With the war won and his blood song lost, Vaelin is leading a quiet life as Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches under the rule of Lyrna Al Nieren, Queen of the Greater Unified Realm. That is until the Witch's Bastard, ex-servant of the One Who Waits and an old friend-turned-foe of Vaelin's, informs him that a new evil is ready to devour the world, and Sherin, Vaelin's ex lover, is but the first casualty. Or at least she will be, if Vaelin isn't there to save her...
"Kehlbrand Reyerik, Mestra-Skeltir of the Stahlhast and Darkblade of the Unseen, rode alone towards the northern gate. He wore no helm but was clad in unadorned armour of pure black that caught the midday sun, the enamelled metal bare of any blemish or scratch. His army stood at his back, a dark line of steel-clad humanity and horses extending a mile in either direction."
A lot of fans complained that although Ryan told an excellent story in the books following Blood Song, he shifted the focus from Vaelin to other characters, and more specifically to Reva, Lyrna & Frentis, giving them their own POVs and demoting Vaelin's role. I'm happy to say that The Wolf's Call sports but one POV, and it is none other's than Vaelin's. As a matter of fact, the story itself focuses on Vaelin and his quest, as opposed to the first trilogy that was centered around the fate of the Unified Realm instead.
"A life of loss and grief will make even the kindest soul close his heart to the divine."
The first installment in the Raven's Blade trilogy features everything that we've come to love in Ryan's books. From a fast-paced story with the right amount of breathtaking action sequences & curative dialogue to an engaging plot with an exciting series of events, and from well-crafted and fascinating characters to a masterfully established world with its many characteristics such as magic system, lore, cosmology and geography, as well as the world's many human inhabitants, their societies and their cultures, The Wolf's Call is everything a fantasy fan could ever wish for.
The Wolf's Call is out on July 23 (US) & July 25 (UK). You can pre-order it HERE.
