Raven's Shadow Book One: Blood Song (Raven's Shadow) [Kindle Edition]

Anthony Ryan (Author)

Book Description

An epic fantasy exploring themes of conflict, loyalty and religious faith. Vaelin Al Sorna, Brother of the Sixth Order, has been trained from childhood to fight and kill in service to the Faith. He has earned many names and almost as many scars, acquiring an ugly dog and a bad-tempered horse in the process. Ensnared in an unjust war by a king possessed of either madness or genius, Vaelin seeks to answer the question that will decide the fate of the Realm: …who is the one who waits?

Blood Song is the first volume of Raven's Shadow - a new epic fantasy of war, intrigue and tested faith.

"Anthony Ryan is a new fantasy author destined to make his mark on the genre. His debut novel, Blood Song, certainly has it all: great coming of age tale, compelling character, and a fast-paced plot. If his first book is any indication of things to come, then all fantasy readers should rejoice as a new master storyteller has hit the scene." -- Michael J. Sullivan, author of The Riyria Revelations

"Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song is a tremendous debut; it has a fast paced, action packed and character driven story. Qualities to admire in any genre story and most of all in an epic fantasy." -- Fantasy Book Critic blog

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Just impossible to put down…I had to read it ASAP and to reread it immediately on finishing, as I could not part from the wonderful universe the author created.”—Fantasy Book Critic

“Anthony Ryan is a new fantasy author destined to make his mark on the genre. His debut novel, Blood Song, certainly has it all: great coming of age tale, compelling character, and a fast-paced plot. If his first book is any indication of things to come, then all fantasy readers should rejoice, as a new master storyteller has hit the scene.”—Michael J. Sullivan, author of the Riyria Revelations series

About the Author

Anthony Ryan was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven’s Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale.
 

Product Details

• File Size: 1054 KB
• Print Length: 592 pages
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0070NSPCU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,171 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #32 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Coming of Age

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 214 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WOAH!! March 15, 2012

By Se

Format:Kindle Edition

So I just spent the entire day (starting at 10:00 am and now it's 2:00 am) reading this book and it completely blew me away!! I'm not very good at writing comprehensive reviews, so I'll just highlight two things that I really loved about this book that I think is missing from a lot of other really good fantasy works (the ingredients that make it go beyond five stars).

1) I really hate the endless pages of self-loathing that many fantasy authors feel compelled to write whenever heroes need to kill. It's a very important point to carry across that killing, even in the name of "good", is sometimes necessary, but never without an incalculable price. Necessity cannot alchemize an evil act into something other. The heavy handed way in which this is usually done in fantasy fiction is when the hero rails ceaselessly against their own actions, decrying themselves as monsters, at which point they are embraced by some love interest who tells them that they are really a good person after all. It just always seemed to me that such self loathing is unbecoming in a hero since it's purely a selfish feeling that doesn't help anyone else. I can usually put up with this for like 20 pages but when it becomes a recurring theme, I get really annoyed. There's none of this in this book. I'm not sure exactly how the author managed to convey it, but there's a certain sense of dignity about Vaelin that tells you that he feels the weight of the lives he's taken without him resorting to whining (so he actually whines for about 2 paragraphs before he essentially gets slapped and told to stop feeling sorry for himself).

2) The author has a real gift for introducing plot details that take a while to understand (adding flavor to the story along the way) but which are satisfactorily resolved in the end (very few loose ends here). My favorite was the story of the "Witch's Bastard" which we are introduced to halfway in the book. At first, I had no idea what the story was supposed to mean in the context of the plot, but I think by the end, I could make a pretty good guess, and trying to interpret the story really allowed me to see everything that happened in a new light (very cool!).

Please, please get this book. It was absolutely awesome! Best fantasy I've read in the past five years.

86 of 96 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly written coming-of-age fantasy January 23, 2012

By Fate

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is in a class of its own. Engaging, fast-paced, an epic that doesn't bog you down with a hundred different point of views or side story arcs.

The story itself follows that of Vaelin Al Sorna, a scared young boy who grows up to be a natural born leader and strategist, feared and respected throughout the world. He reminded me of Inda from the Sherwood Smith books, destined from birth to be of great import to the realm, bonded to his brothers through shared hardships, denied satisfaction and relief to fulfill his duty. Cunning and intelligent, with enough compassion to walk the line between warrior and murderer, he fights with ruthless efficiency to make a difference, to try and do the right thing when all it seems his actions accomplish is more suffering, all the while battling his own inner demons and self-doubt. There are some strong themes present, of growing up and of lost innocence, of sacrifice and of betraying your morals and beliefs.

The structure of the book was reminiscent of "The Name of the Wind" in that it's told from the perspective of a scribe/historian chronicling the deeds of our protagonist as he narrates his tale in the present. This device does not detract from the story and break the immersion, rather it serves to set the scene for each consecutive portion of Vaelin's life, bringing the events that take place full circle; it does not in fact reveal the plot, but only adds to the suspense.

The world-building was solid. Never did I lack for any visual representation of the lands discussed, magical/religious/cultural systems mentioned, or felt confused about how things came to be.

The fact that this enormous tome could be purchased for the price of a soda astounds me. With such a high degree of writing and storytelling that kept me enraptured almost a full day and a half, I'd have expected it to have cost at least ten times as much and come with a number of literary awards attached. It really is one of those books I'll probably remember for the rest of my life.

42 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing April 5, 2012

By Anthony Shine

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

WOW, who is this guy and how come i have never read his work before? action, fantasy, and well crafted characters... by the end i was amazed. the longer i read the deeper it pulled me in, like following the lines of a simple well crafted form and discovering ever more intricacy and depth.

More About the Author

Anthony Ryan writes fantasy, science fiction and non-fiction. He works full time as a researcher, has a degree in history, and lives in London. For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: anthonystuff.wordpress.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#89 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#98 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#89 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#98 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy