Lately Ive been debating giving up on adult fantasy, at least until Im in the mood for slower books. Ive had such a difficult time finding ones that are fast pace without all the unnecessary fluff. If a book takes me too long to read I tend to lose interest so my search for a gripping adult fantasy has been a difficult one. Although I didnt absolutely love this book it was better than I expected it to be. I think people who primarily read YA like me will find it entertaining. Its not exactly fast pace, but its not slow either.

The main character was an anti hero of sorts. A drunk mercenary who takes jobs capturing fugitives. I thought his character developpement was interesting. I liked that even the side character were fleshed out. I also enjoyed the unique and gritty world. The writing created an atmosphere that fit perfectly with the world. I really appreciated how the pace was quicker than most adult fantasy Ive read lately and that it didnt have a bunch of useless filler. Despite guessing who was behind their troubles I never got bored which is impressive.

Considering I gave my last adult fantasy 2 stars and I gave the Final Empire 4 Stars, my rating for this book is actually pretty good. I enjoyed this story for different reasons. This story had a nice magic system based on harvesting the light of the 3 moons and some pretty nasty creatures but I felt like it was missing something. The Darlings were fascinating but I would have liked to see more of the Nameless and the Kings. Also Im not sure why the Darling tried to kill the woman when he said wanted her to finish her research.

This story was a lot of fun but it didnt exactly wow me. However, while I was in the middle of Blackwing I received an ARC in the mail that I had been anticipating so much and instead of dropping this book to read my new ARC right away I actually wanted to finish this one first. The plot and the characters had captivated me and I didnt want to stop reading. I love bittersweet endings. Its just more realistic when not everyone survives. Ill be looking out for the sequel and hoping we get to see the world expand. I believe this book will be loved by many adult fantasy lovers.

I was honestly getting tired of the whole grimdark scene. I felt it was becoming monotonous and repetitive. It wasn't the darkness or the absence of hope that bothered me, it was something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on. As soon as I picked up Blackwing, I realized what that something else was.

Imagination. Wonder. Awe.

Yes, grimdark has become so obsessed with finding new ways to drag the reader down into horror and depression that it's lost sight of those soaring emotions that the fantasy genre, as a whole, has always provoked. Ed McDonald clearly recognizes that, and in Blackwing he's given us a novel that manages to be GDAF while still provoking that classic sense of wonder and awe.

This is almost a new genre, an epic, post-apocalyptic, grimdark fantasy that's full of imagination (and horror). It has been eighty years since the climactic battle that ends most epic fantasy sagas, a victory (of a sort) won at an unbelievable cost. The magical destruction wrought by Nall's 'Engine' has left a wasteland of ghosts, tainted magic, and monsters between two kingdoms. The looming threat represented by that weapon of mass destruction did nothing to end the conflict, however. It just twisted open warfare into a monstrous sort of terrorism, complete with the magical equivalent of suicide bombers and child assassins.

The problem is, there's a very real chance that Nall's 'Engine' is broken, and the agents of Deep Kings are anxious to determine the truth.

From beginning to end, this is Captain Galharrow's tale. He is the protagonist, point-of-view, and conscience of the tale. A scarred and bitter veteran of too many conflicts, he's as haunted by his past as the world is by its future. At first, he just seems like your typical hard-edged anti-hero, but there is genuine depth to his character that goes along with his tragic backstory. Despite having fallen into a life as a bounty hunter, magically tied and indebted to more than one sorcerer, he is a good man for whom the end always justifies the means, so long as he is the one to pay the price. Ezabeth, the other character of note here, is an interesting woman and an even more fascinating catalyst for the story. She is a woman of mystery, capable of astounding feats of magic, and yet scarred by her own past. We spend as much of the book wondering whether she recognizes Galharrow for who he is as we do contemplating whether she is truly mad.


