With The Raven Tower, she proves the same for the gods, mortals, and magic sub-section of fantasy. Leckie’s first Ancillary book made a well-trod part of the science fiction world feel like it had new ways to say new things. This story builds in surprising ways, both in terms of plot and how it is told. The god/narrator also tells Eolo’s story, but in the second person, which works once you get used to it. Our Mawat is left to his own devices to navigate his madness instead, he has Eolo, the Wooster to his Jeeves. Our narrator is a god, whose motivations are suspect, at best. What Leckie has added is what makes this story fresh.

And, like Hamlet, the stage is littered with bodies by the end. There is an Ophelia-esque childhood friend. Mawat, Leckie’s Hamlet analog, loses his grip and unleashes his great temper. Instead, he discovers his uncle has already made himself king (or, in this case, the Raven’s Lease). The outline of the plot mirrors Hamlet: a disaffected heir to the throne returns (from a war, not college, in this case) to his home kingdom to ascend to the throne. With The Raven Tower, Leckie plays in the world of fantasy, rather than science fiction, and proves that she is a great writer no matter the genre. Yes, the tales spanned galaxies and generations, but her vision filtered these hoary old tropes into something fresh by focusing on gender and identity, while still telling a propulsive story that doesn’t forget that fiction should always be engaging even when it is thoughtful. These books took a sub-genre we know well – space opera – and told it slant. You likely know Ann Leckie from her multi-award winning books set in the Ancillary Justice universe. 'It's a delight to read something so different, so wonderful and strange.The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie ( Orbit 978-9-6, $26.00, 432pp, hc) February 2019. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself.and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever. And under the Raven's watch, the city flourishes.īut the Raven's tower holds a secret. His magic is sustained by the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer.

His will is enacted through the Raven's Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. 'Absolutely wonderful.utterly brilliant.' - The New York Times Book Reviewįor centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven.

Gods meddle in the fates of men, men play with the fates of gods, and a pretender must be cast down from the throne in this masterful first fantasy novel from Ann Leckie, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 WORLD FANTASY AWARD

The raven tower book