The Wolf's Call (Raven's Blade Novel, A)

In 2015 a funny thing happened. Somehow I stumbled upon a little book named Blood Song by Anthony Ryan, a British author I hadn’t heard much about. Picking the book up I didn’t expect much out of it, believing it to be standard fantasy fare, hero is called, hero finds big sword, discovers he’s the chosen one gathers a band of brothers, kills the villain and saves the world. Ra Ra. However, with Blood Song, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I didn’t just love Blood Song, I adored it, rereading it as soon as I finished. What drew me to the book wasn’t the world-building, (though solid) or in particular the plot ( which could be termed a standard coming of age novel) no it was the characters all of which were extremely well written. However, one character stood above the rest, that being the main character Vaelin Al Sorna, one of my favorite characters ever to grace the written page. Unfortunately, the other two books in the series, Tower Lord and Queen of Fire couldn’t live up to the high bar set by Blood Song but with Ryan’s latest entry into the world created in his first novel, A Wolf’s Call, I have to say the author has rediscovered his mojo. The primary problem with Tower Lord and Queen of Fire can be summed up into one simple phrase, not enough Vaelin Al Sorna. Sure, Vaelin was a POV character in both novels, but until the climax, he was given very little to do in Tower Lord, his treatment going further downhill in Queen of Fire, a novel where he at best played a peripheral role. Blood song’s strength was that it was undeniably Vaelin’s story, the world-building, the characterization, the battle sequences all tailored to molding him into a fully fleshed character. That was all lost in the follow-ups, the plot dispersed for better or for worse across a myriad of POV characters to mixed effect, some more interesting and fleshed out than others. Paradoxically, by opening up his world, Ryan unintentionally watered down my favorite part of his saga, Vaelin. Well, I’m happy to report that’s all gone. Whether this was the plan or not, Ryan heard the criticism from the last two entries in his series and fixed the primary issue with this last two works. He got back to basics and gave us Vaelin Al Sorna. No longer are there any competing POV characters blundering from one uninteresting problem after another, gone are the pages upon pages of mystical and nonsensical mumbo jumbo that weighed down Vaelin’s POV in the previous works. Sure, this is a fantasy novel so there will be a touch of magic in it, I mean that is part of the fun, but Vaelin’s story this time around is no longer weighed down by the lore that turned one of my favorite characters into a bore. This is a story that mostly gets back to basics and boy is it good, the plot brushing over the events of the last two novels and focusing instead on two lingering plot points from Blood Song, the fate of Vaelin’s long lost love Sister Sherin and the Stonemason Ahm Lim. That these two never showed up again in Tower Lord and Queen of Fire surprised many including myself but that is all water under the bridge now. What follows is a tale of desire and regret, forgiveness and betrayal, a tale full of visceral combat with twists upending the reader’s expectations about what could and should happen. The last battle, in particular, is epic in every sense of the word and Ryan shows his writing chops, expertly playing on the readers’ expectations to deliver a climax that defies the expectations of longtime fans of the series. I literally thought one thing was going to happen only to have the opposite occur again and again. Well played sir. At the onset of the novel, Vaelin having returned from the ‘Liberation War’ in Queen of Fire is back in the North, firmly ensconced as the Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches of the Unified Realm. Though scarred by the war, Vaelin and his companions go about the thankless task of policing the Northern Reaches of the Realm while also ensuring the gold mines in the region are operating at peak efficiency for the benefit of the Queen. In the midst of ruling the realm, we run into quite a few old faces from the previous novels, all irrevocably changed by the war and the losses suffered therein. This is in keeping with a general theme in the entirety of Ryan’s work, the ugly and nasty nature of warfare, tearing apart the romanticism normally associated with war and instead highlighting the damage conflict inflicts on both the victors and the vanquished. All is seemingly ok until Vaelin receives word from a prisoner that his former love Sister Sherin is not only alive but is in danger in the west. Feeling a kinship and a responsibility for his former flame whom he sent away, Vaelin drops everything he is doing, gathers a motley crew of fellow adventurers and sets off on a journey to the Far West to save his former love. Ryan does a fairly decent job with the Worldbuilding in this novel, crafting a world centered around the challenges of a sedentary society in conflict with a people of the Steppe. The Merchant Kingdoms of the far west are based on China, the Ancient Middle Kingdom, whereas the Iron Horde the Stalhast are based on any number of Nomadic Steppe Peoples, be t the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, Turks or the dreaded Mongols. I found the change of setting refreshing, invigorating in fact and I always enjoy when fantasy authors drift out of the stuffy confines of medieval Europe to explore medieval China. In fact, if one summed up this novel as Vaelin goes to China in search of his lost love, that wouldn’t be entirely incorrect. That being said, the world-building though good is not perfect as the plot, being what it requires a fair bit of wandering as Ryan gets all his pieces in play. Unfortunately, this all proved to be a bit of a bore, but the story moves along quickly enough that it isn’t a major problem. Likewise, Ryan introduces several interesting concepts and characters only to criminally under use them as the story goes on. This, unfortunately, was a byproduct of the author’s laser-like focus on Vaelin, sacrificing the depth of his world for readers like me. I get it, but unfortunately, as a result, many of the characters and ideas presented in the novel are not as fully fleshed out as they could have been giving the impression at times that Ryan almost forgot about them, sprinkling them in every now and them just for good measure. For sure, Ryan introduces a lot of interesting characters, Chien, Shao Tsai, Kerran, etc but many of them disappear for lengths of time and we don’t really get to know them. For instance, in the final battle scene, I had to remind myself a few times who certain characters were and why they were even there in the first place which is not a good thing. Overall though, I found the world-building a strength, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the characterization outside of Vaelin and a few characters could have been stronger. The Villain of the story is also a plus in the work and I enjoyed learning more about him and the world he came from. If Blood Song was a coming of age story for our hero Vaelin, Wolf’s Call could be termed a coming of age story for its primary villain, Kehlbrand, a cunning, intelligent, megalomaniacal antagonist who drives the plot forward. Everything that occurs in this work is a result of his actions and our heroes reacting to him. Many may find Kehlbrand a sadistic brute, but I found him fascinating, a cautionary tale of what happens when the dream of a better way turns rotten. Perhaps Kehlbrand was always doomed to villainy given his early penchant for pride and narcissism, (he does craft a religion centered on himself after all), but a subtle argument throughout the work is whether it was power that ultimately corrupted Kehlbrand, or did his power simply give him an avenue to reveal his true nature. Who knows? Yet it is this question and Kehlbrand’s petty rivalry with Vaelin, the “Thief of Names”, that drives the narrative forward as Kehlbrand twists an entire people into his tool for destruction. Yet the star of the novel is our hero Vaelin Al Sorna. In the words of that wise philosopher, Wolverine, Vaelin is simply the best at what he does and what he does is not pretty. What draws me to Vaelin is his abject acceptance of who he is and what he has brought to the world. There is a line in the novel that is fairly self-aware, a line where Nortah, Vaelin’s sole surviving brother from his childhood order, comments that Destruction is their sole gift to the world. Vaelin in a self-aware moment overlooks the destruction and comments, yes, but salvation also. In short, this is a man who is simultaneously haunted by his bloody past yet he knows that his martial skill is the only gift he has to protect everyone and everything he cares for. This self-awareness is at the center of his conflict with his former love Sherin who despise Vaelin’s trade but gains a small acceptance of its necessity. The Wolf’s Call is a great return to form for Anthony Ryan. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait until the next book in the series. If the Tower Lord and Queen of Fire turned you off from this series, you can feel confident to take the plunge once again. Yes, The Wolf’s Call is that good. Enjoy!

I'm loving this series, sequel to the Raven's Shadow trilogy and a continuation of the story of Vaelin al Sorna in the ever-expanding world of Ryan's making. As with the other series, I give this a huge recommendation for fans of high fantasy. The first book in the Raven's Blade series, and the fourth book in the saga of Vaelin, finds Vaelin bristling at the inactivity in his role as Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches, as the peace that followed the conclusion of the war of the Unified Realm against the evil Volarian empire in the first series leaves him with little to do except hunt outlaws and criminals in the countryside around his Tower town. When an ambassadorial contingent from the Merchant Kingdoms of the Far West visits him requesting to establish trade relations and purchase the impressive war engines Vaelin's sister, Alornis, had devised in the first series in order to combat a threat from the northern steppes of their land, Vaelin initially rebuffs them, telling them his Queen has commanded that no foreign power be allowed to have such weapons. Shortly thereafter, though, the ambassador and his entourage are found slain in Vaelin's household, the culprit being one of the evil presences that plagued him in the original trilogy. This Messenger speaks of an even greater evil that is rising in the Far West, and that threat -- and the thought of reuniting with Sherin, his love from the very first book in the original series -- causes him to gather what few friends he could muster to sail to the Far West without the permission of Queen Lyrna, becoming embroiled in an unfamiliar culture, a maze of political machinations, and a new war, while also dealing with the fallout of Vaelin's last interactions with Sherin, which has left her seething with resentment. As always, Vaelin seems to create allies out of people who initially greet him as enemies (soldiers, members of the criminal underworld, convicts, an immortal or two, monks, and many others), and becomes an important part of the opposition to the Stallhast, a fierce horse-riding warrior army now led by what they claim is a living god intent on sweeping the world with his dark powers. As with the first trilogy, I couldn't put this book down. While I missed the other characters from that series (Frentis, Lyrna, Davoka, Reva, and the others who surrounded Vaelin in his previous efforts), it was nice to see that Vaelin was at least accompanied by Nortah, his fellow ex-brother of the Sixth Order, and Ellese, adopted daughter of Reva and a skilled archer and combatant in her own right, along with some new characters that quickly establish themselves as worthy replacements for the missing characters. The book is full of action, with many battle scenes of martial skill and magic, and is very interesting in its depiction of a new set of cultures that were only briefly mentioned in previous books (the Merchant Kingdoms, which kind of mimic Chinese and continental Asian cultures, and the Stallhast and other horse peoples of the northern steppes, which kind of mimic both Cossacks and Mongols). The threats that Vaelin faces are as dire as in the past, and perhaps even more problematic for the world, and the steps Vaelin has to take are increasingly perilous. The story flows well and is rich in description as well as action, and I enjoyed it immensely. I had similar grammarian issues with this book as with Ryan's previous entries. He seems to use or misuse commas as the catch-all punctuation when others are more appropriate. He uses "inclined his head" EVERY SINGLE TIME to mean "nod, indicated, leaned, bowed," etc. There was some pronoun confusion ("left each man on their knees," when "each man" is always singular) and some syntax errors ("a junction between five streets," when "between" always means "in the middle of two," and "in the middle of more than two" requires "among"). So, as with the others in the first trilogy, what is a 5-star story gets knocked down to 4 (but really 4.5). But otherwise it's well-written and -edited, and I spent a couple of free days reading this as many hours of the day as I could, and only occasionally cringed at the now familiar comma issues. I love the stories Ryan has crafted for the world of this book and its predecessors, so I give this a hearty recommendation for fans of high fantasy books.

