moirwyn's review against another edition
5.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/03/28/black-feathers-joseph-dlacey/
Black Feathers is the first book in The Black Dawn, a series by Joseph D’Lacey that is set in the aftermath of an environmental apocalypse in a world not unlike our own. When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble, I was immediately sucked in by the opening lines of the prologue, and knew that I just had to read it.
Black Feathers is divided between two protagonists, one in the present, and one in the distant past.
A girl named Megan sees the Crowman in the forest, and thus begins her training to become a Keeper, which is kind of like a Native American medicine man. The Keepers preserve mankind’s connection to the Earth. So far all the Keepers have been male, and there is a prophecy that the first female Keeper will either be the one to save the world or destroy it.
As she is trained, Megan has flashbacks to the distant past. A little boy named Gordon is born in a society like our own. Gordon is special. From the day he was born, crows have flocked to him, and they appear to protect him. As he grows up, mankind’s abuse of the environment causes the very earth to revolt. As corporations cling to power, food shortages and natural disasters become ubiquitous and mankind’s technology begins to fail. Gordon embarks on a journey to find the mysterious Crowman, who appears as a symbol of hope throughout urban legends.
Both characters have compelling life stories despite being from completely different worlds. Megan’s adventures take on a spiritual nature, and her greatest enemies are in her own mind. Gordon, on the other hand, is being chased by an entire organization of cold-blooded killers. Normally when I read books with two protagonists, I end up liking one more than the other, but in Black Feathers I quickly became attached to both of them.
D’Lacey presents a strong message of environmentalism, but it doesn’t get so preachy that it detracts from the story. He focuses on the need to give back to the earth and to take care of it. The story’s worst villains are those who believe in profits at the expense of life, and they are more terrifying because we can see in them a reflection of problems in our own society. And yet, Megan’s presence in a simpler village after the apocalypse shows that there is hope for humanity and that we aren’t all doomed if we make an effort to make better choices. For more about this, you might want to check out the guest post that the author wrote for me a couple weeks ago about the role of environmentalism in his stories.
All in all, Black Feathers was a good read, and I look forward to continuing the series.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/03/28/black-feathers-joseph-dlacey/
Black Feathers is the first book in The Black Dawn, a series by Joseph D’Lacey that is set in the aftermath of an environmental apocalypse in a world not unlike our own. When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble, I was immediately sucked in by the opening lines of the prologue, and knew that I just had to read it.
When the final days came, it was said that Satan walked the Earth in the guise of a crow. Those who feared him called him Scarecrow or Black Jack. I know him as the Crowman.
I speak for him.
Across the face of the Earth, in every nation, great suffering arose and billions perished. An age of solar flares began, rendering much of our technology useless. The cataclysms that befell us, the famine and sicknesses, the wars–it was all the work of the Crowman, so they said. Yet it was ignorance that fueled our terror of him and the rumors of his wickedness.
Ignorance and convenience; we needed someone to blame.
Black Feathers is divided between two protagonists, one in the present, and one in the distant past.
A girl named Megan sees the Crowman in the forest, and thus begins her training to become a Keeper, which is kind of like a Native American medicine man. The Keepers preserve mankind’s connection to the Earth. So far all the Keepers have been male, and there is a prophecy that the first female Keeper will either be the one to save the world or destroy it.
As she is trained, Megan has flashbacks to the distant past. A little boy named Gordon is born in a society like our own. Gordon is special. From the day he was born, crows have flocked to him, and they appear to protect him. As he grows up, mankind’s abuse of the environment causes the very earth to revolt. As corporations cling to power, food shortages and natural disasters become ubiquitous and mankind’s technology begins to fail. Gordon embarks on a journey to find the mysterious Crowman, who appears as a symbol of hope throughout urban legends.
Both characters have compelling life stories despite being from completely different worlds. Megan’s adventures take on a spiritual nature, and her greatest enemies are in her own mind. Gordon, on the other hand, is being chased by an entire organization of cold-blooded killers. Normally when I read books with two protagonists, I end up liking one more than the other, but in Black Feathers I quickly became attached to both of them.
