Review: The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

One way or another, we always feed the crows.

THE MERCIFUL CROW by MARGARET OWEN

Series: Frozen Sun Saga #1

Publication date: July 30, 2019

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: YA fantasy

 

SYNOPSIS

A future chieftain

Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.

A fugitive prince

When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.

A too-cunning bodyguard

Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?

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Praise for The Merciful Crow:

"Packed to the teeth with fresh worldbuilding and righteous fury...It's a ride that is wildly fun."—Emily A. Duncan, New York Times-bestselling author of Wicked Saints

"Rich, harrowing, and unafraid to tackle discrimination—perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tomi Adeyemi."—Kirkus, Starred Review 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail, Margaret Owen spent her childhood haunting the halls of Powell’s Books. After earning her degree in Japanese, her love of espresso called her north to Seattle, where she worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. The common thread between every job can be summed up as: lessons were learned.

She now spends her days wrestling disgruntled characters onto the page, and negotiating a long-term hostage situation with her two monstrous cats. (There is surprisingly little difference between the two.)

You can find her on:

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REVIEW

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It took me five days to get through this book. Four days for the first half, and then I crammed the entire second half into one night so I could write this review by publication day. To be honest, I considered giving up several times because finishing felt like a chore. I tried. I really tried to like this book, holding on to the bitter end but I found it difficult to connect to these characters or their LONG journey. The world was not adequately explained and you're just thrown into the world, fictitious words, and magic system with pieces of information liberally offered.

The various castes, their origin, the Covenant and their religious beliefs could have used a lot more detailing. The Covenant was a large component of the worldbuilding, yet it didn't seem to be very consistent among other things. Being told that the Covenant was struck by the thousand gods, and it brought death, judgement, free will, and rebirth into the world isn't sufficient. That doesn't exactly tell me what it is, and I spent a lot of the book trying to make it work. Scummers/scum/scummed was used in so many different ways I still am not entirely sure of the true definition. I was continually having to re-read things to figure things out by context.

The crows were an oppressed line of people in this world of bird castes created by the gods. Prejudice and classism were the central themes, where a supremacist-like group called the Oleander Gentry hunted them, and they lived every day in fear for their lives. You couldn't help but make an obvious comparison when this group of white dusted, white robed people came for the unarmed and powerless crows during the night to murder and terrorize. The crows are despised for their lack of magic birthright, and blamed for the spread of the Sinner's Plague because they remain untouched by it. The finger must be pointed somewhere, and where else than those where hate can easily be swayed?

The heroine Fie and her people are seen as a necessary evil. They're mercy killers, called on to finish off the barely living, plague infected in order to appease the gods and save the rest of the city. If they are not killed, the entire population will be wiped out in days. Fie's father is the chief in charge of these killings, and one day Fie will step into his bloody shoes. She's dreading the day that happens, often wishing she could escape her fate, but bound to do her duty for her people. They live by loyalty for their own, because all they have in their cruel world is each other. I have to admit her thoughts on this became repetitive through the book. When, not if. That was her internal dialogue every time she saw something she would be responsible for in the future she didn't want to do.

The journey with Fie, Prince Jasimir, and Tavin seemed never-ending rather than an exciting adventure. They were hunted by a group, they hid with invisibility, big fiery explosion to escape, bickering amongst themselves over the social injustice, they're discovered again, and repeat. Jasimir was not likable at all based on his privilege and blindness to the Crow's true plight. Even after donning the crow life and spending weeks in their reality, he stubbornly lacked any empathy for much of the book. Fie was prickly and angry, and rightfully so after being dehumanized and hated her whole life. But her bitterness was a hard pill to swallow, jagged and unpleasant on the palate. I actually did enjoy Tavin, the Hawk protector and body double for the prince. He was the peacemaker between Fie and Jasimir, he had a great sense of humor, and he truly wanted change for the crows.

There were things that I thought were original such as the bone magic used by the dead's teeth, the gruesome plague scenes, and the mammoth warriors. As a whole though there was too much that didn't work for me. The pace, the repetition, and the lack of clarity on important things made for quite a dragging read. I see many others enjoying this one, so you may not feel the same.

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