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California bones
302 pages
A gritty, sun-baked magical heist where a ragtag crew consumes the bones of mythical creatures to steal back their future.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a sun-bleached, alternate Los Angeles where magic is both visceral and deeply macabre. The narrative moves with the propulsive, ticking-clock energy of a classic heist, pulling you through a gritty underworld of crime bosses and corrupt regimes. It is a story steeped in a noir-tinged atmosphere, yet it balances its cynical edge with the warming, reluctant bonds of a found family. The prose is punchy and cinematic, making the bizarre reality of consuming magical bones feel intensely grounded and real. It will thoroughly delight readers who love ragtag crews, high-stakes capers, and urban fantasy that trades sparkling wands for gritty, blood-and-bone survival.
- Mood
- sun-bleached
- tense
- macabre
- noir-tinged
- Tone
- gritty
- wry
- cynical
- determined
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- found family · cost of power · rebellion against corruption · survival and sacrifice
- The writing
- Punchy and cinematic, grounding visceral, bone-crunching magic in the gritty reality of a sun-baked Los Angeles.
- The arc
- A journey from cynical, isolated survival to embracing the dangerous trust of a found family.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave fast-paced urban fantasy heists with wildly inventive, slightly macabre magic systems and ragtag crews.
Content notes
- body horror
- violence
- parental death
- gore
About the book
Years after swallowing a kraken bone fragment and then witnessing the killing of his magician father, Daniel endures a life of thievery until his crime-boss uncle compels him to steal his father's sword and fight a corrupt regime.
Description from Open Library.
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