3 out of 4 stars
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Ravenscar is a historical fiction novel by Morgan Malloy set in medieval times. Lord Kitrick Ravenscar arrives at the city of Rennick in the dark of night after an exhausting six-day ride. Entering the castle, he raps on the door of Wulfric Monfort, King of Gilard. Kit brings news to the king that Khale, leader of the barbaric Carcullion, having been bested by Kit in a battle at Varden, might seek to gain the throne of Gilard via non-military means. Gilarden laws state that, should Khale abduct and impregnate Monfort's niece Isabella, the Duchess of Kilver, their offspring would be the next rightful heirs to the throne, regardless of whether their union was consensual or forced. Kit suggests they retrieve Isabella at once and return her to Rennick to protect her from Khale and his men. The reluctant hero, having ridden for six painful days, agrees to retrieve Isabella at the king's request. Commander Dan Mannon and his men set out for Kilver ahead of Kit to allow him a short period to rest and regroup before riding there himself. However, Isabella does not wish to leave Kilver, where her dying mother has only weeks left to live. Can Kit convince her to go with him before Carcullion soldiers arrive at Kilver to abduct the future queen for their own king?
Malloy's descriptive writing was excellent from the start: "The rider hunched low over the neck of his horse, his cloak flaring out behind him like a pair of reptilian wings." His description of natural settings was also evocative: "Late autumn sunshine warmed the ivory front of the manor as the men approached, and cast long shadows across the well-tended, verdant gardens laid out around them." Likewise, his writing of romantic moments was elegant and warm: "Kit held her gaze, entranced by the way the light from the fire danced on the curve of her cheekbone and set alight her chestnut tresses with shards of gold." The prose was also appropriately old-fashioned at times, including phrases such as "sitting in the same aspect." The net result of this quality writing was a beautifully immersive world; I really felt as if I were in the castle of Rennick and later joining the Gilarden in their violent skirmishes against the Carcullions. The plot was engaging from the first chapter, with an urgent mission to retrieve the Duchess from Kilver for her own protection, and the reluctant hero, Kit, wishing he didn't have to do it himself; a real "Hero's Journey" moment.
The character-building in Ravenscar was also top-notch. Early in the book, two young stablehands became tearful when Kit told them that their father, who had gone to war with him, was safe and would be returning home shortly. Having given his life to the war effort, Kit realised he had no family to react this way to his own safe return. He was later humanised further by his shame that Lady Julia Orlock in Rennick, thanks to the intimacy they had once shared, had been awaiting his return to pursue a relationship with him when that wasn't really what he wanted. Character behaviour was always consistent with their emotional state, especially with significant events and personal tragedies. There were little twists at times when they behaved in ways I wasn't quite expecting, but it ultimately always made sense. Malloy described even the secondary characters deftly, their backgrounds developed just enough while maintaining the pace of the story. The book's stronger scenes had great emotional impact, too; I found myself experiencing real horror and dread with the characters. The author also handled the logistics of the large cast of characters well, the action scenes and twists plotted neatly.
Malloy wrote the romantic subplot elegantly, beginning with subtle thoughts and hints between the other scenes. The developing relationship was complex and difficult, yet they were still drawn to each other. Their burgeoning relationship and eventual love scene held both passion and tenderness. Also, there was great realism in the period settings and practices of swordcraft, care and riding of horses, and survival in the wild during long journeys. Malloy's attention to detail was admirable, such as how the servants readied a hot bath, which was difficult and time-consuming with no electricity and the need to boil the water first. Finally, there were powerful moments where Kit and his travelling party were under attack by the Carcullion and there seemed a chance even he, the hero, might not survive. The author put all of his characters in genuine physical jeopardy throughout the book, which definitely raised the level of tension for me.
As for negatives, I found only minor errors in punctuation and word choice, such as "wretch" for "retch," "tact" for "tack," and "complement" for "compliment." A few compound words were split in half unnecessarily such as "make shift" for "makeshift." There was occasionally also a missing word or an extra word not deleted during editing. Generally, however, the editing was excellent. Malloy did not follow the usual convention of adding quotation marks at the beginning of each new paragraph when a character spoke for multiple paragraphs, which was a little hard to follow when you usually see them. My only other minor gripe was the use of the phrase "numbing them to their very bones." To me, there is no difference between someone's bones and their "very bones." We already know that "to their bones" is as far as you can numb someone; there is no need to add "very." Many authors do this and I find it frustrating.
However, all of these negatives were extremely minor. Overall, I found Ravenscar an excellent read, thoroughly entertaining, with great characters, plenty of action and romance. With the issues above fixed, I would definitely rate it 4 stars. For now, I can only rate it 3 out of 4 stars. Whether you enjoy medieval fiction or fantasy writers such as Tolkien, I believe you will enjoy this book. The only difference between this and fantasy fiction is that, instead of elves, orcs, and trolls, it is just men and women. That distinction doesn't prevent Ravenscar from being an entertaining, action-packed, and emotional ride that is ultimately very rewarding.
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Ravenscar
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