The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Tea starts her story by accidentally raising her brother from the dead. This is surely a traumatic enough experience for a young girl, but it marks her with the dark magic of the bone witch, unlike her sisters who possess 'normal' magic. So on top of having to deal with her corpse brother, Tea is now spurned by the village she's grown up in. The Bone Witch (2017) explores Tea's journey of coming to terms with the darkness within her and finding her place in a world that fears her.

You'd think that raising your brother from the dead was a decent hook if there ever was one, but the story had some problems getting off the ground. Rin Chupeco frames her tale with a narrative told by an unknown narrator before jumping straight into Tea's recollection of her childhood. Perhaps it’s the leaping between time and character, but these opening scenes are difficult to ... Read More

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

The Heart Forger's (2018) prequel ended with the young bone witch, Tea, about to march upon the kingdom with an army of corpses and a bevy of monsters to boot. We pick up the story precisely where it was left off with Tea's shock lover (for those of you who remember the twist ending of The Bone Witch) in tow.

Sticking to the same formula used in The Bone Witch, the narrative jumps between past and present, once more in a style reminiscent of THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLE series. The bard continues to narrate Tea's march upon the royals in the present day, presenting a very different version to the novice asha (that is, a witch who can wield the dark arts of necrom... Read More