A review by aquahogcodes
The Unkindness of Ravens, by Abra Staffin-Wiebe
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free, digital copy of The Unkindness of Ravens, in exchange for an honest review.
Fantasy is my go-to genre, as I've said time and again. And these days it seems that most new stories are focused on fae characters. So the magical world and characters in The Unkindness of Ravens are a welcome breach in the trend. The world building is close to reality and many words in terms of language and currency appear to be borrowed from indigenous regions of Africa and Middle East (to the best of my knowledge). In my opinion this makes the story more appealing especially to a wider, more diverse range of readers, however I did not see this discussed on any sites that I used to read up on the author and book premise before-hand and discovered it on my own upon reading the book. I feel that it is important to mention this here because it might increase the chances of a reader picking the book up as a potential read if they know their culture or values have been referenced (I certainly would be interested!).
The story is set in a country where the people are divided into Eight Houses ruled over by their individual gods; Crow, Raven, Horse, Hyena, Viper, Fox, Rat and Locust. Each house has further subsets called Bands and the members are marked with a tattoo on their right hand. Those who are unmarked are called Scorned; they are considered unpure and unfavored by the gods and are thus shunned in society {very reminiscent of lepers}. An Oba (ruler) is chosen from one of the houses during a brutal succession process between the royal heirs and then presides over all houses. The book follows the royal heir of House Crow, Anari, at the time of the death of the last Oba. Anari has decided to renounce his claim to enter the succession process for Oba however an assassination attempt sets into motion events that result in Anari going into hiding. He decides to use the battlefield as his cover. This is due to a war that his country has been fighting with another, whom they call as Infidels (as they do not share their gods). There, he suffers great loss which results in Lord Crow owing him a favor. This upsets Anari greatly as Lord Crow has never shown him any favor before this and now the trickster god owes him a debt; Anari must be careful how to use this, so he can achieve his goals without angering the god he owes everything to.
The writing is smooth and straight forward. I found the descriptions vivid without being overbearing and the characters well-rounded. They appear unique and the dialogue is simple and friendly enough to engage the reader and make it appear as though you've been familiar with these characters for a while. Some details take a little time to unfurl. In the beginning I would be unclear on minor points such as the hierarchy of the country, who were the Scorned, why they were shunned, why the war was being fought etc but all was explained in due time, and I was definitely intrigued enough to stick around and find out. Anari seems immature and annoying in the beginning (which are not traits I like to see in my main characters) but I believe that this may have been deliberate on the part of the writer as the story shows the extension and growth of his character through his thoughts and actions and by the end he certainly redeems himself as the sacrificing, noble hero that fantasies entail, while still being appropriately flawed and human. I definitely appreciated the exploration of his relationships with other characters (Kayin, his mother, Romesh and Rasee & her family).
One of my favourite things was how monumental his suffering at the battlefield was because usually in these scenarios the character suffers a minor inconvenience and is then saved by a new character and this is considered enough to be contributing to the plot but here the damage is severe and truly instrumental to the outcome of Anari's journey. Furthermore, the language used is raw and jarring which helps deliver the full effects of his ordeal. The book itself is a short read and this makes it great for some light reading without the commitment of a full series.
Overall, the narrative stands out and the conclusion leaves room for the story to continue (even perhaps from the point of view of other characters). If that were the case, I would certainly love to read it and hope to obtain a physical copy of this one when it is published.
Fantasy is my go-to genre, as I've said time and again. And these days it seems that most new stories are focused on fae characters. So the magical world and characters in The Unkindness of Ravens are a welcome breach in the trend. The world building is close to reality and many words in terms of language and currency appear to be borrowed from indigenous regions of Africa and Middle East (to the best of my knowledge). In my opinion this makes the story more appealing especially to a wider, more diverse range of readers, however I did not see this discussed on any sites that I used to read up on the author and book premise before-hand and discovered it on my own upon reading the book. I feel that it is important to mention this here because it might increase the chances of a reader picking the book up as a potential read if they know their culture or values have been referenced (I certainly would be interested!).
The story is set in a country where the people are divided into Eight Houses ruled over by their individual gods; Crow, Raven, Horse, Hyena, Viper, Fox, Rat and Locust. Each house has further subsets called Bands and the members are marked with a tattoo on their right hand. Those who are unmarked are called Scorned; they are considered unpure and unfavored by the gods and are thus shunned in society {very reminiscent of lepers}. An Oba (ruler) is chosen from one of the houses during a brutal succession process between the royal heirs and then presides over all houses. The book follows the royal heir of House Crow, Anari, at the time of the death of the last Oba. Anari has decided to renounce his claim to enter the succession process for Oba however an assassination attempt sets into motion events that result in Anari going into hiding. He decides to use the battlefield as his cover. This is due to a war that his country has been fighting with another, whom they call as Infidels (as they do not share their gods). There, he suffers great loss which results in Lord Crow owing him a favor. This upsets Anari greatly as Lord Crow has never shown him any favor before this and now the trickster god owes him a debt; Anari must be careful how to use this, so he can achieve his goals without angering the god he owes everything to.
The writing is smooth and straight forward. I found the descriptions vivid without being overbearing and the characters well-rounded. They appear unique and the dialogue is simple and friendly enough to engage the reader and make it appear as though you've been familiar with these characters for a while. Some details take a little time to unfurl. In the beginning I would be unclear on minor points such as the hierarchy of the country, who were the Scorned, why they were shunned, why the war was being fought etc but all was explained in due time, and I was definitely intrigued enough to stick around and find out. Anari seems immature and annoying in the beginning (which are not traits I like to see in my main characters) but I believe that this may have been deliberate on the part of the writer as the story shows the extension and growth of his character through his thoughts and actions and by the end he certainly redeems himself as the sacrificing, noble hero that fantasies entail, while still being appropriately flawed and human. I definitely appreciated the exploration of his relationships with other characters (Kayin, his mother, Romesh and Rasee & her family).
One of my favourite things was how monumental his suffering at the battlefield was because usually in these scenarios the character suffers a minor inconvenience and is then saved by a new character and this is considered enough to be contributing to the plot but here the damage is severe and truly instrumental to the outcome of Anari's journey. Furthermore, the language used is raw and jarring which helps deliver the full effects of his ordeal. The book itself is a short read and this makes it great for some light reading without the commitment of a full series.
Overall, the narrative stands out and the conclusion leaves room for the story to continue (even perhaps from the point of view of other characters). If that were the case, I would certainly love to read it and hope to obtain a physical copy of this one when it is published.