Review – Crowfall by Ed McDonald

Posted November 15, 2021 by Carole in Reviews / 5 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Crowfall by Ed McDonaldCrowfall by Ed McDonald
Narrator: Colin Mace
Series: Raven's Mark #3
Published by Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Audio on July 2, 2019
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
Pages: 416
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher, Purchased
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four-stars

In the third gritty installment of the Raven's Mark series, Blackwing Captain Ryhalt Galharrow finds that all power comes with a price...

A sorcerous cataclysm has hit the Range, the final defensive line between the republic and the immortal Deep Kings.

Tormenting red rains sweep the land, new monstrosities feed on fear in the darkness, and the power of the Nameless, the gods who protect the republic, lies broken. The Blackwing captains who serve them are being picked off one by one, and even immortals have learned what it means to die. Meanwhile, the Deep Kings have only grown stronger, and they are poised to deliver a blow that will finally end the war.

Ryhalt Galharrow stands apart from it all.

He has been deeper into the wasteland known as the Misery than ever before. It has grown within him--changed him--and now the ghosts of his past, formerly confined to the Misery, walk with him everywhere.

They will even follow him--and the few surviving Blackwing captains--on one final mission into the darkness.

I really liked this book and thought that it was a very fitting end to a great trilogy. Since this is the third book in a trilogy, I would highly recommend reading the first two books before jumping into this one. This book picks up some time after the events of the second book but Ryhalt and the rest of the characters have all undergone a lot of changes since we last saw them. I was hooked from the start and couldn’t wait to see where things would go as the book drew to a close.

Ryhalt has spent years in the Misery away from others. I absolutely loved the descriptions of the Misery with its hostile and ever-changing nature. The changes in Ryhalt were rather surprising and completely unexpected since he has lost a lot of his humanity. When he gets news that leads him from the Misery, things get intense very quickly. It isn’t long before he enlists the help of those that he has leaned upon in the past. The odds are stacked against the group as they head into the battle of their lives.

There was plenty of action and excitement in this book which kept me glued to the story. I love that I have come to expect the unexpected in this trilogy and that anything could happen at any given time. This is a dark gritty story that was oftentimes brutal. Things do not always go well for this group of characters. I thought that the parts of the story that occurred in the Misery were exceptional since the landscape added another layer of danger to the story.

I alternated between the digital book and audiobook when reading this novel. Colin Mace does a phenomenal job with this series. He does a great job in bringing Ryhalt to life and adds a lot of excitement and emotion to his reading. He has the perfect voice for this kind of story and would eagerly listen to his narration again in the future.

I do recommend this trilogy to others. I enjoyed this dark fantasy novel that was filled with great characters and a lot of excitement. I cannot wait to read more of this talented author’s work.

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

5 responses to “Review – Crowfall by Ed McDonald

  1. I love when a trilogy is able to successfully bring an end to the story. It seems rarer and rarer these days.