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    The Bone Magician
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    The Bone Magician
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    The Bone Magician
    Ebook244 pages3 hours

    The Bone Magician

    By F. E. Higgins

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Pin Carpue is on his own in the world. His mother is dead and his father is missing after being labeled a suspect in a rash of murders. Pin finds a job working for the local undertaker as a body watcher, making sure people are really dead before they're buried. The body he's supposed to be watching tonight is currently surrounded by three people engaged in a most unusual ceremony. An old man, a bone magician, and his young female assistant are waking a woman so her grieving fiancé can have one last goodbye with her. Pin can't believe it will work, but then the dead woman sits up and speaks.

    Pin is determined to discover how the magic works. He cannot believe they are raising the dead. He cannot believe his father is a murderer. Then Pin himself nearly becomes the killer's next victim.

    As this mysterious tale unfolds with delicious creepiness, Pin will learn more about the bone magician, the girl Juno, and a hideous creature called the Gluttonous Beast that is kept in a local tavern where people pay for a glimpse.

    Once again, F.E. Higgins delivers a story that is full of intrigue and suspense.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateFeb 15, 2011
    ISBN9781429990899
    Author

    F. E. Higgins

    F. E. Higgins was born in England but raised in Ireland. She lives and writes in a house that dates back to the fifteenth century, in a small village in rural Kent. THE BLACK BOOK OF SECRETS was her debut novel.

    Read more from F. E. Higgins

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    Reviews for The Bone Magician

