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All the Murmuring Bones Kindle Edition
For fans of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden, a dark gothic fairy tale from award-winning author Angela Slatter.
Harrowing and beautiful, this is the grim, fairy-tale gothic you ve been waiting for
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat
Long ago Miren O'Malley's family prospered due to a deal struck with the mer: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren's grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of Miren's freedom.
A spellbinding tale of dark family secrets, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea; of strong women and the men who seek to control them.
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Product description
Review
A rich and satisfying novel about a young woman, born to be the last hope of a once powerful family, who resists an arranged marriage and won't stop at murder or magic to survive in a world of abusive men and dangerous, supernatural creatures. Shifting between scenes of wonder and horror, a complex plot is gradually revealed, as well paced and gripping as a thriller. - The Guardian
Stunning gothic adventure...Anyone who likes gutsy heroines, beautiful language, and well-wrought worlds won't want to miss this. - Publishers Weekly Starred Review
This is a magnificently written, smashingly good read...Slatter's prose is as lustrous as jet beads against black silk. Readers will savor every word.- Locus Magazine
'A. G. Slatter is a born storyteller. Her work is as beautiful and dangerous as the best fairy tales and All the Murmuring Bones is entirely enchanting. A magical read!' Alison Littlewood, author of A Cold Season
'A beautiful gothic monstrosity (monstrosity being a good thing), one of those rare books you don't just want to read but want to live inside of.' Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy
'Like J.R.R. Tolkien, Slatter's taken her personal invented mythos and crafted a world around it that is at once familiar and deeply strange. Lush and chilling, eerie and exquisite, brutal and elegant... I defy anyone to stop turning pages until they've come to the end.' Ellen Kushner, author of The Privilege of the Sword
'Harrowing and beautiful, this is the grim, fairy-tale gothic you've been waiting for. All the Murmuring Bones is Slatter at her darkest--and finest. Don't miss it!' Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Red Hands
'All the Murmuring Bones is fairy-tale gothic at its finest and then some. Luscious, richly infused with Slatter's gift for creating place; this is a world that invites travel along all of its dark roads and secret paths. Long after you're done with the book, you'll sit there drenched still in its magic, wondering how you might find your way back.' Cassandra Khaw, author of Hammers on Bone
'A story as gorgeously gothic as its title. This is a novel of blood and bones, of salt and silver, of an absolutely haunting richness. I was compelled from the very beginning and held rapt to the end.' Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians
'Like the sea at its heart, Slatter's haunting story is treacherous and lovely in all its dark depths.' Heather Kassner, author of The Bone Garden
'Two uncanny houses, Hob's Hallow and Blackwater, bookend Angela Slatter's new novel like grim sentinels. Whether they are cursed or enchanted, majestic or moldering, refuge or prison, only reading to the end will tell. Meanwhile, the landscape stretching between these gothic structures abounds with corpsewights, kelpies, ghosts, rusalki, werewolves, clockwork mechanicals, and--most alarmingly--actors. And across this treacherous terrain walks Miren O'Malley, scarred, furious, and growing in power. All the Murmuring Bones is brutal and beautiful throughout, with moments of tenderness hard-won and harder-kept, and, pervading all, an atmosphere of inescapable threat like the taste of salt wind and the sound of silver bells ringing in the deep.' C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Bone Swans: Stories
The [gothic] fantasy worlds of Angela Slatter are among the fullest, most vividly realised of our time. The primal ore of folk and fairytale runs glittering through the dark layers of their history and geology, and Slatter mines them for all they're worth. She brings them to the light cut and polished in ways that will make you gasp. In the furnace of her imagination what she produces is tantamount to a sword from out the stone. Her prose is molten metal. Hail the Once and Future Queen! Neil Snowdon
'Gorgeous, atmospheric gothic fantasy' - Buzzfeed
'Twists and turns and weaves Grimm-like fairytales into a dark tale that gets darker the further you read' 5* - She Reeds By The Sea
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B08JTLN8V5
- Publisher : Titan Books (8 April 2021)
- Language : English
- File size : 3.9 MB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 347 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 69,178 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 572 in Contemporary Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- 896 in Gothic Fiction
- 940 in Contemporary Fantasy (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Angela Slatter (also writing as A.G. Slatter) is the author of the gothic fantasy novels All the Murmuring Bones and forthcoming The Path of Thorns (Titan Books), and the supernatural crime novels Vigil, Corpselight and Restoration (Jo Fletcher Books). She’s also written eleven short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such and Ripper.
Vigil was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in 2018, and Angela has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, two Australian Shadows Award and seven Aurealis Awards. All the Murmuring Bones was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards’ Book of the Year in 2021.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian,
Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, Turkish, French and Romanian. Film rights have been optioned for her novelette “Finnegan’s Field”.
