Book Review: Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs

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jedimarri

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04:48pm Thu, Jul 15, 2010
Note: I've been writing book reviews on my blog (ajedismusings.blogspot.com) for a couple years now. I'm hoping to post them here as well! Here's today's :)


I first "met" the author Patricia Briggs through her Mercy Thompson series, a modern fantasy full of skin walkers, vampires, and werewolves. I instantly fell in love with her writing and her stories and I've been steadily working my way through her entire bibliography. Whereas the Mercy Thompson books take place in the modern world, "Raven's Shadow" is more of a traditional fantasy.

Seraph is a Raven mage, and a Traveler. The Travelers are similar to what we would think of as gypsies in many ways, but they have a legacy of magic that's been passed down from the days of the great wizards. These wizards gave them "orders," different magical talents, in an attempt to protect the world from great evil. Each order has different abilities and each is associated with a different bird.

Seraph, as a Raven mage, is sworn to protect those around her from evil, but when her entire family is killed she sets aside the Traveler ways for a time. Instead she settles down in marriage with a man named Tier, and unusual man who should not be capable of having the Travelers magic, but does anyway. They have a happy, if harsh, life. Content to work their farm and raise their three children. Content, that is, until Tier turns up missing or dead.

With Tier gone Seraph is forced to re-embrace her heritage as a Traveler, and to reveal to her children the extent that they have inherited the powers of her mother's people. Leaving her youngest behind, Serpah sets off with her two boys to try and find out what has happened with Tier, and to face the much darker forces that are stirring in the world.

 

 

Bunny

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I fixed your image code for you so you don't have to worry about it :D (LOL you removed it after I fixed it XD). With photobucket you need to use the "message board" or "bulletin board" code....or the direct link which you can use when you click the image button .

Images need to look like: [img]www.url2image.com/imagename.jpg[/img] (it can be any image type, not just JPG by the way).


Also, if you want a hand posting your blogs... you can http://www.creativeburrow.org/index.php?topic=516.0 there's currently 2 members using this, there was 3 but one closed their blog. We also use the system to get jobs and helping hand posts :).




Anyways :D. The series sounds interesting. Is there anything it's comparable to?

 

jedimarri

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Hmmm...trying to think of what it might be related too. I read so much fantasy that it's kinda all jumbled up in my head! It's has a pretty traditional fantasy feel to it though.

I'll go mess with the photo stuff some more - thanks :D

 

Bunny

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Have you read the Septimus Heap series? I forget who writes it let me google....

http://www.septimusheap.com/ (lol it has a url)
http://www.septimusheap.com/manuscriptorium/ (for the books)

It's basically old school stuff but it's pretty cool too. I've only read a little of it though.

 

jedimarri

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I tried doing the url thing and it's a total fail :P

 

Bunny

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LOL You need to put image tags around it =P. Like how I showed you in my post, there's a picture of the button there too.

Or just type [img] before it and [/img] after the url. Those are called tags :).

 

jedimarri

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Bunny (05:03pm Thu, Jul 15, 2010)
Have you read the Septimus Heap series? I forget who writes it let me google....

http://www.septimusheap.com/ (lol it has a url)
http://www.septimusheap.com/manuscriptorium/ (for the books)

It's basically old school stuff but it's pretty cool too. I've only read a little of it though.

No - I've never read those - I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever manage to work through my long list of books to read :P

 

jedimarri

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Yay! I finally got the hang of the pics :) Thanks for your help!

 

Bunny

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No worries :D. I'm glad you figured it out. It works that way on all SMF forums and most others too :D.

 

jedimarri

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Thanks :) No idea why it took me so long - usually I'm better at stuff than that :P

 

LtStorm

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Sounds interesting.  Not really my speed, but sort of interesting.

I'm guessing by "gypsy" you mean "mystical and exotic," rather than "universally reviled."  I think it'd actually find it more interesting if they were treated like the Rom actually are, including finding words like "gypsy" to be highly insulting.

 

Bunny

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I thought by gypsy she meant traveling wanderers. I can't find it now.

 

LtStorm

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Bunny (02:59pm Fri, Jul 16, 2010)
I thought by gypsy she meant traveling wanderers. I can't find it now.

Yes, that's what gypsies are.

'Gypsy' is a pejorative term for the Roma people, who likely came from Indo-Asia through Central Europe during the Middle Ages.  Much like the Jews and other groups that did not have a land to call their own, they were universally reviled and hated.  They still are; the Roma are alive and well in Europe, and there is still a lot of animosity and racism aimed at them.

