The Tower of Bones

For me the real quality of this book is the author's depiction of the central characters who are not only well rounded but each have flaws yet together make up a stronger whole. It's cleverly crafted, wonderfully woven and all round really does give you something special * Falcata Times * It's hard to imagine either teen or adult getting bored * Irish World * Tonally has similarities to the work of Tolkien, even though it has a very different atmosphere. A magical adventure and will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy, and those who fancy some well-crafted escapism * British Fantasy Society * One of the most exciting and accurate sagas I have read in a very long time * Niamh Hunter * The author's knack for description and character development kept my interest. The descriptions are rich and I was absorbed by the otherworldly descriptions of this book - so different and yet believable. I would love to see [this] in film * Writers Write * Ryan's grand epic style . . . Passionate and dedicated fantasy fans will find a rich, immersive world and carefully handled characters * Booklist * With awesome reviews and plenty of fanfare the decision to read The Snowmelt River was a no-brainer . . . there is content galore to cause any youthful reader to stay tuned. His evil characters[are] so deliciously foul. The pace of the book is ferocious. You can feel Ryan's influences, reminiscent of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, the epic scale and facelessness of evil is Tolkienesque, but I also caught an air of C. S. Lewis. 8.5/10 * Fantasy Book Review * It is the detail with which the author writes that is so immersive. There are moments of real fear in the book, when the characters seem to be in real danger. All the characters in this book are crafted well . . . Ryan has crafted a world of such detail that it deserves a read at least once. It's refreshing to read a fantasy novel which is relentlessly dark as it is all the more satisfying when something good happens. Strong . . . the next entry can't come soon enough! * Starburst * Brilliantly done. The author kept my attention the whole time. I wanted to continue the journey with these characters, I wanted to see them grow and change. I watched them learn and grow into their roles, it was fantastic! * Annabelle, GoodReads * Writing as crisp as cold water, to skip out on Mr Ryan's great instalment of his series would be criminal * popculture.com * Enthralling. Not many books have this cosmic ability * Los Angeles Times *