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth. She has been awarded career development funding by Arts Queensland, the Copyright Agency and the Australia Council for the Arts.
Awards
2020 Australian Shadows Award for Best Collection: The Heart Is A Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories
2020 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Heart Is A Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories
2017 Australian Shadows Award for Best Novel: Corpselight
2016 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: A Feast of Sorrows: Stories
2015 Ditmar Award for Best Novella: Of Sorrow and Such
2014 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection: The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Female Factory, co-authored with Lisa L. Hannett
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story: “Home and Hearth”
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story: “St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls”
2012 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story: “The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter”
2010 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales
2010 Aurealis Award Best Fantasy Short Story: “The February Dragon”, co-authored with Lisa Hannett
A.G. Slatter is the pen name of Angela Slatter, the author of the gothic fantasy novels All the Murmuring Bones and forthcoming The Path of Thorns (Titan Books), and the supernatural crime novels Vigil, Corpselight and Restoration (Jo Fletcher Books). She’s also written eleven short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such and Ripper.
Vigil was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in 2018, and Angela has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, two Australian Shadows Award and seven Aurealis Awards. All the Murmuring Bones was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards’ Book of the Year in 2021.
Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian,
Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, Turkish, French and Romanian. Film rights have been optioned for her novelette “Finnegan’s Field”.
She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth. She has been awarded career development funding by Arts Queensland, the Copyright Agency and the Australia Council for the Arts.
Awards
2020 Australian Shadows Award for Best Collection: The Heart Is A Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories
2020 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Heart Is A Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories
2017 Australian Shadows Award for Best Novel: Corpselight
2016 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: A Feast of Sorrows: Stories
2015 Ditmar Award for Best Novella: Of Sorrow and Such
2014 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection: The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Female Factory, co-authored with Lisa L. Hannett
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story: “Home and Hearth”
2014 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story: “St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls”
2012 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story: “The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter”
2010 Aurealis Award for Best Collection: The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales
2010 Aurealis Award Best Fantasy Short Story: “The February Dragon”, co-authored with Lisa Hannett
Customer reviews
Customers say
Customers praise the book's crystalline prose and how it illuminates tales within tales, creating a rich tapestry of fairytale and myth. The pacing receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting the strong and complex protagonist.
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Customers praise the book's storytelling, noting its crystalline prose and the way it weaves tales within tales. One customer describes it as a rich tapestry of fairytale and myth, while another appreciates its evocative settings.
"...With her trademark crystalline prose, Slatter draws us into Merin's quest, illumed by tales inside the tale that do as much as the finely-drawn..." Read more
"...This book will make you greedy for more - more tales, deeper histories and magical wordcraft...." Read more
"Slater’s world is rich with mythology and threaded through with layers of stories. Miren is a strong and complex protagonist. Great stuff." Read more
"...Angela Slatter's prose is lustrous and rich, plunging you into this Gaelic world where monsters dream and dare to cross the threshold into the human..." Read more
Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one review highlighting its strong and complex protagonist and finely-drawn characters.
"...illumed by tales inside the tale that do as much as the finely-drawn characters and evocative settings to enthral the reader...." Read more
"...Miren is a strong and complex protagonist. Great stuff." Read more
"...But Merin is not your usual kind of O'Malley. Headstrong, smart and determined to carve her own path, when her grandmother strikes a bargain to..." Read more
Top reviews from Australia
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- Reviewed in Australia on 19 April 2021Verified PurchaseAs beguiling as sirens' song, 'All The Murmuring Bones' by A. G. Slatter is a rich tapestry of fairytale and myth. With her trademark crystalline prose, Slatter draws us into Merin's quest, illumed by tales inside the tale that do as much as the finely-drawn characters and evocative settings to enthral the reader. One of those rare books that you find impossible to put down, but also ration so they don't end too soon. Netflix need to option this stat!
- Reviewed in Australia on 16 April 2021Verified PurchaseGreat story, exquisite writing and seamless worldbuilding. This book will make you greedy for more - more tales, deeper histories and magical wordcraft. Lucky for us, this author is another book coming out in 2022.
- Reviewed in Australia on 18 October 2022Verified PurchaseSlater’s world is rich with mythology and threaded through with layers of stories. Miren is a strong and complex protagonist. Great stuff.
- Reviewed in Australia on 18 April 2021Verified PurchaseThe O'Malley's have ruled both Hob's Hallow the seas as far back as memories go. Powerful, fortunate and feared, as their hold on land and the deep declines, it's left to the last daughter of the blood to ensure their 'reign' continues. But Merin is not your usual kind of O'Malley. Headstrong, smart and determined to carve her own path, when her grandmother strikes a bargain to guarantee the family's future, Merin, her mother's daughter in every way, determines to make her own. But the consequences for breaking tradition are far greater than anyone ever realized... especially, Merin. This such an atmospheric, moody story of kinship, loss, dark deeds, and the bonds that time and myth have tightened to breaking point. Angela Slatter's prose is lustrous and rich, plunging you into this Gaelic world where monsters dream and dare to cross the threshold into the human realm. A haunting tale that with each page weaves a special kind of magic. Stunning.
- Reviewed in Australia on 16 May 2021Verified PurchaseSpectres and ghosts, zombie-like creatures. The core story is wonderful and unravels naturally but expect a few thrills on the way. The mystery of the O’Malleys is at the heart of the book and it won’t disappoint!
- Reviewed in Australia on 17 July 2021Verified PurchaseBeautifully written, for lovers of fantasy and storytellers who are passionate about the art.
Sincerely enjoyed. True to the original design of folk stories. Loved it!
- Reviewed in Australia on 13 October 2022Rumours have surrounded the
O’ Malley Family since they settled at Hobs Head. They kept to themselves, & were prosperous for a time. People both feared and were suspicious of them.
The O’Malley secrets run deep. Years ago it was said a deal was made with the Mer. One of the O’Malley children was sacrificed each generation so the Family would prosper from the sea, and have safe travel for their ships.
The tithe has not been paid in years, and the O’Malley’s are no longer prosperous. Miren quickly becomes aware the Family is looking to her to resolve their woes.
This deliciously dark tale filled with folklore was beautifully narrated by Aoife McMahon.
Miren’s character matures through her arc as she becomes wise to the manipulations surrounding her.
Recommend to read If you love:
Lore/ Folkloric tales
Magical realism
Stories within a story
Mythical creatures of the sea and land
Familial secrets and curses
Witchy vibes
A heroine not afraid to do what has to be done.
5/5 stars
CW: Death/murder of parents, grandparents and children, blood, violence, insinuation of domestic violence, physical and psychological abuse, low smut sex scenes
- Reviewed in Australia on 2 September 2022Verified PurchaseAmazing. a bit of a slow start, felt like climbing a mountain! But when it went down... it was a hell of a ride!
if you like moody stories - this one is for you!
Top reviews from other countries
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FeydRauthaReviewed in France on 24 May 2021
4.0 out of 5 stars Superbe écriture
Verified PurchaseLa jeune Miren est une O’Malley. La dernière. Sa famille fut riche et puissante, dominant le commerce maritime grâce, dit-on, à un accord passé avec les créatures magiques qui peuplent les océans, celles qu’on appelle les Mer, et qui a garanti de longues années la sécurité de la flotte O’Malley. Le contrat est cruel : pour l’honorer chaque génération de la famille dû livrer son troisième enfant aux flots. Un simple échange commercial. Mais ces jours sont désormais lointains, et les unions successives menèrent inexorablement à une dilution du sang familial. Pire encore, l’absence d’enfants en nombre suffisant mena à l’oubli du sacrifice exigé. L’empire commercial a périclité, les bateaux ont sombré, et la famille O’Malley n’est plus qu’un nom et un domaine en bord de mer. Une noblesse déchue. Miren elle-même n’est pas vraiment une O’Malley, mais au sein des branches de plus en plus éloignées, elle est celle qui se rapproche le plus de la lignée d’origine. Depuis longtemps ses parents ont disparu. Ils sont morts lui a-t-on dit. Seul espoir de voir renaître une gloire passée, au lendemain de la mort de son grand-père, la grand-mère de Miren la propose en mariage à un cousin dont elle verrait bien la fortune s’associer à son nom. Un simple échange commercial.
Vous devinez, puisqu’il y a roman, que les choses ne s’arrêtent pas là. Miren refuse de se voir imposer plus que les années de solitude et d’isolement qu’elle n’a déjà subit pour le nom O’Malley et s’enfuit. Poursuivie par les hommes, elle vivra de nombreuses aventures croisant en chemin des monstres, usant de charmes pour s’allier avec eux ou de magie pour les tenir en respect. Car Miren fut bien formée, par Maura, sa nourrice, et elle porte en elle les talents de sa mère qu’on disait un peu sorcière.
Des sorcières, des sortilèges, des créatures mortes et vivantes, des monstres et des lycanthropes, des fantômes… voilà le bestiaire fantastique qui peuple le roman d’Angela Slatter. Mais All the Murmuring Bones est avant tout l’histoire d’une jeune femme qui refuse de porter le poids des péchés commis par ses ancêtres, qui refuse le droit des hommes à disposer de sa vie, s’en libère et tente de réparer le mal qui fut fait sur l’autel de la fortune. L’horizon à atteindre n’est pas pour elle une fortune faite sur les mers, mais une vie construite par elle et pour elle. Il faudra toute la volonté de la jeune femme et le caractère forgé incidemment par la rudesse de l’éducation de sa grand-mère pour y arriver.
