The Bone Raiders
On sale
10th August 2025
Price: £24.99
Genre
The start of an edge-of-your-seat, action‑packed fantasy series from the irreverent Jackson Ford, where a wild band known as the Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland.
‘A ton of fun. The premise is awesome, the found-family dynamic is masterfully executed, the dialogue is wicked-sharp and frequently hilarious‘ Nick Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld
You don’t mess with the Rakada. The people living in the grasslands of the Tapestry call them the Bone Raiders, from their charming habit of displaying the bones of those they kill on their horses and armour.
But being a raider is tough these days. There’s a new Great Khan in the Tapestry. He’s had it with the raider clans, and plans to use his sizeable military to do something about it. And then there are the araatan: fire-breathing lizards the size of elephants, roaming the grasslands in search of dwindling food supplies.
Sayana is a Rakada scout, and she loves her job. But if she wants to keep it, she’s going to have to do something drastic. Like convincing her clan to ride araatan, instead of horses. Sayana doesn’t quite know how to get that done without being eaten and/or cooked alive, but she’d better figure it out fast – or she and her clan, along with every other raider in the Tapestry, will be wiped out.
Praise for Jackson Ford:
‘An un-put-downable, action-packed adventure that packs an emotional punch’ Kirkus
‘Proceeds at breakneck speed through almost five hundred pages of madcap adventure’ Guardian
‘Fast-paced and a lot of fun . . . A modern action movie that just happens to be in book form’ The Fantasy Inn
‘Ford’s breakneck pace keeps the tension high, and the thrills coming the whole way through’ BookPage
‘A ton of fun. The premise is awesome, the found-family dynamic is masterfully executed, the dialogue is wicked-sharp and frequently hilarious‘ Nick Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld
You don’t mess with the Rakada. The people living in the grasslands of the Tapestry call them the Bone Raiders, from their charming habit of displaying the bones of those they kill on their horses and armour.
But being a raider is tough these days. There’s a new Great Khan in the Tapestry. He’s had it with the raider clans, and plans to use his sizeable military to do something about it. And then there are the araatan: fire-breathing lizards the size of elephants, roaming the grasslands in search of dwindling food supplies.
Sayana is a Rakada scout, and she loves her job. But if she wants to keep it, she’s going to have to do something drastic. Like convincing her clan to ride araatan, instead of horses. Sayana doesn’t quite know how to get that done without being eaten and/or cooked alive, but she’d better figure it out fast – or she and her clan, along with every other raider in the Tapestry, will be wiped out.
Praise for Jackson Ford:
‘An un-put-downable, action-packed adventure that packs an emotional punch’ Kirkus
‘Proceeds at breakneck speed through almost five hundred pages of madcap adventure’ Guardian
‘Fast-paced and a lot of fun . . . A modern action movie that just happens to be in book form’ The Fantasy Inn
‘Ford’s breakneck pace keeps the tension high, and the thrills coming the whole way through’ BookPage
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Reviews
An un-put-downable, action-packed adventure that packs an emotional punch
In the Rakada series launch, Ford (the Frost Files series) crafts a gritty yet buoyant saga of raiders trading their horses for dragons . . . Amid the relentless action, Ford draws from Mongol history to fully develop his Rakada protagonists, showing their moral quandaries and ethical uneasiness. This is a promising start
Ford begins this new series with quirky characters, loads of great action sequences, and his trademark brand of humour
Fast-paced and a lot of fun . . . A modern action movie that just happens to be in book form
Proceeds at breakneck speed through almost five hundred pages of madcap adventure
A ton of fun. The premise is awesome, the found-family dynamic is masterfully executed, the dialogue is wicked-sharp and frequently hilarious
THE BONE RAIDERS is a relentlessly cheeky, ofttimes unserious, and undisputedly rip-roaring bit of fantasy that can only be written by Jackson Ford. Badass female protagonists, found family, and giant lizards - what more do you need? Add this one to your TBR. I fully guarantee you'll be entertained