The beautiful cover was the first thing, I fell in love with. Blue, Silver, and that motive were just the perfect combinations. I hadn´t read back then a single line of this series, but I bought it anyway. And it was totally worth it, ´cause this series turned out to be one of the most intriguing I´ve ever read. I don´t know why I haven´t read this series earlier. All I know is that the author has a very unique writing style and a gorgeous fantasy. And that even I am not that much of a mystery reader, this series has convinced me otherwise.
The Raven King
by Maggie StiefvaterThe Raven Cycle #4
Publisher Scholastic Press on April 26, 2016
Genre Mystery
Pages 438
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
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Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted. For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he´s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a life; and Blue, who loves Gansey … and is certain she is destined to kill him. Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.
Story
Cabeswater is changing. Trees are bleeding black blood, everything is dying and Ronan has to face the unspeakable truth. Adam feels that his connection with Cabeswater is changing as well. And when both finally are able to name the truth, they decide to go a very unusual way to put a hold on this nightmare; because it has become one. Cabeswater is no longer a dream place of happiness, endless time, and magic. And some of those creatures are not at all magic. Some of them are very human and power is the keyword.
Style
Told by an invisible narrator, the story shows on one hand how Gansey, Blue, Adam, Ronan, and Henry deal with the final arrival of the demon, Piper has unleashed underground. On the other hand, the reader gets bit by bit to read more about some other figures that are important to the story and which were only shown occasionally in the other books of this series. What I liked most was, that with her unique writing style, Maggie Stiefvater gave answers to questions the reader had out of the other books, but those answers don´t look like they had to be brought up to just say something at all. No, everything makes sense; every answer is a brick in the stony road the Raven´s have to take to bring this all to an end. And yes, they want to bring it to an end. Because the demon isn´t only affecting Ronan´s life, but more and more the life of the others. The line between reality and dream is now seamless and very dangerous. The author uses words, writes sentences I have never read before. She is not only telling a story but she is also celebrating it. Every word is to the point, every description fits in the perfect way. No word too much or less.
Characters
Oh yes, the characters are still weird but very unique. Each one of them has to deal with the bargain Adam made with Cabeswater in its own way. And they do it with everything they have and can think of. One thing is for sure. Maggie Stiefvater gave her figures a wonderful touch of humor, of uniqueness and brings the bad things in them to the outside as well as the good things. They are profound and still have their weakness.
Gansey still is the key to everything. But not in the way he thought. He does everything to find a solution everyone can live with, but it is also quite clear to him, that the solution won´t be easy for him nor Blue. The time where they had to hide their feelings for each other is definitely over, at least for him and when the demon becomes more and more powerful life becomes more and more valuable for Gansey; so no time for games anymore. No playing around. He shows strength, a strong will, and that he is more than willing to protect the ones he loves against everything.
Blue is still trying to get access to her father. A father who prefers to hide in a closet instead of speaking with his daughter or the woman he once loved. But Blue wouldn´t be Blue if she wouldn´t be able to find a way to connect with him. That she would it that way, she´d never expected. But then, what is normal in her family? Or what is normal at all?
Conclusion
This was absolutely perfect. I was haunted, thrilled, sad, happy, and intrigued all at the same time. In my eyes, it couldn´t have been more fantastic and better written than it was. For every Raven Fan a Must-read, for all the others I highly recommend the author and this book in particular.
Happy reading
Maggie Stiefvater
All of Maggie Stiefvater´s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you´re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical edition (all of which she´s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She´s made her living in one or the other since she was twenty-two. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
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