Goodreads Review: Raven's Shadow
Raven’s Shadow by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Raven’s Shadow presents an interesting cast of fantasy characters in its central family of magic-touched farmers. The heroes are middle-aged parents and spouses rather than single twenty-somethings, a unique choice an epic fantasy, but a wise one: it’s the relationship between Seraph and Tier that really carries the narrative. In fact, I found the novel’s first third, which is concerned with their earlier meeting and union, to be the most compelling part of the book.
Seraph, a Traveler, one of a dwindling race of mages in this fantasy world, is a saucy, sharp, and determined woman; her husband Tier is, in contrast, warm, easy-going, and good-natured. When Tier disappears, Seraph wastes no time in bundling up her adolescent children and taking them on an adventure across the countryside to save him.
Tier has an unfortunate number of Gary Stu qualities: he’s the only magically-gifted non-traveler, has a magically compelling voice and can tell when someone is lying. Though some of these traits are necessary for the development of the plot, it’s really too bad–they detract from what is otherwise a very believably written hero.
And unfortunate, as well, was the fact that I never really connected with two of their children, one of whom (the girl, of course) is forced to stay home through most of the story. The oldest, Jes, is well-written, but because of a magical affliction, a bit of an enigma; there’s really nothing to say about the others, as they were nearly wholly remarkable.
As was the book’s climax. Though I liked Tier and Seraph (and the Phoran, a lively secondary character), I never really felt any urgency as the final battle neared, never really felt any of the villain’s malice, never really felt like the stakes were terribly high. The final battle itself felt rushed–one supporting character was offed in a paragraph, and Briggs gave readers no chance to digest it. Hopefully, the second volume in the series gives us a more pressing reason to fear the “Stalker”; though they’re endearing, I don’t think Tier and Seraph are, alone, reason enough to read another book.
Phoebe
Phoebe is a 20-something writer who lives in New York State with her husband and cat. She is a dork, not a geek or a nerd.
Her debut novel, Starglass, will be released from Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers in Summer 2013.
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