D’Lacey presents a strong message of environmentalism, but it doesn’t get so preachy that it detracts from the story. He focuses on the need to give back to the earth and to take care of it. The story’s worst villains are those who believe in profits at the expense of life, and they are more terrifying because we can see in them a reflection of problems in our own society. And yet, Megan’s presence in a simpler village after the apocalypse shows that there is hope for humanity and that we aren’t all doomed if we make an effort to make better choices. For more about this, you might want to check out the guest post that the author wrote for me a couple weeks ago about the role of environmentalism in his stories.
All in all, Black Feathers was a good read, and I look forward to continuing the series.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. This was well written, but the plot ambled along too slowly for my taste. I doubt I'll read the conclusion.
trinforeman's review against another edition
4.0
Very reminiscent of Robert McCammon's writing. Full review to come later.
atarbett's review against another edition
2.0
It took me awhile to finish this one, mostly because I really didn't care about any of the characters. Or the story. It was 500 pages of "meh." I normally like post apocalyptic novels, but I was unmoved. Still, you should read it for yourself. Perhaps you'll have better luck.
ophelia_wears_black's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written enchanting tale of self discovery, which instills a respect for the world, which we often takes for granted. Wonderful!
marcel's review against another edition
chapter 3: [Louis] wished he could have a painting, not a photograph but a unique painting, some rendering of his perspective that would seal in the satisfaction he felt in this moment of pre-autumnal perfection. Here was his family, his land and his life in silent rapture under a cerulean October sky.
me, knowing things go bad in the next paragraph: i'll just stop right here :-)
me, knowing things go bad in the next paragraph: i'll just stop right here :-)
kylek's review against another edition
4.0
This book was out of the norm for me, but even so I found it highly entertaining. It takes you through the journey of the Crowman from his birth to a young man.
The book is told in two alternating point of views, that of Megan in the future (or their present) and when the Crowman was born which would be around our time. At first I was a bit lost cause I hadn't realized the time difference I thought it was taking place at the same time for some reason, but once I had that figured out it went much more smoothly.
The way the book is told is like a tale. The life of the boy, the changing times, how he assimilates to this change. How his life starts changing once people start realizing he is the crowman, even though he himself doesn't know this. It tells the story of his awakening and it was a beautiful one. At the same time we are getting told another story of awakening but this one is about Megan, she also has to form a connection with the Crowman.
The overall pacing of the book is kinda slow, but not in a bad way. It's just how it's meant to be. During the second half of the book, things start picking up quite a bit when Megan has to go through some trials and The Crowmans powers and mission start coming forth.
All in all it was an entertaining read and I really liked getting to know these myths and I'll be reading the second to see what else awaits them.
The book is told in two alternating point of views, that of Megan in the future (or their present) and when the Crowman was born which would be around our time. At first I was a bit lost cause I hadn't realized the time difference I thought it was taking place at the same time for some reason, but once I had that figured out it went much more smoothly.
The way the book is told is like a tale. The life of the boy, the changing times, how he assimilates to this change. How his life starts changing once people start realizing he is the crowman, even though he himself doesn't know this. It tells the story of his awakening and it was a beautiful one. At the same time we are getting told another story of awakening but this one is about Megan, she also has to form a connection with the Crowman.
The overall pacing of the book is kinda slow, but not in a bad way. It's just how it's meant to be. During the second half of the book, things start picking up quite a bit when Megan has to go through some trials and The Crowmans powers and mission start coming forth.
All in all it was an entertaining read and I really liked getting to know these myths and I'll be reading the second to see what else awaits them.
kihadu's review against another edition
4.0
Some parts of this book were familiar (the world is gone to hell because we don't treat the earth right; there's a young boy going to save us; tall and skinny paired with fat and short; a mysterious tall man with black hair and pale skin) but enough was different that it was interesting and new.
However. However. I still forget which one is Pike and which one is Skelton.
However. However. I still forget which one is Pike and which one is Skelton.
unsquare's review against another edition
3.0
Joseph D’Lacey’s Black Feathers is an interesting anomaly in the world of apocalyptic fiction. Instead of focusing on a dystopian post-apocalypse, as is the fashion nowadays, Black Feathers consists of two interlocking plot threads: one that starts in modern-day and continues through the fall of society, and one that follows a character hundreds of years in the future. It’s also the first part of a two-book series which continues in The Book of The Crowman (December 2013).
