I love a good Christian fantasy, and Rush of Ravens fits the bill for sure. It’s got a unique world with an interesting magic system and a likable protagonist.
Ratings for Rush of Ravens
Story: 4/5
Worldview: 4.5/5
Story
I love high fantasy and this story was such a wild ride. It was fast-paced with solid worldbuilding. I really liked Ravenna’s friends. The first twist in the story was great, and I was surprised by it (where normally I catch these sorts of things, haha). The worldbuilding of the Embers vs the Despiri was great. Also, the magic implemented within the story was not weird (minus one exception I’ll get to later).
At some points, however, the plot did feel a bit predictable, like with the witch guardians. These were creatures that, if one of them is killed, would team up and continue to come after the initial attacker. It just felt a bit contrived the way certain characters confronted those creatures.
Worldview
Worldview is 4.5/5. To the extent that the story is allegorical, I can see the Christian worldview. The Embers are gifted by God with powers, and the Despiri kill the Embers to steal their powers.
I understand that there were witches in the book, and I like that no spells were included within the pages (just referenced as like, “a character recited this spell”), but one magic aspect did bother me. All of Ravenna’s friends made a blood oath to keep a big secret from Ravenna that would kill them if they told her. It’s mentioned quite a few times, and Ravenna is upset, but no one really questions the morality of it? It felt rather convenient that no one was upset. Also, it didn’t make sense to me how that would work (i.e. if Ravenna found out the secret some other way and they told her, would they still die?). It just felt like a convenient way to keep a secret while upping the stakes. I would have liked to see the characters keep the secret of their own free will and not under threat of death.
Overall thoughts
All in all, I did enjoy this book and I’m so grateful to the author for a copy. The ending was a phenomenal twist, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
If you’re interested in checking out high stakes Christian fantasy, I highly recommend The Secrets of Avigdor and The Guild of Thieves.
