Reviews

The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife

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lambsears's review against another edition

3.0

Not great literature, but a brightly told memoir of Skaife's life with the ravens in the Tower of London and how he got there.
Ravens are in my life currently, and I learned quite a lot about them, thanks to the Ravenmaster.
A nice, quick read.

mathman329's review against another edition

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4.0

2024 Book Review - Book No. 28: “The Ravemaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London” written by Christopher Skaife

Date started: 7/13/24

Date finished: 7/17/24

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would recommend reading if you like UK history, birds, and folklore)

Spoiler free review: This charming memoir was recommended to me by one of my friends from school partly because I am a birder, but also because of my interest in history. On a whim, I looked this up at the library one day and luckily it was available at my local branch that day. This was a fairly quick read and an enjoyable one at that. I don’t know if I would have come across this on my own so I’m glad my friend shared this with me.

The author, Christopher Skaife, is a veteran of the British military who, upon his retirement from active duty, took a post at the Tower of London as one of the famed “beefeaters”. In this new role, he quickly was chosen as an assistant to the Tower Ravenmaster. Skaife’s role was to aid in the care of and watch over the 6-7 ravens who live at the Tower, which legend declares is necessary else the Tower of London shall fall.

This account essentially covers Skaife’s rise to the rank of Ravenmaster, the traditions and lore behind the ravens, and even details numerous birds who have “served” the government as birds of the tower. Skaife does an excellent job covering daily routines, special events and occasions in the birds’ lives, and the roles filled by non-avian residents of the Tower in great detail. He does his best to make the book flow naturally from chapter to chapter and hits the mark nearly every time. After reading some other heavier books this year, this was a welcome change-up and a highly recommended non-fiction read.

robotswithpersonality's review against another edition

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Let's get the uncomfortable truths out of the way. This man had a military career including being a British soldier in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. While his love and care for the ravens is clear, they are captive to the tower as a direct result of his actions: trimmed flight feathers being apart of the 'tradition'. These are realities I can't personally support.
If you can look past that, this is a very charming book. It touches on Skaife's personal history prior to his time at the Tower, but is largely about his duties and experiences as the Ravenmaster, a good chunk is about both the ravens he's familiar with, occasionally their predecessors, with a healthy dose of raven facts and lore. Skaife's love of history, and learning, and storytelling is palpable. The audiobook (read by the author) is wonderful and includes raven calls, while the physical book has pictures.

⚠️ animal death

tiedyedude's review against another edition

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3.0

A cute book relating anecdotes from the Ravenmaster and legends regarding the Tower of London and its resident ravens. It was like a 6-hour audio tour.

readingmissfroggy's review against another edition

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5.0

This book combined so many things and I loved them all! History of the Tower of London, ravens at the tower, ravens in general, drama, humour and, the author's life (who is a very interesting person I think). Basically, I had to love this book and I absolutely did. I have always been a fan or ravens and crows and jackdaws, I think that they are such interesting creatures. I also love history and visited the Tower a couple of years ago (which was amazing). The author is just the cherry on top of the cake. He writes about the ravens with such love and such pain or humour when things go wrong. The little snippets into his life before the Tower made me so intrigued and I loved how he compared it to his current life with the Ravens.

If you are interested in the ravens at the Tower of London I highly recommend this book. I had a hard time putting it down even though it is basically just about how the author takes care of the birds. Be warned though, there are some rather sad moments sprinkled in between the pages but the humour makes more than up for it!

livres_de_bloss's review against another edition

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5.0

What a wonderful and heartfelt book!

Chris is an engaging and fun storyteller and his passion for his ravens is evident on every page of this unique and insightful book. It’s a delightful combination of Chris’s own memoir, the daily routine and adventures of the Tower Ravens, and Tower of London history.

The writing style is so unique and inviting. It’s just like meeting up with an old friend!

I highly recommend this book!