Bookshops & Bonedust

How does Travis Baldree use Viv and her community to explore the importance of friendship? What characteristics does Baldree portray as components of a successful, healthy friendship?

Although Bookshops & Bonedust is a cozy fantasy, it also subscribes to many conventions of the larger fantasy genre. Discuss Baldree’s use of fantasy conventions in the novel.

How does her time in Murk change Viv? What aspects of herself does she discover as a result of her time there?

How does Viv’s time in Murk in Bookshops & Bonedust affect her future, as shown in Legends & Lattes, the first book in the series? How do these two novels work together to provide a different perspective on Viv?

How does Maylee’s, Gallina’s, and Iridia’s knowledge of the mercenary lifestyle affect their relationship with Viv? How does it inform their understanding of her character?

What is the importance of Fern’s bookshop in the novel? What purpose does it serve in the narrative and the Murk community?

Explore the picture that Baldree paints of Viv’s mercenary life and career. What are the practical ups and downs of the lifestyle, and why does Viv feel such a strong connection to it?

Analyze Baldree’s choice to begin and end the novel with scenes far outside the scope of Viv’s life in Murk. What does this strategy offer, and how does it amplify the thematic messages of the novel?