As much as I enjoyed it, I did have one challenge with the book. What we see of the world is fantastically detailed, and the mythology of the Nameless and the Deep Kings is intriguing, but we never really get a sense of the world itself. Much of that is due to us being tied to Galharrow as a point-of-view character - we only know what he knows - but I feel like the story could have used something like a campfire story or a drunken recollection of how the world used to be, what lies beyond their stronghold, or what the cities beyond the Misery are said to be like. Without that context, it almost feels as if these god-like forces are fighting over a whole lot of nothing.

Blackwing not only had one of the greatest opening chapters I have read in ages, it had a finale that was worthy of the story leading up to it. So many epic fantasies seem to fall apart at the end, with a climax that simply cannot compete with the expectations we've built as readers, but McDonald delivered on every aspect of it. I'm not sure where Ravens' Mark heads next, but I'm definitely curious to see where it takes us.

Blackwing
Ed McDonald
When Blackwing Galharrow receives his orders, it is through a searing pain as his raven tattoo breaks out of his arm. Ouch. This epic fantasy is set in a recognisable world where magic is used to raise armies of the dead. This is a world of soldiers, Deep Kings, the Nameless, hopeless humans and the Misery. There is a whole lot packed into this debut novel but somehow, we accept it and it all works. Our gun for hire is a man who works for one of the Nameless. Crowfoot is a God-like being who works in eras rather than human span. He sees Galharrow as a useful lieutenant in the war against the Deep Kings. An epic war saw the Kings beaten and held back by Nall’s Engine. It’s a device that can annihilate advancing forces except now it might be failing.
Galharrow is given the task of saving a mysterious woman; she is a Spinner. They are the only humans who can use the light of the moon and the stars and fashion to make energy. Spinning exacts a terrible toll on its practitioners. Nall’s Engine uses this energy to kill the oncoming drudge armies. These are once- human slaves to the deep kings who will relentlessly move forward slaughtering as they go with no thought for personal safety. They come from across the Misery, a wilderness that tests the sanity of anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross it or worse to work in it.
Sent to Station 12 on the edges of The Misery Galharrow is caught up in an attack. He and some of his soldiers barely escape with their lives and the noble woman they were sent to save. The knowledge that Nall’s Engine was not used haunts Galharrow when he returns to the fortress town of Valengrad where he tries to drown his memories before receiving another call to arms.
I was reluctant to start this book, it’s not my Game of Thrones at all but I was completely hooked. It was viscerally real and the adventure kept coming. McDonald has really pushed through some great concepts here. It’s not that magic and zombie armies haven’t been used before but his storytelling does suck you in. Part cowboy, part frontier, part fantasy; you will recognise the tropes here. He loves his troops, he has a troubled past, hell there’s even a woman with no nose in this. How does she smell? You’d better not ask as she has a mean set of weapons.
This is Book One of a Series called The Raven’s Mark so I’m very keen to keep reading about Galharrow and his merry band once more.

Blackwing by Ed McDonald

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication date: 27 July 2017



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.



Blackwing is a book I heard about on Twitter, a trend I’m noticing more and more for myself. I was curious about it, but not hugely compelled to seek it out. I requested a copy when I saw it go up on NetGalley, and I’m so glad I did. Blackwing was a huge surprise for me, and Ed McDonald has quickly became a new favorite author.

Set on the ragged edge of a postapocalyptic frontier, Blackwing is a gritty fantasy debut about a man’s desperate battle to survive his own dark destiny…

Nothing in the Misery lasts…

Under a cracked and wailing sky, the Misery is a vast and blighted expanse, created when the Engine, the most powerful weapon in the world, was unleashed against the immortal Deep Kings. Across the wasteland, teeming with corrupted magic and malevolent wraiths, the Deep Kings and their armies are still watching—and still waiting.

Ryhalt Galharrow is no stranger to the Misery. The bounty hunter journeys to a remote outpost, armed for killing both men and monsters, and searching for a mysterious noblewoman. He finds himself in the middle of a shocking attack by the Deep Kings, one that should not be possible. Only a fearsome show of power from the very woman he is seeking saves him.

