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The Raven Tower

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About this listen

Listen. A god is speaking.

My voice echoes through the stone of your master's castle. This castle where he finds his uncle on his father's throne. You want to help him. You cannot.

You are the only one who can hear me.

You will change the world.

A triumph of the imagination, The Raven Tower is the first fantasy novel by Ann Leckie, New York Times best-selling author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.

2020, World Fantasy Awards Novel category, Short-listed

©2019 Ann Leckie (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Science Fiction Scary

Critic reviews

I've been reading fantasy my whole life. After all these years, it's a delight to read something so different, so wonderful and strange (Patrick Rothfuss, author of THE NAME OF THE WIND)
A powerhouse epic of humans and gods at war, deeply imagined and profoundly thrilling. There are echoes of Shakespeare and Le Guin in The Raven Tower, but its strange dark brilliance could only have come from Ann Leckie (Lev Grossman)
A gripping story that's one part mystery, one part a new history of the world, The Raven Tower is an incredible fantasy, told by one of the most unique voices I've had the privilege of reading (S. A. Chakraborty)
The Raven Tower is a unique, intricate fantasy set in a fascinating world of gods who are at once formidable and vulnerable. Original and powerful - I loved it. Highly recommended for fans of N. K. Jemisin or Guy Gavriel Kay (Django Wexler)
Earthsea's elegance meets Sanderson's clever magic in this talon-sharp saga of divinity and revenge. Ann Leckie is unstoppable (Seth Dickinson)
All stars
Most relevant
There's numerous songs that get stuck in my head, and that I listen to dozens of times in a row and don't get sick of for weeks. There are podcasts that I will revisit episodes of because I can't stop thinking about the performances. There are films and shows that I get the urge to watch every time I think about them, because I suddenly remember how much I love the scenes in them.

Never in my life have I longed to be reading a book the way that I long for the Raven Tower. I have listened to this book at least ten times since I first discovered it, two of those within the last month. I will remember a scene, or an idea, or I'll just miss the quiet contemplation of Strength and Patience, and I will find myself hitting the play button for another go. I love this story, and this world, in a bone deep kind of way that no other book I've read has ever matched.

This world is an endlessly fascinating one. I have spent hours thinking about the nature of the gods' powers, and would gladly spend days discussing the fine points of the universe with someone if one of my friends would give into my endless pleading for them to read the book. This is the only story of its kind that I have ever read, and I only hope that someday I find another one that I love as much.

My favourite book?

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Excellent story: fantasy and detective story - great world building. Loved the characters which were brought to life by the narrator. Narration was fantastic - very skilled actor with multiple realistic accents. She brought the story to life!

Excellent!

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Felt unfinished. Disappointed the two dimensionally evil character had the only Irish accent. Most of the other side characters were given complex internal lives and motivations.

4 stars

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I enjoyed this story. It was different to many fantasy type tales and had the flavour of mythology rather than heroic violence. The narration contributed to this and was well paced, telling the story through the characters.

Well told tale

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I loved this book,and I wasn't really expecting to having read the synopsis and reviews.I bought it because I also loved Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice series - this wasn't what I was expecting when I read it so finding out that The Raven Tower also wasn't what I expected shouldn't have surprised me!
It drew me in - I normally listen to my audio books while I'm driving and it's a sign that a book is really gripping me when I start squeeze in 5 minutes listening when ever I can.
There is a double story running through the book and these stories come together gradually,as you start to piece together how they interrelate.
Adjoah Andoh is an excellent narrator,with a good variety of well differentiated and character appropriate voices (Eolo isn't whiny - he's a country boy,Norfolk maybe?!).
It's hard to say much without adding spoilers but for me the best character by far was the main non-human character - another reviewer has said they found its story boring,I found it completely gripping,and was so hoping there would be a 'happy' ending for it.
Highly recommended.

Fantastic.

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