The Black Song

Book Two of Raven's Blade

By: Anthony Ryan

Narrated by: Steven Brand

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The Black Song is the action-packed conclusion to the Raven's Blade series by Anthony Ryan, which began with The Wolf's Call.   

The Steel Horde has laid waste to the Venerable Kingdom, unleashing a storm of fire and blood. Now the leader of this mighty host - Kehlbrand, the warlord who thinks himself a god - turns his eyes to the other merchant kingdoms. No one can stop his divine conquest.  

No one, perhaps, except Vaelin Al Sorna.  

Yet Vaelin is on the run, his own army in disarray. Worse, the new blood song he has acquired is as much a curse as a blessing and seeks to guide him down a path far darker than he could have imagined.... 

Books by Anthony Ryan:

Raven's Shadow:

• Blood Song
• Tower Lord
• Queen of Fire

Raven's Blade:

• The Wolf's Call
• The Black Song

Draconis Memoria:

• The Waking Fire
• The Legion of Flame
• The Empire of Ashes

©2020 Anthony Ryan (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK

noice

good story. just the ending was a bit wonkyin my opinion, same as the first trilogy. the ending never really did it for me

Underwhelming

Anthony Ryan obviously has a lot of talent, but ever since the excellent Blood Song, it's all been a bit underwhelming. Unfortunately the same is true here. I can see why he wanted to revisit Vaelyn as a character, and the first book did succeed somewhat in rediscovering some of the original magic, but this conclusion just falls a flat and everything feels very formulaic. There is little to no character development, the plot comes across as contrived and finally the ending is just plain rubbish! I usually like the narrator but his monotone style, in combination with the overly long descriptive prose then Ryan can be guilty of, made it a little boring to listen to.

Ryan has so much potential but I won't be buying any more of his books until his form picks up again.

Truly just phenomenal. As always.

Truly just phenomenal. As always. Please, more. I was surprised that it was concluded with only two books, but two was all that was needed, great ending...

Great continuaty

I really enjoy the series and love all the characters old and new.. I think it is a great idea having the great Vielin al Sorna take on the mongol invasion.. My only issue but its not anything to put me of relistening or listening to what comes next is Steven Brands style of voice acting.. I love his voice and it suits Veilin perfectly but I think he has about 2 other accents in his arsenal. I had trouble following who was talking to who and found myself rewinding and having to concentrate to figure out what's going on. Maybe it's just my opinion but this is my review..

It was ok

Maybe it deserved a better rating but Anthony Ryan is one of my favourite authors and Vaelyn is one of my favourite characters. Steven Brand was excellent as always, he seemed to be putting more effort/passion into his narration than normal which for me was unnecessary.

I guess some parts left me a little empty. Won’t say more to avoid any spoilers but for me this just seemed off kilter.

I had put it down as a 3 for the story but I just couldn’t do it for all the joy I’ve had from Anthony Ryan’s books.

Great narration and book

Worth the purchase but simply preferred other Ryan books more. Great narration as usual from Steven Brand.

This was an epic story well penned and finely told

Great series of books. It now begs for a film. I can't wait for the follow-up.

Disappointed

I found the story disjointed and the end a massive anticlimax and very underwhelming. A pity as I’d enjoyed the first book.

loved it

A return to form with this book.
I am gutted that for now at least, there is no more to read or listen to about vaelin.

it's good but not as good as the originals

I am a massive fan of the Ravens Shadow trilogy so got super excited when I saw these.

having listened to both new books I would say that Steven Brand is as brilliant as ever (no change there) and the story is as intricate and deep as the others, with detailed descriptions, multi-faceted characters and a good plot.

My only issues are that there are some discrepancies in the characters that don't sit well: Vaelin acts in a manner that is quite out of character for him (I won't spoil it but you'll see what I mean... particularly his lack of remorse about the deserters at the beginning and the self healing man near the end). There are even some (admittedly much smaller) discrepancies in other characters too, including Nortah, Sherin and even Reeva.

Also, the ending is predictable (definitely not something that can be said for the first trilogy!) and the last chapter left me furious as it basically contradicted the entire story!

In short, though the story is definitely worth listening to, I would say it is not as good as the first trilogy (though that would be quite a tall order lol)

A work of art

Beautifully written, fascinating and surprising character arcs, performed flawlessly. I've found a new favourite author in Antony Ryan, and storyteller in Steven Brand. I can't wait for more.