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rowancaskey's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely adore The Raven Tower. Like all good novels written in the second-person point of view, the disparity between the "you" and the "I", the disparity between "you think this" and "I believe you think this", is excellently utilized; in fact, it is not just a consequence of the pronouns to use, but a pointed feature of the narrative.
I don't imagine I have much insight into the specifics of why this book worked for me beyond that, outside of a single spoiler which I will mention below. I enjoy Shakespeare, dark fantasy, trans characters, and grim stories-- a dark fantasy retelling of Hamlet was likely always going to end up being near and dear to my heart.
It delights me that, without dwelling on Eolo's transness (not that you would have caught me complaining if we did) and without the grace of knowing his thoughts during key scenes, Eolo's relationship with gender is given an unexpected nuance from the very first scene: Mawat good-naturedly attempts to offer Eolo what amounts to magical instant gender-affirming surgery, which Eolo declines. I firmly believe that this moment, this first perception of Eolo, is what saves him when Patience brings down the tower in the final pages. If it's not obvious from my tone, I found this bookend extremely compelling and a wonderful take on the character.
On a much shorter note, I particularly enjoyed the fast ramp-up of drama at the end, and the plummeting realization that despite Patience seeming truly unconditionally positive towards Eolo, Eolo is much more afraid of Patience than we, the reader, could have intuited before the final act.
I don't imagine I have much insight into the specifics of why this book worked for me beyond that, outside of a single spoiler which I will mention below. I enjoy Shakespeare, dark fantasy, trans characters, and grim stories-- a dark fantasy retelling of Hamlet was likely always going to end up being near and dear to my heart.
On a much shorter note, I particularly enjoyed the fast ramp-up of drama at the end, and the plummeting realization that despite Patience seeming truly unconditionally positive towards Eolo, Eolo is much more afraid of Patience than we, the reader, could have intuited before the final act.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
szuum's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Minor: Transphobia and Slavery
evelphysicist's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really enjoyed this book for its premise, plot and the unusual narration style. The story is engaging and I was eager to know what happened. The last quarter of the book in particular was tense and fast paced. The story is really good and told for a unique perspective and Ann Leckie brings in some unusual premises that drive the plot in an interesting way.
I’m unsure how I feel about the queer representation in the book, but I’m also quite new to queer fantasy. i thought the issues and identities were written in a very hamfisted way that was quite jarring given that there is little to no character development or relationships in the book. I would have preferred for there to have been a more natural feel to how this was approached if the author isn’t going to delve into queer experiences.
I’m unsure how I feel about the queer representation in the book, but I’m also quite new to queer fantasy. i thought the issues and identities were written in a very hamfisted way that was quite jarring given that there is little to no character development or relationships in the book. I would have preferred for there to have been a more natural feel to how this was approached if the author isn’t going to delve into queer experiences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death
quirkykayleetam's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is an extremely cool book for an extremely niche audience. Do you love Shakespeare, specifically Hamlet? Do you love creative forms of storytelling? Do you love fantasy books that involve epic world building? If you said yes to ALL those questions, then you will love this book. If not, stay away. Why? Because The Raven Tower is a retelling of Hamlet set in a fantasy world and told through both first and second person point of view SIMULTANEOUSLY in which "you" are a transgender version of Horatio being watched over by a god who is also a rock. I loved it! It got me out of a three week reading slump and falls into the category of books written by people whose favorite Shakespearean character is obviously also Horatio, but it is not for everyone.
This is a slow-build of a book as the storyteller reveals the world building and their place in it gradually until everything slots into place at the very last second. It envisions Ophelia as an incredibly implacable badass who both Hamlet and Horatio are at least a little bit in love with and in awe of while turning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into interchangeable cronies devoid of any and all of the humor from the original play. Unlike The King of Infinite Space, the novel does not reword or rework any of Hamlet's original soliloquies or speeches, instead commenting on the scope of the play and how personal the action is to its characters. While it may not have added anything profoundly new to conversations about Hamlet (which it is hard to do these days), I nevertheless found it engaging and engrossing. Both the novel's last line and its meditation on the connection between living and caring will stick with me for a very long time.
