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vaguelyredhead's review
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
knlipke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
When Among Crows follows Dymtir, a strange mortal, who’s looking for the infamous Baba Jaga. Along his way, he makes friends with Ala, a fear-feasting zmora; and Niko, an unlikely ally. On this journey, they discover love, friendship, adventure, and of course, danger.
I am a sucker for a found-family troupe! I loved the Slavic fairy tale expansion and the bit of magic. I fell in love with the characters as soon as I met them and didn’t want to let them go. The sword being apart of their spine and having to unsheathe it from their neck??? So creative!
My main complaint with the book is how short it is. I wanted to be immersed in this book; I love the premise, the fairy tale background, the characters, the plot. But I felt like I couldn’t fully connect with any one or any thing because it was so fast-paced. The story left me wanting more, but I was disappointed when it was over. This felt like a prologue.
Overall, I just wish there was more to the story and the world-building. I did like what we got in the end!
I am a sucker for a found-family troupe! I loved the Slavic fairy tale expansion and the bit of magic. I fell in love with the characters as soon as I met them and didn’t want to let them go. The sword being apart of their spine and having to unsheathe it from their neck??? So creative!
My main complaint with the book is how short it is. I wanted to be immersed in this book; I love the premise, the fairy tale background, the characters, the plot. But I felt like I couldn’t fully connect with any one or any thing because it was so fast-paced. The story left me wanting more, but I was disappointed when it was over. This felt like a prologue.
Overall, I just wish there was more to the story and the world-building. I did like what we got in the end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
bellthebiscuit's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ok i think this is my favorite thing I've read from Veronica Roth so far
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
megnut's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Violence
theoddduckling's review against another edition
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!
***
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent
romie_chat's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I jumped into When Among Crows head first, not knowing what to expect. I had read the synopsis, but it’s one of those that only truly—and purposefully—makes sense once you are a third of the way through. And it works for this book.
There is something deeply special about reading a book so ingrained into Polish folklore. No matter how gruesome the story was at times, it felt comforting.
Dymitr is such a peculiar character because although you might not understand him right from the beginning, you cannot help but root for him and find admiration in his harsh softness.
This is one of those novellas I hope turns into a series, à la Murderbot, because I simply want more. We got a glimpse of this world, of its magic, but I now want to spend more time with Dymitr, Ala and Niko. There’s so much left unsaid and undiscovered. (4.18)
There is something deeply special about reading a book so ingrained into Polish folklore. No matter how gruesome the story was at times, it felt comforting.
Dymitr is such a peculiar character because although you might not understand him right from the beginning, you cannot help but root for him and find admiration in his harsh softness.
This is one of those novellas I hope turns into a series, à la Murderbot, because I simply want more. We got a glimpse of this world, of its magic, but I now want to spend more time with Dymitr, Ala and Niko. There’s so much left unsaid and undiscovered. (4.18)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
shadowspinner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Death
phoenix2's review against another edition
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.
The story has many interesting themes and the characters are well built. Probably the length of the story was its main fault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Blood
ceruleanseas's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Child death
Minor: Antisemitism
gondorgirl's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Religious bigotry, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Death