Ravencry (Raven's Mark #2)

Blackwing was one of the most exceptional debuts of 2017 and an amazing example of how grimdark can be a beautiful thing when done in a certain style. We met Galharrow and his band of brothers, watched birds claw their way our of his forearm to deliver instructions from an entity with far greater worries on his mind than these ridiculously messy humans and experienced a truly great finale in his war against the OP invaders.

Ravencry continues the part of the story that really begins with Ezabeths sacrifice at the end of Blackwing. Having given herself to the light she once commanded she has become something of a legend and as if to confirm her exalted status she has a growing number of faithful acolytes and has started being witnessed in sightings and divine visions. Obviously this is a struggle for our protagonist and he must deal with this conflict within himself and his city whilst also containing the force that is the big bad whose own servants have nicked something from Crowfoot.

It’s not quite end of the world stuff and for me this was very much a book of two halves. I didn’t get that sense of ‘it’s great to be back’ in the opening chapters. The side characters that I liked from Blackwing popped up but no longer seemed to have any impact on Ryhalt and the whole thing was lacking a sense of threat. It just sort of plodded along and in all honesty I almost stopped reading it. Then the second half began and I could not put it down. The threads came together, the urgency and pace increased, the characters woke up and actually started doing things and the world building began to sparkle as it did in its predecessor. I’m frustrated the first 200 or so pages were so slow because I’m sure there will be readers who don’t stick it out to see the finale which would be a huge shame.

I enjoyed Ravencry but it was Blackwing’s brilliance that kept me reading during the slow parts. Thankfully it has a compelling and engaging final act that will definitely have me coming back for more but perhaps not with quite the same breathless anticipation I approached this one with.

7/10

Thank you to AceRoc Books for the early copy.