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      YA This is called a "paraquel" to The Black Book of Secrets. This one tells the story of a young boy(Pin) whose job it is to sit up with dead bodies for three days at the undertaker's to make sure they're really dead. He discovers a network of swindlers/Magicians that he has to get the courage to take on. Great characters ! The author adds to the mysteries of her series by the end, promising more to come. I did not love it, but I found it very well written. It was just not the type of book I enjoy.
    • 4/5
      The Bone Magician is the paraquel to the Black Book of Secrets. This tells the story of young Pin who is caring for himself after his mother's death and his father's disappearance. To make matters worse Pin's father has been named a person of interest in the Silver Apple murders. Pin finds a job worker for an undertaker as a body watcher to make sure people are really dead before they are buried. This is another wonderfully creepy series installment. The writing is beautiful and the author creates a glum and spooky atmosphere. I highly recommend this book to fans of the Black Book of Secrets
    • 4/5
      I am so pleased that his book was cheap, $5, i bought it because it was cheap and the cover had great images and a tactile feel. Set in Victorian Dickensian times i knew i would like it. It is about an abandoned boy Pin Carpue, Pin's mother is dead and his father is on the run after being accused of murder. Pin watches corpses for a living. It was common in these times for people to rob the corpse of eyeballs, teeth etc to on sell or to be buried alive. Pin finds a job working for the local undertaker as a body watcher, making sure people are really dead before they’re buried. While watching a corpse, Pin is drugged and as he comes to, the body he’s supposed to be watching is currently surrounded by three people engaged in a most unusual ceremony. An old man, a bone magician, and his young female assistant are waking a woman so her grieving fiancé can have one last goodbye with her. Pin can’t believe it will work, but then the dead woman sits up and speaks.Pin is determined to discover how the magic works. He cannot believe they are raising the dead. He cannot believe his father is a murderer. Then Pin himself nearly becomes the killer’s (The Silver Apple Killer) next victim.As this story unfolds with all its creepiness, Pin learns more about the bone magician, the girl Juno (the Silver Apple Killer), and a hideous creature called the Gluttonous Beast that is kept in a local tavern where people pay for a glimpse.The story is from various characters points of view, taken from Pin's Journal, some from Pin's point of view, some from Juno's, some of the book is taken from newspapers, etc. I really enjoyed this story as i like relating it to how people lived in those times through poverty and yet the survive, they are resilient. Books of this type show a person true integrity, where characters struggle against poverty and despair bringing a sense of enlightenment into the dark world they live in. Due to my enjoyment in reading this book i purchased the first book , The Black Book of Secrets although not as cheap at $17.00. but well worth the read. These two books can be read independent of each other. I've yet to read The Eyeball Collector and The Lunatic's Curse.
    • 2/5
      It skips a lot between characters, very little is resolved. Far too much left undone. I think Higgins would make a good short story novelist, but I am unsure about full-length novels. By the by, Juno is addicted to her herbs and potions a bit - can't see that leading to anything good. Likely why she is so pale and translucent.
    • 5/5
      This book looked right up my alley and when I saw it I had to pick it up. It is the second book in the Tales from the Sinister City series by Higgins. I actually hadn't read the first book, The Black Book of Secrets, and didn't realize this book was part of a series. The good thing is that you can still really enjoy The Bone Magician without having read the first book. Right now there are two more books in this series; The Eye Collector and The Lunatic's Curse. I really enjoyed this book, it had wonderful characters and a deliciously dark and sinister setting.Pin is a boy who watches corpses for a living. It's not a bad job and it pays decent. With his mother dead and his father missing Pin is making due; living in a horribly dingy apartment in a city that is dark, foggy, and dangerous. Then while watching a corpse he is drugged by a couple of people who come in and raise the corpse to talk to it; thus he meets The Bone Magician and his young female assistant Juno. Outside of his job Pin has a mission, to prove that his father is not a murderer. Pin will get involved with a plethora of interesting characters along the way; The Bone Magician, Juno, the Silver Apple Killer (the cities requisite serial killer), and the horrible Gluttonous Beast to name a few.This is a dark book, but it is deliciously so. The setting is foggy, Victorian, and darkly depressing...what I imagine the poorer parts of a city would have actually been like in this time frame. What really holds this book together are the strong flashes of wonderful kindness that are sprinkled through the darkness. For instance Pin, despite his horrible last year, is a surprisingly upstanding and responsible boy, with much depth to his character. Pin's employer is also surprisingly kind; it is like Pin knows how to bring out the best in the people he meets...he is a bright spot in a dark city.There is a dark mystery mixed throughout, as the city tries to figure out the identity of the Silver Apple Killer. We see the story from many points of view: some parts are taken from Pin's Journal, some parts are from Pin's point of view, some from Juno's, some of the book is taken from newspapers, etc. I liked how all the miscellaneous sources worked well together to create an interesting story. I was actually impressed with the creativity and the craft it took to have all these journal entries, newspaper clippings, etc. brought together to makes this wonderful story.Despite its darkness, the story is uplifting in the end. The book is creepy, but never really scary. It would be appropriate for middle grade and up. There is a lot of dealing with death in this book (since Pin does work for an undertaker) and a lot of descriptions of people living in abject poverty; but there isn't really anything too graphic or inappropriate.Overall I really enjoyed this story. I love dark stories with a dark fairy tale feel to them that are full of mystery; I also love that the wonderful characters struggle against all odds to bring kindness and light into the dark world they live in. This book made me eager to pick up Higgins other Tales for the Sinister City books. If you are a fan of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney I think you would like this dark and atmospheric story. This story is a keeper for me and I hope to read it to my son one day soon.
    • 4/5
      A Paraquel to The Black Book of Secrets (i.e. the story is set at the same time, parallel to the first book, so not a sequel but a complimentary story set in the same world) this is the story of Pin Carpue, whose father ran away accused of killing his uncle and whose mother is dead. He works as an apprentice mortician. There's a killer in town and no-one knows who or why. Pin's father is held as a possible candidate for this murderer.It's not a bad read but to me it lacked a certain something. I suppose I was hoping for more magic in the story. It was a good read and I don't regret reading and I do look forward to more by this author but I wasn't as impressed with this one as by the first.
    • 4/5
      Pin Carpue is orphaned in the in the crime-ridden city of Urbs Umida after his father runs off, accused of being a murderer. Pin finds work as a corpse watcher, ensuring that the dead are truly dead before they are buried. Eventually Pin ends up living in the same boarding house as a bone magician and his assistant—who seem to be able to raise the dead! This book is dubbed as “paraquel” by the author—the story occurs at the same as the tale in The Black Book of Secrets. Recommended reading for fans of The Black Book of Secrets and also readers new to Higgins' work.
    • 4/5
      I first came across F.E. Higgins when reading ‘The Black Book of Secrets’, which I loved. Whilst ‘The Bone Magician’ isn’t a sequel it is set in the town that one of the characters from the first novel has left and towards the end some of the other characters get a mention. You could read this one without reading the first one, which is a good thing but if you’d enjoyed it, you’d end up going back to the first one so you might as well read them in order.Pin’s father has vanished and since he disappeared Pin has lived alone in Urbs Umida. The city is putrid and the river dividing the north from the south is fowl. He comes across the Bone Magician, in the local hostelry which has different acts and entertainment appearing. Pin has decided to use some of him money to view the latest act. On leaving the hostelry, Pin comes across a new path to take; one that puts his own life in grave danger.Very well written and compelling reading, this novel is a must for children who like fantasy stories with a bit of evil in them. As an adult with a love for children’s books I couldn’t put it down (the same as the first one) and it was a pleasure to read. I have the third one already and I’m looking forward to opening the covers of that one quite soon.