Osric Fingerbone and the Boy Murderer – DaneCobain.com

Michael-Israel Jarvis – Osric Fingerbone and the Spring of Jacks | Review

Title: Osric Fingerbone and the Spring of Jacks

Author: Michael-Israel Jarvis

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 274

Rating: 3.5/5

Michael-Israel Jarvis – Osric Fingerbone and the Spring of Jacks

This is the fourth and most recent of Jarvis’s books that I’ve read, and while I don’t think it’s his best, it was still pretty good. It’s also the second book in the Osric Fingerbone series, and so if you haven’t read Osric Fingerbone and the Boy Murderer, I’d recommend starting with that. I preferred the first one anyway, but also this one continues on from where the first book left off and so you’d be mad to read it out of order.

What’s great about this book – and about Jarvis’ writing in general – is that the world-building is top-notch. The entire book is set in an alternate version of Edwardian London (called ‘Londun‘) and we have places like Brummagem, Norwych and Mancester. It’s our world, but it’s our world if magic and alchemy had powered the industrial revolution instead of science and technology. In that respect, it’s almost reminiscent of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices books, except better.

My only complaint here is that I struggled to follow the plot at times, and I think part of that is because it’s been too long since I read the first book and the author almost assumes that you know the world as well as he does. The thing is that I feel as though it’s my own fault as a reader, although I would suggest that if you read and enjoy the first book, you should move straight on to the second. Still, it was fun!

Michael-Israel Jarvis

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Michael-Israel Jarvis – Osric Fingerbone and the Boy Murderer | Review

Title: Osric Fingerbone and the Boy Murderer

Author: Michael-Israel Jarvis

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 278

Rating: 5*/5

Michael-Israel Jarvis – Osric Fingerbone and the Boy Murderer

Disclaimer: The author of this book is an indie writer friend of mine. However, I’ve done my best to be impartial and to provide an honest review.

I thought this book was excellent, and the best of the three books that Jarvis has on the market. The others are more likely to be of interest to die-hard fantasy fans, while this book has a mainstream appeal – it’s a little bit steampunk, a little bit young adult, and it reminds me of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, except with more of a sense of humour.

In this book, we follow young Edward Sax, who runs away from home after killing his abusive uncle, and Osric Fingerbone, the charismatic ne’er-do-well who dwells in the under city and seems to know about all sorts of interesting subjects, from alchemy and assassination to the import of a new illegal drug which bad people are using to do bad things.

I’m not going to go too far into the story line, but what I will say is that while it’s gripping and highly imaginative, it’s also easy enough to read and understand. The look and feel of the book, as well as the layout and the pagination, makes it feel like a professional release, even though Mr. Jarvis is an indie writer, and I powered right through it in just a couple of days. It was a lot of fun, and I’d totally recommend it. So what are you waiting for? It’s recommended by me!