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The Raven's Cry (The Chronicles of Adalmearc #2)

Daniel E. Olesen

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Feb 11, 2020 Noor Al-Shanti rated it it was amazing

Shelves: great-for-multiple-re-reads, fantasy, must-read, series

The Raven's Cry is another excellent epic fantasy novel set in the realms of Adalmearc. It is the second installment after The Eagle's Flight which I've read twice and reviewed here the first time
and here the second time. I often complain about series, because I feel like too many stories have been artificially stretched out just to fit the series format, but this series is so good that I am a huge fan of it now and will eagerly await the next installment. This novel (and Eagle's Flight before The Raven's Cry is another excellent epic fantasy novel set in the realms of Adalmearc. It is the second installment after The Eagle's Flight which I've read twice and reviewed here the first time
and here the second time. I often complain about series, because I feel like too many stories have been artificially stretched out just to fit the series format, but this series is so good that I am a huge fan of it now and will eagerly await the next installment. This novel (and Eagle's Flight before it) provided me with hours of entertainment and although life got in the way of me finishing it as fast as I wanted to I found myself waiting for free time so I could continue the story.

In this book some of the old problems and plots are continued so we get to follow the stories of characters such as Brand, Arndis, Leander, etc, but we also get to see some other characters take a more prominent role and some new characters and locations appear as well. I enjoyed the inside look we often get into Konstans' affairs and the developing tensions in Middanhal. Also, I loved seeing some characters who are side characters get their own tiny little moments to shine and to make one important decision that could change the fate of the whole realm and to see how they deal with that. Theodwyn, Berimund, and Konstantine for example play pretty important roles even though the books doesn't focus on them for as many pages as some other characters.

The one section I didn't enjoy as much was the Ealond section. I didn't really want to let myself care about all new characters for that part and just wanted to get back to the "main story" but this is the second book in a longer series so I assume this will eventually play an even bigger role and I might look back and actually enjoy this part in retrospect. Maybe. We'll see, I guess, but it definitely wasn't annoying enough of a detour to make me want to dock a star or anything like that.

What I LOVE about this book is that all kinds of characters are always scheming and plotting and trying things and they don't necessarily always succeed and sometimes a random thing comes out of nowhere and changes everything. It makes the whole thing more realistic and also raises the stakes and increases the sense that these characters are in actual danger.

Another thing I noticed is that the writing style makes it so easy to imagine the events as if I'm watching a movie. Certain scenes have so much tension and I can almost see the cameras zooming in on a hidden soldier ambush here or an arrow there. Would love to see a TV adaptation of this one day!

Ok, I think that's all I can say without spoilers. Go read it! And if you haven't read The Eagle's Flight yet, obviously you should start with that one first. They're both available for free on the author's website: http://www.annalsofadal.net ...more

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