My Five Word TL:DR Review: Grim, Dark, Bloody and Twisted

I’m always excited to pick up a new Mark Lawrence book and not only did Daughter of Crows sound very intriguing it also looked amazing. I know, just saying. Anyway, I think having read this author since his first book, Prince of Thorns, I have a good deal of trust in his ability to weave a tale. Not only is he a superb wordsmith, his books are always clever and they all require a degree of patience because the big picture is always of paramount importance. There are light bulb moments where everything suddenly clicks into place – and I must say it’s a cunning element of his storytelling because it makes you feel like you’ve uncovered something, and I can’t speak for anyone else but you have this little moment of triumph because you think you’ve cracked the secret – invariably things will change and you’ll realise that no, you haven’t in fact cracked it at all but for that little moment you feel like a mastermind.

To be fair I don’t really think, or want, to share too much with you about the story. In a nutshell this is about one woman seeking retribution for the seemingly mindless destruction of her peaceful life. What makes this more unique than it first appears is that the woman in question, a former assassin of the Academy of Kindness, is now retired and enjoying her dotage in a quiet village, where she’s even managed to make friends.

What I really enjoyed about this.

Firstly, the writing. Lawrence has some writing chops and I think he could probably make a set of instructions about how to build a wardrobe seem compelling. I thoroughly enjoy reading his books because his words, more to the point the way he arranges them, makes me happy to be a reader.

Secondly, as I already mentioned there’s always a bigger picture with any of his stories. It’s like you have to pan out, and then pan out some more, so that you can eventually see all the links – and then he throws in some more surprises and you’re back to panning out some more.

Thirdly, three timelines. I always enjoy books with multiple povs and this is no exception. Of course there’s always the risk that you will enjoy one of those threads more than the rest and feel frustrated when you’re dragged away from your favourite. But, I really enjoy the scope this allows the author. You can see so many more angles with this style even if it can take a little longer to develop connections to the characters. We have three main characters, Rue, the retired assassin who is now on a mission to find the person responsible for attacking the village she called home for a few years. Mollandra is a student at the Academy. And then we have Eldest, introduced a little later in the story and at first a bit puzzling – and yet, of the three I found this one a real hook. It has an incredibly dark, and menacing feel to it that adds a note of horror.

This is grimdark without a shadow of doubt. If that isn’t your cup of tea then walk away now. Bad things happen. People die in quite horrible ways. There is plenty of blood and battered bodies. I mean, it isn’t gratuitous, that’s not what I’m saying at all, but this is a harsh world. Life is cheap and there’s always somebody plotting and sending mercenaries out to do a bit of killing and plundering.

In terms of the plot and pacing. Well, I’m kind of veering away from saying too much as I want to avoid spoilers. I did find it took me a little while to become attached to the characters. We do have other characters in the earlier chapters and as I already mentioned there is a lot of death – what with the village and it’s inhabitants having just been massacred and the Academy admitting 100 girls every year that will eventually be whittled down to three – so, at first, there’s a kind of hesitancy to become too attached as people don’t always stick around long enough – well, apart from Rue. I liked Rue, her storyline had moments of very dry humour, particularly as she’s quite often not quite as formidable as she thinks (in the earlier chapters in particular) and she’s persistent and difficult to kill, plus, she has a constant companion in the form of a crow – I love a good critter and so I really enjoyed that element to the story.

Did I have any issues? Well, it did take me a little while to connect to the characters. I think at the beginning there was so much death that I almost became immune to it all and felt wary of liking anybody too much. And, I wouldn’t say that this is a book to rush through. It’s not a lightweight read, it needs time to find its feet, which is a simple observation, not a criticism.

Anyway, I think I’ll draw this review to a close. There’s necromancy plus plenty of mythology such as the underworld and lots of references to threes, the triple goddesses of vengeance (the Furies), three timelines, three friends remaining at the Academy, etc. There’s lot of raging anger. A number of twists. Some sorrow, Some smiles. And a feeling of found family that I think will definitely develop even more over the series. On top of that the story concludes with a definite hook for book 2, it’s going to feel like a long wait! No pressure there then.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars