Lee C Conley’s writing drew my eye after I read some of his excellent short stories, published in the Skybreaker and The Anatomy of Fear anthologies. His debut novel, A Ritual of Bone, was published in 2019 and is essentially a mash up of the zombie and classic medieval fantasy genres.

I went into this not really sure quite what to expect. The book opens with a scene which immediately makes you realise Conley knows how to create tension. He has that rare gift, possessing an innate storytelling voice which completely draws you in from the first page.

The book involves lots of different point of view characters rather than having a singular, obvious protagonist. Some of these are fleeting, others emerging as the established cast of main characters. It can be difficult to work out who is going to be important and who has been introduced merely to die a horrible death. The chopping and changing of POV helps expand the world but also means it takes longer to get into the story, which takes place in multiple locations.

However, as the novel progresses some memorable characters emerge, including Arnulf, Lord of the Watch, who soon finds he is out of his depth as a horror beyond his imagination emerges from the mountains, Bjorn the huntsman on a mission from the king, and the mysterious unnamed apprentice. The latter is working for the Masters of the College as they try and unlock the secrets of the past. And chop people up whilst drawing detailed diagrams of them. This is in the name of science and progress, obviously, which means it’s absolutely fine and completely normal.

Conley also builds a strong supporting cast, including the nobleman Fergus, loyal warrior Hafgan, young Erran, eager to prove himself, and Astrid, the fierce and deadly Death Nymph. There’s also that most terrifying of literary creations in a horror novel – an animal companion in the form of the faithful hound called Fear. If you want to know what true horror is, then get ready to spend a lot of time wondering whether or not this dog is going to die.

There’s an undeniable energy to this book and you can really feel Conley’s enthusiasm for his tale seeping through the pages. That and a lot of blood, gore, death and putrification. So, where does this sit on the horror scales? For me, the horror wasn’t actually that bad. The scary moments lie in the build up, especially where the reader knows more than the characters. You can yell all you like, but those brave guys are still going to investigate that mysterious ruined temple in the dead of night…

The fantasy references will be familiar to fans of that genre. The feel of the setting is very similar to House Stark and the Night’s Watch in GRR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire or the men of the north in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law Trilogy. There are Norse influences there, but Conley has taken the time to create his own world and mythology, which also has druidic leanings and darker overtones, including human sacrifice.

Overall, I found this to be a gripping and entertaining read. Conley understands his influences and makes great use of them, producing a series that feels fresh and entertaining. The cliffhanger ending leaves things very much primed for book two, A Ritual of Flesh. I will be diving into that one as soon as I can!