A Lair of Bones

Curse of the Cyren Queen, Book 1

By: Helen Scheuerer

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A deadly contest. A vaulting ambition. How far will one cyren go to win?

Mighty cyrens have ruled the ancient lair of Saddoriel for centuries; a cavernous fortress and a subterranean labyrinth of tunnels and levels all powered by magic and music.

From the moment she was born, Roh, the daughter of an infamous criminal, has been despised by her own kind. Restricted to the Lower Sector and forced to work as a common bone cleaner, she has always believed she belongs above: where lies adventure...and power. Opportunity arises in the form of the Queen’s Tournament, a treacherous set of trials that could see the victor crowned ruler of the entire lair. Up against the most cunning, dangerous cyrens in all the realms, does Roh stand a chance?

A Lair of Bones is the first gripping book in the dark fantasy quartet Curse of the Cyren Queen.

Includes A Song in the Deep, a Curse of the Cyren Queen novella.

©2021 Helen Scheuerer (P)2021 Podium Audio

Overall (5-stars)

The plot had enough complexity to engage you and the characters draw you in! Excellent book! I look forward to reading other books from this author.

Love it

I wasn’t sure about this series, but I really love it! I have an extensive library. This is a good series to add to my collection. Hope the new one comes out soon.

Surprisingly good, couldn’t stop listening

Couldn’t stop listening to see what happens next, there were some parts that dragged a little but that’s reAlly my only complaint, so far any age can probably read the book as it’s pretty clean, I normally prefer darker books but I’m really intrigued by where the overarching plot is heading and it does have unique points

Very Creative Story!

I do love a creative story! Though I can't help thinking there should've been a story/series between Oremere Chronicles & this. I feel like I've missed much between the new queen in the final book, War of Mist, and this book.
I'm hoping there's a new series that will link these two.
Nonetheless, I love it so far! And I love Fiona's work. She's one of my favorite narrators.

Gripping Suspense

Absolutely loved this story! Can't wait to hear more about the sirens and their world under the sea.

Unfinished Story; Careless World-Building

First of all, don't bother purchasing this book if you expect it to be a complete story. I mean, yes, I understand that this is part of a quad story -- but that doesn't excuse the author from leaving this first part of the quad incomplete. If you want to find out how this first adventure winds up, you will be forced to purchase and read (or listen to ) the second book -- not to continue the overall story, but just to finish the FIRST ADVENTURE. That is a cheat. (I read many, many multi-part fantasy and sci-fi series, and I don't resent the idea of multi-part stories. But this one ends MID-ADVENTURE, rather than MID-CYCLE.)

I am not inclined to purchase the second book, even to finish the adventure, because this first one is just a loosely-written Hunger Games-wannabe.

Sorry to contradict the glowing reviews of others, but this book is carelessly written.

Examples: The cyrens speak different languages, and only one of their many languages can be understood by humans, whom they disdain. Yet, during at least one scene in the book, the cyrens are speaking amongst themselves, but the human in the room can understand them. So, are they speaking in "the Common Tongue"? Why? They never speak "the Common Tongue" amongst themselves, right? And they aren't saying anything that they want the human to understand -- their conversation is for their own benefit. So how does then human understand them???

Another example: One human has been captured by the cyrens and his name (a shortened version, a nickname, but a nickname that is quite close to his full name) is well known from the git-go. Yet, it isn't until more than a month later that, somehow, the human-musician-capturing cyrens somehow realize that this guy is someone who has, for DECADES, been super-high on their "to-capture" list! This failure to recognize the guy at first (especially when they have his bleepin' NAME!!!) is never explained. Nor is it explained how the sudden epiphany came about, such that now, after more than a month, VOILÀ, they suddenly know who he is!

Another example: Two humans see each other and seem to begin to get to know one another: They ask each other where they are from; one begins to show off a tattoo... then this get-to-know-you session is interrupted. There is no more serious contact between them after that. Yet, toward the very end of the book (slight, slight spoiler here), one of these humans leaves the larger group, and says to the other: "Good-bye, old friend." I was expecting that this would be explained. But, no. Is it an internal inconsistency? Or is it explained in one of the next three books? ANNOYING AS ALL HELL!

Last example: There is a great deal of guilt and to-do about the main character cheating during a card game. Yet, because of all the emphasis on the cyrens' placing a great deal of VALUE on "cunning," as well as their knowing that they cannot trust each other, I would expect that the friends against whom she cheated would have been just as likely to cheat HER... Internal inconsistency, in my opinion.

Also, not an internal inconsistency, but a serious breakdown in logic: The cyrens love music (but won't play instruments themselves -- and the reason given is, in my opinion, very, very lame and contrived!). So they have to go up and out into the human realm and must capture human musicians in order to satisfy their music "fix." But once they capture these musicians, the cyrens apparently just "play them into the ground" (my own phrase). The human musicians are forced to play pretty much constantly. Their clothes become ragged; they lose weight; they die soon-ish after capture. But: WHY???? Okay, the cyrens are cruel and kinda narcissistic. But they aren't STUPID! Why would they treat such a valuable commodity so badly??? Why wouldn't they treat these human musicians well? Why wouldn't they treat the human musicians at least as well as a farmer treats his prize bull? Feed them well, offer rest? Extend their useful lives as far as possible? It makes no sense!

I am too annoyed with the author and with the gaps in the story to bother with the next part. I don't appreciate the bait-and-switch aspect of this story (the ending being a total cliff-hanger). And, as noted, the book is carelessly written. I could offer several further examples of careless writing and of what are, in my opinion, internal inconsistencies, but I will end this review here.

Go ahead and purchase the book if you want an imitation Hunger Games featuring sirens (cyrens). Be prepared to purchase additional books in the series just in order to complete a single adventure.