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moirwyn's review against another edition
4.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/09/03/the-book-of-the-crowman-by-joseph-dlacey/
The Book of the Crowman is the second book in Joseph D’Lacey’s Black Dawn series, an ecological post-apocalyptic horror story about what happens when mankind stops respecting the Earth and the land itself begins to fight back.
The story is told from the perspectives of two different characters, representing both the future and the past. Megan is a young girl (around the age of puberty) who is training to be a Keeper. Keepers are responsible for protecting the balance between the people and the land, and for remembering the forces that almost destroyed the world. Megan’s journeys are mostly spiritual as she learns through various dreamlike experiences what happened to Gordon Black. Gordon lived during the time of the environmental apocalypse, and he’s on a mission to find the Crowman, a creature of legend who represents both death and new beginnings. During his travels, Gordon must fight the Ward, an organization that’s become machine-like in its efficiency and represents the destructive forces of totalitarianism. The Ward are inherently unsustainable, because they don’t have enough of a relationship with the land to even grow their own food, but they have grown powerful because they took all the guns/machinery/technology when the apocalypse occurred. Even though we know that the Ward won’t be able to last, the question remains whether there will be anything else left of humanity by the time that they fall apart. Fighting the Ward are the Green Men, who remind me a bit of Robin Hood. The Green Men live off the land and engage in small acts of guerrilla warfare, but they don’t have the kind of weapons or organization that they’d need to be able to confront the Ward head on and survive. They’re a remnant of humanity, and if Gordon finds the Crowman, he knows that he can give the Green Men a chance at a future.
The Book of the Crowman is much more allegorical than the first book in the series. Gordon Black emerges as a Christ figure whose journey and sacrifices give mankind the hope of a better future. I could go on about the parallels, but that would veer into serious spoilers. Suffice to say that Gordon is clearly a Jesus figure, but less passive. Gordon fights the Ward and isn’t afraid to kill for what he believes in. There are occasions where he’ll risk his own life to try to save someone from harm, and he will give bad people what they deserve. There’s also less of a hangup about sex. On a deeper level, the Crowman’s message is to be aware of both the light and dark sides of humanity and to maintain a balance with the world. You can’t pretend that the darker parts of human nature don’t exist, but you can acknowledge them and channel them in ways that are less destructive. Even though the book has a very clear message, it doesn’t come off as preachy or patronizing. You know what the author wants you to get out of the story, but the story itself is compelling.
Many of the scenes in The Book of the Crowman are quite brutal. There are scenes involving disease, cannibalism, and disembowelment, all in graphic detail (you might not want to read The Book of the Crowman while or immediately before eating). These scenes serve as a reminder of just how bad the Ward is and what mankind is capable of in times of desperation. These scenes are contrasted with Megan’s own time, where for the most part, life is relatively peaceful. Megan lives in a small village in an agrarian society that remains in touch with nature. By contrasting Megan’s world with Gordon’s, we can see both the good and the bad that mankind is capable of and the importance of maintaining a relationship with nature.
Overall, I was quite pleased with this duology. It’s a harsh depiction of what can happen if mankind goes too far, and yet it’s also filled with hope for a brighter day. It’s worth a read.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/09/03/the-book-of-the-crowman-by-joseph-dlacey/
The Book of the Crowman is the second book in Joseph D’Lacey’s Black Dawn series, an ecological post-apocalyptic horror story about what happens when mankind stops respecting the Earth and the land itself begins to fight back.
The story is told from the perspectives of two different characters, representing both the future and the past. Megan is a young girl (around the age of puberty) who is training to be a Keeper. Keepers are responsible for protecting the balance between the people and the land, and for remembering the forces that almost destroyed the world. Megan’s journeys are mostly spiritual as she learns through various dreamlike experiences what happened to Gordon Black. Gordon lived during the time of the environmental apocalypse, and he’s on a mission to find the Crowman, a creature of legend who represents both death and new beginnings. During his travels, Gordon must fight the Ward, an organization that’s become machine-like in its efficiency and represents the destructive forces of totalitarianism. The Ward are inherently unsustainable, because they don’t have enough of a relationship with the land to even grow their own food, but they have grown powerful because they took all the guns/machinery/technology when the apocalypse occurred. Even though we know that the Ward won’t be able to last, the question remains whether there will be anything else left of humanity by the time that they fall apart. Fighting the Ward are the Green Men, who remind me a bit of Robin Hood. The Green Men live off the land and engage in small acts of guerrilla warfare, but they don’t have the kind of weapons or organization that they’d need to be able to confront the Ward head on and survive. They’re a remnant of humanity, and if Gordon finds the Crowman, he knows that he can give the Green Men a chance at a future.
The Book of the Crowman is much more allegorical than the first book in the series. Gordon Black emerges as a Christ figure whose journey and sacrifices give mankind the hope of a better future. I could go on about the parallels, but that would veer into serious spoilers. Suffice to say that Gordon is clearly a Jesus figure, but less passive. Gordon fights the Ward and isn’t afraid to kill for what he believes in. There are occasions where he’ll risk his own life to try to save someone from harm, and he will give bad people what they deserve. There’s also less of a hangup about sex. On a deeper level, the Crowman’s message is to be aware of both the light and dark sides of humanity and to maintain a balance with the world. You can’t pretend that the darker parts of human nature don’t exist, but you can acknowledge them and channel them in ways that are less destructive. Even though the book has a very clear message, it doesn’t come off as preachy or patronizing. You know what the author wants you to get out of the story, but the story itself is compelling.