Once, long ago, he knew the woman well, and together they stumble onto a web of conspiracy that threatens to unmake everything they hold dear and end the fragile peace the Engine has provided. Galharrow is not ready for the truth about the blood he’s spilled and the gods he’s supposed to serve… *

Everything about this book was incredible. The plot, the world building, the characters – everything. It has a strong magic system and a compelling history and culture set in an incredibly well-constructed fantasy world. The story doesn’t start at the beginning of the conflict – although this would make for a fantastic series on its own. We are thrown into the story about 80 years after the devastating battle that stalled the war. There is a level of tension that lurks beneath the surface as you see the human side begin to slack and defences waver. As the narrative progresses, the tension grows and all the characters can feel it.

I loved concept of the Misery, a twisted stretch of land that adds to this tension and is almost another character in the story. I don’t often get unsettled by books, certainly not by settings, but the Misery is just so creepy and bizarre. The descriptions of the shattered and broken sky, the weird creatures that inhabit it, and the directionlessness of it just felt so fresh and new. The frontier in fantasy is a favorite setting of mine and Blackwing puts a new twist on it.

Blackwing is written in the first person – we see everything through the eyes of the grizzled Blackwing captain Ryhalt Galharrow. He’s the perfect grizzled fantasy hero – he’s beaten up from years in and around the Misery, he’s abrasive and rather unpleasant, and has a secret past that unfolds as the narrative progresses. He’s much like Logen Ninefingers, one of my all-time favorite characters, but he is very much his own character. You can’t help but love and root for Ryhalt as he struggles against the odds.

I’m calling it now: Blackwing will be one of the best fantasy debuts of 2017. Ed McDonald is a writer to watch – his skills with world building and character creation are just fantastic and he writes a cracking story. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series and anything else he chooses to write.

Rating: 5/5

*Copy courtesy of Goodreads

This fantasy debut is getting a lot of attention, and the good news is that it's (mostly) merited. It's set in a far future post apocalyptic world, with just a few small enclaves of humanity left in a wasteland known as the Misery (which put me in mind a bit of the Cursed Earth from Judge Dredd, with more freakiness). There are powers in this world - the evil Dead Kings want to destroy the towns and outposts left, while the Nameless oppose them, although it'd be a stretch to call the Nameless the good guys. Our mercenary hero is indentured to one of these Nameless, and it's a message he receives (via the medium of a crow tearing itself out of its tattooed likeness on his arm) that sets our story in motion.

There's a lot to like here. The world building is original and well done, with enough locations outside the story hinted at to make you feel that this is a thought through world that could support several more novels set in it. Likewise, the author cleverly leaves enough threads dangling to set up the sequel without leaving you feeling shortchanged by the ending of this one - it's definitely a complete novel in itself. The action writing is viscerally brutal, and although only three or four characters get any real depth of characterisation, it's still effectively done. My only gripe is that the narrator is constantly at pains, like on almost every page, to remind us just how DARK and GRITTY he is, and that he deals with his TRAGIC PAST with ALCOHOL and VIOLENCE, because he is DARK and GRITTY with a TRAGIC PAST, etc, etc. Nevertheless, it's a good book, and I'm on board for the next one.

5/5 Ribbons for this awesome & dark fantasy book!

Blackwing is a job not everybody is allowed to do- not everybody can manage. The Nameless choose them for different reasons. Why Crowfoot chose Galharrow, he doesn’t know himself. The Nameless have been fighting the Deep Kings for millenia and humans are just like bugs under their feet at worst, a means to fight each other at the best of times.

Once he had been something, someone else but now, he is Blackwing and when he is not, he rides through the war-born wasteland that is the Range. Magic seeps though its air and creeps into your skin, blinds you, deceives you, makes you sick. The creatures that live there are born of hate and the darkest magic imaginable. Galharrow is hunting in the Rage…

This book is gory, dark, critical and wonderful and it had me hooked from page one guys! In recent weeks, I haven’t had time to read a lot of books but this one was just so awesome, I just had to read it through within a week which is the equivalent of my usually 24 hours 😀

There is a major conspiracy in the book and I really don’t want to tell you more about the plot- which was awesome. it had the gore, it had the social criticism, it had the setting, the world and even some very fitting romance and self-reflection. What stood out for me above all was the amazing main character. That’s why i can really recommend this book to everybody who wants to try out something new.