I thought this was a great addition to Vaelin’s story. If you enjoyed Tower Lord and Queen of Fire than you will most likely love this book. Now having said that, it is probably most alike to Blood Song than any other in the series because it only focuses on Vaelin as the main character but no book in the series can be similar to Blood Song because Vaelin can only grow up once. Where book 1 spans about 15 years, books 2,3 and 4 all take place in a few months time. This book is very different from what I expected but that is in no way a bad thing. As always, there is loads of bloody action and violence. It is very interesting to see where many of the characters are at both emotionally and physically after the events of Queen of Fire. It is much shorter than the other books in the series but I don’t consider this a bad thing because Anthony Ryan doesn’t waste time. There is never any use of verbose and the plot never slows its fast pace. The Raven’s Shadow trilogy is my second favorite fantasy series that I have ever read and I couldn’t have been happier with The Wolf’s Call. This is quite a relief because I had been counting down the days for months for the release date and each day my expectations rose higher, expectations this book met and exceeded. Thank you Anthony Ryan for the incredible adventures. I cannot wait for part two.

The Wolf's Call is a fabulous read that keeps the reader engaged. Especially so, if you were a fan of his Raven's Shadow series. The Wolf's Call continues Vaelin al Sorna's journey in life and I for one am glad that he has continued this story. As usual Anthony Ryan continues to build a vibrant and saturated world. This time, Vaelin al Sorna is taken across the seas to the Far West. It's a strange, strict and captivating land. For those of you who are familiar with Japanese culture from the feudal era you will see those influences within this fictional land all over the place. It's not just Japan, you get China and even the Mongolian people's cultures mixed in! It makes for a fantastic and enthralling read. We find that Vaelin gets wrapped up into another war because he went to find and save his first love. He doesn't have the use of the Blood Song anymore but he does what he has to. He meets new and dangerous people with strange and wondrous customs. He is also reunited with an old friend. The ending has a twist that I actually did NOT see coming and I loved that. I highly recommend reading The Wolf's Call. If you loved the Raven's Shadow Trilogy then you really should read this book. I cannot wait for the second installment for this series, so I am headed to Amazon to snatch it up!