Many of the scenes in The Book of the Crowman are quite brutal. There are scenes involving disease, cannibalism, and disembowelment, all in graphic detail (you might not want to read The Book of the Crowman while or immediately before eating). These scenes serve as a reminder of just how bad the Ward is and what mankind is capable of in times of desperation. These scenes are contrasted with Megan’s own time, where for the most part, life is relatively peaceful. Megan lives in a small village in an agrarian society that remains in touch with nature. By contrasting Megan’s world with Gordon’s, we can see both the good and the bad that mankind is capable of and the importance of maintaining a relationship with nature.
Overall, I was quite pleased with this duology. It’s a harsh depiction of what can happen if mankind goes too far, and yet it’s also filled with hope for a brighter day. It’s worth a read.
thegirlellie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I wanted to like this I really di but honestly it was such a let down
ctgt's review against another edition
3.0
When there was no law, when nothing beyond survival seemed to matter any more, there was a savage logic in violence and ruination. He half understood their feelings:
If this is the end, then bring it on....
But what if , as Gordon still believed, it wasn't the end? Wasn't it worth trying to keep the world alive, to maintain the simple trust that one person would neither harm another nor take from them just because there was no one to punish their actions. Surely, such trust was a Natural law, part of the order of the universe.
I really enjoyed the first book of this duology, the whole idea of Mother Earth getting fed up and wreaking havoc was unique in my reading experience. While I liked the ending(altough it was pretty obvious how it would end) the first half of this book seemed to flounder. Just like the first book, the story jumps between Gordon(past) and Megan(future-through the weave) and there are some moments in the first half where their characters become linked which did move the story forward but these were just too few and far between for my taste. As I think back, if this had been condensed to one volume this would have been a great story.
There are many spiritual and religious overtones concerning faith and belief throughout the story,
You must learn to have faith in me. For that to happen, I need to go away for a while. Remove myself from your sight. You must find me in other ways, in the whisper of the wind when it makes tongues of the branches, in the darting of the wren after she catches your eye, in the way the light shatters when it touches the river. You must watch for me a while and listen for me a while and I must not be there except in spirit. Do you see? (Crowman speaking to Megan)
You had to come this way; do the things you've done. And you had to come to the end of your faith. You did stop believing, Gordon. That's why you're hiding in here, crying to yourself like you've never cried before. The search had to lead you nowhere and the burden of it had to break you before I could appear. Do you understand?(Crowman to Gordon)
Except for the one of the final scenes, the majority of the spiritual ideas in the book take on more of a pantheist outlook.
Overall an interesting take on the dystopian tale, but for me came up a bit short in it's execution.
If this is the end, then bring it on....
But what if , as Gordon still believed, it wasn't the end? Wasn't it worth trying to keep the world alive, to maintain the simple trust that one person would neither harm another nor take from them just because there was no one to punish their actions. Surely, such trust was a Natural law, part of the order of the universe.
I really enjoyed the first book of this duology, the whole idea of Mother Earth getting fed up and wreaking havoc was unique in my reading experience. While I liked the ending(altough it was pretty obvious how it would end) the first half of this book seemed to flounder. Just like the first book, the story jumps between Gordon(past) and Megan(future-through the weave) and there are some moments in the first half where their characters become linked which did move the story forward but these were just too few and far between for my taste. As I think back, if this had been condensed to one volume this would have been a great story.
There are many spiritual and religious overtones concerning faith and belief throughout the story,
You must learn to have faith in me. For that to happen, I need to go away for a while. Remove myself from your sight. You must find me in other ways, in the whisper of the wind when it makes tongues of the branches, in the darting of the wren after she catches your eye, in the way the light shatters when it touches the river. You must watch for me a while and listen for me a while and I must not be there except in spirit. Do you see? (Crowman speaking to Megan)
You had to come this way; do the things you've done. And you had to come to the end of your faith. You did stop believing, Gordon. That's why you're hiding in here, crying to yourself like you've never cried before. The search had to lead you nowhere and the burden of it had to break you before I could appear. Do you understand?(Crowman to Gordon)
Except for the one of the final scenes, the majority of the spiritual ideas in the book take on more of a pantheist outlook.
Overall an interesting take on the dystopian tale, but for me came up a bit short in it's execution.
strangecurrencies's review against another edition
4.0
The Book of the Crowman is the continuation of the post-apocalyptic series The Black Dawn by British author Joseph D’Lacey, which was begun in Black Feathers. The Book of the Crowman is a fascinating and engaging story that continues the seamless integration of multiple genres and styles that so interested me in the first volume. I was really looking forward to the release of this book, and was not at all disappointed.
Read the full review at Strange Currencies
https://strangecurrencies.org/2016/08/23/review-of-the-book-of-the-crowman-by-joseph-dlacey/
Read the full review at Strange Currencies
https://strangecurrencies.org/2016/08/23/review-of-the-book-of-the-crowman-by-joseph-dlacey/
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