Bone #7: Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith (Jan 21 2008)

Top marks here go to Ted who gets the book going wonderfully. Okay, I needed to read this a second time to love it as I am not a fan of the Lord of the Rings type things. But on a second reading of the series, by this point, the characters that are so well-drawn not just visually but as fully developed individuals that their plight is spellbinding stuff. The fantasy elements are well-written and dont overwhelm the characters.

The 'Bone' series is sheer genius. Recently I bought the complte version and read in through in a weekend, almost non-stop. Anyway, that aside, "Ghost Circles" is a particular favourite of mine. Whereas the first 'Bone' books were light and fluffy things are really starting to get dark now. War has broken out and things are looking desperate. We also see the personality of teh caharcters develop as they are really startign to be tested emotionally. I think this volume really highlights the genius of Jeff Smith and his ability to transform the series and take it to a new level without ruining it. For those who say 'Lord of the Rings' is the greatest fantasy I say: have you read this? If you do I think you'll change your mind...

Things really kick off now with mountains exploding and instant invisible death, and sometimes highly visible death, all around. The humour has run for cover but the drama has been turned up to eleven. This is definitely in road movie territory but it is a fast and engaging read. The art is good and we have a lot more double page spreads showing you the scale of what our heroes are up against. A Thumbs Up!

Good books to buy

I purchased these for my grandson and he loves them

My son collects the Bone books. It arrived without damage in perfect condition. Definitely recommend.

Reason for Reading: next in the series. This volume is one big journey as Gran'ma Ben, Thorn and the Bone cousins travel across a barren land scattered with ghost circles to reach Atheia, the ancient city of the royal family. A brief flash to the Lord of the Locusts and occassional jumps to villagers after the previous battle give a change of pace. But for the most part we have a plot-focused, forward-moving, action-high journey in progress that is a quick, enjoyable read. It's been a good 3 months since I read the last book, so it was a delight for me to come back to this series and find these old friends as delightful as ever. Humour and adventure abound, while this is quite a dark ,and a bit scary, volume. Great stuff! Just two more books to go! (and the prequel)

Having grown up reading this, it was wonderful reread this time in a color format. I think the colored version adds a subtle level of tone to the story which previously wasn’t there; as for the story itself, this I think is my favorite volume of the nine. The writing is well, and this particular novel is gripping all the way towards the end. Jeff Smith continues to impress me, especially on rereading the story.