Reviews for The City of Ravens

The average rating for The City of Ravens based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-01-13 00:00:00 Alvin Smart Skullduggery and dark doings, he thought. A dangerous prize and a lovely lady! Great fun, this. It is shared world fiction (one of my occasional guilty pleasures), so my expectations were aligned accordingly. However, this one still managed to surprise. It was an ominous-looking thing, with a silver skull embossed in the center and dire runes inscribed at each hasp. The title was stamped out in silver chasing: The Sarkonagael, or Secrets of the Shadewrights. When written right, the Forgotten Realms setting still offers a formidable helping of atmosphere. I suppose if you’ve never dabbled in D&D at least a bit, the appeal could potentially allude you, but this story is crafted competently enough for even casual fantasy readers to enjoy. The night's work demanded clothes that fit like a shadow over a grave. I found Jack Ravenwild to be an endearing protagonist, despite (or perhaps because of) his ambiguous nature. He is a rogue and a thief and a scoundrel, but he is pretty entertaining, and his Dread Delgath personality is nothing short of hilarious. "Come out, come out, little thief," the demon hissed. Its voice was thick oil poured over a hot stove. As you would expect from a Forgotten Realms novel, there is more than enough action. It’s presented quite well too. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of fighting sequences involving magic (the magic use in this novel is excellent throughout, Jack is pretty adept for a rogue class character, which may annoy purists. It is, of course, explained towards the end of the story.) Jack picked himself up and launched a deadly magical attack of his own, a pair of streaking force globes that hammered into the shadow and detonated with brutal force. Keeping track of the clues in the Game of Masks is quite a feat, but it adds another layer to the story. To be clear: there’s quite a lot going on in this book (Baker packs a lot of story into just a little more than 300 pages) and not everything is clearly connected other than the fact that the protagonist is involved in some way or the other. The wind screamed like something flayed alive as they dropped into the darkness. In conclusion: I found the story involving and very well paced, mostly because of the lively fashion in which the protagonist is portrayed. As a Forgotten Realms novel it succeeds in spades, but it can also be read in isolation. The weakest bit is the grand finale, where things inevitably get a bit OTT. 4 stars... because it was so much fun to read and because I still have a soft spot for the Forgotten Realms setting. "Dungeon delving is an occupation for those unfortunate souls who have demonstrated that they are too stupid, ill-tempered, or incompetently noble to hold down any honest job." Amen, brother.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-10 00:00:00 David Ayers I would have to say that this is probably one of my favorite Forgotten-Realms books. Baker did a great job with Jack Ravenwild, and even though Jack was an unsavory character I found myself hoping for his success. The book starts out with Jack running around accepting as many quests as can come his way. The author makes each one fun and exciting, with a mixture of investigation and intrigue. Soon most all of them go a-rye in some way and soon Jack is left to pick up the pieces and reap the rouge's dues. What appears at the beginning to be small plots turns out to be a city-wide coupe and only Jack and his unlikely friends are able to deal with the problem. City of Ravens is a great first read for anyone interested in delving into the world of the Forgotten-Realms. It has fun, mystery, and adventure. All the makings of a good fantasy.