Review: The Storm Crow

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trigger warnings for this book: depression, self-harm, colonial invasion.

Harry found this ARC at work and saved it for me, believing it to properly be my style. And for that, I thank him. I admit, the comps written on the back don't inspire me with a lot of confidence, because I'm not a fan of Eragon or of And I Darken. But I have a comp in mind from reading this, a comp that I think works so much better: The Dragon Prince, but with magical, elemental crows in a very expansive and complex system, one of the more unique ones I've yet seen in fantasy.


It also reminds me somewhat of Court of Fives - one I liked more and more as I read it, though I've come to sour on it a bit since I first read it - but I feel that this book comes with a protagonist I can connect with better. One who reminds me more of Mare Barrow, say, than Jessamy. But one of the book's greatest strengths is its depiction of rebellion against an invading colonial power - requiring a lot of mind games and reconciling of feelings the colonizers may have for the colonized, and vice versa. (Tellingly, the Illucian colonizers are white, coming from a cold country, and the Rhodairans, coming from a tropical climate, are brown.) And Thia's depression, which I understand is written #ownvoices, is appreciably read #ownvoices as well.

I'm a little bummed to hear that this book is the first half of a duology - is it just me or is everyone doing duologies these days? But the ending delivers the right degree of cliffhangery - not underwhelming, but certainly not aggravating like I just read in King of Scars. No, it's perfectly arachnid-worthy balanced in its tantalization. And for the conclusion to be brought to us by a promising Bay Area-based author? I'm already waiting with bated breath.

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