Steel against the rising dead. A Ritual of Bone by Lee C. Conley [Book Tour + GIVEAWAY]

Here’s another book tour! And in time for Halloween, a dark fantasy book featuring the undead! I’m joining Storytellers on Tour to feature A Ritual of Bone by Lee C. Conley, in celebration of it’s sequel, A Ritual of Flesh, being published recently. If zombies and horror are your thing, scroll down for more! Click on the banner below for the official book tour post and check out what other bloggers are saying about this book!

The Blurb

Arnar is a land of warriors, its people as stalwart as the stones themselves. In a land of dark forests and ancient hill forts, a forgotten evil is awoken by curious minds.

The Great Histories and the Sagas say nothing of this evil, long passed from the memory of even the studious scholars of the College. For centuries, the scholars of Arnar have kept these records and preserved the knowledge and great deeds of a proud people. The story of these peoples forever chronicled in the Sagas of the Great Histories.

But now the evil spreads and the dead walk in its wake, terrible creatures roam the night and even the spirits are restless. The Dead Sagas could perhaps be the final chapters of these great records.

Many threads entwine to tell this Saga, interweaving the tales of those who played their part in the search for answers and ultimately their fight for survival. Amid plague, invasion and terror, the inexorable rise of the dead sends a kingdom scrabbling to its knees.

This Dark Fantasy Epic combines dark malign horror and gritty survival adventure as the Dead Sagas unfold in a world where honour and renown is all, where beasts and savages lurk in the wilderness, and where sword, axe and shield is all that stands between the living and the grasping hands of the dead.

My thoughts

I have to admit, I had not heard of a zombie-centered fantasy book before so my interest was piqued.

The author takes his time describing the world in detail. Because of this one of the things A Ritual of Bone has going for it is the atmosphere and ominous vibes. The author does a really good job of setting up scenes full of mystery, horror and death. Ancient ruins and dark forests where mysterious rituals are enacted take center stage. When the scene is set and the characters fall into place, the dead rise and many don’t realize what’s happening until it’s too late.

“The master’s droning voice echoed amongst the stones as that familiar darkness again enveloped them, consuming the diminishing light of the flaming torches…The apprentice felt the hairs of his neck prickle up as a chill draft swept around the stones. He could hear the return of faint whispers on the wind. The master was calling the dead, and they were here.”

For horror and zombie fans, this book has it’s share of gore, violence and bloody mayhem.

Now one thing that takes a backseat to everything I’ve just described is the character background/development. There’s not much known about these characters except the essential things that have to do with what is happening at the moment. Character motivations and internal dialogue is scarce. But in a zombie focused book full of violence and tense situations, this isn’t really needed to move the story along. The focus is on the story of the undead as it unfolds.

A Ritual of Flesh:
Book 2 of the Dead Sagas

There are bits of the writing, dialogue or even the continuing descriptions of the mountains, forest and the wild at the beginning that I would edit down, but that is just my personal preferences coming into play.

Nevertheless, by the end of the book I was wondering what will become of certain characters after everything they went through. Good thing the sequel, A Ritual of Flesh, is already out now!

For horror fans who just want a good zombie read with some ominous vibes, I can safely recommend this one. This one is not for the faint of heart.

I gave A Ritual of Bone a 3 out of 5 mortars.

GIVEAWAY

SO! If this book sounds like a good, fun and bloody ride you want to get in on, there’s a chance to win a hardcover signed by the author by clicking the link below.