Peter Maclean’s Priest of Bones is the ambitious mix of historical fiction, magic and murderous gangsters you never knew you needed.
Sometimes, seemingly strange combinations just work. Like sweet and salty or spicy and sour, there are things that theoretically shouldn’t be good at all when put together, but somehow they are. And everyone’s the better for it.
Peter McLean’s fantasy novel Priest of Bones is kind of like that. A dark historical tale with elements of magical fantasy and Godfather-esque gangland drama, well…it’s kind of a lot. But somehow this is one of those combinations that ends up melding into a story that, if not quite great, is something you won’t soon be able to shake. (And if you love it? You’ll love it. Just saying.)
The story follows the life of Tomas Piety, a former underworld crime boss just returned home from a devastating war. He must not only rebuild his gang, the Pious Men, but take back his underworld businesses and rebuild his city, which is wracked with poverty and want. The novel is set in what feels like a vaguely medieval industrial period, full of brothels and dirty factories and fighters who give their weapons names. Tomas must not only negotiate gang politics as leader of the Pious Men, but he also serves as their priest, hearing confessions to the seemingly uncaring and occasionally vicious goddess of soldiers.
Priest of Bones is an unexpected read that deals with faith, family and loyalty as much as it does gangland politics, and it’s definitely worth your time. Here’s why.
Peaky Blinders with swords and magic
In a world that’s full of fantasy stories focused on young women with a variety of talents – magical abilities, crossbow skills, whatever — reclaiming their thrones from different types of bad or oppressive people, Priest of Bones feels like a breath of fresh air. Tomas Piety is the sort of gritty anti-hero you don’t necessarily feel great rooting for — he’s a murdering gangster, after all — but that you can’t help but find fascinating, even as he slaughters dozens of people in the name of revenge and reclaiming the family business.
Yeah, this story is basically the British period drama Peaky Blinders, but with magical and theological elements thrown in. Plus, everyone wears chain mail and fights with swords. And it’s all fascinating. Why? Because these elements are so rarely paired with one another. The combination makes everything feel like something new, even if the novel is deploying a lot of tropes we’ve all seen before in other places. The low fantasy elements aren’t enough to put anyone off who isn’t here for the magic, but the occasional appearances of magicians and “cunning men” add a distinct flavor to the story you won’t easily find anywhere else.
Believably complicated characters
The world of Priest of Bones is certainly intriguing, from the carefully delineated gang territories of Ellinberg to the disturbing, but never quite fully explained specter of protracted siege warfare that haunts almost every major character in the book. But what really makes this story so interesting is the people in it.
Sure, there are people meant to fill particular roles — i.e. the problematic relative, the likely love interest, the friend who will probably betray you in the end. But these characters aren’t ciphers, and they don’t exist to do just one particular thing. For example, Tomas is not just a gang leader, he’s also a priest, a brother, and a spy. He must serve many different masters, and the ways he balances these roles (or doesn’t) is a major factor driving the story. And that’s true for every other character in Priest of Bones.
Tomas’ second, Bloody Anne, is a butt-kicking warrior, but she’s afraid of magic and has a dark and messy past. His brother, Joachim, drinks to paper over the battle shock he can’t shake, and takes out his rage via berserker attacks on family enemies. Even adopted nephew Billy, who possesses strange and inexplicable magical abilities, and selfish Aunt Enaid, who has a thing for younger men, have layers of their own.
A dark, dark tale
This is a much, much darker story than you might expect — especially if your reading tastes tend to run more toward the young adult end of the fantasy spectrum. But, seriously, the book is called Priest of Bones. It’s not kidding. There’s a lot of death and murder in this story, complete with detailed scenes of fighting and bloodshed, as well as frequent reminiscing about the horrific war that took place just before this novel started. There’s also a fair amount of sexual violence and misogyny as well. The world of Priest of Bones is brutal, make no mistake.
However, the grimdark tone really works for this story, managing to ground its more fantastical elements with a certain dirt-caked realism. Even though this is a fantasy setting, none of its horrors feel out of place, probably because they remind us so much of the world we already know or remember.
As heroes go, Tomas isn’t a leading man many will swoon over, but his narration is instantly appealing and the character has a ton of charisma. Sure, our first indication that he’s a non-horrible person is when he stops his underlings from raping a woman, but, well, that’s just further evidence of what a trash fire this world they live in is.
And by the time you finish this novel, you’ll definitely want to see more of it.
Priest of Bones hit shelves this past Tuesday, Oct. 2.