In the modern-day, Black Feathers focuses on the Black family, specifically their young son Gordon Black, who may be connected to a mysterious messiah figure named The Crowman. Crows seem to follow Gordon everywhere he goes. His mother and father are oftentimes accosted on the street by people with prophetic visions of a future where The Crowman heralds the beginning of the Black Dawn and Gordon’s part in it. The Crowman is an interesting combination of savior and destroyer, sometimes described as a demonic presence, a half-man half-crow who only wants to destroy the world and at other times as a healing presence with a deep connection to nature. The more we hear about The Crowman, the more unsettling and dangerous he seems, even as it also becomes increasingly clear that Gordon is deeply connected to The Crowman.
In the far future, Black Feathers tells the story of Megan Maurice, a young woman picked to apprentice with her village’s Keeper, a sort of combination medicine man and archivist tasked with keeping the story of The Crowman alive. Megan must travel along the Black Feathered Path to cement her destiny as the next keeper, a journey that involves visions of the past as well as harrowing encounters with The Crowman’s more animalistic aspect. Megan experiences visions of Gordon’s life and tasked with recording them in a special journal for safekeeping. One thing I really liked is that Megan’s world might be “post-apocalyptic”, but it doesn’t feel ruined. She has a comfortable life in a small village, and it is only when she ventures outside that safe place that she begins to encounter danger, all in the name of traveling on her path towards becoming a Keeper.
In fact, there are a lot of things I liked about Black Feathers; the portrayal of The Crowman was particularly nuanced and unsettling, and I also liked the juxtaposition between the modern-day and far future. I love the idea of a messiah who isn’t so black and white, simply because maybe the world needs a little destruction before it gets saved. The book’s true villains, the power-hungry Ward, were a bit more stereotypically drawn – the bloodthirsty corporate influence made flesh – but that didn’t make their methods any less terrifying.
My biggest complaint is with the book’s pacing. It took me a long time to make it past the first third of the book, and it was only when I decided to make a concerted effort to finish it that I finally started making progress. However, as I neared the end it became clear that Black Feathers wasn’t actually going to resolve anything major. Gordon and Megan both have some intense experiences as the book progresses, but these events seem relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. Black Feathers, sold as the first volume in a two-book series, feels more like the first half of one massive novel. I liked it enough to finish this first volume, but I’m honestly not sure if I’ll make the effort to pick up the second book later this year.
In the modern-day, Black Feathers focuses on the Black family, specifically their young son Gordon Black, who may be connected to a mysterious messiah figure named The Crowman. Crows seem to follow Gordon everywhere he goes. His mother and father are oftentimes accosted on the street by people with prophetic visions of a future where The Crowman heralds the beginning of the Black Dawn and Gordon’s part in it. The Crowman is an interesting combination of savior and destroyer, sometimes described as a demonic presence, a half-man half-crow who only wants to destroy the world and at other times as a healing presence with a deep connection to nature. The more we hear about The Crowman, the more unsettling and dangerous he seems, even as it also becomes increasingly clear that Gordon is deeply connected to The Crowman.
In the far future, Black Feathers tells the story of Megan Maurice, a young woman picked to apprentice with her village’s Keeper, a sort of combination medicine man and archivist tasked with keeping the story of The Crowman alive. Megan must travel along the Black Feathered Path to cement her destiny as the next keeper, a journey that involves visions of the past as well as harrowing encounters with The Crowman’s more animalistic aspect. Megan experiences visions of Gordon’s life and tasked with recording them in a special journal for safekeeping. One thing I really liked is that Megan’s world might be “post-apocalyptic”, but it doesn’t feel ruined. She has a comfortable life in a small village, and it is only when she ventures outside that safe place that she begins to encounter danger, all in the name of traveling on her path towards becoming a Keeper.
In fact, there are a lot of things I liked about Black Feathers; the portrayal of The Crowman was particularly nuanced and unsettling, and I also liked the juxtaposition between the modern-day and far future. I love the idea of a messiah who isn’t so black and white, simply because maybe the world needs a little destruction before it gets saved. The book’s true villains, the power-hungry Ward, were a bit more stereotypically drawn – the bloodthirsty corporate influence made flesh – but that didn’t make their methods any less terrifying.