I loved and hated Galharrow and it was amazing to unravel the mysteries that surround the biggest secret the Nameless have. I really urge you to all go and read this wonderful and gripping start of a new fantasy series that I’m sure will blow your mind! I am usually a little bit stingy,m but I WILL buy this one in August ❤

This is a dark fantasy with complex characters which draw you into the story.
I cannot wait to read the second in the series.

This is what makes the fantasy genre shine.

It's original, it has depth, it's clever. It's also dark and kind of gory, but lacks the gratuitousness of certain recent trends. The darkness is a part of Blackwing's world, a world where "evil" Deep Kings and "good" Nameless, almost god-like beings, fight for supremacy. Except the Nameless are losing, and as they're on humanity's side, things aren't looking good for humanity.

The main character is Ryhalt Galharrow, a fallen man who now works as something little better than a mercenary. He's tied to work for one of the Nameless, Crowfoot, who instructs him to keep a woman safe at the start of the book, leading Galharrow into a lot of awful situations because apparently everyone wants this woman dead.

Ezabeth is no damsel in distress. She's a badass mage-type with a mastery over the mathematics of the magic system. She can also blow, like, everything up. If she wasn't also slightly off her rocker, I would totally want to be her when I grow up. She's a totally atypical fantasy heroine, and I love her. She's also not the only awesome woman in the book!!!!!

Nenn is this badass mercenary working with Galharrow, and while she can't blow stuff up, she can stab everything instead. Which she does a lot. Prince Herono (also a lady) is a badass hero too. It's sooooo refreshing.

The rest of the characters are fantastic too. Galharrow's gay navigator, Ezabeth's foppish brother, and too many other people to count, are bursting with character. We don't necessarily spend a lot of time with them, or getting to know them, but their mannerisms are described, their features, their clothes, in just enough detail to make them feel real. The dialogue is perfectly characteristic of each.

This leads me to the writing, which is pretty much flawless. It's detailed, but not long-winded, it's full of images, but it's not waffle-y irrelevance. It's just tight writing that gets you where you need to go in the exact time you need to go there. It's all written in first person from Galharrow's perspective, and I'm not normally a fan of first person, so this is genuinely impressive to me. The only other book I really enjoyed in first person was The Name Of The Wind, which was incredibly long-winded, so I guess McDonald is actually one-upping Rothfuss here?

World building. This is how you do world building. Blackwing has one of those worlds where it feels like the author has an entire notebook of world building behind it. Whether or not that true, this world is presented as a complete and complex thing. There are obviously secrets going on between the Deep Kings and the Nameless, but the human's don't know what they are, so we don't. I have no doubt they're there. The magic system is really cool, the way society works is just slightly different to our world which keeps it interesting, and there are certain weirdnesses with no answers that will keep me reading this series because I have so much curiosity for it. I'm not going to go into it here because you should just read this unless you really hate gore and swearing.

The gore and swearing is ... prevalent. Lots of fucks are thrown around. Loooooots. Most of the characters are mercenaries or similar and they're pretty jaded and also stressed, so it totally makes sense. The gore is ... disgusting, but somehow in a good way? It's not a case of 'lolol blood look at how hard-core I am', it's more a case of showing that killing people is a brutal, horrible thing, and not glamorising that for the reader. In my opinion, it's not done for shock value: it's a warning which is rarely tackled in fantasy.

There are other warnings too. <spoiler>Galharrow is an alcoholic. It unfolds, showing us his behaviour and the frequency with which he reaches for a drink. It's sad, but again, it's good to see what a life of struggle can do to a person.</spoiler>

The plot is just great. It's a complex tangle of people's motives, and some of them don't fit, but it's hard to tell why until it's revealed, and there's a sense of being slightly lost, but in a good way. The characters are lost because they have so much to deal with, and now you do too. The pieces all fall into place really well at the end. Better than I thought they were going to. It's been a long time since I read a satisfying ending, but this managed it on all accounts.

