The Crow

The Books of Pellinor are a high fantasy series that is a more accessible version of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings with the same richness of imagery and world building but with straightforward names and a less complicated history. That said it could also be that The Books of Pellinor are less intimidating because they're not as famous or as widely read as Tolkein.

The Books of Pellinor are set in the land of Edil-Amarandh - a land which has been on the precipe of danger for years - ever since Sharma, the Nameless One stole the Treesong from the Elementals (Elidhu) and broke the song. Cadvan of Lirigon is working against the dark but there's only so much he can do - until while on a mission he runs into Maerad - a slave girl who can see show more through his invisibility. Soon they're travelling together and finding that all is not right in the land. Then Maerad leads Cadvan to a boy named Hem and nothing is the same. Maerad and Hem have an instant connection and it's not long before Cadvan realises nothing happens without a reason and that only by working together can the light prevail.

Like the second book in the series, the third book picks up after the group flees Norloch but this time focusing on Hem and Saliman and their journey to Turbansk in the south. This novel runs concurrently to The Riddle. I had great expectations for this book because the first two of the series were absolutely brilliant. And it delivered.

This book may actually be my favourite of the series. I like Maerad but Hem is my favourite character and an entire book about him is perfection. I liked how he came to find his passion for healing and his talent for spying. And I adored the relationship between him and Saliman - I loved that he found he could love and trust and rely on Saliman to look after him and protect him and just be there for him. And IRC!!! I loved Irc the Crow and his thieving ways.

Only Irc seemed untouched by the rising despair that pervaded Turbansk. He told Hem, with a hoarse chuckle, that it was a good time for him: he was building an impressive collection of shiny spoons, buttons, and other treasures filched from the palace, which he had hidden somewhere under the eaves of the roof.

Croggon, Alison. The Crow: The Third Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 3) (p. 147). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. And I adored how Hem outwitted him.

Irc could count, but only up to five (a useful disability for Hem, who regularly emptied Irc’s treasure troves — as long as he left five objects, the crow didn’t notice anything was missing).

Croggon, Alison. The Crow: The Third Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 3) (p. 177). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition.

Zelinka was fiery and I loved the friendship between her and Hem. And my heart broke for Hem when he found out she died. Poor Hem. It was a brutal blow. And it sucked - he loved her - he was going to marry her. Especially since he went all that way and she was dead before he even entered the compound. I was heartbroken by it. I really liked Zelika and I would've liked to see them make a go of it afterwards. I'm glad Saliman was there for Hem when he found out. Hared was a total badass and I would've loved to see the meeting between him and Hem after he'd disobeyed all his orders but returned with all the intel. I've got the feeling it would've been impressive.

531 pages and it felt way too short. It was fantastic and I adored every minute. 5 stars. show less

All novels, and especially fantasy novels, provide the opportunity for authors to create their own worlds in which to place their characters, and in large measure what makes the story convincing is the plausibility of that secondary world. Croggon's land of Edil-Amarandh is given credible substance by its characters' interaction with the geography, climate and changing seasons, and the success of The Crow and the other Pellinor books is enhanced by the impression that Maerad and Hem, Cadvan and Saliman are all inhabiting a real landscape: we are with them, almost in real-time, every step of their journeys, every rest in their tasks. It may or not help to imagine their world as perhaps that straddling what is now the mid-Atlantic ridge show more between Newfoundland and western Europe, sometime towards the end of the last Ice Age when sea levels were lower, but it is not essential, particularly as Croggon's storytelling skill provides the verisimilitude to convincingly transport us to this sprawling continent in the grip of unfathomable changes.

Fans of Maerad from the first and second books may baulk at a volume in which she gets only passing mentions, but her brother Hem becomes as fascinating and sympathetic a character as his sister in the course of nearly 500 pages. In many ways The Crow appears as a narrative reflection of The Riddle: they straddle the same time-frame, ending with each of the two siblings meeting up with a lost friend on Midwinter's Day; one sibling travels to the north-west, the other to the south-east to gain insights into the Treesong; both become imprisoned though in rather different circumstances, having to rely on their own inner resources; both discover they have gifts that they were not aware of; and both are rightly distressed when they lose significant friends. But The Crow is not just a mirror image of The Riddle, and the dangers Hem meets and his responses to events and predicaments are strikingly different from his sister's.

