Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)

by Anthony Ryan

We have fought battles that left more than a hundred corpses on the ground, and not a word of it has ever been set down. The Order fights, but often it fights in shadow, without glory or reward. We have no banners.

Vaelin Al Sorna's life changes for ever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime - where the price of failure is often death.

Under the tutelage of the Order's masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly. Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order's deadliest weapon and the Realm's only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict.

Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword.

• ISBN10: 0356502465
• ISBN13: 9780356502465
• Publish Date: 4 July 2013 (first published 1 November 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 March 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 592
• Language: English

Reviews

[moraa]

Those who have not lived cannot meditate on the mysteries of life.

Unique and enjoyable, so much so that I can overlook the fact that the story lagged in some sections. I definitely had a wonderful time with this one.

[elysium]

The book starts with grown and captured Vaelin Al Sorna who tells his story to a historian of the enemy, before he is to fight in a duel where he is sentenced to die.

Abandoned as a child by his father at the gate of the Sixth Order of the Faith, which is sort of a military monastic order. The boys go through brutal training and not all of them survive it. Vaelin emerges as a leader of the group and becomes the most feared and greatest warrior known as the Hope Killer.

The book starts where it ends which was nice touch and while you knew what would happen, you will still wonder how it became and how he turned out the way he did.

There’s lot of people in the book and at first I was really lost who was who (even if there’s character list in the end) and trying to keep them sorted. The book starts little slow part when it picks up, it really picks up! Makes you glad you didn’t give up in the beginning.
The time when the boys were training was interesting and it showed what molded them when they were growing but it felt at times like it went on forever.

I wish it was better explained in what time we were. At times it suddenly jumped years ahead and you realize that Vaelin isn’t 15-year old kid anymore. Made it confusing but that’s my only major complain about the book.

I liked Vaelin and it was interesting to see him growing up. He’s not entirely good but he’s not entirely bad either. I’m curious to see if he will meet his father in later books because there’s some unfinished business there.

The book ended too soon and I really wanna get my hands on the next one!