Raven's Strike

By: Patricia Briggs

Narrated by: Jennifer James Bradshaw

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Traveler Seraph must use all her cunning and ability as a Raven mage to track down an unimaginable force of destruction known as the Shadowed.

©2004 Patricia Briggs (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An excellent book...The characters have a real interior life, with thoughts and second thoughts and feelings and the interaction between them is very good.” (SF Revu)

“Patricia Briggs is a talented storyteller who enchants her audience with a spellbinding tale. Raven’s Shadow is going on this reviewer’s keeper shelf.” (Midwest Book Review)

“Raven’s Shadow is an exciting and touching tale. It’s self-contained enough to give the reader a satisfying sense of completion by the end, while leaving room for a sequel that will be highly anticipated.” (RT Book Reviews)   

This is what I look for…

A fantasy thriller all tied up in a story without graphic violence or explicit sex.
This duology has a gripping story line with caricatures that make you care. Thanks to all for a great ride.

It is a unique story...

I enjoyed this series. I love patricia Briggs and she did not dissapoint. The story line was a new take on magic and very well written. The narrator was fairly good as well. She helped to make the story come to life. She is not monotone but instead uses slight differences between the characters which helps to distinguish which character was speaking before any name was given. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Book 2 of 2. Wishing for another!

Fabulous narration. Top notch! As for the story, this is book two of two, a short fantasy series with wizards, ghosts, vampirism, trolls, mistwraithes, wolf-shifters, elemental gods, specially gifted "Travelers" and a little romance. I really bonded with the characters, first introduced in the prequel, Raven's Shadow. They became real to me across these two books. I want to see more of Seraph, Tier, Jes, Hennea, Lehr, Rinnie, Emperor Phoran the 26/27th, and his two loyal guards. I even loved the big black dog and the old war horse.

Suspenseful, heartwarming, engrossing, and fairly novel. Some grim scenes. Some black magic. Some bardic storytelling, song, and campfire camaraderie, to balance the darker bits. A villain not immediately obvious to me. Great scenes of fierce marital love even after 20 years. Authentic and well-sketched kids (ages about 10, 18, 20) play key roles in both books. Loved watching this family fight shadows together! Loved seeing the kids come into their own. Young Rennie learns to control winds and weather. Lehr learns to hunt, track, and open locks. And Jes learns to integrate his two opposite personas: empath and warrior. Kudos to Briggs for these two books.

My only gripe is that sometimes the author goes on too long, trying to explain how her magic works, what the "orders" are, who the gods are, and how to bind -- and free -- a person's spirit-entwined order (gift).

A lovely ending to this duology, but I wish it wouldn't end yet. How about another, dear author? Maybe Lehr could get a story. Or Rinnie.

A little complicated but still great!

I'm pretty simple minded when it come to listening to audio books. I'm usually doing chores and half distracted. The world building in this book was so good! I'm glad they didn't force this into a trilogy where the 2nd book always drags. Great reveals on characters. The story arc was a bit complicated for my simple tastes/mind, but it did make me stop what I was doing and truly listen to this work of art. I hope there are more of these stories in Briggs world.

Love this author

Awesome book. I wish there were more in this series. A great ending - even though part of it you could guess from earlier on. There was a lot of thought put into the last third of the book. It was great food for the imagination. Looking for more like this try the her Mercy series or the books by Kim Harrison.

Excellent

I know the author is making bank on the mercy Thompson books but I really wish she would return to some of her earlier books I do love them

Bk 2of2 good addition and ending

Good conclusion in part 2 of 2.
This storyline reminds me of Bujold’s Sharing Knife series where a catastrophic event was created by mages misusing magic and now their descendants have a lifelong duty to hunt for and eliminate the evil that can pop up anywhere.
Bradshaw does a decent job of narration.

loved both books

Patricia Briggs has a talent of making me feel like I am part of her stories. love all of her books I have listened to and read.

An excellent story.

The characters seem to come to life. The start takes on a life of its own.

fun story, it's like brain candy.

What did you love best about Raven's Strike?

The authors ability to create an image unique but easy to identify with.

What does Jennifer James Bradshaw bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wonderful tone of voice, gentle and easy to listen to. Great inflections in tone of voice that were consistent.