Lucas Blogs About Malice of Crows

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that it took me three books to catch on to the whole "number of feathres on the cover indicates which book in the series this is" thing.

So, what's this book's deal?

All right, so the deal with Malice of Crows is that it's the third book in Lila Bowen's The Shadow series.

Like Lamont "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" Cranston the Shadow? Like the Orson Welles radio show or the Alec Baldwin movie?

No. The Shadow is a series of fantasy/horror western novels about a Durango Ranger named Rhett Walker (who's gone through a number of previous names, but we'll get to that later). Rhett himself is a shapeshifting monster, that is to say that he looks human but is functionally immortal (unless someone manages to stab him in the heart) and can turn into a bearded vulture (aka a lammergeier) at will. However, to other monsters, Rhett just looks like a normal human (monsters can spot eachother by their oddly colored eyes), that's because he's the Shadow, a sort of prophesied monster hunter who's fated to stamp out evil or something like that.

Like the Slayer from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Kinda. In addition to that, Rhett's life is complicated by the fact that he's transgender, having grown up as Nettie Lonesome, is of Black and Comanche ancestry in setting based on Texas in the latter half of the 18XXs, and that he's kind of a jerk.

So, it's a fantasy/horror western that's aware of intersectionality?

Yeah. Anyway, I've enjoyed the series so far, so let's talk about this entry. So, in previous adventures, Rhett has killed the child-thieving Cannibal Owl, and (mostly) defeated an alchemist who'd been using magic to enslave monsters to work on his railroad camp for . . . reasons (I've forgottten the reasons, but I think maybe it was just to make money). I say mostly, because, being an alchemist, Bernard Trevisan managed to switch bodies with a little Chinese girl he'd been holding captive and give Rhett the slip. So, that's more or less where we find ourselves at the start of the story. Oh! Before I forget: this takes place in what is basically North America, but (mostly) everything has different names, like Texas is Durango, Mexico is Azteca, the USA is the Federal Republic of America, you get the idea.

So, then what happens in this book?

What doesn't happen in this book? This book is packed full of story events. Mainly because Trevisan, in the body of Meimei, keeps sending alchemical creations to kill Rhett et al.

Who's included in that et al?

Well, there's Dan and Winifred who are a pair of coyote shapeshifters, he's a bit uptight and judgmental, she's a bit wild and carefree, and they're both stubborn. Oh, and Winifred's been cursed to die nine times before she's dead for good. Oh, and she's also carrying the child of an antlered god named Buck. Dan's also a Ranger. Then there's Earl, an Irishman who can turn into a Donkey and originally set Rhett on Trevisan's tail, he's also the first person to acknowledge and accept Rhett as a man. There's Cora, the older sister of Meimei who can turn into a dragon and has enough knowledge of medicine to heal wounds both physical and magical (within limits). And then there's Sam Hennessey another fellow Ranger who's been Rhett's crush object since way back in the first book.

Got it! So . . . what happens in this book?

All right, so Trevisan has escaped in Meimei's body and that's put Rhett on the outs with Cora. See they were maybe kinda sorta an item while Rhett was infiltrating Trevisan's camp. But Rhett's failure to rescue  Meimei has put the kibosh on that. So Rhett's faced with a choice, follow Trevisan south towards San Anton or ride west to reconnoiter with Captain Walker (no relation) and the rest of the Rangers at the Las Moras Outpost. Turns out that the tingle in Rhett's Shadow Sense is coming from the West, so the group reluctantly heads for Las Moras. Along the way they encounter a number of alchemical horrors, some of Rhett's old bunkmates from the camp, and, surprise of surprises, Rhett's Comanche mother and younger brother. But there's not time for a prolonged reunion, so Rhett leaves his family behind to find that the Captain has been fatally wounded by a Sand Wyrm. The good news is that the Captain wants Rhett to take his place, the bad news is that the other Rangers racism won't let them accept a Black captain, so. . . well, maybe we're wandering into SPOILER territory here, so let's just say that this is a major shifting point in the plot and that the series' status quo is upended. In any case, after these events the Shadow Sense starts pulling Rhett towards San Anton. But honestly, all of this business isn't what the book is mostly about.

Then what is the book about?

Well, it's about Rhett's growth as a person. I mentioned earlier that he's a jerk.

You did.

That's because he's an inconsiderate, selfish, condescending misogynist.

Oh, is that all?

Well, he's also sexually voracious, but that's only really a failing because his selfishness keeps him from taking other people's feelings into account.

And he's the protagonist?

Well, he's got plenty of room to grow. And, actually, I'd say that the's strongest aspect of this entry. Rhett's budding romance with Sam serves as a catalyst for his character growth. It's not so much that Sam's good attitude and decency start to rub off on him, it's that his attentiveness towards Sam's feelings and concerns triggers a wider awareness of how his words and actions effect others. Bowen (a pen name of Delilah S. Dawson) uses a limited third-person omniscient narrator to keep the focus of the series on Rhett as the point-of-view character. This works phenomenally well for communicating the complex inner journey of a character like Rhett who has to negotiate living in a world that doesn't accept the reality of his identity while learning to understand other characters' viewpoints himself. However, it's also the source of one of the novel's failings.

Ooh, this sounds juicy.

What do you mean?

Well, usually you'll couch your criticisms of books with "your mileage may vary" disclaimers that rob them of any punch.

I mean, I guess I could see some readers not being bothered by what I'm about to point out.

Just when I thought you'd grown a backbone.

Anyway, The problem with the tight focus on Rhett and his personal journey is that the ostensible threat posed by Trevisan is robbed of any tension. Sure, he keeps sending alchemical creatures after Rhett and his posse, but there just wasn't enough suspense to keep me invested in that conflict. If anything, I just started getting annoyed as I got closer to the end and began to worry that maybe the fourth book would also feature Trevisan as the villain. (SPOILERS: it won't) True, it does give Bowen a reason to keep Cora around, and having a character who reminds Rhett of a past failure does help keep a running conflict in the story and provide him with an opportunity to grow as a character.

I sense a but coming.

But, at the same time, the interesting thing about Trevisan in the second book was that he was a completely different kind of threat than the villain of the first book. So having him back was a little boring. It actually took me about twice as long to finish this book as a I would have otherwise. Anyway, the book does still feature solid character writing, some cool action set pieces and a fun setting, so it's got that going for it. I just wish it had more of a compelling villain.

So, recommend? Don't recommend?

Well, I obviously don't recommend that anyone start up any series with book three (Though I do recommend skipping most of the first two seasons of Star Trek The Next Generation), but sure, I'd recommend checking out Wake of Vultures (the first book) if anything here sounds appealing.

Malice of Crows by Lila Bowen, Orbit Books trade paperback edition, March 2018, 344 pages, pairs well with fruit and wine summoned by an antlered god, don't worry, I'm sure it'll be okay

Links:

Here's Lila Bowen's (or Delilah S. Dawson's) website, if you're into that kinda thing.

Huh, so apparently the upcoming fourth book, Treason of Hawks will be the final entry of the series and Orbit Books already has the first chapter up as a preview.