All in all, I'm really excited for the next book. Really excited. Why did I read it pre-release? (This was a NetGalley book, free in exchange for an honest review) I'm going to go look up everything about Ed Mcdonald and see if the next one is done yet ...

Blackwing is the first in a new series by a new author who, in my opinion, with this one book is going to blast onto the fantasy scene and prove that there is new talent out there.
Blackwing follows the story of Ryhalt Gaharrow - captain of a band of mercenaries, unwilling messenger boy for Crowfoot and a member of Blackwing - as he gets a message from the 'god' that owns him and the subsequent adventure that message brings him on.
The story opens with Galharrow in The Misery, a large wasteland created when the war between The Nameless and The Deep Kings came to a head and the sky ripped apart and shit hit the fan. Drudge, Gillings, Darlings and weird twelve legged creatures live in The Misery and it's these beasties that Galharrow and his band of mercs - Tnota and Nenn are key throughout the book - must avoid at all costs.
One of the key things that happens in the book is when the raven tattoo on Galharrow's forearm rips itself out of his skin and delivers a message - this message sets in motion a series of events that ultimately prove and disprove several theories by the cream (nobility) and The Order of Aetherial Engineers.
Oh yes. That was another thing that got me hooked - it's bloody steampunk! To a point. There isn't an over abundance of goggles and gears and such in the clothing if the characters but there's an Engine and a hell of a lot of phos tube lights (I'm guessing similar to tube lighting we have now) but to gather the phos energy requires a Spinner to gather it from the 3 moons above Valengrad and The Misery.
As much as I want to describe every single detail that happens in the book I won't because that will easily ruin the story for everyone who reads it.
Just know there is utter betrayals, plenty of death and war, and some secrets that have no revelations (Ed, please tell me they're revealed in the next book?) There are gods and near immortals, a creepy Fixer with a buttload of magic and a shockingly good noblewoman - heh geddit?
There's a brilliant connection between Galharrow, Nenn (a noseless woman with a penchant for chewing blacksap) and Tnota (the band navigator) they've clearly been through a lot together and it shows through their communications together and what Galharrow will do for them and vice versa - it's a heck of a bond to try and sever.
The overall writing style shows a clear British twang to parts of it, particularly the humour which at times could be quite dry but also perfectly sarcastic; other parts of the writing style had a touch of monologue to them but it was miniscule and the fact that Blackwing was written in the first person point of view rather than third person like a lot of books was really great. It gave a distinct look into the inner workings of Galharrow's mind which I really liked.
I said yesterday when I'd finished the book that if I was wearing a hat I'd tip it to Ed because it was brilliant. An outstanding debut from an author who can definitely take this story to even bigger heights. It was also really nice to meet Ed and when I asked him where the tattoo idea came from I have never had a better answer to a question - he didn't even have to think about it it just rolled off his tongue so easily:
"My swordsmanship instructor has this really cool tattoo on his forearm of a sword and I thought one day that it's be really great if he could just pull it out of his arm to use it." - Ed McDonald 20th April 2017, Orion Blogger Event.

I really enjoyed the world that McDonald has created and would like to see more of the history of it. I want to know the background to the ongoing war and why the land is like it is. The world that has been created intrigues me. It's a little different to the normal fantasy worlds, in my opinion.

The main characters were well-written, and I really felt connected with them. And not to give away spoilers, but I liked that not everything ended up perfectly. I would like to see more of Nenn. I found her to be very interesting.

Overall, this is a very solid first effort, and I look forward to reading more by the author.

For me, this was an alright read. The main strength of this was the setting, but everything else let it down a little bit, in my opinion. The characters fell a bit flat, the pacing was off and the main plot was a bit derivative, at least to start with. Having said all that, I think this is still worth a read, as it is getting a lot of good reviews on goodreads. This is one of those 'it's not you, it's me' things. Worth a read, if it sounds interesting and enjoy fantasy.

