sci-fi/fantasy.
not sure I agree with the mockingjay-esque cover graphic, esp. as it does little to shed light on the title, but will try to withhold judgment until a fiery bird shows up in the story (or at least the map of bones). I am finding the first few chapters a bit tedious, as they are basically wandering around trying to decide what to do next, and the male romantic lead from the first book is apparently dead.

update: THERE IS NO BIRD, AND THERE ISN'T EVEN REALLY A MAP HERE. They do refer to a "maze of bones" but never is there discovered a physical map of the place (only a disintigrating puzzle of stains that turns out to be a map that leads them TO the place), unless you mean Cass' ability to see her way through places. So Cass could be the actual map. BUT THERE IS STILL NO FIERY BIRD.

That said, I enjoyed the story, once the plot started moving again, and will probably look forward to and read the third book when it comes out (but I will not remember the titles--I still think of this as The Omega series, rather than the Fiery Sermon series). ( )

(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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

***This book was reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review***

Map of Bones is the second in Haig’s Fire Sermon series. The resistance has scattered, victim to Council predations. Zoe, Piper, and Cass make their convoluted way back to resistance leadership, through a maze of obstacles and diversions.

Along the way, they collect a former resistance leader named Sally, and the maddened seer she now tends. Xander is Cass’ future, once the visions begin to eat away at mind and heart. Xander still sees, but in fragments he can't fully articulate. From Sally, they learn of the Ark, a place of the Before, that becomes both their Grail and their white whale.

After forging a tenuous alliance with the most unlikely of allies, the resistance manages to retake the town of New Hobart. Learning more of Zach’s plans for the Omegas, Cass and Piper begin to search for the Ark in earnest, hoping it will give them a way to find Elsewhere. What they find is less than they hoped and more than they could ever imagine.

I love how the Ark document fragments are woven in, providing a wealth of information for us the outside readers that the readers of the documents themselves can't make heads or tails of. Once they find the Ark papers, there's a definite Pern feel to things, like when the Pernese find the ships and tech from the original settlers. I really hope that we learn what triggered such a holocaust of fire in the first place, and how it was that there was time to prepare the Ark. If there was time for that, why was there not time to staunch the madness that unleashed such mutual destruction?

I’m actually starting to like the Ringmaster. I hope we learn his real name, and that he's able to continue evolving. It’s nice to see that even one as hardened and privileged as a Council member can begin to see things differently, no matter how slow or skewed it is at first.

Haha. Big smile. I enjoyed picking out the references to the biblical Ark built by Noah. It was a 'dove’ that found them after the events in the Ark, which….ironically, was destroyed by flooding. (Paloma's arrival also signifies the reintroduction of beneficial technology and an end to the fraternal twinning, another inverted Ark reference, as is a world destroyed by fire rather than flood) I am guessing we are going to encounter a person or place with a rainbow oriented name, or other rainbow tie in the next volume. Since these references are oft inverted, perhaps a positive gay reference. A key player from Elsewhere who is such maybe, since the rainbow was a sign of healing in Noah’s story, and the promise of no more global flooding to punish mankind.) I understand the reasoning, but I kinda think Maze of Bones would have been a better title than Map.

Haig’s latest novel is fast-paced and well-drawn, easy to lose yourself in. I was so disappointed when I reached the end. I’ll be counting the months until the next in the series released. Then I get the pleasure of reading these again!

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻 Highly recommended for fans of Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games and the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. ( )