The Entropy of Bones

“Jama-Everett’s book consistently resists easy categorization. Chabi’s mixed racial background offers a potentially nuanced look from a perspective that seems underserved. And by setting the book in a weird, if recognizable, Bay Area, ­Jama-Everett captures something about the way it feels to live so close to so much money and yet so far; he traces the differences between postindustrial East Bay towns, the gray melancholy of an older city, the particular feeling of struggling while surrounded by otherworldly wealth. If the book veers among different approaches ― now a philosophical kung fu master story, now a seduction into a rarefied subculture, now an esoteric universe made from liner notes and the journal entries of a brilliantly imaginative teenager ― there’s nevertheless a vitality to the voice and a weirdness that, while not always controlled or intentional, is highly appealing for just that reason."

"Rooted in Chabi’s voice, the story is spare, fierce, and rich, and readers will care just as much about the delicate, damaged relationship between Chabi and her mother as the threat of world destruction."

"Chabi would never be like other teens in the Bay Area. Her black-Mongolian heritage, her lack of a father, her mother's alcoholism--those make her unusual but what really sets her apart is that she is liminal, able to do things that normal humans simply can't. Although mute from birth Chabi can push her thoughts into the minds of others. Trained from a young age to be an unstoppable killer by a man with shady motives, Chabi falls into a dangerous crowd led by the charismatic Rice after her mentor disappears. Before she can fall completely under Rice's sway, a man familiar with liminals tries to tell her the score. VERDICT In this follow-up to "The Liminal People" and "The Liminal War", Jama-Everett focuses on an outsider character who can show us more of the powers at play in his world. When the novel succeeds, it does so mostly on the strength of Chabi's voice."

"Ayize Jama-Everett's Liminal People novels feel not simply refreshing, but necessary. It's not just that Jama-Everett's superheroes―or, as he dubs them, liminals―are overwhelmingly people of color, from all over the world and drawing on many different cultural traditions and historical backgrounds....What feels almost revolutionary about Jama-Everett's books is that they imagine a world in flux, one that is about to change, and in which that change is intimately linked to racial justice. The central question of these books is what kind of world we will all end up living in, one that embraces nihilism, or one that is driven by creativity―where the latter is inextricably linked to racial, global, and cultural diversity."

"If The Entropy of Bones was a sandwich, it would chip your tooth. If it was a drink, it would make you blind for a few panicked seconds before the world returned. The ending is relentless, breathless, and tragic."

"I haven't read the authors other books yet, but I'm going to soon. Chabi was an awesome MC, and I enjoyed her story. I wish more fantasy was written like this."

“. . . a novel of initiation, another tale of a novice trained physically and spiritually in awesome mysteries. Think the Wachowski siblings’ Matrix movies. Think Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles comic book series. "When we meet Chabi, she is a teenage girl living on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, and taking martial arts lessons from a mysterious Indian man named Narayana Raj. Disconnected from her alcoholic mother, she is able to speak without opening her mouth (and without, apparently, having anyone remark on that peculiarity). She’s also a fearsome adolescent warrior, able to run incredible distances at blazing speed and capable of fighting and killing fearsome opponents, human and otherwise. When her teacher abandons her, she must decide whether she wants to use her skills in the service of the rich and powerful. "Chabi is . . . in over her head, but she doesn’t quite know it. Her inability to see the big picture gives The Entropy of Bones a poignancy that is not often found in a genre where the good guys are always expected to win."

"Great book and a fascinating world. Really enjoyed it."

"Read this book NOW. This book rocked my socks. I was immediately drawn into Chabi's world. She made me give a s***, even when she didn't. It also helped flesh out the world of the Liminal People. I love this world and I cannot wait for more."

"This novel had me laughing out loud quite a bit, but the characters' depth and realness was my favorite part; Chabi is an insanely cool character. Also, I liked all the martial arts references."

"This is as much a spinoff of The Liminal People as it is a sequel, but it's good regardless. It works just fine as a standalone, and the main character, Chabi, is perhaps my favorite in the series."

"thoroughly enjoyed this book. it had substance without needing the now normal "sci-fi" formula of overly made up new languages and names and etc. that leave you confused and having to go back and forth to reference and keep up. None of that here, straight to the point, fiction based on science. I loved the setting, written by someone who doesn't just live in the bay area, but knows the bay area. It was in the details. I felt like i was back on the streets of the bay and it made everything that much more real. The book had solid closure to it's story while leading up to the next and leaving you wanting more. All around great read!"

"This is fascinating and challenging with a unique view of the world and human possibilities, perhaps even a unique view of superhheros. I especially enjoyed the character development and their interesting ways of dealing with their worlds. Ending was a little tough but works. Now I think I'll dubstep (from the book) to the next book by this talented author!"

"What? I rated it five stars, what more do you want? It's a great book, Chabi is a badass, the entropy folks are bad bad 'people' yet with more complexity than one might expect, it ties strongly into the other Liminal books while giving a very different perspective on events and did I mention Chabi is a badass?"