The Crow is an absorbing read, and while there are stretches where nothing much seems to happen, the inner turmoil and personal growth that Hem undergoes is as essential to Croggon's tale as any burst of action is to a more conventional sword-and-sorcery novel. Love and loyalty, beauty and poetry alternate with scenes of horror and destruction and cruelty; the feeling that one is there when Turbansk is besieged, when the child-soldiers are abused, when friends are separated or re-united is strong throughout these pages and re-inforces the reader's empathy and sympathy for the youngsters in the story as they grow old before their time. It is a harsh observer who doesn't engage with Hem and Irc, his friend the white crow. show less

ah... love in all things

like 3.5? tbh I have pretty mixed feelings on this book in that I actually did end up liking Hem's story more than I thought I would but simultaneously it's just like. Odd in some ways. I think seeing the war through a 12 year old kid's eyes is a pretty good narrative device, and I like that different pov of this special kid who's still frothing at the bit to do something, anything. Zelika is... compelling in a strange way too. I love Irc. So so much more worldbuilding happening here. The bad guys are truly diabolical who could've guessed. I am however really into the whole Treesong quest thing it goes crazyyy hello Elidhu. If I were Hem I woulda jus died actually thanks. Uhh yeah I'm fascinated by the world and show more most of the plot and characters but not all the way. I just don't know if I believe some of the shenanigans that occurred. Still pretty good and I appreciate Hem's perspective and insanity Maerad ur little brother is terrifying show less

The third in this impressive quartet shifts the focus from Maerad to her brother, Hem, who we last saw travelling to Turbansk with Cadvan's close friend, Saliman.

Hem is finding it hard adapting to life as a Bard in Turbansk, his only refuge being his work in the houses of healing, and his only friend, a white crow he names Irc. The pace shifts dramatically in this book, with the threat of all-out war as the Nameless One's army descends on Turbansk. When Hem comes across the wild orphaned girl Zelika, an unexpected friendship forms, and together with Saliman, they flee to join the resistance. Hem soon learns that he has a part to play in Maerad's quest for the Treesong, and discovers too that he may have an ally in the Elidhu. Hem show more volunteers to spy on the Nameless One's child armies, but when he is separated from Zelika, Hem finds himself in a struggle to survive.

Alison Croggon's story-telling continues to mature throughout the saga, with this being the darkest installment yet. Although not immediately drawn to Hem's character or the people of Turbansk, their struggle is engaging, and the child armies are quite frankly terrifying! The final few chapters are wonderfully written and gripping, leaving me very impatient for the final chapter in this wonderful series. show less

Vivid imagery, beautifully described landscapes and a powerful story line; Croggon's third instalment in the Pellinor series is a tale of heightened emotions and great human endurance in the face of an ever growing threat from both "the evil within", and the armies of the Nameless.

Initially, I must say I was surprised at the abrupt shift from Maered (the heroine of the first two books) to Hem (her younger brother). After being drawn completely into Maered's story, the shift in focus actually made it hard for me to get into this book. However, it was not too long before i was caught up in the intrictae world Croggn creates and in the relationships that underpin this tale.

THE CROW focuses on Hem in the South of Annar, preparing for war, show more and it takes place at the same time as Maerad's events in the North (as shown in THE RIDDLE). While his sister searches for the Treesong in distant lands (which we read about in the first two instalments), Hem is slowly and reluctantly forced into a war where even children must fight one another to keep their freedom. We meet some of people from the earlier books. Saliman, Cadvan's close friend, plays a similar mentor role for Hem as Cadvan is playing for Maerad. Croggon also introduces us to some new and very likeable characters - Irk, the Crow, is a delight; and Zelika is an interesting if conflicted young girl. But there are Their journey is filled with sorrow, pain, love and compassion.

THE CROW is a novel about people and relationships and the great catastrophe of war that even today threatens our world. There is a wisdom in the novel that can we can all learn from: "It may be a question of whether to use the weapons of the Dark in order to worse the Dark...but how can we say that we fight for the Light, if we show ourselves no better than the dark?" show less

This book, the third in the series, is particularly dark, with the feeling of threat and unease woven throughout the second half of the book. Some of the imagery is particularly unsettling, especially that regarding children, with sections that reminded me of Nazi concentration camps. I say this because this book is listed in the Junior section of my local library, which I'm not entirely sure is suitable, I would suggest Young Adult would be more appropriate.

With all of that said, I still enjoyed the journey, the friendships and the magery.

This series is oddly entertaining, considering it's essentially traditional fantasy fare. The lowly main characters are suddenly the foretold / prophesied saviors, versus a ultra-powerful evil, etc.. It's somewhat predictable, as well, but something about this particular version of it I find appealing, so I read this in one sitting. I can't really nail down what all I like about it, unfortunately, but I'd recommend the series for those looking for somewhat light traditional fantasy faire, with a thread of hopefulness, an underlying optimism with regard to humanity.

I didn't really mind the departure from Maerad and Cadvan's story, personally. I felt Hem was an interesting character, though he certainly does go through a great many show more difficult things, and the story still retains a certain amount of predictability, it's nice to see his initiative in his less overt work against the Dark. show less