My biggest complaint is with the book’s pacing. It took me a long time to make it past the first third of the book, and it was only when I decided to make a concerted effort to finish it that I finally started making progress. However, as I neared the end it became clear that Black Feathers wasn’t actually going to resolve anything major. Gordon and Megan both have some intense experiences as the book progresses, but these events seem relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. Black Feathers, sold as the first volume in a two-book series, feels more like the first half of one massive novel. I liked it enough to finish this first volume, but I’m honestly not sure if I’ll make the effort to pick up the second book later this year.
lostinagoodread's review against another edition
2.0
This review was originally published on Cozy Up With A Good Read
I will start out this review by saying this book is an adult book, and definitely has some disturbing scenes in it. This book had a really intriguing premise to me, a modern fantasy set in two different times and following two different characters, both of whom have a journey they must take to save the world. The Crowman is the character that will save them all, but you never truly meet him in this book, there are many stories about him and no one truly knows what he is like. This is the first book and it definitely feels like that, D'Lacey takes his time in this book, setting up the world and the characters that readers will follow.
I found myself very confused in the beginning, there is a lot of back and forth between the two different times, but there was no indication of where in time I was reading, so I didn't know which child was in Black Dawn and which was in Bright Day. I did eventually begin to figure out where in time I was... (you really have to pay close attention to details to figure this out). This book takes it's time to get into a steady rhythm, and even then I found that it was slow going. This book is about getting to know the characters and what the world is like for each of them.
There were many times throughout my reading of this book that I was close to putting it down, there were quite a few scenes that disturbed me, and it would get worse in certain places. Though I wanted to put it down I couldn't, these disturbing scenes did add to the book and really helped the development of one of the characters by the end of everything. What really stuck out to me in this book was how D'Lacey gives readers the idea of what people can really turn to in times of need. The violence to keep themselves alive, looting to get whatever they can and hoarding things to keep longer. It is in simple terms a book about survival during the worst of times.
Though I was interested in things about this book, I just found that it couldn't really keep my attention. When my attention was grabbed at certain parts I wanted to put it down again within the next few pages because I couldn't handle what was happening. D'Lacey really knows how to give his readers chills and can really imagine a dark and twisted world, but for me, sadly, this book was not my cup of tea. I can definitely see readers enjoying it, I just found that it took too long to get into things (but it was great world-building). I do hope the second book answers many of the questions left behind after this book. I'm just not sure if it will be my thing.
I will start out this review by saying this book is an adult book, and definitely has some disturbing scenes in it. This book had a really intriguing premise to me, a modern fantasy set in two different times and following two different characters, both of whom have a journey they must take to save the world. The Crowman is the character that will save them all, but you never truly meet him in this book, there are many stories about him and no one truly knows what he is like. This is the first book and it definitely feels like that, D'Lacey takes his time in this book, setting up the world and the characters that readers will follow.
I found myself very confused in the beginning, there is a lot of back and forth between the two different times, but there was no indication of where in time I was reading, so I didn't know which child was in Black Dawn and which was in Bright Day. I did eventually begin to figure out where in time I was... (you really have to pay close attention to details to figure this out). This book takes it's time to get into a steady rhythm, and even then I found that it was slow going. This book is about getting to know the characters and what the world is like for each of them.
There were many times throughout my reading of this book that I was close to putting it down, there were quite a few scenes that disturbed me, and it would get worse in certain places. Though I wanted to put it down I couldn't, these disturbing scenes did add to the book and really helped the development of one of the characters by the end of everything. What really stuck out to me in this book was how D'Lacey gives readers the idea of what people can really turn to in times of need. The violence to keep themselves alive, looting to get whatever they can and hoarding things to keep longer. It is in simple terms a book about survival during the worst of times.
Though I was interested in things about this book, I just found that it couldn't really keep my attention. When my attention was grabbed at certain parts I wanted to put it down again within the next few pages because I couldn't handle what was happening. D'Lacey really knows how to give his readers chills and can really imagine a dark and twisted world, but for me, sadly, this book was not my cup of tea. I can definitely see readers enjoying it, I just found that it took too long to get into things (but it was great world-building). I do hope the second book answers many of the questions left behind after this book. I'm just not sure if it will be my thing.