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charlotekerstenauthor's review against another edition
So What’s It About?
Hem is a weary orphan whose struggle for survival ends when he is reunited with his lost sister, Maerad. But Maerad has a destiny to fulfill, and Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk, where he learns the ways of the Bards and befriends a mysterious white crow. When the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and an orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. It is there that Hem has a vision and learns that he, too, has a part to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
What I Thought
I am still enjoying the Pellinor books a lot and I truly wish I had found them earlier because I think I would have loved them even more as a kid. In The Crow, Hem is our main character instead of Maerad, and he holds his own as a protagonist. Over the course of the book, he goes from a petulant, defiant kid to a hero in his own right, stepping up in a time of terrible crisis, discovering his talent for healing and putting himself through tremendous suffering to try to save his friend Zelika. I also enjoyed having Hem as the protagonist because of his relationship with Irc, a white crow who he rescues as a fledgling and develops a telepathic bond with. Irc is adorable and heroic in his own right - I love his obsession with shiny objects and I think the author does a great job of writing a bird’s personality and voice. I also really liked Hem’s Bard mentor Saliman and how their relationship of trust and love develops over the course of the book.
As with the two previous books, Croggon’s writing is lovely. There are so many luscious, gorgeous descriptions of the golden city of Turbansk which make it even more tragic when the city is sacked. But I think she is equally talented at writing places that are desolate and creepy and foreboding. I loved the abandoned underground city, and I truly felt the intended sense of desolation and destruction as the characters ventured into the lands conquered by forces of evil. Croggon definitely has an incredible skill for writing atmosphere and evocative settings.
The second half of The Riddle was noticeably darker than what came before it, and The Crow is even darker. A major part of this book explores the experiences of child soldiers who are brutalized and brutal in turn due to the influence of magic. We see pointless cruelty and torture that is pretty horrific, especially when it comes to the Blind House where Hem thinks his friend Zelika is being imprisoned. In a move that I think is quite bold, it turns out that Hem’s quest to rescue Zelika is fruitless from the start - she was murdered immediately upon being captured and he turns out to be sensing her brother’s essence instead of hers. He ends up not being able to rescue her brother, either. The tragedy of it was captured quite well, and I think it was an important addition to what feels very much like a classic high fantasy struggle of good against evil. While I appreciate this particular element of grimness and strife, I do think that the way Hem comes into possession of an incredibly important magical item feels somewhat random and cheap and far too simple for a book that seems to be striving against that overall.
I’m planning to read The Singing soon, and I hope it is just as good as the rest of these books have been so far. It’s somewhat bittersweet that there’s only one book left in this series because I think I’d be happy to read about this world for many more books.
testkristin3's review against another edition
Loved the series and looking forward to the next re-read!
corners_of_cozy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
arwenstelter's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
murrayscottferguson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Colonisation, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, and Slavery
whisperfox's review against another edition
4.5
[9/10]
When I started this one and realized we had totally switched protagonists, I was VERY unsure, but it turned out to be my favorite in the series.
It doesn't pull any punches narratively. It's darker in many ways, lighter in others, than the two installments that preceded it. I was deeply concerned the entire time this book was happening. I didn't want to put it down once it really got going, and more than one time I had very emotional reactions to the events in this book out loud in public.
By the end of this one, I began to understand a lot more about the big picture of what the series was trying to accomplish, and it raised the stakes for me considerably when it came to the anticipation of the overarching story's conclusion. Very good stuff.
When I started this one and realized we had totally switched protagonists, I was VERY unsure, but it turned out to be my favorite in the series.
It doesn't pull any punches narratively. It's darker in many ways, lighter in others, than the two installments that preceded it. I was deeply concerned the entire time this book was happening. I didn't want to put it down once it really got going, and more than one time I had very emotional reactions to the events in this book out loud in public.
By the end of this one, I began to understand a lot more about the big picture of what the series was trying to accomplish, and it raised the stakes for me considerably when it came to the anticipation of the overarching story's conclusion. Very good stuff.
lauramcc7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Child abuse, War, Death, and Child death
honeybee_reads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0