"A richly textured story of rage, romance, and rebellion." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Owen’s fledgling chief and her Crow family stay on the move in this action-oriented sequel [and] the tension only escalates as the story advances... swift and unexpected turns propel it forward breathlessly." —Booklist
"The Merciful Crow series will appeal to fans of Leigh Bardugo, Kristin Cashore, Sabaa Tahir and Christelle Dabos (the Mirror Visitor Quartet)." —Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Merciful Crow:
A Tor.com Best of 2019 Pick
A 2020 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
"One of the most exciting, exceptionally crafted fantasy debuts I've ever read. I did not want to leave this world! Absolutely breathtaking." —Claire Legrand, New York Times–bestselling author of Furyborn
"Packed to the teeth with fresh worldbuilding and righteous fury . . . It's a ride that is wildly fun." —Emily A. Duncan, New York Times–bestselling author of Wicked Saints
"The Merciful Crow is an intense, romantic adventure with unforgettable magic and a ferocious heroine I'd gladly follow down a long, dark road." —Tessa Gratton, author of The Queens of Innis Lear
"A passionate blend of adventure and intrigue wrapped around strong worldbuilding . . . Memorable and filled with diverse characters with fluid sexualities and identities." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Rich, harrowing, and unafraid to tackle discrimination—perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tomi Adeyemi." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Elevated by a fresh dialect-tinged voice and creative world-building that calls to mind issues of today." —Booklist
"An excellent next read for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Kristin Cashore, and Moira Young." —School Library Journal
The Faithless Hawk
Narrated by Amy Landon
Margaret OwenUnabridged — 12 hours, 28 minutes
The Faithless Hawk
Narrated by Amy Landon
Margaret OwenUnabridged — 12 hours, 28 minutes
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Overview
Kings become outcasts and lovers become foes in The Faithless Hawk, the thrilling sequel to Margaret Owen's The Merciful Crow.
As the new chieftain of the Crows, Fie knows better than to expect a royal to keep his word. Still she's hopeful that Prince Jasimir will fulfill his oath to protect her fellow Crows. But then black smoke fills the sky, signaling the death of King Surimir and the beginning of Queen Rhusana's merciless bid for the throne.
With the witch queen using the deadly plague to unite the nation of Sabor against Crows-and add numbers to her monstrous army-Fie and her band are forced to go into hiding, leaving the country to be ravaged by the plague. However, they're all running out of time before the Crows starve in exile and Sabor is lost forever.
A desperate Fie calls on old allies to help take Rhusana down from within her own walls. But inside the royal palace, the only difference between a conqueror and a thief is an army. To survive, Fie must unravel not only Rhusana's plot, but ancient secrets of the Crows-secrets that could save her people, or set the world ablaze.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
Editorial Reviews
09/25/2020
Gr 7 Up—In this incisive conclusion to "The Merciful Crow" duology, Fie is now chief of her father's Crow band and has safely delivered the crown prince to his allies in exchange for protection; life was supposed to get easier. When Fie comes face to face with a dead god, she ends up responsible for saving not just her Crows, but all of the Crows in Sabor. Their Birthright—the one history says they don't have—was stolen hundreds of years ago, and it's up to Fie to reclaim it. But the ruthless witch queen Rhusana has begun her play for the throne before Prince Jasimir can cement his claim. She blames the Crows for the king's death, uses the Sinner's Plague to raise skin-ghasts for her army, and gives her Oleander Gentry free rein to hunt any Crows they can find. Owen's adroit worldbuilding turns up already high stakes, while further developing her diverse cast with sharp dialogue, morally charged conflicts, and political intrigue. Romance, betrayals, and a dwindling list of allies move the story through exciting turns that will keep readers glued to the page until the very end. With diversity present in race, gender, and sexual orientation, the series tackles the timely topic of institutionalized discrimination through its caste-system worldbuilding, rather than along racial lines. VERDICT A recommended series for fantasy fans. Owen delivers on all her promises in this exhilarating, action-packed sequel, to create a world that readers won't want to leave.—Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., IL
In this addition to the Merciful Crow series, narrator Amy Landon shapes the fantasy world and its characters with self-confidence and imaginative accents. Landon uses Renaissance English for the lowest caste, the Crows, and the King’s English for the royal caste, the Phoenix. The Crows are not liked, but they are immune to the Sinner’s Plague and must dispose of the dead from the other castes. Fie is chief of a Crows band. Landon creates a strong warrior voice for her, which she uses to great effect as the story unfolds. Fie’s quest to save the kingdom from its evil queen and find Tavin, her true love, will have listeners rooting for her success. E.E.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-05-03
Plague and power struggles continue to ravage a kingdom in this sequel to 2019’s The Merciful Crow.
Unlike the 11 other bird-named castes of Sabor, only the Crows can handle the Sinner’s Plague victims, dispatching fatal “mercy,” handling corpses, and taking teeth as payment, yet they are reviled. Fierce young Fie, now a chieftain, and her Crows already delivered Prince Jasimir to safety once, but their promised protection—from daily abuse and nighttime Oleander Gentry raids—is threatened again by Queen Rhusana’s ruthless rise to power. When Rhusana interrupts Fie’s too-brief reunion with Jasimir and Tavin (his half brother, a royal bastard, and Fie’s love interest) via gruesome zombielike skin-ghasts and new mind-control magic, Fie goes solo. Familiar with death, decay, and discrimination, Fie is a refreshingly earthy and grimly determined protagonist with borrowed powers but innate pugnaciousness; romance clashes with her self-reliance. In a world where the dead gods may be reincarnated and every caste has witches and Birthrights, inequality and prejudices nevertheless fester, albeit along caste and class lines (rather than explicitly racial ones). If the first installment was a hair-raising road-trip/hardscrabble survival tale, this one is a proper court intrigue laced with looming social revolution, cryptic religious prophecies, and a fair amount of gore. Owen also raises the stakes, forcing self-reliant Fie to save all Sabor in order to protect all Crows, not just her band, while sustaining the suspense and adventure.
A richly textured story of rage, romance, and rebellion. (Fantasy. 14-18)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940177107431 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Macmillan Audio |
| Publication date: | 08/18/2020 |
| Series: | The Merciful Crow , #2 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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