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olgareads 's review for:
The King of Crows
by Libba Bray
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
There are no words for how much I love this series and these characters. It feels strange saying goodbye to them, but I’m looking forward to still reading the third and last audiobooks (and then I’ll really be in mourning).
This is a very ambitious horror/fantasy series and its scope, as sprawling as America itself, is felt even more in this book as the Diviners split up and travel across the country to find some semblance of safety. I really enjoyed these team-ups; we get to see characters who don’t normally spend much time together interact and bond over similarities you would never guess they had just by looking at them.
What Libba Bray does extremely well in my opinion, especially as a white, presumably straight writer, is how honest and detailed she is about racism, abuse, poverty, oppression, eugenics, and corrupt governments. But whether the danger comes from the KKK, ambitious inventors, or well-mannered neighbours, it never borders on gratuitous.
There is loss in abundance and it hits like a gut punch. Not just death, but the grief and ache that comes with realising your parents will never be what you deserved; that you can’t protect your little sibling from the horrors of the world; that you will probably never completely heal from your experiences the way you wish you could – they will always be a part of you, for both better and worse.
I do think that there was something missing in the final fight against the King of Crows and I wish the epilogue had been a little longer, if only to wrap up secondary characters’ stories:Did Will find peace and how did he avoid becoming one of the King’s ghosts? Is Miriam going to be okay or did she suffer too much from the Eye? Was there ever a possibility of Woody saving himself using the diviner’s warning?
One of the main criticisms I’ve seen of these books is their length and pacing, but I find it to be a deliberate reflection of the many themes they weave throughout their pages. It’s all about the power of story and the self, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Every little anecdote and character-focused chapter feeds into these commentaries.
As Libba Bray writes in her ending note, she set out to write an American ghost story – and that's what The King of Crows is, as meandering and ever-lasting and important as the haunting past. And every little choice an individual makes is an integral part of working towards the democracy that America always proclaims to uphold despite so much evidence to the contrary.
If I recall correctly, the first book opened with a short prologue from the NYC wind's POV. We become familiar with the fickle Mississippi River's watchfulness in this final book. Bray reminds us that the land always remembers and encourages people to remember, too.
This is a very ambitious horror/fantasy series and its scope, as sprawling as America itself, is felt even more in this book as the Diviners split up and travel across the country to find some semblance of safety. I really enjoyed these team-ups; we get to see characters who don’t normally spend much time together interact and bond over similarities you would never guess they had just by looking at them.
What Libba Bray does extremely well in my opinion, especially as a white, presumably straight writer, is how honest and detailed she is about racism, abuse, poverty, oppression, eugenics, and corrupt governments. But whether the danger comes from the KKK, ambitious inventors, or well-mannered neighbours, it never borders on gratuitous.
There is loss in abundance and it hits like a gut punch. Not just death, but the grief and ache that comes with realising your parents will never be what you deserved; that you can’t protect your little sibling from the horrors of the world; that you will probably never completely heal from your experiences the way you wish you could – they will always be a part of you, for both better and worse.
I do think that there was something missing in the final fight against the King of Crows and I wish the epilogue had been a little longer, if only to wrap up secondary characters’ stories:
One of the main criticisms I’ve seen of these books is their length and pacing, but I find it to be a deliberate reflection of the many themes they weave throughout their pages. It’s all about the power of story and the self, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Every little anecdote and character-focused chapter feeds into these commentaries.
As Libba Bray writes in her ending note, she set out to write an American ghost story – and that's what The King of Crows is, as meandering and ever-lasting and important as the haunting past. And every little choice an individual makes is an integral part of working towards the democracy that America always proclaims to uphold despite so much evidence to the contrary.
If I recall correctly, the first book opened with a short prologue from the NYC wind's POV. We become familiar with the fickle Mississippi River's watchfulness in this final book. Bray reminds us that the land always remembers and encourages people to remember, too.