Bone: Crown of Horns is the ninth and final volume of Bone, consisting of issues 50-55. It is the third and final book of the Harvest Trilogy.
Summary
It's full-fledged war as Briar, the Rat Creatures, and the Pawan army storm the city of Atheia where the Bones, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben are up in arms to defend the royal city. When Thorn hears a voice urging her to seek the Crown of Horns, Thorn and Fone Bone embark on another dangerous journey as they race against time to find the one thing that may save them all.
This volume has examples of
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Thorn is crowned Queen of Valley.
- Book Ends: The story ends where it began- with the Bones bickering in the desert.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The two Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures return after being absent since "Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border".
- The Great Red Dragon returns as well.
- Euclid, who's been missing since "Old Man's Cave" shows up at the end, having been trapped in a Ghost Circle the entire time.
- But Now I Must Go: After all is said and done, the final issue marks the Bones leaving the Valley for Boneville.
- Call-Back: Quite a few to "Out From Boneville";
- Winter hits the Valley with a "WHUMP!"
- The Smiley wanting a coin from Phoney at the end, just like he wanted a dollar in issue 1.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: When cornered by Briar and her forces, Phoney quickly bails. Much later, he shows up with a bunch of soldiers of his own...after the battle has ended.
- Secret Test of Character: Gran'ma Ben offers to show Phoney a way to escape the city and possibly return to Boneville. When he refuses, not wanting to leave without his cousins, she admits that she was just testing him.
- Spanner in the Works: Phoney's ploy to steal Atheia's treasury fails because Smiley emptied the treasure chests of gold and jewels, and filled them with hard, stuffed bread-thingies.
- Worf Effect: Tarsil, hyped as a potential threat in the previous book, is killed off easily by Briar.
