{"id":36605,"date":"2019-08-09T11:27:54","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T15:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36605"},"modified":"2019-08-09T11:27:54","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T15:27:54","slug":"review-of-the-raven-tower-by-ann-leckie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36605","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Raven Tower<\/em><\/p>\n

by Ann Leckie<\/p>\n

Orbit Books, 2019. 416 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written August 9, 2019, from a library book<\/p>\n

Oh, this book is amazing! I can\u2019t expect anything traditional or stereotypical from Ann Leckie, but she still surprised me. I can tell you about the set-up, but not how everything comes together. Let me tell you that it does, and this book is well worth reading. This one\u2019s fantasy, rather than the science fiction she\u2019s written previously, but it breaks up expectations of the genre, just as her other books did with science fiction.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the first sentence:<\/p>\n

I first saw you when you rode out of the forest, past the cluster of tall, bulge-eyed offering stakes that mark the edges of the forest, your horse at a walk.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At first, I thought this would be like The Fifth Season<\/a><\/em>, by N. K. Jemisin, and take the entire book to let you know who is speaking to whom. But we do find out fairly quickly that the person being addressed is Eolo, the aide to Lord Mowat, who is the heir to the Raven\u2019s Lease. Eolo and Mowat have arrived from the southern defenses on an urgent summons because the Instrument had died. Eolo is a wonderful and resourceful character who is also a transgender man (which barely comes into the story, but I did enjoy the representation).<\/p>\n

Then the one speaking begins telling his story and we learn he is a god, a god who lives in a large stone that began under the sea. The god\u2019s story takes a long time to intersect with the Raven god. (There\u2019s a nice touch that this god has a friend who is a god that inhabits mosquitoes, called Myriad. I can believe in that god!)<\/p>\n

But all is not well at the Raven Tower. The Instrument (a physical raven) is dead, and the previous Lease, Mowat\u2019s father, should have sacrificed himself to the Raven god while the next Instrument is in an egg. But the former Raven\u2019s Lease was nowhere to be found. His brother Hibal, Mowat\u2019s uncle, has taken the Lease\u2019s bench, because it could not remain empty. Mowat is still the Heir to the Raven\u2019s Lease.<\/p>\n

But Mowat does not believe this story. His father would never have fled. His father was committed to make the sacrifice. There are many complications, complications with other nations, complications with expectations of the way the Raven god works that don\u2019t seem to be met, and complications with schemers and plotters.<\/p>\n

Behind it all, we also get the epic and centuries-long story of the life of the Strength and Patience of the Hill. What is this god\u2019s place in all this?<\/p>\n

And yes, we grow fond of both Eolo and the Strength and Patience of the Hill as the story unfolds.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t dare say much more at all, but the story is woven wonderfully. Here is a fantasy tale with nothing typical about it.<\/p>\n

annleckie.com<\/a>
\norbitbooks.net<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Fiction\/raven_tower.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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