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Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is everything I'd want from a prequel to L&L. Viv is young here, fresh to adventuring and not fully engaging all her brain cells so ends up injured severely. She's left in Murk to recover which feels like death to an active (and humiliated) orc.

She uncovers a failing bookshop with two utterly endearing characters, Fern, a rattkin, and her pet, Potroast. There is also Pitts, the orc whose job is hauling things about and Maylee, the dwarf who owns the local bakery and a young gnome who wants to join Viv's adventuring company, so you have this wealth of great supporting characters.

Bored, Viv starts up conversations with Fern who is relatively rubbish at running her dad's bookstore which is dirty, smells and an utter mess. She is, however, excellent at picking books for people and picks one for a bemused Viv, starting them on the path to friendship. Viv does have a lot of business sense and manages to talk Fern into changes that will eventually save the shop, she hopes.

This very soft, mundane major plot line is set against the necromancer Viv and company had been tracking. She might have sent minions into Murk and after Viv specifically, putting her at odds with the town's head guard (another interesting character).

The funny thing is if I was presented a save this store (plus side romance) as a contemporary story I'd avoid it. Make them orcs, rattkins, dwarves and gnomes and I settle right on in. I find that weird but I'm not arguing. I think it's the characters more than the plot that drew me in. Viv and the rest are great characters that I care about. I loved this and the epilogue sets up a sequel for L&L as well that I hope we'll get.



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