It's a part of human nature that's been repeated over history many times; people who have no homeland, no knowledge of their place of origin are reviled.  It's lessened since modern transportation means people can easily and quickly be displaced far from their homes.  Even in America up through the 19th century there were the Pavees (called Travelers), mostly Irish immigrants who lived as nomads, and were hated for it.

Ever since we moved from our hunter-gatherer roots to agriculture, nomadism has been frowned upon, essentially. 

So having a version of the Roma, or Jews, or Pavees, or any other group that live as nomads in the Middle Ages, but not have them feared and reviled for what they are with no explanation why that is, is hard on the suspension of disbelief.

 

LtStorm

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And before anyone says, "Well, they're like gypsies, but magical, so they're okay," I want to note that magic and witchcraft are things that were attributed to the Roma, and part of why they were hated so.  Just like Jews were accused of poisoning wells and causing the Black Plague.

 

Bunny

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Yeah cause it couldnt be blood sucking fleas throwing up Yersinia pestis into your body could it?


Not sure why we hate nomads so much though.

 

LtStorm

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Bunny (08:49pm Fri, Jul 16, 2010)
Yeah cause it couldnt be blood sucking fleas throwing up Yersinia pestis into your body could it?

You realize they were about three hundred years away from even discovering the Germ Theory, right?  With the disease killing indiscriminantly and using a vector that was ubiquitous to all parts of their lives, they had absolutely no idea where it was coming from, and lots of hysteria arose out of it.

Bunny (08:49pm Fri, Jul 16, 2010)
Not sure why we hate nomads so much though.

Because in medieval times, where you came from was important.  It's why before the Plague Years no one had a surname; they were called John of Glasgow, or James of Burbary.  Wherever.  Because if you went to that town, you would find people that would vouch for that person, support them, and defend them.  If you had no land you came from, and wandered, it was assumed there was a reason for that.  Exile at the time was worse than death; it was torture socially, mentally, and physically.  It made you a pariah, it separated you from everyone you knew and loved, and it made sure you likely would never accomplish anything in your life again.

 

jedimarri

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The Travelers in this book do have a reputation similar to the gypsies. I think it's a pretty close model of gypsies actually. Down to the magic and fear and everything.

LtStorm - sounds like you know your history!

 

Bunny

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LtStorm (04:13am Sat, Jul 17, 2010)
Bunny (08:49pm Fri, Jul 16, 2010)
Yeah cause it couldnt be blood sucking fleas throwing up Yersinia pestis into your body could it?

You realize they were about three hundred years away from even discovering the Germ Theory, right?  With the disease killing indiscriminantly and using a vector that was ubiquitous to all parts of their lives, they had absolutely no idea where it was coming from, and lots of hysteria arose out of it.

Lol yeah, I was just being sarcastic :). I'm a fan of the plague so I was kinda being a jerk about it lol.

LtStorm (04:13am Sat, Jul 17, 2010)
Bunny (08:49pm Fri, Jul 16, 2010)
Not sure why we hate nomads so much though.

Because in medieval times, where you came from was important.  It's why before the Plague Years no one had a surname; they were called John of Glasgow, or James of Burbary.  Wherever.  Because if you went to that town, you would find people that would vouch for that person, support them, and defend them.  If you had no land you came from, and wandered, it was assumed there was a reason for that.  Exile at the time was worse than death; it was torture socially, mentally, and physically.  It made you a pariah, it separated you from everyone you knew and loved, and it made sure you likely would never accomplish anything in your life again.

Ahh I get you. It doesnt explain why it's still true today though.

jedimarri (09:07am Sat, Jul 17, 2010)
The Travelers in this book do have a reputation similar to the gypsies. I think it's a pretty close model of gypsies actually. Down to the magic and fear and everything.

LtStorm - sounds like you know your history!

Storm knows a lot about everything, it's what makes him him ;D.
And I like to learn from it cause it feeds my curiosity and then fuels it to go learn more =P

 

jedimarri

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Gotcha :P

 

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Ruthie (jedimarri) is a Storyteller who has made 798 posts since joining Creative Burrow on 11:40am Thu, Jul 15, 2010. jedimarri was invited by Merily.

About jedimarri
I love to create in many different forms. Writing is just one of those! I also make jewelry, crochet, knit, do cross-stitch, and I'm teaching myself to draw!

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Fantasy, memoirs, reviews, random things that strike my fancy

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