I really enjoyed this. It's a really good example of "grimdark" fantasy (no orcs, but I think Warhammer players would love it). The narrator Galharrow has an incredibly strong voice and the members of his gang are well drawn individuals. Definitely one for fans of Joe Abercrombie

Fantasy novel, slightly derivative but quite good

A troupe of soldiers of lowlife origin - the Blackwing - fight a group of no-longer-human creatures led by supernatural forces to prevent them leaving the Misery, an area no longer habitable. This sounded familiar: Game of Thrones, the Night Watch, beyond the Wall, White Walkers.

However, after that, the book becomes much more original. The struggle against the forces of the Misery takes centre stage and Galharrow of the Blackfish has to confront inner turmoil, his hidden past and betrayal while fighting the supernatural enemy.

Once the plot really gets going, characters are developed and the novel becomes engaging and interesting enough. Worth a look although there are many other fantasy titles which I prefer.

Overall 3.5 stars.

A great debut novel and a strong start of a new series. There are lots of positives going for this book... But its key strengths is the setting. The whole concept of magic wastelands called Misery is absolutely stunning! Combined with postapocalyptic / steampunk-ish surrounding really gets the story to stand out in a crowded genre. To me, it had a feel of a cross between Fallout RPGs and high magic fantasy staple. Really nicely done! I also, in particular, enjoyed the magic system with allusion to electricity / light. Inventive, clever and right up my alley.

Where the book fell a bit flat for me is the story plot and the main conflict. It felt was going too close to the usual tropes of the genre to keep me truly immersed. Whilst I enjoy the protagonist, again it felt a bit like I have seen this before...

I should, however, make a disclaimer that my feedback is mainly informed by personal preferences rather than any major failings of the author. I just wish it would be a bit more low-magic, with much more mystery and intrigue rather than 'goodies' vs 'baddies' high-octane arcane arm-wrestle. But again, this is just me. I can totally see how others may fall in love with this book.

So overall, definitely recommend for connoisseurs of the unusual worldbuilding.

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars - it was ok.
I was excited to read this, but overall I was a bit disappointed. I'm not going to give a synopsis or any spoilers.

Firstly the good:
There was not initial info-dump, the reader's introduced to the world in a much more natural way.
The Misery was an interesting place; it was totally alien, weird & fantastical, and really quite horrible. The fractured skies, the multiple moons, the sounds and its shifting nature were all well described and realised.
The creatures! I liked these weird & horrible things - creepy children, and the gillings were particulary freaky.
Nenn - I liked her, and scenes with her in were all the better for her presence.
The raven tattoo was a cool concept and well executed.
The final show down - it all came together nicely (slight niggle was that Ezabeth & Galharrow didn't get it sooner - the reader sure does, so it's a bit jarring when the main characters don't...).

Then the things I didn't like so much:
The prose - I don't know what it is at the moment, but there seems to be a trend for (what I see as) very YA-style writing. For me, that's lots of overly dramatic, hyperbolic sentences that read like they have been written and re-written a hundred times and are more suited to an angst-ridden teenager. These irritating bits of purple prose are inconsistent - Galharrow's internal monologue sways between short, sharp 'manly' sentences and then he'll go off on a grimdark poetry spree. Lots of overwrought metaphors.

Galharrow - just when I thought I liked this guy, I hated him. Now I like an anti-hero, I like shades of grey and people who aren't purely good or solely evil - it's good to mix it up a bit - but he was just an asshole who really hated fat people and loved going on about how small, bony and light Ezabeth was. The scene where he sees Ezabeth on the rooftop (and their scene towards the end) was particularly icky.

The pacing - it was a bit up and down; events that should have inspired some urgency didn't, there seemed to be a fair amount of wombling around. The battle scene at the end was rushed, but a few scenes before were drawn out instead.

I'm not sure I'd read the second because of the writing style, but story wise the Nameless are shaping up to be quite interesting and I'd like to know more about the world - so maybe....

