The Black Song
Ratings13
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings13
Average rating4.2
The Black Song is the action-packed conclusion to the Raven's Blade series by Anthony Ryan, which began with The Wolf's Call. The Steel Horde has laid waste to the Venerable Kingdom, unleashing a storm of fire and blood. Now the leader of this mighty host - Kehlbrand, the warlord who thinks himself a god - turns his eyes to the other merchant kingdoms. No one can stop his divine conquest. No one, perhaps, except Vaelin Al Sorna. Yet Vaelin is on the run, his own army in disarray. Worse, the new blood song he has acquired is as much a curse as a blessing, and seeks to guide him down a path far darker than he could have imagined . . . Praise for the series 'Robin Hobb meets Joe Abercrombie . . . This is fantasy with a totally legendary feel' Fantasy Book Review 'The Wolf's Call is everything a fantasy fan could ever wish for' Booknest 'Anthony Ryan's best work since the release of his incredible debut . . . fantastic storytelling' Novel Notions Books by Anthony Ryan: Raven's Shadow Blood Song Tower Lord Queen of Fire Raven's Blade The Wolf's Call The Black Song Draconis Memoria The Waking Fire The Legion of Flame The Empire of Ashes The Covenant of Steel The Pariah
Featured Series
2 primary booksRaven's Blade is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Anthony Ryan.
Reviews with the most likes.
Executive Summary: I struggled with this one at times and enjoyed it at others. I thought it was a fine conclusion to the duology but not as enjoyable for me as [b:The Wolf's Call 41021418 The Wolf's Call (Raven's Blade #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551413903l/41021418.SY75.jpg 64015574].Audiobook: Steven Brand once again does a fantastic job. He does some voices and just generally does a good job with cadence and volume. His excellent narration made it easier to get through the parts I found slow. I think the audio is an excellent option for this book/series.Full Review[b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922] and [b:Tower Lord 18138189 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382486392l/18138189.SX50.jpg 25481154] are among my favorite fantasy books. However I struggled with [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753].When [b:The Wolf's Call 41021418 The Wolf's Call (Raven's Blade #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551413903l/41021418.SY75.jpg 64015574] came out I had been a bit dubious. I enjoyed that one more than [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753] and was looking forward to see if he'd do a better job with the ending for this series.My opinions are a bit mixed. I probably liked this ending better, but not by much. I found myself just sort of eager to see it all wrapped up, and not terribly interested in any of the battles.As someone who loves the magic school trope, I was pretty excited by the temple at first, but inevitably found that segment mostly unsatisfying.2020 was a tough reading year for me. So far 2021 isn't shaping up to be much better. It's quite possible I just wasn't in the right mood for this book, but I think this is mostly another case of not being able to recapture the magic of those first two books.
