Heaven's Bones

by Samantha Henderson

Love and death walk hand in hand... Dr. Sebastian Robarts is a man paralyzed by the fate of his adored wife, dead in childbirth, their only child with her. He searches for a way to build angels from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786951117
• ISBN13: 9780786951116
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 313 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.0" x 4.0"

Customer Reviews

ever so slow

There is a very elegant and complex story in Heaven's Bones. The setting spans two continents and three distinct settings and is populated by complex and interesting characters. The story is a blend of Horror, Noir, Fantasy all combined with a slightly steampunk vibe. It has a certain Ravenloft feel to it, but not to the extend that is easily recognizable. There is no real tie to the 'classic' Ravenloft lands or characters. If you are willing to invest the time there is a good story to be found. That said I found the book terrible slow to start and easy to put down. So it took me longer than normal to make my way through it. Once I did finish it it is a very captivating story, but one I initially had to 'force' myself into. I wish it was a bit easier to jump in to. But what you get if you do is a rather complicated but thought provoking horror story.

Complex, Yet Satisfying

"Heaven's Bones" is a fairly complex three-part story set in a Steampunkish environment, adding in magic, angels, and a murder mystery. The story is told by Seriah, an angel living in the London Underground, recording the stories she overhears around her. One of those stories is Dr. Robert's lost his wife and child and now is making angels from the bodies of women. Unfortunately that means killing them. Then there is Tibor and Jaelle, brother and sister, who have control over the mists and can travel through them. Tibor wants to use the power, Jaelle wants to let events happen. There is also Artemis Donovan, a policeman in London. All of these stories intertwine, slowly making sense over time. The mists tie the stories together, moving characters from one place and time to another, including Riverbend, a town in the aftermath of Sherman's March through the American South during the Civil War. Eventually, it all makes sense, and the story along the way keeps you interested in finding out the ending.

Elegant and Chilling, Boxed Up in Many Layers of Weird

With tender devotion and love, Dr. Robards makes angels from the bodies of murdered women -- a gift to his dead wife and son. Heaven's Bones is a horror novel set mostly in Victorian Era London about a doctor who goes insane when his wife dies during childbirth. He begins to abduct women, whom he realizes are really fallen angels, and attempts to give them back their wings and hopefully return them to heaven. It gets very twisted and twisty from there, complete with Jack the Ripper allusions, recording angels, intelligent (and tentacled) mists, and a psychic detective. The characters, which there are a lot of, are interesting. A few of them I smiled whenever I realized we were coming back to them. Others, I winced when I read, because I knew horrible things were going to happen to people. And there are some sick puppies in this book, the greatest of which is not the afforementioned Dr. Robards. Maybe more than anything else, though, I was struck for the first time how terrifying and hard it must've been to have been a woman in this time period, how scary it must have been back then to have a child, much less the practice of delivering children. Not to mention how trying it must have been to have been a woman in a professional career (other than prostitut

The Best Book I've Read All Year

"Heaven's Bones" is, without a doubt, the best book I've read all year. The story is rich in period detail, well-developed characters, and complex plot twists and turns. Multiple storylines are woven together to bring characters from two continents together at the whim of ancient mists, whose only purpose is evil. And, yet there are those so determined to do good that they are able to challenge the supernatural and banish that evil. There is so much beauty and so much tragedy, skillfully blended into this novel. The writing is fluid and captivating. Once you start reading, I dare you to put it down. I knew from the moment I met the doctor that I would become hopelessly lost in the beauty of this book. But, the high point for me was the gathering of the angels and their ultimate demise at the end. I highly recommend "Heaven's Bones" to anyone looking for a substantial and enjoyable read.

A real page-turner...

Ms. Henderson sends the reader quickly and anxiously into the realms of yesteryear in two different countries ~ equally harsh, yet captivating periods in time. With twists and turns, the evil darkness weaves its tale through the light of hope. Her flavorful descriptions put the reader there! The "femine" is examined much like the women ~ turned angels ~ who with horror find themselves abruptly under the sharp, sculpting knife of Dr. Sebastian Robarts!