“I don’t like things that don’t make sense. Not until I’ve put a knife in them.”
— Ed McDonald, Blackwing
It would be a mistake to overlook this book. Ed McDonald’s debut novel, the first book in The Raven’s Mark series, is a phenomenal piece of literature. It glows with fiery passion and an inhuman mastery of creativity. There wasn’t a single moment to take a breath as it held a tenacious grip on my attention to the point of chocking me with fast-paced action. Blackwing is a beautiful and sinister fantasy story. Its ability to create a wonderful and unique world is astonishing and bleeds with a desire to seduce you into the mind of Ed McDonald. Reading this felt like the work of a genuine mastermind who’s penmanship has went through hell and high water. Forget about soft clouds and pretty rainbows. Blackwing will show you misery and demise melded around hope, reason and humanity. This novel deserves so much praise and absolutely needs everyone’s attention. So what are you waiting for?
Blackwing follows bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharro into the heart of the Misery. Told in first-person, you’ll quickly be acquainted to the veteran commander with a tough-as-a-rock personality as he’s tossed into one of the most intriguing and undesirable conspiracy. His past has shaped him into the man he is today, leading his squad, essentially composed of Nenn and Tnota, into some of the darkest and most notorious places in the Misery. I simply can’t go on without mentioning how the banter between all these characters was executed with insane finesse and sarcastic humour. I ended up taking notes on some of the nasty comebacks (pretty vulgar though) for future purposes. The world-building alone deserves a gazillion applause as it sucks you into a nether of suffocating darkness. The creatures that lurk there, whether its skweams, gillings, grudges or even things that don’t have names, will come to life in remarkable ways and make their own appearances in unexpected and memorable ways. Using the first-person narration worked wonderfully in putting forth a strong and impressive protagonist to love and cherish during the whole adventure. It’s even more impressive when he dies the dumping of all the knowledge we need in understanding the world Ed McDonald forges, as his experience filters the content into heavy and juicy chunks of meat.
I’m not even kidding when I tell you that he does a near-perfect job in creating one of the most fascinating worlds and cast of characters in fantasy. Ed McDonald does so seamlessly and strives at delivering some of the most interesting history and background information in literature. Whenever the character’s have a moment to rest and plan their next move, there’s always a piece of information that is squeezed in to make the whole world that much more fun. But rest assured, the moments of peace of rare as hell and the novel is just one giant turning windmill. Whether its the story behind the Deep Kings and the Nameless or even the past of our own protagonist, Blackwing is a restless and fascinating debut that simply does everything perfectly. Although the Misery is described as a land filled with the most dangerous creatures and the most depressing and sorrow-filled landscape, the novel also transports you into beautiful, rich and sanctuary-like city where your rank and title either offers you privileges or places you at the bottom of society. Then again, a story with a conspiracy at the heart of everything will surely come into play on these spheres of life. Blackwing simply excels at creating its own society with its own politics and economy to make the gears of life keep on rolling, even when everything seems so bleak and hopeless.
The mechanics behind the magic system in this world is also to die for. With Spinners and Darlings—you’ll just have to pick this book up to find out what they are—there isn’t a moment where the action sequences don’t profit of their unique abilities to showcase some of the most deadliest yet beautiful magic tricks out there. However, captain Ryhalt Galharrow’s own expertise with his weapons and fist make his narration and scenes simply awesome. With a novel this dark and post-apocalyptic, it might also be necessary to mention that the gore and profanity is up to par with the quality you’d want from this genre. The amount of blood and swearing is high, but at a perfect level, without ever being excessive and futile for story-telling purposes. While our bounty hunter is merely a pawn to bigger things executed by people with higher rank or even in bed with stronger forces, his journey through dark lands makes this battle for survival absolutely stunning and captivating. There’s so much that happens in this first book, that you’ll really just have to trust me and pick it up and find yourself enticed by Ed McDonald’s writing and the world he’s created.
THANK YOU TO PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE CANADA FOR SENDING ME A COPY FOR REVIEW!
Are you interested in Blackwing?
How about you read this book for yourself!
You can purchase your copy @Amazon Canada or @Chapters Indigo now!
Blackwing came out on October 3rd, 2017!
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MY OVERALL RATING: ★★★★★/
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Roars and Echoes 
“…a nether of suffocating darkness.” Eek! I have this as well Lashaan and I was already looking forward to reading it, but now I’m really psyched! Awesome review!😊
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Hihi! 😛 I’m glad to do just that!! You totally have to pick it up soon. I’m so curious to see what you’ll think of it!! Thank you so, so much!
– Lashaan
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Woah! Sounds like an excellent debut and by your review it’s a must read for fantasy lovers! Loved this review! I love when a book wows you!
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Definitely a must for fans of a darker, post-apocalyptic fantasy story! Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words! 🙂
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A lot of the people I follow seem to be liking this. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
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It definitely offers a lot to like! 😀 Thank you!
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Fantastic review, so glad you enjoyed it.😀
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Thank you, sir! A fantastic debut, it is! 😀
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I’m not a fan of swearing or nasty (vulgar) comebacks but apart from this it seems like a great book with the most amazing world-building, if you like fantasy ;-)! Wonderful review!
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Hahah the banter has a bunch of swearing and rude sarcastic humour that I just loved reading! 😛 It’s definitely something nice to pick up for fantasy fans. Thank you so much for reading though, Inge!! I appreciate that. 😉
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Wonderful Review! I’m so glad you loved this book! This really sounds pretty awesome and I’m glad to hear that it was told in first person pov. I can’t wait to read it! 🙂
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Thank you Raven!!! It’s totally freaking awesome. Really hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 😉
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WOW Lashaan, you’re passion is just radiating off the screen! So glad you LOVED this book and to be frank I’m terribly jealous! I tried for an ARC and didn’t get one and am soooo sad about it! Now I’m not sure when I will read it! 😭
It reminds me of a John Ringo book but better? His were military books with aliens but I love the idea of doing a similar thing but more fantasy?! Creatures to pit the MC against are a FAV of mine plus the magic sounds incredible! I don’t mind cussing or blood and guts but it’s great you mentioned it in the review. GAH! I’m still so upset I missed the ARC, lol, but you did a beautiful job sharing it and I’m going to make sure it’s on my TBR! 😁
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Oh no!!! I’m sorry to hear about the whole ARC thing!! But maaaaan, you still have to pick this up if it intrigues you!!! 😀 Ahahah! John Ringo! Interesting how it’s not the first time I’m hearing that name. I might have to try some of his books someday! I’d definitely be curious to hear your thoughts on it, bother as a reader and a writer! 😀 Thank you so much for reading, Dani!! I appreciate it a lot, and I’m glad to keep your hopes and interest high for this one!
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Woohoo… ding-ding-ding, we have a winner! 😀
So happy you liked the book… It truly is a masterfully written debut and I totally miss the dialogue the most… Nenn and Tnota are such gems and i hope to see more of them in book 2!
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It simply was just soooo wonderful! Loved how the world just sucked you in and immersed you into it all. That gang and all the characters made things just that much better with their snarky comments too! Maaaaaan, book 2 is going to blow our minds! But… the wait… is going to kill us first!!!
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I wish it wasn’t first person narrative. I prefer third.
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Ahh, yes. They both have their up’s and down’s huh. I’m glad this author mastered this style of narrative though. It worked out for the best!
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First of all YES *fist pumps* so glad you liked this!!!! Okay, now I’ve got that out my system (mostly 😉 ) I agree so so much about the banter and the world building and the awesome use of first person narration and ahhh everything!! (ok it’s hard not to gush sometimes 😉 ) I love your description of this book- stunning review!!
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Awwww ye!!! 😀 It’s always awesome when fellow bloggers praise great books and it turns out just as awesome for me!! Thank you so much for having read it first and for your kind words now. 😉
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Ahh that’s brilliant!!! hehe thank you for that and you’re welcome!! 😀
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This sounds amazing! And you know what, it reminds me of a book I’m reading right now. I’m convinced you should also consider it, if you haven’t read it yet. It’s called Library at Mount Char, currently we’re discussing it with the 21st century literature group on Goodreads (wonderful group, BTW!) And I’m enjoying every bit of it (both the book and the discussion.) The book reads like a mix of Gaiman and Stephen King – try to imagine that and you’ve got a recipe for something amazing. So Blackwing sounds quite a lot like it 🙂
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Ohhh I’ve got that on my TBR too! Glad to hear it’s an excellent book. I just need to find myself a nice copy. A mix of King and Gaiman sounds insane! 😮 Thanks for reading, Evelina! 🙂
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Yup. You’re right! This is an incredibly passionate book review! Well done. 🙂 I love that you took notes on some of the amazing insults these characters bantered against each other. Have you used any of them in real life, vulgar or not? 😉
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Bahahah thanks, Jackie! Oh, they are quite colourful. They would’ve worked against me if I were to use them against my non-reading friends to be honest hahahah They are still hilarious within the story. 😉
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Came here because of the Crowfall review (didn’t want spoilers)! This sounds like a really interesting book! and the covers are amazing. Great review!
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