No matter how long, I’ll exist here within all the people who pass through. On this stage enclosed in the darkness, I sing my poem of hope right now. Even you must also be tired. I want to send this to that back of yours – from within the pitch darkness, the song of light that gleams with hope. Let’s caw for The Queen of Crows, by Myke Cole.
Synopsis:
In this epic fantasy sequel, Heloise stands tall against overwhelming odds–crippling injuries, religious tyrants–and continues her journey from obscurity to greateness with the help of alchemically-empowered armor and an unbreakable spirit.
No longer just a shell-shocked girl, she is now a figure of revolution whose cause grows ever stronger. But the time for hiding underground is over. Heloise must face the tyrannical Order and lay siege to the Imperial Palace itself.
Source: Goodreads
SPOILERS BELOW
When we last left the world of not!WH40K, our protagonist Heloise Factor had managed the nigh-impossible task of slaying a devil, causing the rest of her village to begin revering her as a sainted palatine. Of course, in the eyes of the Order, the mere rumor of some mud-grubbing peasant girl achieving such a thing can be naught but HERESY; thus, warriors are dispatched to exterminate the village.
What follows is an engaging and fast-paced string of events, as Heloise’s followers are driven from their village, join a band of the Traveling People, assault a walled town, and then hold it against siege by Imperial forces. It was deeply thrilling, and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. And the book didn’t skimp on the characterization, either: detailing the psychological effects on Heloise of bearing the burden of all the villagers’ lives, and the internal conflict between the villagers who fanatically worship Heloise as a living saint and those who are just desperate to survive another day.
Tonally, the novel hit the perfect mark. It had a grimdark aspect, where anyone could die or be horribly maimed; but it also had enough rays of hope to inspire me to remain invested, as Heloise’s insistence that the villagers hold themselves to a higher moral standard than the Order ended up being karmically repaid.
All in all, I am greatly enjoying this series, and look forwards to its next volume.
Final Rating: 5/5
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