Knochenasche rottet nicht [literally: Bone Ash Doesn’t Rot] is the sequel to Knochenblumen welken nicht by Eleanor Bardilac. It has not been translated to English (yet).
Finished on: 9.9.2025

Plot:
After his fifth death, Marius Cinna has returned Bycaea. Eagerly expected, but also feared and fundamentally changed, Marius brings with him his apprentice Aurelia and plans for big changes for Bycaea and maybe the entire world. His partner, lover and friend Emperor Leonidas will support him in any way he can, but not everybody shares this devotion.

Knochenasche rottet nicht closes out the duology in a very satisfying way. It feels much grander in scope than the first novel but can hold that ambition well. More importantly though, it continues to give us great characters.

I re-read Knochenblumen welken nicht before delving into this sequel, not only because my memory is a sieve when it comes to plots and characters, but also because I just really enjoyed it the first time and was glad to dive back in. It holds up nicely on re-reading and I felt well-prepared to continue Marius’ and Aurelia’s journey.

Where the first part takes place in a fantasy version of Vienna, in this novel we travel to a fantasy version of Egypt (maybe – the Byzantine Empire was big). While this location change was narratively necessary, it also saddened me a little because I enjoyed having a fantasy novel set in Vienna for once.

Coupled with the fact that in Bycaea, magic is revered and fostered while it is outlawed in Vhindona, it also had a touch of exoicization. Bycaea was just much stranger, filled with magical creatures and magical buildings, and it just playes into this trope of the exotic other from a European perspective. Bardilac gives Bycaea enough complexity to make it more than an exotic backdrop for fantastic creatures, but still – it can’t shake it off completely.

But that is my only gripe with the novel that I otherwise enjoyed immensely (well, almost, there is a tiny editing error where a character previously described as bald gets their hair touched in a scene). I loved that we got to see the epic love story between Marius and Leon for ourselves here, and it is wonderful, albeit sad. I also loved that Aurelia got her happy end with Gale. Generally, the characters were just great.

The plotting is done very well. Things come together nicely and at a good pace – a pace that is leisurly enough for us to explore Bycaea and its magical sights and politics, but also pushes us forward toward the (seemingly) inevitable conclusion. The ending leaves big implications open for the world, giving Bardilac every chance to return to this world she created, but at the same time, it closes the stories for the main characters here in a nice way.

In short, it gives us everything I hope for in a sequel: new things, old characters, exciting developments and good closure. I am really glad for this duology and hope to read more by Bardilac soon.

Summarizing: very good.