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The Tide Child #0.5
The Hag's Call
The unedited, unpublished prologue to The Bone Ships, the first book in the Tide Child series, available for free on the author's blog.
ebook
First published March 19, 2020
About the author
R.J. Barker
20 books1,507 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 18, 2022
Fantasy with the ship on the sea, count me in!
"A bolt's no good without a target!"
https://www.rjbarker.com/blog/read_19...
"A bolt's no good without a target!"
https://www.rjbarker.com/blog/read_19...
January 13, 2023
I am a fan of Ontario’s Lyn Hamilton, may she rest in peace. It is annoying that a lot of people noticed her series opener, “The Xibalba Murders” just to finish the alphabet in a reading challenge, without appreciating her work or trying the next novel. I confess to reading this website yarn of R.J. Barker’s, for the sole purpose of calling my annual reading goal quits at 82 books on December 30 and freeing myself to enjoy New Year’s Eve with my spouse. Blog reading groups got in the way too many times in the past, with their stupid December 31 end dates. Who reads and writes reviews at the busiest time of the year? My challenges when active, run from February 1 to January 31, so they interfere with nothing.
Acquainting a high fantasy author of whom I would not have heard is a gift. I love the magic and adventure of fantasy but can’t stand war or fighting in any form. The “Tide Child” series entails a war at sea, whose short 2020 prequel “The Hag’s Call”, I saw my friend, Shirin, reading. A ship makes a fun change from most settings and R.J’s narrating voice suits it well, in an old world tone that I imagine as a singsong style that would be wonderful to hear aloud.
I assess feedback fairly when work comes to me that is out of my depths, if you catch my drift (two aquatic puns). I give three stars, which will not sink the average nor stretch my interest. He achieved a whirlwind of activity in a few pages, battling fearsome foes. However in this scene, I do not become acclimatized to the characters or purpose, which a prequel should do. This tableau solely supplies a bonus segment for established fans.
Acquainting a high fantasy author of whom I would not have heard is a gift. I love the magic and adventure of fantasy but can’t stand war or fighting in any form. The “Tide Child” series entails a war at sea, whose short 2020 prequel “The Hag’s Call”, I saw my friend, Shirin, reading. A ship makes a fun change from most settings and R.J’s narrating voice suits it well, in an old world tone that I imagine as a singsong style that would be wonderful to hear aloud.
I assess feedback fairly when work comes to me that is out of my depths, if you catch my drift (two aquatic puns). I give three stars, which will not sink the average nor stretch my interest. He achieved a whirlwind of activity in a few pages, battling fearsome foes. However in this scene, I do not become acclimatized to the characters or purpose, which a prequel should do. This tableau solely supplies a bonus segment for established fans.
February 21, 2022
A great prologue too bad it wasn’t in the book but thanks to rj barker to share it nevertheless.
December 26, 2022
I did this in the wrong order, having read the trilogy already, but enjoyed the different perspective on a character I know and stepping briefly back into that world.
February 4, 2021
One of RJ Barker's weaknesses, in my opinion, is the ability to flesh out secondary and tertiary characters. Characters like Arrin, Farys, Coughlin, Mevans, and others are always around, yet we learn very little about them; we don't know anything about their past, their relationship to other crew, their thoughts and feelings.
This prologue offers a brief glimpse into the life of Arrin, offering a refreshing break from Joron's PoV. This is not a complaint about Joron as a character-I like Joron Twiner, I just appreciate having a glimpse into the lives of the rest of the cast, something I think is sorely lacking from this series. In fact, I would prefer more PoV shifts like the one presented in this prologue. I would love to have a chapter from Farys' point of view, or Garriya's, or Mevans', or even Cwell's!
As other reviewers have noted, this prologue doesn't add much in terms of story of plot; it is a prologue that honestly leaves me with more questions than answers, and I can see why it was cut. Despite that, I still enjoyed it and considering its brief length I would recommend any fans of the series so far to give it a read.
This prologue offers a brief glimpse into the life of Arrin, offering a refreshing break from Joron's PoV. This is not a complaint about Joron as a character-I like Joron Twiner, I just appreciate having a glimpse into the lives of the rest of the cast, something I think is sorely lacking from this series. In fact, I would prefer more PoV shifts like the one presented in this prologue. I would love to have a chapter from Farys' point of view, or Garriya's, or Mevans', or even Cwell's!
As other reviewers have noted, this prologue doesn't add much in terms of story of plot; it is a prologue that honestly leaves me with more questions than answers, and I can see why it was cut. Despite that, I still enjoyed it and considering its brief length I would recommend any fans of the series so far to give it a read.
September 7, 2023
I loved this, and I agree removing from the book was a good call reading it the end after I finished the whole series. That last little insight into Lucky Meas 😍
April 24, 2020
This is fine.
It adds a little flavor, I suppose, but it definitely wouldn't have added enough to The Bone Ships to make up for the change in point of view, like Barker said.
It's not quite as polished as the finished novel, but that's not a surprise; it's an unedited prologue. Still, it's 1500 words, and if you liked The Bone Ships, seek it out (the link to the blog should be on this page somewhere) and give it a read.
It adds a little flavor, I suppose, but it definitely wouldn't have added enough to The Bone Ships to make up for the change in point of view, like Barker said.
It's not quite as polished as the finished novel, but that's not a surprise; it's an unedited prologue. Still, it's 1500 words, and if you liked The Bone Ships, seek it out (the link to the blog should be on this page somewhere) and give it a read.
September 4, 2023
1.5 Stars. Read this to see if I would be interested in this series. Definitely not. Sounded like a huge rip-off of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, except this was terribly written. There were so many similarities including even one of the same character names! Disgraceful. Maybe the actual books are better and different, but I won’t be finding out.
Read: 5/9/22
Read: 5/9/22
December 10, 2020
Hard to rate something this short, but promising at least...
January 24, 2021
It was ok but too short to really add anything to the series.
July 24, 2022
Will I ever stop being obsessed with this world? Absolutely not.
December 30, 2023
I simultaneously enjoyed this, & am glad this was not used as the prologue for The Bone Ships.
February 10, 2024
It was nice. Very short, so I couldn't get into anything. I wonder if I should have waited until I finished the first book. But I recognised two characters and I definitely like them both.
June 16, 2024
As I haven't read the trilogy yet - about to embark - confusing but highly original.
(To be found on author's website)
(To be found on author's website)
November 11, 2024
serviceable but, as Barker points out, doesn't add enough to warrant its inclusion; it shows however Barker had a very clear identity for the trilogy from the get-go-
7/10
7/10
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews