THE BONE RAIDERS by Jackson Ford – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
Series: The Rakada #1
Published by Orbit on August 12 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 480
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: The giant lizard steals the show in Jackson Ford’s first foray into fantasy, an enjoyable but uneven story.

It pains me to give anything by Jackson Ford a middling rating, but unfortunately The Bone Raiders didn’t completely work for me. As someone who is backing away from reading a lot of fantasy these days, it takes something extra special to grab my attention, and while there were elements I loved, there were also many standard fantasy tropes that didn’t excite me. I also struggled with the pacing and length of the book, which made me want to set it aside at times. Many reviewers are loving this, though, so my rating, while based on some technical aspects of the book, also reflects my preferences for the genre.

The story takes place in a land called the Tapestry, where we follow a group of female raiders called the Rakada—or Bone Raiders, because of their penchant for wearing the bones of their victims. Those people who live outside the capital city of Karkorum are being forced to join the Khan’s forces in the city, and their way of life, living free and providing for themselves, is dying out. This isn’t good for the raiders, since they rely on these villagers and nomadic people for their livelihood—yes, they raid, steal and sometimes kill them.

When the story opens, a Rakada named Sayana has just been captured by the travelers she was scouting and hoping to raid (oops!). As Sayana is trying to get away, the group is surprised by the arrival of a giant lizard called an araatan, a fire-breathing monstrosity that normally hangs out in the nearby mountains. In the ensuing chaos—and the fiery death of several people—Sayana manages to use the lizard to run away, by jumping on its back and fleeing the scene. This gives her an idea, that perhaps the Rakada could fight back against the Khan if they could figure out a way to tame the araatan, or at least train them to follow directions.

Chimeg, the chief of the Rakada, shoots down Sayana’s idea, saying it’s too dangerous, not to mention that araatan are wild animals and can’t be controlled. But Sayana is determined to prove that her idea has merit, and so she embarks on a quest to find the one person she thinks can help—an eagle hunter named Tuya who lives in Karkorum. Getting into the city will be tricky, but convincing Tuya to help might be impossible.

Let’s start with the positives. First, the giant lizards are THE BOMB. This was such a great idea, taking your standard fantasy dragon and twisting it into a giant fire-breathing lizard. And Ford doesn’t hold back. These creatures are lethal, not some cuddly fantasy side-kicks. Even as Sayana and Tuya are working with a lizard to try to tame it, it’s never really certain that they’ll succeed. I loved the uncertainty of what they are trying to accomplish, and eventually we learn more about the araatan and how they perceive humans.

I also loved the Bone Raiders and their relationships with each other. Once again, the author doesn’t take the easy path, and even though these women have been together for a number of years and know each other well, their interactions can turn volatile at a moment’s notice. They are more co-workers than friends, although there is a romantic relationship between two of them, but Chimeg demands complete obedience, so when Sayana decides to go after the araatan on her own, this ruins the group dynamic. I’m always more interested in a story when relationships are tested and become messy, and there’s a lot of that here.

The story alternates among three main characters: Sayana, another Bone Raider named Hogelun, and Yesuntei, who works for the Khan and is also Tuya’s sister. We also meet the other Bone Raiders and a few other side characters. I liked Sayana, but honestly she wasn’t my favorite character. I loved Khunbish, another raider, the most, who seems a little “touched” but captured my heart with her dedication to Father Sky (their god) and a deal she’s seemingly made with him.

Jackson Ford’s trademark humor lightens some of the more heavy moments. There is plenty of laugh-out-loud dialogue, and for the most part, it’s well integrated into the story. I didn’t care for some of the modern phrases Ford threw in, though, which were jarring and pulled me out of the story, things like “get a grip” or “she fell on her butt.” I’m not sure why these weren’t edited out, they were very strange. 

Now for the things that didn’t work for me. The middle section when Sayana and Tuya are trying to “train” the araatan is a big slog. It went on forever with very little happening, and for a nearly five hundred page book this was the kiss of death and I nearly DNFd the book at this point. There are also lots of battle scenes that, to be honest, are just not my thing. Fantasy fans who love hand-to-hand combat and lots of bloody sword and axe battles will eat this up, but for me, they were a snoozefest.

And as much as I loved the araatan, there wasn’t nearly enough of the lizards for my taste. From the book cover, you might assume that the main plot revolves around them, but it doesn’t. I get that this is a series opener with more to come, and I’m betting the lizards play a much bigger part in the next book, but I wanted more in this opening book.

Luckily, though, the last quarter of the story makes up for everything else. The action is non stop, the araatan come back into the story full force, and there’s plenty of danger and edge-of-your-seat action. There’s even a cool twist I didn’t see coming that will probably play a part in the next book, and all sorts of unexpected connections between characters are revealed as well. I only wish the first three hundred pages were as quickly paced. The second book has already been announced on Goodreads, and I haven’t yet decided whether to continue with the series. I guess we’ll see!

With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.