The Map of Bones

By Francesca Haig

The second book in Francesca Haig’s incredible Fire Sermon series.

‘Set in a vividly realised world of elite Alphas and their ‘weaker’ Omega twins, it holds a mirror up to our obsession with perfection’ – The Guardian

The Omega resistance has been brutally attacked, its members dead or in hiding.

The Alpha Council’s plan for permanently containing the Omegas has begun.

But all is not entirely lost: the Council’s seer, The Confessor, is dead, killed by her twin’s sacrifice.

Cass is left haunted by visions of the past, while her brother Zach’s cruelty and obsession pushes her to the edge, and threatens to destroy everything she hopes for.

As the country moves closer to all-out civil war, Cass will learn that to change the future she will need to uncover the past. But nothing can prepare her for what she discovers: a deeply buried secret that raises the stakes higher than ever before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Apr 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9780007563111

Francesca Haig

Francesca Haig grew up in Tasmania, gained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, and was a senior lecturer at the University of Chester. Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies in both Australia and England, and her first collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in 2006. She lives in London with her husband and son. Francesca’s novel, The Fire Sermon, is the first in a post-apocalyptic trilogy.

Reviews for The Map of Bones

[shelleyraec · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Map of Bones picks up from where Francesca Haig's debut novel, The Fire Sermon, left off. Cass, Piper and Zoe are on the run following the deadly confrontation at the Silo between the Confessor and Kip, with the knowledge of the Alpha Council's horrifying plan for the Omega's.Despite the dramatic ending of The Fire Sermon, the narrative in The Map of Bones is slow to start. We're almost a quarter of the way into the book before Haig introduces a new element to the story that finally prompts the characters to take action. From there the pace begins to pick up as Cass and her allies recognise the need to actively stand against the Council and pursue a new possibility for salvation despite the odds that are stacked again them. I wasn't really a fan of Cass in the first novel and I found her to be no less frustrating here. Drowning in guilt and struggling with her visions, her thoughts are often repetitive and circular. Piper and Zoe serve as good companions but I found neither character to be particularly compelling.What I did admire was Haig's descriptive writing and continued world building. She provides further detail about the cataclysmic events that destroyed the world and the twinning phenomenon. Though I found The Map of Bones to be a somewhat dreary read, the story ends on a hopeful note and I am curious to learn how the trilogy will resolve in book three.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have never heard of the first book, The Fire Sermon. So I did not know that this book was the second one until I read the premise. Yet, I have read many books out of order and this is how I can judge how well the author writes if I can jump into the story without any issues and if I want to continue with the series or trilogy. Well I am happy to report that I was able to jump right into this book with no problems. Although at first I was growing weary of the repeated mentions of events in the first book, however, the further I got into the story the more I realized that the repeated mentions of the past is what is shaping Cass, Zoe, and Piper. Even though I have a really good idea of what happened in the prior novel, I still want to go back and pick up a copy of the Fire Sermon to read. The Map of Bones is an intriguing, refreshing breathe of fresh air.

[florabundi · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I spent a lot of time on this book because I was distracted by a family emergency the first time through. I didn't want to give a poor rating to a book that didn't deserve it. However, a second reading was no better. The writing is well done but the connection between the narration and the story is missing. I don't remember details from book 1 and the constant reference to past events without those details is frustrating. Many books use references to past events but briefly clue you in to what happened. Not here and it went on and on. Much of the first half is spent walking and talking , then walking and not talking, lost in memories.(same ones over and over) The characters were dull, the descriptions boring, not much happens for a long time and I had to force myself to open book each time after stopping.I gave it two stars for being well written and edited and also because my preference for snappy backtalk and fast action always has some influence on the rating.

[verkruissen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a wonderful follow up to The Fire Sermon. With the resistance scattered and potentially falling apart it's up to Cass, and her dwindling group of friends to find out if there really is an Elsewhere and to find out where the mysterious Ark is located. I did find Cass' character to be a bit weak in this book. She shied away from having to kill and I understand that she finds that the fact that it kills that persons twin to be a conflict she cannot justify by killing someone. I still want her to get past that and realize that there has to be some sacrifice at times in order to achieve the outcome you want. Maybe she will realize this more in the next book. I found all the other characters developing nicely as you learn more about their past. Overall an excellent book in the series. I highly recommend it.

[swingdancefan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It seems as though every writer who wants to make their name big in a hurry says, “Hey, I’ll write a dystopian YA trilogy.” Francesca Haig is a poet of some renown, and I have to wonder what made her decide on this genre.That said, being a poet, where it’s all about saying more in fewer, but more potent, words, serves her well. Her writing is richly descriptive and the vocabulary is beautiful. She describes scenes and emotions vividly. (That would account for the higher Lexile of these books.)Yes, the formula is more-or-less followed. Young woman with a special gift, who feels responsible for some of the bad in the world around her. Oppressive society in which one group is pitted against another. No love triangle, at least. In trying to stay with her twin, Zach, Cass inadvertently gives him a hatred of Omegas. He can’t exterminate them, though, for if one twin dies, the other does, too. They feel each other’s pain. But Zach comes up with a startling plan to make Omegas “disappear” nonetheless, and it is this plan which Cass and her associates discover and fight to stop.The first book sets up the action, and is not without its climactic and heartbreaking moments. I received book two as an advance reader copy, and was glad that my library had the first book available. It’s a shame there wasn’t a longer wait for it—that means not enough people are reading it!I could not have understood the second book without having read the first. The author does spend some time on exposition, but there is a lot that would have gone right past me without it. I look forward to reading the third installment.I recently reviewed the second book of another dystopian YA series, Glass Sword. This hits the mark in all the ways in which that one let me down. Yes, it’s a middle volume. They always consist of a lot of stage-setting for the climactic volume, but this one does so in a more satisfying way.My biggest criticism is that a lot of time is spent in just traveling, in the first book and even more in the second. It’s somewhat like the final Harry Potter volume in that respect. It could probably have been tightened up and been even better.Possible Objectionable Material:A couple of same-gender couples. Violent deaths, not graphically described. Physical mutations described, such as missing limbs or having three eyes. A couple sleeps together; it is left to the reader to decide if they are lovers.Who Might Like This Book:Fans of the genre. Strong female protagonist, but shouldn’t put off the male readers if they can handle Katniss and Tris. Late middle-school on up. I’m older than the target demographic and quite enjoyed it. Approximate Lexile: 1090Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of The Map of Bones.

[skybalon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(This review will be the same for books 2 and 3.) This is one trilogy that I think finishes stronger than it starts. While it could be treated as some sort of allegory, treating it just as narrative is fine and enjoyable as is. There are some comparisons to the Hunger Games, but I think this series (with an admittedly even more outrageous premise) actually works better overall. Well worth the read.