DISCLOSURE: I was given an advance reader copy of this book for review purposes (thank you, Jasmine Walls). All opinions that follow are my own.
Marrow is a skeleton brought to life by the evil wizard Falthazir. Until one day Falthazir chokes to death on his dinner, and the tower collapses. In the wreckage, Marrow re-forms, somehow still “alive” and unable to be released from their bindings, and in the rubble they find a broken magic sword called Kingslayer. Together the two set out away from the ruins to find a worthy wielder for Kingslayer, and a release from This Mortal Coil for Marrow.
What follows is enormous “two road trip buddies encountering other fairy tales in the woods” energy (in the best way). And also morbidly charming (or charmingly morbid) illustrations decorating the beginning of each chapter.
I loved this book the minute I heard the pitch, and as I read the adventures of Marrow and Kingslayer, I fell even more in love. Everything from the genderqueer skeleton to the gothic descriptions to the haunting nature of the woods engrossed me. Not to mention Kingslayer being the sassiest weapon this side of the haunted lake.
And yet, it’s such a short story. Everything is packed into 100 pages or less, yet it’s perfect. If it were any shorter, there would not be enough room for the characters to quip and explore. And if it were any longer, there would be too much pressure to answer the questions still left hanging in the air. In this case, the story left off on a literal question left unanswered – yet I loved the further questioning it poses.
If I gush any more about this novella, I will accidentally trudge into spoiler territory. This is a must-read for lovers of fantasy and role-playing games who ever asked, “But what happens to the skeleton after the wizard dies?” For bring a book about undead and sentient items, this story is so full of life.
This Mortal Coil is available for pre-order through Bonedust Press (who also released The Traitor and The Wretch, another book I loved). The official release date is coming up soon, so be sure to sign up for their newsletter on their website to get the latest.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading and supporting independent novellas!
You. Are. Awesome.