Books about witches generally draw me to them like bees to honey, and
THE KING OF BONES AND ASHES,
the first book in J.D. Horn's Witches of New Orleans series, proved no
exception. I read and enjoyed SHIVAREE, his stand-alone novel, but
THE KING OF BONES AND ASHES
takes his abilities to a new level.
Perhaps, part of my fascination with the story is that it takes place in
New Orleans, one of the best locations for any novel with supernatural
tendencies, well outside of Savannah and Charleston, that is. Horn
takes a fabulous location and has an innate ability to build vivid
characters, and it's those characters that move the story forward. Each
voice has a unique feel of its own, and as the series title presumes, the
main characters are women. Alice, the youngest of the prominent Marin
witch family, has just returned home after a long stint in a psychiatric
asylum for witches; Evangeline who has multiple, complex ties to the
Marin family; and Lisette who took over running her mother's voodoo
shop, Veve, even after she stopped believing in the magic.
Witches are losing their magic, and many of them will do just about
anything including stealing from friends and enemies alike to keep their
powers. Others like Alice want answers buried in her family history. And
she has questions: Why is the magic leaving? Is it possible to save it?
This book is listed as horror, but I'd lean more toward dark fantasy or a
supernatural thriller, so don't let that classification put you off this
treat. And, if you like female characters, they abound and dominate this
story. Well, except for Babau Jean, the creepy bad guy who hovers in
the shadows just waiting to surprise you. I can't wait for the next book,
and I also look forward to reading his Witching Savannah series. If it's
anywhere as good as THE KING OF
BONES AND ASHES, it's bound to be a winner.
Magic is seeping out of the world, leaving the witches
who’ve relied on it for countless centuries increasingly
hopeless. While some see an inevitable end of their era,
others are courting madness—willing to sacrifice former
allies, friends, and family to retain the power they
covet. While the other witches watch their reality
unravel, young Alice Marin is using magic’s waning days
to delve into the mystery of numerous disappearances in
the occult circles of New Orleans. Alice disappeared
once, too—caged in an asylum by blood relatives. Recently
freed, she fears her family may be more involved with the
growing crisis than she ever dared imagine.
Yet the more she seeks the truth about her family’s
troubled history, the more she realizes her already-
fragile psyche may be at risk. Discovering the cause of
the vanishings, though, could be the only way to escape
her mother’s reach while determining the future of all
witches.
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