Roman de libération à l’esthétique gothique, All the Murmuring Bones reste inscrit dans les sillons d’un scénario qui, s’il propose de maints rebondissements qui participent pleinement au plaisir de la lecture, ne surprend jamais vraiment. Le chemin de la quête est classique et ses étapes sont connues. Le charme du roman repose entièrement, à mon sens, sur ses qualités de l’écriture de son autrice. All the Murmuring Bones est extrêmement bien écrit. Comme dans un long poème en prose, chaque phrase chante, possède ses rimes internes, son rythme et joue des subtilités de la langue anglaise. Fidèle à l’esthétique du roman de la première à la dernière phrase, le style d’Angela Slatter sert admirablement la description de ce monde fantastique et sa panoplie de personnages. Toute tentative de traduction trahira, et il en faudrait du talent pour retranscrire en français la beauté du texte.
Il m’aura toutefois manqué d’un peu d’humanité dans ce récit pour m’emporter totalement. La narration à la première personne, dans la voix de Miren, aurait dû créer un lien fort avec la principale protagoniste du récit. Mais jamais je n’ai vraiment ressenti pour elle. Les personnages secondaires, y compris parfois les monstres qu’elle croise en chemin, sont souvent plus chaleureux que Miren. Le poids de son héritage, son absence d’émotion ou presque, sa froideur nécessaire peut-être à l’accomplissement de sa vie propre, ont créé une distance qui m’a éloigné de son histoire. L’empathie m’a ici fait défaut. Reste la beauté du texte.
- V. O'ReganReviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully wrought Gothic fantasy that draws on Irish folklore.
Verified Purchase‘One for the house, one for the Church and one for the sea.’
‘All the Murmuring Bones’ by A.G. Slatter was simply amazing. I love stories that feature sea lore and mer-folk, so I was very drawn to this novel from my first sight of its stunning cover.
I did a combined read/listen for an immersive experience. The unabridged audiobook is narrated by Aoife McMahon.
The novel’s lead and narrator is Miren O'Malley. Many years previously the O’Malley family had entered into a pact with the mer-folk: in return for the safety of their family’s ships in every generation they would give a child to the sea. Yet for years the family has been unable to fulfil their side of the bargain with the result that their fortunes have declined.
Now Miren's grandmother is determined to restore the family to its former glory and so is manipulating her into marrying a wealthy distant cousin. Thus, when Miren has children, one will be given as tribute to the sea-queen. Yet Miren is determined to create her own destiny.
Slatter has crafted a truly wonderful Gothic fantasy with dark family secrets, witches and magic, and plenty of mythic creatures including those associated with the sea. It is a tale of strong women and also of the men who inevitably seek to control them.
Woven into the main narrative are a number of fantastic tales that are taken from Angela Slatter’s previous collections. In her Author’s Notes she writes: “I wanted to have a world where the tales I’ve told readers in the past are ones that these characters also grew up with.”
In addition, Slatter has created very vivid settings, including Hobb’s Hallow, the O’Malley’s ancestral home, and the mysterious Blackwater estate. These details were very finely drawn bringing an authenticity to her world building.
In terms of the audiobook, Irish actor Aoife McMahon was a brilliant choice. I have loved her work on a number of audiobook titles. She is certainly in demand with over 125 audiobook titles to her credit and has also won a number of awards for the same.
Aoife McMahon’s voice is beautiful and melodic and I felt that it complimented the storytelling style of the novel and brought Miren O’Malley and her world vividly to life.
I adored this book and it is one of the best fantasies that I have read in some time. I was very pleased to read that Slatter is writing another novel set in the same world for publication in 2022. I also will be investigating her back catalogue of novels and stories.
Very highly recommended.
- vanchocstrawReviewed in the United States on 27 March 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Damned fine fantasy
Verified PurchaseMs. Slatter writes beautifully with much psychological insight. Her use of folk lore throughout adds so much to keep the story enthralling, while surprising, in that she manages to bring in so much without over-
whelming the reader. As I past half way through I started to read more slowly to savor the guidance of her sure hand. Still, it is a bit creepy : )
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on 14 August 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book, Couldn’t Put it Down
Verified PurchaseI am new to the fantasy genre and absolutely loved this book! The short stories within were my favourite aspect and I am looking forward to checking out more from this author!
- Tessa Nicolas AriasReviewed in Spain on 8 February 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best gothic fantasy books I’ve read
Verified PurchaseI was afraid it might be too scary and gruesome for my sensitive heart but it was just right.
I loved the mentioning of creatures such as kelpies and the sea tales in italic font throughout the book.
Beautiful writing, I was sucked in from start to finish. Excited to read the next one!