Review – Ravencry by Ed McDonald

Ravencry by Ed McDonald
Narrated by Colin Mace
Series: Raven’s Mark #2
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group – Ace / Penguin Audio
Publication Date: August 21, 2018
Date Read: October 14, 2019
Length: 384 pages / 13 hours 57 minutes
Source: NetGalley / Purchased
★★★★★

In the second gritty installment of the Raven’s Mark series, a bounty hunter faces down the darkest evil.

Ryhalt Galharrow is a blackwing–a bounty hunter who seeks out and turns over any man, woman, or child who has been compromised by the immortals known as the Deep Kings. Four years have passed since he helped drive the Deep Kings back across the Misery. But new and darker forces are rising against the republic…

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I have such a good time with this book!  After reading and enjoying Blackwing, I wanted to continue with the series before letting too much time elapse.   After listening to a sample of the audiobook, I decided to go that route.  I was enjoying myself but somewhere around the midpoint of the book, I admitted to myself that some of the details of the story were getting past me.  I continued with the book but decided that I was going to have to listen to it a second time because I didn’t want to miss anything.  So I did.  Yes, I started this audiobook over again at the beginning just as soon as I finished it.  I did pick up on quite a few things that I missed the first time around on my second listen and found that I really enjoyed the story a whole lot more so it was a good decision.  I guess you could say that I liked this book since I liked it enough to listen to it twice!

This book is set about 4 years after the events of the first book.  Ryhalt is still the leader of Blackwing and is working with his group.  He knows things that would be dangerous if others found out but he knows how to keep things to himself when necessary.  This book jumps right into the action with Ryhalt leaving a meeting in a rather unconventional manner just to stay alive.  When he sees a man that he is sure he recently killed, he knows that something is going on.  Plus there is the small matter of an important and powerful item that goes missing.  I knew that Ryhalt had his work cut out for him.

This book was just as dark and bloody as I expected it to be after reading the previous installment.  The story is set in a cruel world where things can and often do go wrong.  Things are rather desperate at times and I was more than a little worried about the safety of all of the key characters.  I loved the way that the reader has a chance to really get to know these characters better in this installment.  A lot of the book is centered solely on Ryhalt and I felt that his actions showed exactly what kind of man he is.  I thought that a couple of other characters important in his life were wonderfully developed so that they had a bigger impact on the overall story.

Colin Mace was the perfect narrator for this book.  If you had asked me what Ryhalt Garharrow sounded like after reading the first book, I couldn’t have come up with anything that fits better than this narrator.  I think that he really was able to bring this story to life.  His reading added excitement, desperation, hope, and uncertainty of the story when appropriate.  I believe that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story and I plan to listen to more of his work.

I would highly recommend this story to others.  It is a gritty fantasy that is well crafted and entertaining.  I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley and I purchased a copy of the audiobook.

About the Author

Ed McDonald studied Ancient History at the University of Birmingham and holds an MA in Medieval History from the University of London. He is a keen martial artist and specializes in the Italian longsword.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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