Ravencaller (The Keepers, #2) by David Dalglish

Ravencaller is the exceptional follow up to Soulkeeper and continues the journey of Devlin, his family, friends and foes in a world where the creatures of ancient lore are rising up and looking to re-establish their place in the world. Much like the first book it has enormous heart, characters that tore me apart and then stitched me back together and the most marvellously fun action.

In Ravencaller mans debt’s are being called in in a big way. The slums of the town are ripe for resettling and the things that have awoken are itching for a fight. There is a mixture of races, giant man sized rabbits that are essentially airbenders with spears, creatures born of fire and water, fairies, gargoyles, reindeer centaurs and more and it would not be quite right to refer to them as monsters. They have been forced asleep by their leaders after coming too close to an all out war with the humans and now upon waking are simply looking to reclaim part of what was theirs. Those creatures are joined by the Ravencallers, humans who have embraced the darker side of an ancient power and use it to bend the rest of the populace to their will. It’s great fun and Ravencaller takes place almost entirely in the one location and it lends the whole books an intimacy I was not expecting. This is not about the world getting destroyed by a dragon mountain, though it might be, it’s about what happens to the every day people who still have day to day problems to contend with.

One of the true strengths of Dalglish’s writing is his many rich characters. We have the optimistic and earnest Tommy whose skills in magic continue to grow, even providing Devlin with bullets that contain and combust various incantations. His genuine love for a fairy that decides to adopt him is one of my favourite parts of the book. Jacaranda a souless who has since awakened, has started to live her own life and make her own decisions. Her humanity and status as a second class citizen and the discrimination she faces could not be more relevant in the world we are currently living in. Adria, an angelic type saint of a woman goes from being a being of pure light to possibly the scariest and most powerful thing this universe has ever faced. The desperate and compromised Dierk who is obsessed with Adria and the visions he has of her power whilst operating as a symbiote to a malicious creature from the other side. I’ve barely scratched the surface and I don’t want to give too much away but in the last third of the book in particular, I laughed, I cheered and I got really really sad too.

If you enjoyed SoulKeeper, I have no doubt you will love the fantastic Ravencaller and goddamn that's a sexy cover. Have a look one more time.