This is a slow-build of a book as the storyteller reveals the world building and their place in it gradually until everything slots into place at the very last second. It envisions Ophelia as an incredibly implacable badass who both Hamlet and Horatio are at least a little bit in love with and in awe of while turning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into interchangeable cronies devoid of any and all of the humor from the original play. Unlike The King of Infinite Space, the novel does not reword or rework any of Hamlet's original soliloquies or speeches, instead commenting on the scope of the play and how personal the action is to its characters. While it may not have added anything profoundly new to conversations about Hamlet (which it is hard to do these days), I nevertheless found it engaging and engrossing. Both the novel's last line and its meditation on the connection between living and caring will stick with me for a very long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Transphobia
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Having previously read and loved Leckie's science fiction, I was happy to pick up her fantasy novel The Raven Tower and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Raven Tower contains so much of what I've really loved in Leckie's other work -- skillful and innovative multi-POV storytelling, compelling worldbuilding that feels unlike anything I've ever read before, and power politics on a grand scale. The religious/political intrigue really worked for me. I feel like Leckie's done something quite interesting here with time scale -- with the story spanning a few different time periods, I feel like Leckie's really effectively incorporated the divergences in experiences of time between the human character and the god characters (who vary in lifespan but who are far far more long-lived than humans). I will note that much of this book is told in second person, which isn't my favourite (and I know some readers really don't enjoy) but in this book, for me, it worked: it is a choice that has a clear reason behind it in the context of the book itself which makes complete sense to me. Definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, War, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Transphobia
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The final quarter of the book was incredible. Dare I say brilliant writing? The setup was done perfectly in the first 3/4 for it, but I found that space often quite boring. The world setup is cool as hell, and I really loved that part. Eolo is cool, I liked him. I confess to cheering a little when Myriad returned in the last pages, and when TSAPOTH our POV character said their last line--tear it down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, and War
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
beforeviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
What a bizarre book.
This book essentially follows two plotlines: one from the perspective of a god/rock, and the other one being a Hamlet retelling, focusing on Horatio (Eolo in this book) but told in second person from the POV of the god/rock.
The magic/godly system of this world was so interesting and unique and provided another level to the already pre-existing theme in Hamlet of control and self-agency and the idea of stealing another being's power.
Especially with Hamlet being one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, I was really intrigued to read this. At first, I was confused why Hamlet was being used as a template for this book's story, as early on, a lot of the themes that I find prevalent in Hamlet weren't really showing themselves. But as the story went on, I realized that instead of focusing so much on the court's perspective on sanity and normalcy, this book turned that focus towards <i>our</i> perspective on sanity and normalcy, which is absolutely blowing my mind in retrospect! It played with our understanding of this world and its rules by using an unreliable narrator, the same way Hamlet would normally be an unreliable narrator to the audience. It is made clear very early on in the book that our narrator had to be particular with words and that it would often be unreliable, but the ways that it plays out isn't really visible until the end, which I loved.
I also think this book highlighted the political aspects of Hamlet a lot more than I expected, which was exciting and enlightening because that is something that I tend to dismiss due to my own lack of interest, but it also sometimes made me feel a little lost and a little dumb. And though reflecting back on my reading experience I loved the effect the outline of this story left me with, it felt a bit unfruitful for a lot of the earlier part of the book, while it was still laying the foundations for the later payoff.
Overall, it was one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had the privilege to experience and I'll definitely be looking out for more work by this author in the future.
This book essentially follows two plotlines: one from the perspective of a god/rock, and the other one being a Hamlet retelling, focusing on Horatio (Eolo in this book) but told in second person from the POV of the god/rock.
The magic/godly system of this world was so interesting and unique and provided another level to the already pre-existing theme in Hamlet of control and self-agency and the idea of stealing another being's power.
Especially with Hamlet being one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, I was really intrigued to read this. At first, I was confused why Hamlet was being used as a template for this book's story, as early on, a lot of the themes that I find prevalent in Hamlet weren't really showing themselves. But as the story went on, I realized that instead of focusing so much on the court's perspective on sanity and normalcy, this book turned that focus towards <i>our</i> perspective on sanity and normalcy, which is absolutely blowing my mind in retrospect! It played with our understanding of this world and its rules by using an unreliable narrator, the same way Hamlet would normally be an unreliable narrator to the audience. It is made clear very early on in the book that our narrator had to be particular with words and that it would often be unreliable, but the ways that it plays out isn't really visible until the end, which I loved.
