REVIEW: Corvus by Paul Kearney

Corvus by Paul Kearney
Publishing Information: Paperback; 464 pages
Publisher: Solaris 26 October 2010
ISBN 10: 1906735778
ISBN 13: 978-1906735777
Series- Sequel to The Ten Thousand
Copy: Tyson- Out of Pocket; Yagiz- Sent by the publisher
Reviewers: Yagiz and Tyson

Back of the Book: "It is twenty-three years since a Macht army fought its way home from the heart of the Asurian Empire. The man who came to lead that army, Rictus, is now a hard-bitten mercenary captain, middle-aged and tired. He wants nothing more than to lay down his spear and become the farmer that his father was. But fate has different ideas. A young warleader has risen to challenge the order of things in the very heartlands of the Macht. A soldier of genius, he takes city after city, and reigns over them as king. What is more, he had heard of the legendary leader of the Ten Thousand. His name is Corvus, and the rumours say that he is not even fully human. He means to make himself absolute ruler of all the Macht. And he wants Rictus to help him."

Yagiz

In The Ten Thousand (review here), the first book of the Macht Trilogy, Paul Kearney introduced the world of Kuf, an intriguing world, home to different races. This great first book took us to the heart of The Empire far away from the homeland of the legendary Ten Thousand. In Corvus, the author takes us back to the land of the Macht, the fabled warrior race.

And to the readers delight, he also brings forward a familiar face: It was a great pleasure to meet Rictus again from page one. The book starts with Rictus going back home twenty-three years later after the events of The Ten Thousand.

For Rictus, the Paean was something different. He no longer joined in the singing, and had not since returning from the Empire all those years before. He had never forgotten the second day of Kunaksa, when the Ten Thousand had sung that song, believing they were marching to their doom but advancing anyway, to make themselves worthy of memory. It had kept them going that day, had reminded them of who they were.

Machts are a warrior race and they excel in this art. And not surprisingly, there are constant quarrels between cities. However, twenty three years later, Rictus is not the same man. He is torn between war and family. As he struggles to decide between two, life makes a choice for him. Sometimes it's easier that way, when the choices are made on one's behalf.

Kearney is amazingly talented in creating very realistic military scenes. The picture of the terrible face of war that he paints tugs at the heart of the reader. War is a terrible thing but it is in us, in our genes. You kill or you are killed. But everyone is somebody's son, brother or father and every single one of them has their own story that one ends in a blink of an eye.

[Fornyx] nudged a corpse with his foot. It was the man Rictus had speared through the neck. He wore a bracelet of dried grass about his wrist, the kind a daughter might plait for her father on a summer afternoon. Rictus looked away from it.

Some parts of the book reminded me of another great book that I read last year: Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. Especially the Antimone's Gift, the magical black armour of the Cursebearers reminded me of Shards: Their origin is unknown, they are limited in number and offering money for one just doesn't work.

To those of you who wear the scarlet in war for the first time today, do not disgrace it, either in the thick of the fight or afterwards. The colour has been worn by both good men and bad for centuries, but it has never been worn without courage.

Not surprisingly, in Corvus, Kearney maintains his fluid and addictive style. He creates and develops some great characters in a memorable fantasy setting. The author is amazingly talented in mixing military aspects of the fantasy with drama and individuality, which, at times, gives the impression to read a mixtures of Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay.

Even though I read The Ten Thousand previously, the reader is not required to do so to fully enjoy Corvus. Although I would recommend to read The Ten Thousand before just because it is another excellent book.

Corvus has confirmed that Paul Kearney is an amazing writer. Unfortunately, and very surprisingly, he is also incredibly and criminally underrated. Corvus was one of the best books of 2010 and made the last book of the trilogy, Kings of Morning one of the most anticipated books of 2011. Just pick it up and read it. Resistance is futile.

Memorable Quotes

"A man who has a passion will always find life to his taste. A man who cares for nothing is a man already dead."

"Every legend begins with the ordinary and the everyday, as the acorn begets the oak" - Corvus

"The anvil is on its way. Brother, we are the hammer" - Corvus

"It is a fine line, sometimes, between guest and hostage. The key to it is left unspoken, buried in courtesies. The fist inside the glove" - Rictus

Plot 9/10
Characters 9/10
Style 9/10

Overall 9.5/10

Tyson

After finishing The Ten Thousand and enjoying it I quickly decided to read Kearney's follow up, Corvus. While the novel is a sequel, it was superior in nearly every way imaginable. When I read the first book The Ten Thousand I found myself really enjoying what was a great military novel. In Corvus, Kearney has taken the myth and transported it a few years into the future and tells us the story of a young man setting out to make his mark on the world. A world that at times has given him the short end of the stick. In order for the young man, Corvus, to realize his dream, he gains the support of an old warhorse that was just about to put down his spear and sword for a more peaceful rake and shovel and tend his farm and his family.

Corvus does an excellent job of bridging the gap between his two novels. Rictus the hero from The Ten Thousand returns as a man larger than life and an honorable reputation. Corvus uses this to his advantage with his own troops and his enemies. When Rictus and his famed Macht warriors take to the battlefield the tide of war changes dramatically. The mythos that surrounds his unit is palpable when you read the book.

I do not know why, as I cannot put my finger on it myself, but I found this installment a much better novel than The Ten Thousand. The pacing was top notch, the characters were well-rounded. The action and military concepts seemed plausible and made sense. There was a little bit of politics involved in the book but it took a back seat to the various battles and sieges. The book was just a great story of a winter campaign and the rise of a young, charismatic young man with a dream of uniting his people under one banner.

I believe that with Corvus Kearney is at the top of his game. Corvus is Kearney's opus. I know that the third book in the series, Kings of Morning, is coming soon, but he will have a difficult road ahead of him to write a better book then this one. Regardless, I will be there to read the next book in the series. Highly Recommended.

Plot 9/10
Characters 10/10
Style 10/10

Overall 9.5/10