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radella_hardwick's review against another edition
3.5
World is intriguing
Never connected emotionally with the characters
'twist' at the end was very in character for the anti-hero(es)
Never connected emotionally with the characters
'twist' at the end was very in character for the anti-hero(es)
illusie's review against another edition
2.0
Before I started reading I knew this was out of my comfort zone, but thought I should give it a try. I liked the main character. Though didn't like the fighting and post apocalyptic setting.
willrefuge's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 / 5 stars
Originally reviewed on: https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/
Certainly not a feel-good fairytale, McDonald provided an beautifully rendered world on the brink, full of flesh and blood characters and terrible gods, with a savage plot and just a hint of magic and mayhem to tie everything together. Wouldn’t touch the bow though—no telling what it’s made out of. Blackwing begins the Raven’s Mark trilogy, a read that’s sure to be a wild ride all the way to the finish.
The war between the Nameless and the Deep Kings has spilled over. Two races of ancient, powerful beings unite—with humanity in the middle. The Deep Kings are immortal and beyond ancient. They play the Drudge, once-humans that have been changed, they are utterly loyal and tough to kill. The Nameless play the side of humanity; these powerful sorcerers occupy the five free cities of man, aided by Nall’s Engine: a weapon so powerful even their adversaries fear it. Eighty years prior the Nameless first activated Nall’s Engine, a move that created “the Misery”—a wasteland of death and demonic creatures, where even the sky often screams in pain—and brought about the end not only of one Deep King, but also two of the remaining free cities of man. Hundreds of thousands died in that moment to protect the little humanity had left. Eighty years later, a temporary and uneasy truce exists—one that may be unraveling before Galharrow’s eyes.
Ryhalt Galharrow is a scarred man with a grim past. Once noble blood, a series of misfortune has landed him in on the front-lines, hunting defectors and spies into the Misery before they can defect to the enemy. Written in 1st PPOV I was fairly well entranced with Galharrow’s story. It was dark, gritty, bloody. A clipped and pessimistic tone. His story harbors a dark heart, a path that may lead to madness, and… a burgeoning love story? It was an odd one, for sure. Though it provided interesting twists. I rather liked Galharrow, even if I had trouble relating to him.
The world around Galharrow provided the most unexpected surprise. Deep, thoughtful characters. A lovely, dark setting. A brief, but competent bit of world-building. At first the story keeps everything a bit hectic, but when the pace slows a bit in the latter half, we are allowed to look about and take in the world. While the characters themselves are McDonald’s greatest triumph, the world itself is no slouch.
An entertaining story combined with intricate characters and a sense of mystery and magic, McDonald’s debut is a triumph for the grimdark genre. While a lackluster love story holds it back from being truly great, Blackwing provides more than enough to satisfy any reader, despite only being about a day’s read (at 360 pp, it took me 3.5 days, but I’m slow). With a clipped tone and a dark heart, Blackwing was all I needed and more. Can’t wait to read the next one.
Originally reviewed on: https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/
Certainly not a feel-good fairytale, McDonald provided an beautifully rendered world on the brink, full of flesh and blood characters and terrible gods, with a savage plot and just a hint of magic and mayhem to tie everything together. Wouldn’t touch the bow though—no telling what it’s made out of. Blackwing begins the Raven’s Mark trilogy, a read that’s sure to be a wild ride all the way to the finish.
The war between the Nameless and the Deep Kings has spilled over. Two races of ancient, powerful beings unite—with humanity in the middle. The Deep Kings are immortal and beyond ancient. They play the Drudge, once-humans that have been changed, they are utterly loyal and tough to kill. The Nameless play the side of humanity; these powerful sorcerers occupy the five free cities of man, aided by Nall’s Engine: a weapon so powerful even their adversaries fear it. Eighty years prior the Nameless first activated Nall’s Engine, a move that created “the Misery”—a wasteland of death and demonic creatures, where even the sky often screams in pain—and brought about the end not only of one Deep King, but also two of the remaining free cities of man. Hundreds of thousands died in that moment to protect the little humanity had left. Eighty years later, a temporary and uneasy truce exists—one that may be unraveling before Galharrow’s eyes.