I also think this book highlighted the political aspects of Hamlet a lot more than I expected, which was exciting and enlightening because that is something that I tend to dismiss due to my own lack of interest, but it also sometimes made me feel a little lost and a little dumb. And though reflecting back on my reading experience I loved the effect the outline of this story left me with, it felt a bit unfruitful for a lot of the earlier part of the book, while it was still laying the foundations for the later payoff.
Overall, it was one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had the privilege to experience and I'll definitely be looking out for more work by this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death
Minor: Vomit
v171's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
If it aint broke, don't fix it. Ann Leckie, once again, has crafted a gripping story filled with political intrigue and fantastic world building, but this time with a fantasy backdrop. I'll always be impressed with the author's ability to weave world building into action, minimizing exposition blocks. Regarding characters, the author continued with her theme of crafting beautifully flawed side characters while making the main character(s) infallible. However, like her previous works, I didn't mind this much because I still found both of the main characters to be interesting enough despite being seemingly flawless. The structure of the story was unique in that most of it was written in second person, which I think is difficult to pull off (N.K. Jemisin notwithstanding) but also stuck with the tried and true shifting POV throughout the book. The pacing of the book felt a bit touch and go, with the action picking up quite a bit in the final quarter of the book with the majority of the book setting up for the end. However, after finishing, I realize that this extensive set-up was necessary given how heavy it was in political intrigue. All in all, I loved it as I expected I would. Leckie is a master in crafting a captivating sci-fi story, and I was so excited to see her branch into fantasy. I was not disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Cursing, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
octopus_farmer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Religious bigotry
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I picked this up because I needed an audiobook to listen to on a long drive and this was one of the few that my library had immediately available (because I was looking the day before the drive - I am not great at planning). The back cover copy was mediocre and didn't have a lot of expectations, but I figured it had to be on my to-read list for a reason.
This book was incredibly unique and surprisingly engaging. For starters, it's told mostly in second person. The narrator is unnamed (although it's slowly revealed through the story who they actually are) and Eolo's part of the story is told in second person, as if it was told to him. The story alternates between Eolo's story and the narrator's story. While Eolo works through the main plot - a usurper to the throne of the Lease, plus a plot to majorly screw up Iraden in pursuit of personal power - the narrator's parts fill in the world and how the system of gods works.
I'm a total sucker for worlds with really unique takes on gods. Part of the fun of this book is discovering how the gods fit into the world, but I will say this: It is possible to kill a god, and that's a very important fact to the story.
The interesting part about the narration being mostly second person is you don't get a whole lot of characterization. Eolo is clever and the reasonable voice to Mawat's hot-headedness (and also a trans man, although that's just a part of who he is as opposed to anything relevant to the plot). Eolo tends to be withdrawn and not speak up, while Mawat plunges ahead and sometimes acts rashly. They're really good foils for each other, and I enjoyed seeing Eolo step up and assert himself a little bit more as everything goes to hell in a handbasket.
The plot is delightfully complicated, and you don't find out how the narrator's story ties into Eolo's until the very end. Now that I think about it, that's really what kept me engaged in the story - the many layers of complexity to the story (and also the question of how the narrator fit into the story they were telling to/about Eolo). That and the really awesome concept of gods and how they fit into this world.
My only real criticism of the story is the ending - it seemed to come out of nowhere, with the narrator doing something that seemed wildly out of character. I would have accepted it if it had felt like the narrator was building towards something like that, but I didn't get any foreshadowing. (Although my husband, who was listening in the car with me, said he saw a lot of similarities with Hamlet in the story so maybe the author ended it the way she did to keep up the Hamlet parallels. I've never seen/read Hamlet so I can't comment on that.)
This story is highly engaging and very unique. I don't know that I particularly loved it, in the sense that it inspired feelings of enjoyment, but it held my interest the whole way through, kept me curious and anticipating the conclusion, and then satisfied my curiosity with an (almost) completely satisfying conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, and Death
Minor: Suicide
Suicide is mentioned/discussed (not in a mental illness context, but in the context of providing a consenting human sacrifice to a god), but no suicide is actually committed.