Book Review: "Rattle the Bones" by Eric Asher

"Rattle the Bones" is Eric R. Asher's sixth book to feature the necromancer, Damian Vesik, and his cohorts. It is an action filled romp filled with heroic characters, necromancy, supernatural creatures and maybe...a chimichanga or two.

Eric has the ability to captivate the reader with a compelling plot, a myriad of supernatural characters (both good and evil), and fantastic battle scenes filled with blood and gore. His characters are unique. I love it when Aeros or Happy make an appearance. Mix in his sometimes dark sometimes snarky sense of humor and the reader is left with a deep sense of satisfaction.

"Rattle the Bones" continues Vesik's battle against Gwynn Ap Nudd, the Fae king, and his dark-touched. Vesik and his allies face their biggest challenge to date in a thoroughly enjoyable read.

While I enjoyed, the book immensely, it is not without its flaws. Flaws might be too strong a term...Eric might have crossed the boundaries into a few of my pet peeves. Here they are:

• It is a continuing saga. Each book in the Vesik series builds on each other. Just once I'd like the story line to end so a new one can begin. 
• Since it's a continuing saga, I don't always remember what has gone on before. A synopsis or foreword to remind the reader of what has gone on before would be greatly appreciated.
• Cast of thousands in each book. It seems like every character that has appeared in his previous books are always included. Sometimes the dead should stay buried...even though we are dealing with a powerful necromancer.
• Sometimes it seems like authors like to use profanity for profanity's sake. I know the common trend/reason is it adds realism to a story. I read to escape the real world. I don't need profanity to bring me back into the real world. However, it doesn't bother me if it makes sense in the situation. It did bother me immensely when Vesik proclaims "I trained with Leviticus f...ing Aureus". I hate it when the F word becomes someone's middle name.

I admit I'm a dinosaur. A teacher once told a group of us when I was much younger that "Profanity is the language of the inarticulate." It has stuck in my mind all these many years...For what it's worth, I pass it on to my nephew...Eric R. Asher.

 

Despite, my pet peeves "Rattle the Bones" is a solid book. While it could be read as a standalone,  I would strongly suggest that the reader start with the earlier works. It would help to understand both the story line and help to establish the characters in your mind.