Crowfall

By: Ed McDonald

Narrated by: Colin Mace

In the third gritty installment of the Raven's Mark series, Blackwing Captain Ryhalt Galharrow finds that all power comes with a price...

A sorcerous cataclysm has hit the Range, the final defensive line between the republic and the immortal Deep Kings.

Tormenting red rains sweep the land, new monstrosities feed on fear in the darkness, and the power of the Nameless, the gods who protect the republic, lies broken. The Blackwing captains who serve them are being picked off one by one, and even immortals have learned what it means to die. Meanwhile, the Deep Kings have only grown stronger, and they are poised to deliver a blow that will finally end the war.

Ryhalt Galharrow stands apart from it all.

He has been deeper into the wasteland known as the Misery than ever before. It has grown within him--changed him--and now the ghosts of his past, formerly confined to the Misery, walk with him everywhere.

They will even follow him--and the few surviving Blackwing captains--on one final mission into the darkness.

Critic reviews

Praise for Crowfall

“This series has been truly magnificent from start to finish, and I am grateful for it.”— Peter McClean, author of Priest of Bones

Praise for Ravencry:

"Gripping fantastical drama…McDonald continues to build on the strengths that made Blackwing compelling: tense and violent action, genuinely disturbing settings and creatures, and bursts of morbid humor."—Publishers Weekly

“In Ravencry, McDonald has crafted a desolate world brimming with creativity and dark fantasy that tests the boundaries of faith and belief.”—Fantasy Book Review

“To say that Ravencry is a triumph would be to do it an injustice… Ed McDonald can't help but have you fall in love with the characters and get emotionally invested, only to see them tested in the most violent and torturous of ways.”—Out Of This World

Praise for Blackwing:

"Ed McDonald handles the action with a deft hand and has created a compelling central character who remains likeable despite a lengthy list of flaws. A remarkably assured fantasy debut that mixes the inventiveness of China Miéville with the fast-paced heroics of David Gemmell."--Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Empire of Ashes

"Original world-building and unforgettable characters make Blackwing a dark, powerful debut."--Brian Staveley, author of Skullsworn

"Blackwing is a bloody, gritty fantasy novel that manages not to sacrifice its heart. I love the world, which feels strange and lived-in, and the strength of the voice is fantastic. Fans of Glen Cook's The Black Company or Joe Abercrombie's The First Law series will be very happy with this one."--Django Wexler, author of The Infernal Battalion

Excellent wrap-up

Excellent wrap-up for Galharrow's story. As the march is on for the final battle, Ryhalt Galharrow fights his own battle for atonement of all the torment he has carried for so many years. He's an amazing character set in the perplexing setting of The Misery. I've enjoyed the memorable characters, creatures, and scenery of this totally unique world. Hope to hear more from Ed McDonald, and Colin Mace gave the perfect performance.

loved it

These books are very compelling and I can't help but love them. The story is wonderfully well written and the charecters are deep complex and flawed.

Good start. Great finish

There were slow parts, intentional, I think, but it worked out great in the end.

Excellent finale to the story

Without spoiling the story, I felt a great unraveling to the strings of the plot. Many things came together in what I found an exciting, and moving finale.

Fitting end to a great trilogy

I really liked this book and thought that it was a very fitting end to a great trilogy. Since this is the third book in a trilogy, I would highly recommend reading the first two books before jumping into this one. This book picks up some time after the events of the second book but Ryhalt and the rest of the characters have all undergone a lot of changes since we last saw them. I was hooked from the start and couldn’t wait to see where things would go as the book drew to a close.

Ryhalt has spent years in the Misery away from others. I absolutely loved the descriptions of the Misery with its hostile and ever-changing nature. The changes in Ryhalt were rather surprising and completely unexpected since he has lost a lot of his humanity. When he gets news that leads him from the Misery, things get intense very quickly. It isn’t long before he enlists the help of those that he has leaned upon in the past. The odds are stacked against the group as they head into the battle of their lives.

There was plenty of action and excitement in this book which kept me glued to the story. I love that I have come to expect the unexpected in this trilogy and that anything could happen at any given time. This is a dark gritty story that was oftentimes brutal. Things do not always go well for this group of characters. I thought that the parts of the story that occurred in the Misery were exceptional since the landscape added another layer of danger to the story.

I alternated between the digital book and audiobook when reading this novel. Colin Mace does a phenomenal job with this series. He does a great job in bringing Ryhalt to life and adds a lot of excitement and emotion to his reading. He has the perfect voice for this kind of story and would eagerly listen to his narration again in the future.

I do recommend this trilogy to others. I enjoyed this dark fantasy novel that was filled with great characters and a lot of excitement. I cannot wait to read more of this talented author’s work.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.