A Song of Bones by Isaac Anderson
A review by INFAMOUS🦀
“When the rats come, you run. If you can’t run, you hide. If you can’t hide, you bow. You can always bow.”
A Song of Bones is a high-octane, action-packed rollercoaster ride featuring some not-so-adorable rats and some ‘oppressed’ mice as main characters. As the author Isaac Anderson tells us:
“I was a big fan of the Redwall books as a kid and I wanted to write something that a younger me would have enjoyed discovering on the library shelves.”
This is book one of a series. Anderson wrote the whole thing over the course of several years but quickly realized it was too big to fit into just one book. The ‘ending at the window’ (read the book for more on that scene) was the cleanest break between parts.
The next book will be released in the summer/fall of 2025, according to Anderson.
PLOT:
Naturally, when we think of a story with talking animals who act and behave very human-like, we immediately think of some of the most popular Disney or WB characters and their general features: cute, clumsy, light-hearted, and fun-loving…
Not these fellas!
The rats and mice featured in A Song of Bones are very jaded, stoic, and at times very bitter characters overall.
Basically the story can be summarized as a ‘mice prison outbreak’ by a group of our little furry friends.
Several mice have been kidnapped and put to slave labor in the caves of Dorgue’s Tree, an infernal system of caves and caverns where a group of mean rats lead by rat Dorgue are forcing these mice to dig, dig, and dig some more for reasons that are slowly revealed as we keep reading further.
Our main character, Richard, finds himself at the head of a small group of insurgents and slowly a plan forms to escape and regain their freedom.
JADED:
I think the approach (talking animals that act human, use tools, wear clothes, and build equipment) can work, but in this case I felt like even the backstories of these rats at times felt too grim and death-filled. Even when Richard recalls his childhood there’s very little joy to speak of, overall. Death is the main theme no matter which way we look.
It was a bit awkward to visualize these talking mice but to also see them being so jaded and really not having a good time overall.
I think there could have been a little more of a balancing act, but they are mostly doing hard labor in deep caves and in horrendous conditions so this aspect is not a deal breaker. I just felt like at least their memories of the outside world would have been more filled with joy and cheerfulness.
WHERE THE STORY SHINES:
When we look past the talking rats, the breath-taking action scenes, the claustrophobia of the deep caves:
“Ultimately this is a story about singing over your loved one’s bones. About remembering them.”
as Anderson puts it.
This driving concept is present from the very opening scene all the way to the closing scene, and it is delivered efficiently through the intense action that will keep you on the edge.
Also credit to the author for succeeding at ingraining the images of the characters as rats and mice in the reader’s mind even when they act and behave very human-like. At no point was I picturing humans trapped in dark caves. All I envisioned was RATS!
CONCLUSIONS:
If you want one reason to pick up this book here it is: the story is a rich example of honoring our loved ones who are gone. As Richard recalls the passing of his mother first, then his father, and now some of his newly acquired friends, we can feel the sense of loss along with him.
I’d say Book 1–though not perfect–can be the beginning of fantastic things to come, the door to a fascinating world similar to what former Disney animator Don Bluth did with some of his animated characters. I would certainly recommend the book to both children and adults alike and hope you’ll pick up a copy and discover this new and exciting universe of rats!
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