Anthony Ryan

'Robin Hobb meets Joe Abercrombie . . . This is fantasy with a totally legendary feel' Fantasy Book Review 'The Wolf's Call is everything a fantasy fan could ever wish for' Booknest 'Anthony Ryan's best work since the release of his incredible debut . . . fantastic storytelling' Novel Notions 'An immensely satisfying, top-notch adventure fantasy' Kirkus Vaelin Al Sorna is a living legend. It was his leadership that overthrew empires and his sacrifice that saved the Unified Realm from destruction. Now he lives a quiet life, his days of warfare behind him. Yet whispers have spread across the sea of an army called the Steel Horde, led by a man who thinks himself a god. When Vaelin learns that Sherin, the woman he lost long ago, has fallen into the Horde's grasp, he resolves to confront this powerful new threat. To this end, he travels to the realms of the Merchant Kings - a strange land ruled by honour and intrigue. And as the drums of war echo across kingdoms riven by conflict, Vaelin learns that there are some battles even he cannot hope to win. The Wolf's Call is the start of an action-packed epic fantasy series from Anthony Ryan, a master storyteller who has taken the fantasy world by storm. Books by Anthony Ryan: Raven's Shadow Blood Song Tower Lord Queen of Fire Raven's Blade The Wolf's Call The Black Song Draconis Memoria The Waking Fire The Legion of Flame The Empire of Ashes The Covenant of Steel The Pariah

Book One of Raven's Blade

The Wolf's Call

"Vaelin Al Sorna, the once-epic warrior and hero of many battles, is now the Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches. He spends his days policing the remote region against smugglers. But then he captures an assassin from the Far West. The thwarted killer tells Vaelin that the entire Far West is in peril of genocidal invasion and that the healer Sherin, now practicing her arts on the northern frontier of the lands of the Merchant Kings, will be one of the first to die. Vaelin sails for the Far West to warn her. And finds himself in the very center of a conflict that will open old wounds and rend new ones--if he survives at all"--

Sheena

I had to sit back to think long and hard about my final thoughts about this novel. There were just so many great elements ranging from the detailed storyline, the diverse group of characters that each contributed to Vaelin journey and the story itself, and the author's writing style that changed this storytelling to something way beyond that made this an exceptional read. But going into this I had realized, much later on, I should have read Raven’s Shadow trilogy before diving into this fantasy novel to get a better understanding of the characters, their tormented pasts and how war changed each individual character. I believe because of that, I wasn't able to form a real connection with the characters and story thus making it more than difficult to really immerse myself into the epic fantasy world that the author was able to create for us. Furthermore I had a minor (or maybe the biggest?) issue was the pacing of the story. It was damn slow. Too damn slow if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong I normally love the build up when the slow pace is done right and unpopular opinion or not, “The Wolf's Call” was dragging me down. I’m not gonna lie but due to the pacing of the story, I found myself more often than not losing focus and having to backtrack to reread a line I have already read. That’s never a good sign people but despite that I was able to quickly redirected my attention half way through the novel when the story really started to progress. I won’t provide too many details to spoil the series holy shit, the author left a lasting impression on me and I look forward to seeing what he has to bring with the next edition of the duology.

VAELIN AL SORNA RETURNS Anthony Ryan's debut novel Blood Song—the first book of the Raven's Shadow series—took the fantasy world by storm. Now, he continues that saga with The Wolf's Call, which begins a thrilling new story of razor-sharp action and epic adventure. Peace never lasts. Vaelin Al Sorna is a living legend, his name known across the Realm. It was his leadership that overthrew empires, his blade that won hard-fought battles - and his sacrifice that defeated an evil more terrifying than anything the world had ever seen. He won titles aplenty, only to cast aside his earned glory for a quiet life in the Realm's northern reaches. Yet whispers have come from across the sea - rumours of an army called the Steel Horde, led by a man who believes himself a god. Vaelin has no wish to fight another war, but when he learns that Sherin, the woman he lost long ago, has fallen into the Horde's grasp, he resolves to confront this powerful new threat. To this end, Vaelin travels to the realms of the Merchant Kings, a land ruled by honor and intrigue. There, as the drums of war thunder across kingdoms riven by conflict, Vaelin learns a terrible truth: that there are some battles that even he may not be strong enough to win.

The Wolf's Call Book One of Raven's Blade

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