Blood Song is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. While Tower Lord and Queen of Fire are decent fantasy stories in their own right, I believe they fell short of the magic that is/was Blood Song. With The Wolf’s Call, I finally felt like I was reading about Vaelin again. Like Blood Song, it is written solely from Vaelin’s POV, instead of multiple characters. In addition, it recaptured some of the camaraderie (with Nortah) that was so special between Vaelin and his brothers in Blood Song. (Slight spoilers ahead) Although Vaelin’s reunion with Sherin was not quite what I thought it would be, his conversation with the Messenger and discussion of Barkus was very satisfying. I absolutely recommend this book for fans of the series. Even if you felt like Tower Lord and Queen of Fire were a far cry from Blood Song, I would encourage you to give The Wolf’s Call a shot. I think you’ll be pleased. Oh yeah - the last lines in the book will leave you extremely excited for the next one! Well done, Mr. Ryan!

Another very well written chapter of Vaelen’s saga. Old friends reunited and new friends well met along an epic journey.

Ryan delivers another great chapter in the Fire Queens world. New bad guys, same kind of problem, death is not the end for some, some rocks shouldn't be touched, death or magical powers a gamble that most cant resist. I loved how a world building story told about the otherside of the world had such a big roll to play. The jade princess story tickled my brain for several chapters before I really registered its source. Very sneaky way to give this new story depth. I hope to read more. Well done. Very enjoyable and highly entertaining. This story caused some serious soul searching cant wait to read more.

I found the Wolf's Call a page turner. The beginning was a tad slow and methodical. But this was necessary for world building and character development. It complimented the plot and theme. Overall, this was a great start to the new Raven's Blade series. I recommend The Wolf's Call to most sorcery and sword fantasy readers. It would make a great holiday stocking stuffer. Please be advised that there is a great deal of violence ( which I love ) and minimal sexual innuendo ( which I hate ) so it may not be suitable for young tweens. I look forward to the next book in the Raven's Blade series.

(THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW) Anthony Ryan's hugely popular "Ravens Shadow" trilogy spanned three books - Blood Song (Book 1), Tower Lord (Book 2) and Queen of Fire (Book 3) - all of which are excellent reads, particularly Blood Song, and the trilogy "officially" ends at the finale of Queen of Fire. Although this book "The Wolf's Call" and the follow up "The Black Song" are a stand alone duology and separate stories in their own right, they are essentially Books 4 and 5 of the Ravens Shadow trilogy and take place a few years after the closing events at the end of Queen of Fire. Many of the characters, including the main character Vaelin Al Sorna in Raven's Shadow, are in or referred to in The Wolf's Call and it's great to see how they have developed - or regressed in some cases. The world building is very similar, although the events in these books mainly take place in the Far West - a region not visited in Raven's Shadow - but in the same world. The best way to describe it would probably be an equivalent to feudal Japan, which is broken down into several merchant kingdoms. These kingdoms come under a substantial threat from the "Stalhaast" host from the frozen North, whom you could liken to the Mongols or perhaps mounted Vikings - fierce warriors and utterly ruthless, being led by one of their clan chiefs who has professed himself as a living god, whose sole ambition is to conquer and rule all of the Merchant Kingdoms - at any cost. In a nutshell, the story focuses on Vaelin Al Sorna finding out about this, trying to stop this, and what happens when he tries to do so. Being firmly aimed at adult readers, It's a fast paced read with good dialogue and prose, and the action sequences are first class - visceral, bloody and hugely violent. There are parts which are also very dark and sinister which I personally really like, but might not be for everyone. There is also "magic" which is referred to as "the dark" but forget any Harry Potter type of wand waving - the dark is a lethal weapon used to devastating effect by those who wield it, and often with a harrowing or sinister edge. The book also ends on one of the best nail-biting cliff-hangers I have read for a long, long time, and will have you panting to start the second book immediately (which I did!!) In summary, if you are new to Anthony Ryan these are great books and can be read on their own merit without any prior knowledge or reading of his previous work. With that being said, you will definitely have a greater depth to the characters by knowing their back stories and why they are like who they are if you've read Raven's Shadow - either is fine, having read the preceding trilogy will certainly enhance these books, but likewise isn't essential by any means. A great read for newcomers and existing fans alike - dive right in, you won't be disappointed if you love adult fantasy novels.

Can't wait for the next book. Will be listening to all 4 again in preparation. Perfect series, excellent, author and narrator.

Enjoyable

...is still Vaelin, now with a few more backaches than in his younger years. I enjoyed this book very much, having read the previous trilogy twice within a relatively short period of time. That said, my memory of the characters and events of the latter was still quite fresh, and I am not sure how much I would have enjoyed the Wolf's Call without that background knowledge. If you are not familiar with the Raven's Shadow trilogy, I can only recommend starting with the Blood Song before considering the current book.

Para quem leu a trilogia anterior, essa é uma ótima leitura. Muito interessante saber o que aconteceu com a vida de Al Sorna ao desistir da sua canção e destruir a pedra.