The Merciful Crow (The Merciful Crow Series, 1)
"[A] ferocious, exhilarating narrative!" - The New York Times Book Review
A Tor.com Best of 2019 Pick
A 2020 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
Debut author Margaret Owen crafts a powerful saga of vengeance, survival, and sacrifice—perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake—in The Merciful Crow.
"Packed to the teeth with fresh worldbuilding and righteous fury...It's a ride that is wildly fun."—Emily A. Duncan, New York Times-bestselling author of Wicked Saints
"Rich, harrowing, and unafraid to tackle discrimination—perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Tomi Adeyemi."—Kirkus, Starred Review
One way or another, we always feed the crows.
A future chieftain
Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince
When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard
Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
The Merciful Crow is set in the fictional world Sabor where there are 12 different castes with 12 different possible abilities for ‘witches’ in a caste. Our main character Fie (rhymes with pie) is from the Crow caste, which has the lowest ranking of them all, the brutal task of mercy killing plague victims, and which the rest of Sabor shuns and literally beats down. In an unexpected turn of events, Fie and her family find themselves sworn to an oath to escort a prince and his body double that faked their plague deaths to their allies in exchange for lifelong protection for all Crows everywhere. Therein commences many many pages of walking.
And it really is a lot of walking with some hiding in trees and a few dozen pyromaniac thoughts. The repetitive narrative and inner monologues only added to the monotony, and this got quite dull quite quickly. I really only finished this because the book was due back at the library.
A bit disappointing, as I was initially very interested in the magic system and world, and greatly enjoyed the banter between Fie and her travelling companions. But, as other reviewers seem to agree, there isn’t much else to this novel, and I likely won’t be picking up the second half of this duology.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.