Tide Child trilogy

Tide Child trilogy

Cover art for The Bone Ships, book one in the trilogy
The Bone Ships Call of the Bone Ships The Bone Ship's Wake
Author	R.J. Barker
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Publisher	Orbit
No. of books	3

The Tide Child trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by R.J. Barker. It comprises The Bone Ships (2019), Call of the Bone Ships (2020), and The Bone Ship's Wake (2021). The first book in the trilogy won the 2020 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

Plot

Prior to The Bone Ships

The Hundred Isles and the Gaunt Isles have been at war for centuries. Because the Scattered Archipelago contains very little plant life and no wood for ships, their warships are made from the bones of sea dragons called arakeesians. The arakeesians are apparently extinct. No more ships can be built, leading to a war of attrition. White ships are used in traditional battles, while black ships are crewed by condemned prisoners expected to die in battle.

The Hundred Isles has a matriarchal society in which citizens are valued for fertility and beauty. Women who survive childbirth and bear healthy children are elevated to Burn class. Healthy men may become Kept concubines by the Burn, but those with birth defects or other undesirable traits are relegated to lower castes. The firstborn healthy child from each family is sacrificed and their soul is used to make a “corpse light” to light a white ship.

The Bone Ships

Joron Twiner is the son of a poor fisherman. Even though he has no birth defects, his mother died in childbirth and Joron is considered to be from a weak bloodline. Joron kills a man in a duel to avenge his father’s death. The man’s father, Kept Indil Karad, uses his political connections to ensure Joron is sentenced to serve as the shipwife (captain) of the black ship Tide Child.

Aboard Tide Child, Joron spends most of his time drinking instead of training his crew. “Lucky” Meas Gilbryn is the disgraced daughter of Thirteen Burn Gilbryn, leader of the Hundred Isles. She wins command of Tide Child in a duel; Joron becomes her Deckholder, or second-in-command. Tide Child is badly damaged during a battle with raiders. He sails to Bernshulme, capital of the Hundred Isles, for repairs.

In Bernshulme, Karad reveals that a living arakeesian has been spotted. Karad and Meas both want to end the war with the Gaunt Islanders, though for different reasons. Capturing the arakeesian would provide enough bones to create warships for another generation, so they plan to escort it to a remote section of ocean and kill it so that the bones cannot be salvaged. Tide Child obtains a special cargo of poisoned crossbow bolts with which to kill the creature. Meas assembles a crew of criminals, bodyguards, and sailors from her previous ship. Tide Child also carries a guillame, a humanoid bird-like creature who can control the wind. Karad sends a spy named Dinel to become part of the crew; despite his conflicted loyalties, Dinel and Joron become friends.

Unbeknownst to most of Tide Child's crew, Meas secretly works with black ships from the Gaunt Isles, Cruel Water and Snarltooth. (The crew believes that they are traveling with two black ships from the Hundred Isles instead.) They spot the arakeesian and defend it from raiders, raising the crew’s morale. During the fight, the guillame exhausts its supply of energy and becomes “windsick”, falling into a coma.

Raiders hold control of towers on Arcanis Isle and Skearith’s Spine, a mountain range that divides the Gaunt Isles and Hundred Isles. The raiders will use the towers’ crossbows to kill the arakeesian once they spot it, so Meas plans to kill the raiders and destroy the towers. Tide Child's crew lands on the island. The guillame is recharged by the island’s windspire. It assists Tide Child's crew with destroying the towers, allowing the arakeesian to continue its journey unharmed. After touching the windspire, Joron develops a supernatural connection to the guillame. The guillame also reveals that it can speak with the arakeesian.

Meas reveals her full plan to the crew, who support her. As they pass into Gaunt Isles territory, they engage with white ships from the opposing fleet. Meas sends the survivors from her Gaunt Isles allies to meet with other rebels while Tide Child continues north to follow the arakeesian. Tide Child passes back into Hundred Isles territory. He is chased by Hag's Hunter, a white ship captained by Meas’s sister Kiri. Tide Child is defeated, but the arakeesian sinks Hag’s Hunter before Meas can surrender.

Dinel tries to kill the arakeesian with the poisoned bolts. The guillame tells the crew that more arakeesians will appear. Meas refuses to kill it, stating that her goals have changed. Joron disarms Dinel. Meas orders the poisoned bolts to be dumped overboard, and the arakeesian swims away unharmed.

Style

The Bone Ships is written entirely from the point of view of Joron Twiner.

Reception

The Bone Ships won the 2020 British Fantasy Award for best novel.

Publishers Weekly gave a positive review to the first novel in the trilogy, comparing it favorably to the works of Patrick O'Brian and calling it a "very promising beginning" to the trilogy. Eloise Hopkins of the British Fantasy Society wrote that the worldbuilding of The Bone Ships was "well-developed down to the last intricate detail". Writing for Locus Magazine, Liz Bourke praised The Bone Ships for its characterization, well-written battle scenes, and worldbuilding. She did, however, note issues with the logistics of the novel's food supply chain.

Writing for the British Fantasy Society, Eloise Hopkins stated that Call of the Bone Ships had "solidly crafted" dialogue and worldbuilding. She also stated that the inclusion of maps, illustrations, and sea ballads contributed to the novel's credibility. Publishers Weekly gave Call of the Bone Ships a positive review, praising the development of its "fascinating personal concerns" as well as the "awe-inspiring set pieces" of its action sequences.

Publishers Weekly gave a starred review to the final book of the trilogy, writing that The Bone Ship's Wake combines Patrick O'Brian's seafaring action sequences with Wagner's "operatic sturm und drang".