Blackwing is the first in a new fantasy series by Ed McDonald. It’s got a certain kind of noir style. Some of that’s the world – a republic that exists by the sufferance of its leaders, magicians so powerful and remote they may as well be gods, its people used as a shield against an encroaching Empire. Part of it is the characters – like Galharrow, hard-bitten, hard-edged, seemingly mercenary. A man with a keen intelligence, an even keener sense of cynicism, and the pragmatism to do whatever needs to be done – an extremely tarnished knight errant. There’s buckets of gore mixed in with emotional honesty, and glorious and terrible magic sits side by side with some nuanced character moments. Coming into this with no expectations, I can say I was very pleasantly surprised – it’s great stuff.

The world – well, I don’t want to overuse the word grim, but it’s certainly not a very pleasant one. The narrative is set at the edge of a border zone. On one side sits a republic, of sorts – governed by a small group of voting ‘Princes’, whose social and economic control is immense, a noble class beneath them serves as landowners, with everyone else lurking somewhere beneath. But above the Princes, sit the Nameless. These eldritch creatures are, if not omnipotent, effectively so from ground level. They fade in and out of society, following their own inscrutable agenda’s, passing on esoteric warnings, and engaging in a grinding war with the other side of the border.

As an example of the tone of the text, the Nameless don’t seem to demand the reverence of those in the land they inhabit, presumably for the same reason that the boot makes no such demands of an ant. The Nameless are horrors, to be sure – less actively malevolent than obscure and alien. Their opposite numbers across the border are rather less pleasant. The Nameless have created a physical border, a zone of ghosts and horrors, where directions never quite lead you where you need to go – and the fear that they could do so again is what holds their enemies in check. This is a world of gods and monsters, where the expectation is that they’re one and the same. There’s a grining poverty, a society of inequality and an expectation that life will be nasty, brutish and short. But there’s beauty trickling through as well. A percentage of the population is able to work or store magical energy; some of this is used to power cities, some for rather more military purposes – like large explosions. But the description of a spinner weaving in the moonlight is entrancing, and the moons themselves, setting over the twisting monstrosities of the border – the Misery – almost flow off the page.

Into this world steps our protagonist, Galharrow. As alluded to earlier, he is, to be delicate, not a particularly nice man. He’s ruthless, selfish, and more than happy to kick a fallen opponent when they’re down. I think he’d probably prefer it if he could stab them in the back, whilst they were asleep. He has a loyalty to a few long term associates, but seems callously indifferent to the fates of pretty much everyone else. On the other hand, his sense of cynicism is precise, and accentuates rather than masks a ferocious intelligence. Galharrow is smart, perceptive, and his observations, if vicious, are typically pithy, valid, and amusing. I was driven to outright laughter by a few particularly on-point pieces of internal monologue. He has enough humanity to be sympathetic in such a broken world, and enough pragmatic energy that he’s a joy to follow around; watching his struggles with his own humanity, especially when it runs into the obdurately awful world, is captivating.

In this he’s backed by an able supporting cast. There’s his able lieutenants, one of whom, Nene is surprisingly sympathetic for a blunt, blood-fuelled killer. The other, an altogether gentler creature, helps navigate the team across The Misery. His gentle vitality and good humour serve in stark contrast to both Galharrow and Nenn. But there’s others here as well. There’s the horrifyingly alien yet curiously compelling Nameless, and their simply terrifying opposition, the Deep Kings. There’s heroic generals, and cowering incompetents, arch-mages and broken peasantry. This is the pageant of life on display in the awful strangeness of The Misery, and Galharrow is our lens into it all. In that regard, he’s perfect – a man determined to be who he seems to be, but not quite fitting into the mould he’s made for himself. He’s not a tortured antihero, but someone broken, making the best decisions they feel that they can – and each turn of the page makes him more alive.

The plot begins with a bounty hunt, but it definitely doesn’t end there. Galharrow investigates conspiracies, and acts as the servant of the Nameless, which largely means getting his hands dirty. His investigations are the central core of the text, each thread he pulls on leading toward an explosive conclusion. But there’s red herrings to be worked through first. There’s betrayals and duels, monsters and mages to be fought. Still, if Galharrow isn’t shy of chopping up the occasional monstrosity, it’s his incisive mind driving the plot, trying to tie everything together. This is a story about solving a mystery; it is, of course, also one which doesn’t shy away from an awe-inspiring battle or two, and some wonderfully kinetic and gory sword-fights. There’s enough weird and appalling magic for anyone. By the time I finished the book, I didn’t want it to end – and I’m already keen to see where this series goes next. It’s an impressive work of fantasy, and one I thik we’ll be hearing more about. Highly recommended.

I received an advanced copy of Blackwing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Ed McDonald, Orion Publishing Group and Gollancz. *Minor spoilers may follow*

McDonald begins this tale by placing the reader in the Misery - following the action of Captain Galharrow and his crew of Blackwing mercenaries during their latest mission. The Misery is a post-apocalyptic, shifting wasteland under a broken and wailing bruise-coloured sky. This vast expanse of land is unpredictable, frightening and full of unspeakably grotesque mutated creatures. Only the bravest dare venture throughout these parts, navigating under the guidance of the three moons.

Captain Galharrow is a unapologetically unlikable, battle-hardened military veteran whose actions and experience inspire the loyalty of his squad and the book is presented through his first person perspective. He has had a blood filled and chaotic past and when he isn't acting as a sort of bounty hunter, he spends his time drinking himself unconscious and he occasionally talks to an extremely powerful being presenting itself in the form of a raven. The camaraderie and banter between Galharrow and his crew are excellent and reminiscent of The Bonehunters from Malazan: Book of the Fallen, incorporating characters who are just as colourful. My personal favourites were Tnota, the sex addicted navigator and ranger and Nenn, a nose-lacking intemperate and deadly soldier. During quieter scenes, when Captain Galharrow isn't describing the current events, depth is created to the world and his character when he ponders and reflects on relationships, histories and present-time happenings. The world building is one of the best I have seen presented in the first person and in my mind, is on par with Mark Lawrence's similar works. It was great to follow Galharrow's viewpoint, whether he is fighting, getting drunk or in some sort of political turmoil - so much happens to him throughout this narrative.

Blackwing places us in the middle of the action and McDonald has created a large number of unfamiliar names, places, and world terminology that are present from the beginning. I had to take notes for the first few chapters but after that everything seemed to flow smoothly. Initially confusing phrases such as "spinners", "drudge" or "skweams" quickly became identifiable regarding how they fitted into the world's vocabulary. They were understandable due to the context in which they were presented. The created world combines the post-apocalyptic elements discussed above with typical modern fantasy stories cities, factions and combat. The whole world isn't the Misery, that is just a proportion, albeit a vast amount, that was the result of the last war and the battles between the God-like Nameless and Deep Kings. The bigger picture of this world's happenings is all being orchestrated by these unbelievably powerful and malevolent beings. Certain characters also have destructively powerful magical wrecking potential that can destroy entire armies. Without going into too much detail, the magics created in this story were admirable, original and scientific-like.

This is quite a dark story full of gritty and macabre deaths aplenty with a good, but not an overwhelming amount of adrenaline fueling action. Certain sections are superbly intense though and this book is highly unpredictable. It features twists, betrayal, political disputes and half the time when I thought I had analysed where the story was going, I was then blindsided or completely shocked by a revelation. The publisher stated that this as being "gritty epic fantasy for fans of Mark Lawrence and Scott Lynch" and I cannot disagree. I count myself amazingly lucky that I have been one of the first people to review this. Blackwing is a splendid debut that is brilliantly written and I found it amazingly difficult to put down. It superbly presents a completely original, complex and epic fantasy world with incredible and believable characters. Guaranteed already, this will be one of the best books I will read this year. I can see Blackwing becoming a big deal in the fantasy world and I can't wait for the next book in the Ravens' Mark trilogy.

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