It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with work on What Fire Cannot Take, a consulting gig that ate nearly all my free time, and preparations for a trip the Nebula Conference (say hi if you're attending, too!) followed immediately by a twelve day bicycle trip along the east coast of the U.S.

But I have had time to finish a fantastic book!

Palaces of the Crow

In June of 1941 Adolf Hitler made the fateful decision to ignore the great sage Vizzini’s advice and send troops into Eastern Europe and ultimately, Russia. This decision didn’t only hasten, if not outright cause, Germany's defeat. It led to unfathomable levels of pain, suffering, and death, throughout Eastern Europe. The German invaders were unbelievably brutal, but their attack unleashed deadly partisan warfare within the Soviet Union. No one was safe.

It’s in this milieu that Ray Nayler set Palaces of the Crow, a novel about four young people thrown together in the Lithuanian forest. They spend three years struggling to survive freezing weather, hostile soldiers, deadly partisans, and even more dangerous refugees, with the help of a preternaturally intelligent flock of crows.

I don’t have to mention my love of fantasy and science fiction stories place in historical settings, so pretend I just didn’t. While that was one of the reasons I pre-ordered this book in hardcover there was another, more important one: that flock of corvids.

I finished Nayler’s first novel, The Mountain in the Sea, earlier this year. It tackled questions of intelligence and consciousness by way of AI and octopi. It was a fascinating read, and as soon as I heard he was taking on crows, a species that I find amazing, I put it on order.

Here’s a two-minute demonstration of how clever these birds can be. There’s a reason why we’ve always been fascinated by crows and ravens.

I dislike it when reviews delve into plot points, much less spoilers, so I’m just going to day this: get this book. Palaces combines fascinating science with deep characters and gripping drama. Come for the super-intelligent corvids, stay for a suspenseful tale about found family and survival.

And, on the topic of found family, the book literally had me up late the night I finished it, thinking about families, flocks, packs, and how they are the same, but different.

This book will stay with you.

Patreon

Chapter Six of What Fire Cannot Take went live on Patreon this week. Have you checked it out yet? Free followers are more welcome! Please consider dropping in.

I'll be on the road for the next few weeks. I might drop in with some photos on the way. If not, see you in a few weeks!