Reviews with content warning for Gore - When Among Crows

Set in Chicago, with a layer of Polish and Slavic inspired mythology, this contemporary fantasy was a quick and intriguing read. Dymitr has a plan and he needs to find Baba Jaga if he's going to succeed. He also needs an enchanted flower that only lasts for on day once picked, giving him a very specific timeframe.

This is the first fantasy story I've read from Roth and I really enjoyed it. The character dialogue was great and I enjoyed the Chicago setting with a fantasy twist.

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theoddduckling's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Ala is cursed. Niko is cursed. Dymitr, too is cursed, though no one would ever call it that. As the three form a tenuous alliance, they come to understand that curses come in many forms and have many names: duty, tradition, blessing, and that sometimes suffering together is better than suffering alone.

***

Dymitr knows pain. He once saw his own heart beating outside his body. It is the only way to atone for the things he has done, the people he has killed with the sword that contains half of his soul.

Ala, immortal zmora, can do little but watch as the infinite years of her life are eaten up by the curse passed to her from her mother. She watches every day visions of others like her - creatures of Chicago's paranormal underground - are murdered at the hands of monsters wielding swords made of bone.

Niko, beautiful, audacious Niko, is feared by his own stryga brethren. His life, too, though immortal, will be short and brutal as he hunts those who hunt his kind. Male stryga are rare, and he was made, not born, making him powerful than any stryga before him.

After retrieving a rare flower, Dymitr approaches Ala with an offer that she cannot refuse: the flower that can break her curse in exchange for her help on his quest for justice and an audience with the most powerful witch in Chicago: Baba Yaga.

As soon a she meets Dymitr, she knows he's no normal man, he does not fear her nor her brethren, even though he should. Which is where Niko comes in. When Dymitr volunteers as sacrifice in Ala's place, Niko helps them escape an ambush and leads them to Baba Yaga.

But all three carry secrets with them and there is nothing Baba Yaga likes more than secrets. The further along the path they go, the more secrets are pulled from them, until Dymitr cannot hid the fact that he is the monster Niko and Ala have been taught to fear: a knight of the Holy Order, trained to hunt and kill monsters like Niko and Ala, half of whose tattered soul lives in the bone sword that is responsible for so much pain.

That is what Dymitr needs to atone for: all the pain he's caused, the blood he's spilled...the curses he and his family have inflicted. And he means to, with his own pain and blood, his own curse. But penance comes in many forms, some Dymitr could not have imagined.

When Among Crows is a beautiful, cruel and poignant story about love, redemption and penance. At its heart, it is an immigrant story. It's an exploration of how culture passes down generation to generation, what is lost and added and changed. Roth bakes Polish folklore into the very fabric of her loosely fictionalized Chicago, underpinning it with the mysterious creatures who live among us, look like us, and yet have had entirely different experiences.

The relationships between Ala, Niko and Dymitr develop quickly, which is in part the result of the novella format and part the result of a story that moves at just slightly too quick a pace. But despite this, the relationship feels complicated and authentic, idealized in its simplicity (isn't beauty enough?) and marred by betrayal (SOMETHING GOES HERE).

Roth sticks the landing, it really is the only outcome to such a story and yet it left me surprised, devastated and feeling seen. She handles the subtext of mental health deftly, highlight the need for community, and acknowledging how unhealthy coping mechanism can develop and take over without talking down or dismissing the difficulty of breaking those habits or admonishing the reader (or characters) for developing them in the first place.

My only real complaint is that I wanted more. I wanted to live in this world longer, dig deeper into the magic of it, learn more about the characters and see their relationships develop more slowly on the page.

It is sparse and poetic, Roth's writing beautiful in a way that has been missing from much of my reading lately and, I think, from much of the fantasy genre. I loved the novella format, despite my desire for more of this world, it kept me turning pages right to the end. It's wonderful to see the evolution of Roth's writing, both in her skill and her subject matter. I look forward to reading what she writes next!

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.25

The Run-Down: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth sacrifices plot and character development for heavy-handed worldbuilding.

Review:

Roth transposes a world of Slavic myth and magic onto modern-day Chicago in her novella When Among Crows, which follows a young man named Dymitr who seeks the dangerous presence of a witch named Baba Jaga. He enlists the help of two mythical beings that feed off of human emotion for sustenance: Ala, who hopes Dymitr’s quest will help her undo a destructive curse she endures, and Niko, a warrior with an unusual past. Dymitr’s exact motives for seeking Baba Jaga are deliberately withheld from the reader and the other characters for most of the book—a choice not without narrative justification, but which essentially deprives the story of any emotional stakes. Dymitr’s remote stoicism makes him an intriguing figure for a chapter or so, yet quickly grows tiresome as Roth grants no further insight into his character until the story is nearly over. As such, the book becomes little more than a series of quests and sidequests.

It is difficult to decide whether When Among Crows would be serviced through an expansion to a full-length novel. On the one hand, it could draw out the tedium of following these characters conduct missions for which the reader has little emotional investment, but on the other hand, it might allow Roth to develop the worldbuilding and characters more organically. The fusion of contemporary Chicago with Polish myth is an undeniably creative premise, and Roth introduces a handful of fun flourishes to the concept. For instance, the creatures that feed on human emotions like sadness and fear operate establishments such as funeral parlors and horror film theaters. However, Roth spends too much space in the novella awkwardly dumping exposition about the world onto the reader. Similarly, the book contains the outlines of fascinating character relationships and dynamics but chooses to rush their development. A romance between two central characters, in particular, is almost laughably unnecessary and half-baked.

The resolution to the story introduces emotional stakes far too late to be effective, but it does indicate that the premise has the potential to make an intriguing and rewarding book. As it stands, however, When of Crows reads like a poorly developed young adult novel that revels in its cool world at the expense of its narrative.

You might like this book if . . .

· You are a big fan of the Percy Jackson series (this book is basically young adult Percy Jackson but with Polish mythology)

You might not like this book if . . .

· You are a character-driven reader

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phoenix2's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

When Among Crows is a short fantasy novel that incorporates some Slavic legends.

The story has many interesting themes and the characters are well built. Probably the length of the story was its main fault.

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ceruleanseas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Dymitr is man on a mission. What exactly that mission is, he's not saying, but as he makes his way through the hidden parts of Chicago, filled with creatures from Slavic folklore that feed on human emotion, it becomes clear he's looking for Baba Yaga's help with it.

This is a fast-paced novella with excellent world-building and character development. The author reveals Dymitr's secrets one by one as he gets closer to his goal, sliding in perspectives of the other characters along the way,

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book.

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gondorgirl's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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