A book that stands out is that that is written differently than others – it is not just the world building or characters that set it apart, it is the whole structure itself. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie is that kind of book for me – a fantasy that took me to a whole new world, reminding me of the first time I read Lord of the Rings. Take a quick look at the synopsis.
For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes.
But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.
It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo–aide to Mawat, the true Lease–arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven’s Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself…and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.
Content Notes: Violence to some degree.
Why I chose to read The Raven Tower
I requested a review copy of this book because of the breath-taking cover and the fantastic land. I feel like I am always looking for something different in fantasy and reading Crow Winter by Karen McBride with the Crow Demi-god has me curious about other representations of Gods.
Themes for Thought
The Raven Tower is a unique story in the realm of fantasy. It’s complicated and not a read that everyone will enjoy, but I absolutely loved the storytelling in second person and the complications of being a God. Narrated from the point of view of an Ancient God named The Strength and Patience of the Hill, The Raven Tower directly addresses Eolo, the companion to Mawat, who was supposed to be the next Raven’s Lease.
There are no chapters in this book – the story simply goes back and froth between the time The Strength and Patience of the Hill realized their existence and the present, where they are trapped under the Raven Tower. The raven is the one who is worshipped by the people of Iraden and the Ancient God explains how that came to be.
On Religion and Language
I have never thought about how people worship. Why do we believe in a higher power? What draws us to places which have an energy? When The Strength and Patience of the Hill tells us about the beginning and how people started to worship and leave gifts at their feet, they talk about why people keep coming back to the hill.
Many an interesting conversations take place between the two Ancient Gods – The Hill and Myriad. Discussing worshiping, they explain that priests train other priests in the hope that one day, one of them will be able to hear the God and converse with them in their language.
Related to language, in the world of The Raven Tower, what Gods say matters a lot – the ways a promise is phrased affects how much energy it would take the God to fulfill that promise and sometimes, it is not possible for the Gods to predict this in advance.
I thought also of those gods I’d seen in the time before humans had existed, who could not have possibly spoken a human language and yet had wielded great power. Could it be that language was not the source of the power, but one possible tool for using that power?
Ann Leckie in The Raven Tower
On the Mortality of Gods
At its heart, The Raven Tower is the history of Vastai and Ireden – how the Gods came to be, the powers they had, and how the Hill became trapped under a castle. A huge battle waged between the Gods of Ireden and Vastai when the Hill fought the Raven. Like I mentioned the power of promises and how they affect Gods, most did not survive because they used up everything they had – they did not realize the price that had to be paid.
Gods do not live forever, and we know this from our own world where civilzations collpase and knowledge about everything related to them disappears. When no one is left to rememeber a God, does it really exist?
Except, The Hill will tell you that they do exist – Gods exist before their worshipers. And Gods do not need worships to survive.
On The Raven’s Lease
The story of Mawat and Eolo are part of this history. Mawat was supposed to be the next Raven’s Lease when his father died, but his uncle took the throne from him. This brings up big questions like where is the Raven God? How could the Raven have let this happen? They had an agreement! And if the Raven doesn’t exist anymore or is too weak, who is the God protecting them all? Who is the god that will help them when war comes (and it is coming very fast)?
🎧 The Audiobook Experience
It is hard enough to read a book in one format, trying to tackle two at time is an altogether different experience. I did this with Salvaged as well where I listened to the audiobook and referred to the main text to mark quotes. The Raven Tower as an audiobook was a great experience because I learned how to say the names of the places as well as catch the accent of the people who were from other cities and just visiting Iraden in this time of turmoil. It made it more real and I could not have done that reading in my head.
The Raven Tower, towards the end (last 50 pages), is quite fast paced and I found myself closely missing snippets while trying to bookmark on my book. Talk about a scramble!
Overall, I loved this unique book. Yes, it wasn’t perfect and I had an epiphany about why Eolo was the focus of the story while writing this review, but it is a tale i would reread again. 🙂
** The Raven Tower is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Let’s have a book-discussion! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Many thanks to Hachette Group Canada for the review copy of this book.
Cover image: Photo by Linus Sandvide on Unsplash
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