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A Cast of Corbies - Chapter Eighteen
Nov. 17th, 2025 06:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinaraSo as mentioned, I accidently ended up taking a week off from reviewing. Sorry about that! Things got a bit hectic IRL and I lost track of time.
Anyway, back to this book. Ugh. Well, at least I'm approaching the home stretch.
I'm not sure what makes this book feel so dull compared to the prior books in the series. It's not like either Lark and the Wren or the Robin and the Kestrel are very plot heavy books. Hell, Lark was more of a collection of smaller vignettes: Rune becomes a bard. Rune and Talaysin learn magic. It wasn't until poor Jonny showed up to pick someone's pocket that we got something resembling a real plot. Robin and the Kestrel, on the other hand, did have a central plot, but it was fairly light and fluid, with the real appeal being the interaction of the characters and the growth of their relationship.
On its face, Cast of Corbies should be a very similar book. But it's just not working for me. Maybe it's simply that the characters and relationships aren't appealing enough. I like Raven well enough, but he lacks Talaysen's presence or Kestrel's vulnerability. The fact that sets him apart: being an experienced Rom Free Bard in the middle of a very white city is something that the authors clearly have no interest in exploring.
And well, I've said more than enough about Magpie or this tumor of a romantic storyline in previous reviews. There are many ways to pull off the bickering belligerent lover trope, but this book doesn't manage it. Alas.
All I can say is that I can see why the "Bardic Choices" subseries of the "Bardic Voices" universe stopped at book one. But let's get going.
( Maybe something will actually happen? )
Anyway, back to this book. Ugh. Well, at least I'm approaching the home stretch.
I'm not sure what makes this book feel so dull compared to the prior books in the series. It's not like either Lark and the Wren or the Robin and the Kestrel are very plot heavy books. Hell, Lark was more of a collection of smaller vignettes: Rune becomes a bard. Rune and Talaysin learn magic. It wasn't until poor Jonny showed up to pick someone's pocket that we got something resembling a real plot. Robin and the Kestrel, on the other hand, did have a central plot, but it was fairly light and fluid, with the real appeal being the interaction of the characters and the growth of their relationship.
On its face, Cast of Corbies should be a very similar book. But it's just not working for me. Maybe it's simply that the characters and relationships aren't appealing enough. I like Raven well enough, but he lacks Talaysen's presence or Kestrel's vulnerability. The fact that sets him apart: being an experienced Rom Free Bard in the middle of a very white city is something that the authors clearly have no interest in exploring.
And well, I've said more than enough about Magpie or this tumor of a romantic storyline in previous reviews. There are many ways to pull off the bickering belligerent lover trope, but this book doesn't manage it. Alas.
All I can say is that I can see why the "Bardic Choices" subseries of the "Bardic Voices" universe stopped at book one. But let's get going.
( Maybe something will actually happen? )