Bones of the Past [NOOK Book]

I started the 2nd book of the series not having read the summary

I started the 2nd book of the series not having read the summary, so I was wandering about with 7-Fingered-Fat-Girl and Choufa and their story line, not sure how it tied in with Faia, until the other storylines wove back in. The culture Holly Lisle describes is one I haven't crossed in any other book - very imaginative and shocking. I highly recommend this series.

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An author with an original style

This story is wonderful. The plotting and characterization unfold with freshness and originality, no opportunity to create tension is wasted, and emotional content never seems contrived. Seven Fingered Fat Girl is a marvelous character. In the early going she often carries the book, keeping the reader compelled to read on, just to see what will happen to her and Four Winds Band. Choufa and the tale of the sharsha frequently serve the same role. If not for these characters and plot lines holding my interest so keenly, those involving Medwind and Roba would have had me setting the book aside soon after opening it. Until the characters come together as a group, about halfway through, these last two character's and their tales are just plain boring. Holly Lisle does a fantastic job of limiting descriptive passages and time spent on scene setting. But these otherwise wonderful traits have a drawback. Readers unfamiliar with this world may feel lost early on. This sense of `where am I, and where am I being lead' is compounded by two things. First, there is no obvious story question. Nothing that lets the reader say, 'I wonder if ..........' and points the way to the story's end goal. Second, Lisle's odd mix of an `ancient' world coupled with modern thinking and terminology (like 'nested subroutines') takes time to get used to. Her ability to maintain a driving level of tension is wonderful, and she isn't shy about including compelling and unusual subject matter (for a work of Fantasy) like; mass child abuse, abandonment and neglect; and adolescent sex. She does an excellent job of showing us what's happening in these cases, and throughout the story, without ever resorting to boring passages of exposition. Her knack for drawing emotions from her readers is good, but inconsistent.