Silent No More

This book caught my eye when it was originally published in 2020. It had a fascinating premise, one that I was keen to see how the world worked and how magic operated within it. I wasn’t disappointed. 

The Phoenix Empire is a series of interconnected islands with different lords and ruling families on each. The islands have their own cultural differences, but are ruled through the magic of the Emperor and his control of bone shards. The shards are removed from the people in an excruciating and brutal process that can sometimes leave them dead. The Emperor can carve commands on the bone shards in a complicated mess of commands in a language only he knows, leaving the person basically powerless and following the commands of the engravings. It was a unique magic system, and the idea of only one person, although slightly hard to believe, as the sole person able to use this engraved language was fascinating, to say the least. The Emperor was a cruel man, who liked to think of himself as a sort of benevolent tyrant. His daughter, Lin, was raised in seclusion, and not made privy to the language. The Emperor had only started to teach his son the mastery of the language and not his daughter. This led her on a path of deception and trying to teach herself the magic, all the while staying under the radar of the Emperor to what she was about. 

It also follows the story of some secondary characters, and each of them had unique plotlines that eventually built into a cohesive narrative. They were characters that, in my opinion, were a bit more fleshed out than Lin was (although this later becomes clear why the author made this choice, later on in the story). There were also adorable animal companions, which is always a plus for me. 

Where this story really shines is in its thematic elements. While the worldbluilding and characters could have used a little more expanding upon, the plotline was fantastic and the themes were top notch. It delves into the themes of family, power, and identity. Who is really our family, and is it only blood? With great power comes great temptation to abuse this power. What should one do when one becomes privy to how this power is used in bad ways? How should justice be brought? Can a system that is set up for oppression really be turned on its head? And who are we, after all? Are we what our pasts make us, or can we change? The whole nature vs. nurture idea is explored in a unique way. 

Generally speaking, although this story wasn’t perfect, it held my attention throughout. If you’re looking for a compelling story that asks hard questions and doesn’t necessarily answer them, has an expansive world with in-depth cultural expressions, and characters that don’t fit an exact mold, you will like The Bone Shard Daughter.

4 of 5 stars.