Ryhalt Galharrow is a scarred man with a grim past. Once noble blood, a series of misfortune has landed him in on the front-lines, hunting defectors and spies into the Misery before they can defect to the enemy. Written in 1st PPOV I was fairly well entranced with Galharrow’s story. It was dark, gritty, bloody. A clipped and pessimistic tone. His story harbors a dark heart, a path that may lead to madness, and… a burgeoning love story? It was an odd one, for sure. Though it provided interesting twists. I rather liked Galharrow, even if I had trouble relating to him.
The world around Galharrow provided the most unexpected surprise. Deep, thoughtful characters. A lovely, dark setting. A brief, but competent bit of world-building. At first the story keeps everything a bit hectic, but when the pace slows a bit in the latter half, we are allowed to look about and take in the world. While the characters themselves are McDonald’s greatest triumph, the world itself is no slouch.
An entertaining story combined with intricate characters and a sense of mystery and magic, McDonald’s debut is a triumph for the grimdark genre. While a lackluster love story holds it back from being truly great, Blackwing provides more than enough to satisfy any reader, despite only being about a day’s read (at 360 pp, it took me 3.5 days, but I’m slow). With a clipped tone and a dark heart, Blackwing was all I needed and more. Can’t wait to read the next one.
dqrklightning's review against another edition
found the book in my old room. forgot ab its existence. might pick it up again ?
desolation73's review against another edition
4.0
If you like Joe Abercrombie you should like this and he manages to keep it a bit shorter than Joe too. Ed is making waves in fantasy circles and this is an accomplished debut in my opinion it's a tad grimdark though but gripping.
neilsef's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This has to be one of the darkest themed books that I have read, whilst also containing a set of characters, that while being fascinating, are almost exclusively unredeemable except for their loyalty to each other, and even that has its limits.
The tale is relentless in it's steady pace, that sets a scene of impending doom, that has just a flicker of hope to stop it, which itself requires the solution to a seemingly impossible problem.
This is a gritty tale, that I found to have both fascinating and horrifying aspects to it, with characters that are of a similar nature, but one that is, nonetheless, a satisfying and engaging read.
The tale is relentless in it's steady pace, that sets a scene of impending doom, that has just a flicker of hope to stop it, which itself requires the solution to a seemingly impossible problem.
This is a gritty tale, that I found to have both fascinating and horrifying aspects to it, with characters that are of a similar nature, but one that is, nonetheless, a satisfying and engaging read.
talestoldtall's review against another edition
4.0
“Stay long enough, and you’ll find morality doesn’t survive sandstorms, clouds of arrows, or Darling magic any better than flesh.”
“You’ve a hard soul, Captain.”
“I do.”
“Do you ever wish you were different?”
“I wish everything was different.”
---
Blackwing is a grimdark fantasy written in the first person. It's a story about loss, love, leadership in desperate times and has an element of mystery to the narrative. It's all well paced with some really nice bits of prose throughout, mainly via the protagonist waxing poetic.
I loved the characters by the end, especially Nenn whom I hope gets more spotlight in the second book. The world was built up well. I can't recall any moments where the exposition seemed heavy-handed. Even though the rules governing the world, its magic and warring gods seems like a lot in retrospect, it was easy to digest as it came up.
I enjoyed this book immensely and definitely recommend it.
“You’ve a hard soul, Captain.”
“I do.”
“Do you ever wish you were different?”
“I wish everything was different.”
---
Blackwing is a grimdark fantasy written in the first person. It's a story about loss, love, leadership in desperate times and has an element of mystery to the narrative. It's all well paced with some really nice bits of prose throughout, mainly via the protagonist waxing poetic.
I loved the characters by the end, especially Nenn whom I hope gets more spotlight in the second book. The world was built up well. I can't recall any moments where the exposition seemed heavy-handed. Even though the rules governing the world, its magic and warring gods seems like a lot in retrospect, it was easy to digest as it came up.
I enjoyed this book immensely and definitely recommend it.