![Cover image of When Among Crows by Veronica Roth. On a blue and grey background of fog, smoke, and vague shapes, a man stands proud. He is grey-scale, tall and well-groomed, in dark clothes. His coat flows out a little behind him. His head is haloed in bright, metallic gold, and think starbursts of light dash out from the central circular halo. In one hand he holds a long-sword, the hilt of which is the same bright metallic gold. The sword is as long as he leg. In the other hand, outstretched before him, is a flower, also of metallic gold. The sense is almost saintly, the man posed, and depicted like Catholic iconography. Over the man, positioned so as not to block any of the core elements of the image, the title of the book [When Among Crows] is written in a simple, white font. At the bottom of the image the author's name [Veronica Roth] appears in the same font, but in yellow.](https://eebonnerauthor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image.png?w=663)
When Among Crows is a little book that packs a huge punch.
Filled with Polish folklore, big emotions, and familial duty, Roth fits so much into this book, and all of it is handled brilliantly. I was consumed by this, and didn’t want it to end. I don’t know if this will become a bigger series, but I live in hope!
I adored Dymitr, and the relationships he built. In so little time, and with so few opportunities, Roth crafts a character who is heart-breaking, strong, sad, intriguing, and utterly beautiful. Niko and Ala, similarly, are wonderfully penned, compelling, and devastating. To create 3 characters, each with such personal and relatable sorrow, and have each of them be equally lovable is a feat by itself – Roth also manages to build an exciting and fresh quest around them.
I haven’t read anything quite like this before, at once dropped in the middle of an adventure, and at the end of one, and yet, somehow, at the start of one. This felt like the liminal space before the beginning of an epic book, the parts you are spoon-fed in intense flashback, and I loved that. I would love to return to Dymitr’s Chicago.
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