Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

Title: Priest of Bones
Author: Peter McLean
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Series: War for The Rose Throne #1

Paperback, 352 Pages
Publication: October 2, 2018 by Ace

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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It's a dangerous thing, to choose the lesser of two evils.

The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety finally heads home with Lieutenant Bloody Anne at his side. When he arrives in the Stink, Tomas finds that his empire of crime has been stolen from him while at war. With his gang of Pious Men, Tomas will do whatever it takes to reclaim his businesses. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, and is forced to work in secret for the sinister Queen's Men, everything gets more complicated.

When loyalties stretch to the breaking point and violence only leads to violence, when people have run out of food, and hope, and places to hide, do not be surprised if they have also run out of mercy. As the Pious Men fight shadowy foreign infiltrators in the backstreet taverns and gambling dens of Tomas's old life it becomes clear; the war is not over.

It is only just beginning.

Priest of Bones is the first book in the grimdark, War for the Rose Throne series. The series is pitched as The Godfather meets Peaky Blinders, a movie and show I’ve yet to see. I know, the horror! However, I have seen Gangs of New York and Priest of Bones is very similar to that but with a sprinkle of magic. The story is centered around Crime Lord, Solider and Priest Tomas Piety as he returns home to Ellinburg from a 3-year war only to find all his owned establishments commandeered. Which of course is unacceptable. With his weeping women and merry band of miscreants, Piety cuts his way to the reclamation of his businesses. Except all is not well in Ellinburg, a foreigner is looking to shake things up and it’s up to Piety and the Pious Men to stop the infamous Bloodhands.

I didn’t know what to really expect when I began Priest of Bone but the synopsis sounded good enough that I picked it up. I was hooked within the first page. Chapter one opens up with Piety and his crew back in Ellinburg in a tavern commemorating their win over pints of liquor. The scene is set up nicely and right off the bat introduces Piety, so we could see exactly what type of man he was and give us a feel of the tone of the novel. Which I can say is dark, bloody and violent.

The writing and dialogue took awhile to get used to; I initially thought it was very choppy and inconsistent. But it eventually grew on me and I took it as a plus that it didn’t make me withdraw from the story. Priest of Bones was said to be a Historic Fantasy but there was very little fantasy. There were mentions of Magicians and Cunnings (similar to Magicians who can wield special abilities but not as skilled or refined) but the details and background regarding them was vague and not fully developed. The world building itself was decent but a bit too simplistic for my liking. There are many gangs in Ellinburg but the Pious Men and the Gutcutters were the two most prominent ones. And there was the Skanians, outsiders who want to take over Ellinburg and the Queen’s Men mercenaries and spies working for the crown. That pretty much sums up the major players in the novel. I also thought the plot was standard but the characters more than made up for it.

Overall Priest of Bones is a solid series opener that promises a lot more action and violence to come. While I enjoyed the book, I should warn that this book isn’t for the faint of heart. Priest of Bones is extremely violent and graphic dealing with a lot of sensitive and triggering subjects such as PTSD (Battle Shock), Sexual abuse/rape, and Gender/Sexual Orientation. With that said, I’d recommend Priest of Bones to those who enjoys a period piece with undertones of magic.