read James Blaylock and then Tim Pratt all those decades ago, their stories tended to take place somewhere in the golden state, a place where a certain kind of magic still reigned. Sitting somewhere in the borderland between magic realism and urban fantasy, their books blended the ordinary with the extraordinary, hidden magic.

Greg Van Eekhout’s “California Bones” takes a rightful place in this pantheon. Set in a not so alternate world where magic is real and California has seceded from the United States, this is largely the story of Daniel Blackland, son of a powerful magician and orphaned at the age of 12. Fast forward to an alternate LA – one where the streets are watery canals and the movie wizard DIsney and the water wizard Mulholland are among the powerful – we find Daniel all grown up, a thief with special talents.

One of Van Eekhout’s smartest moves in this book was in not trying to tell us too much. This is a heist story, a crew of thieves sent out to lift some merchandise and a magic sword, and for the most part it stays within the confines of that story. Van Eekhout presents a concise story, one that rarely strays from the heist and the after effects of that heist. What little backstory we get is only in supporting our understanding of our focal character, Daniel. Even when we switch POV characters to Gabriel, grandson of the Heirarch of Southern California, we’re still moving towards bringing to conclusion the main story.

Even if you don’t care for heist stories (I’m not the biggest fan), you’ll still find yourself drawn into this well written story. Although the central story arc is around the heist, this story is really about power, both taken and earned. From the first moments when we see just how osteomancy works and how the Heirarch acquires his power, to the climatic end, we recognize the heist itself as just a means to an end.

Many thanks to Tor-Forge for sending me a copy for review – I devoured the book in five days, bones and all.

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