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Raven's Shadow #0.1
The Book Burner's Fall
The Unified Realm in the reign of King Lakril, known to history as the book burner - an impoverished realm brought to the brink of destruction by Lakril’s paranoid tyranny.
Kestra Saero, once the most deadly assassin to serve the Seventh Order of the Faith, is tempted back to the fold by an irresistible kill the book burner. Driven by a deep desire for retribution but distrustful of her new comrades, Kestra must infiltrate a royal palace transformed into a carnival of horrors and slay the monster that lurks at its heart. But killing a king could never be an easy matter…
Set a century before the events in the Raven’s Shadow trilogy, The Book Burner’s Fall is a thrilling tale of dark magic and bloody vengeance.
Praise for the Raven’s Shadow
‘Ryan hits all the high notes of epic fantasy - a gritty setting, ancient magics, ruthless intrigue, divided loyalties, and bloody action.’ - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.
‘A new master storyteller has hit the scene.’ - MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, AUTHOR OF THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS.
‘Anthony Ryan is David Gemmell’s natural successor and epic fantasy’s best British talent.’ - FANTASY BOOK CRITIC.
Kestra Saero, once the most deadly assassin to serve the Seventh Order of the Faith, is tempted back to the fold by an irresistible kill the book burner. Driven by a deep desire for retribution but distrustful of her new comrades, Kestra must infiltrate a royal palace transformed into a carnival of horrors and slay the monster that lurks at its heart. But killing a king could never be an easy matter…
Set a century before the events in the Raven’s Shadow trilogy, The Book Burner’s Fall is a thrilling tale of dark magic and bloody vengeance.
Praise for the Raven’s Shadow
‘Ryan hits all the high notes of epic fantasy - a gritty setting, ancient magics, ruthless intrigue, divided loyalties, and bloody action.’ - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.
‘A new master storyteller has hit the scene.’ - MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, AUTHOR OF THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS.
‘Anthony Ryan is David Gemmell’s natural successor and epic fantasy’s best British talent.’ - FANTASY BOOK CRITIC.
- GenresFantasyHigh Fantasy
87 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
About the author
Anthony Ryan
97 books10.1k followersAnthony Ryan was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven’s Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale.
For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: http://anthonystuff.wordpress.com
For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: http://anthonystuff.wordpress.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 24, 2024
Mixed feelings about this one: on one hand, the characters are just as great as expected, and the premise as well.
On the other hand however, the accomplishment of their ultimate goal is beyond credibility - one of the toughest and almost impossible task done with such ease that feels comic. This was a great disappointment. Is not a short story, is a short novella, it could have benefited from a more careful execution.
But is was a pleasure diving in this universe again, learn about new Gifts, and appreciate their diversity and wickedness.
On the other hand however, the accomplishment of their ultimate goal is beyond credibility - one of the toughest and almost impossible task done with such ease that feels comic. This was a great disappointment. Is not a short story, is a short novella, it could have benefited from a more careful execution.
But is was a pleasure diving in this universe again, learn about new Gifts, and appreciate their diversity and wickedness.
May 15, 2025
I'm a little ashamed of myself for not having started the book Blood Song yet, even though it's sitting there on my Kindle reader. This book made me even more interested in this world.
“Hate. That's how it works. I can't kill them if I don't hate them. Now, brother, you owe me a story.”
I honestly didn't really read the synopsis to see what this book was about, I was really interested in the world of Raven's Shadow. I liked Kestra and the story. Although the story is not long, it outlines the circumstances of the story quite well. Kestra is also driven by a personal desire for revenge, which makes her even more dedicated to the assassination mission. Although Kestra has a rather crude personality, I still liked that she had a purpose and a goal that she stuck to. I wouldn't call her bad, because what I learned from this story is that for the most part, she always served justice with her abilities.
Of course, the goal is to kill the Book Burner, although this assassination mission is far from easy. But the way there is full of action and excitement.
I regret that this story was published as such a short novella, because I would have liked to know more about the supporting characters and Seventh Order of the Faith as well. Although the latter may be discussed more in the full-length books (I should make up for my shortcomings).
Overall I enjoyed this novella. I liked the main character and the supporting characters as well. The excitement was also sufficient.
“Hate. That's how it works. I can't kill them if I don't hate them. Now, brother, you owe me a story.”
I honestly didn't really read the synopsis to see what this book was about, I was really interested in the world of Raven's Shadow. I liked Kestra and the story. Although the story is not long, it outlines the circumstances of the story quite well. Kestra is also driven by a personal desire for revenge, which makes her even more dedicated to the assassination mission. Although Kestra has a rather crude personality, I still liked that she had a purpose and a goal that she stuck to. I wouldn't call her bad, because what I learned from this story is that for the most part, she always served justice with her abilities.
Of course, the goal is to kill the Book Burner, although this assassination mission is far from easy. But the way there is full of action and excitement.
I regret that this story was published as such a short novella, because I would have liked to know more about the supporting characters and Seventh Order of the Faith as well. Although the latter may be discussed more in the full-length books (I should make up for my shortcomings).
Overall I enjoyed this novella. I liked the main character and the supporting characters as well. The excitement was also sufficient.
September 3, 2024
Interesting
I haven’t read any of the the Raven’s Shadow novels prior to reading The Book Burner’s Fall. So I wasn’t really sure what the importance of the different houses are, nor if the characters play a role in the main series. Saying that, I was invested from the beginning, and would like to learn more about the world.
Given I haven’t read the main series, I can’t comment on how The Book Burner’s Fall holds up against them. What I can say is, the writing was excellent. And if this is a taste of what to expect from Anthony Ryan, I can see why he apparently so popular.
Will be reading more by this author.
I haven’t read any of the the Raven’s Shadow novels prior to reading The Book Burner’s Fall. So I wasn’t really sure what the importance of the different houses are, nor if the characters play a role in the main series. Saying that, I was invested from the beginning, and would like to learn more about the world.
Given I haven’t read the main series, I can’t comment on how The Book Burner’s Fall holds up against them. What I can say is, the writing was excellent. And if this is a taste of what to expect from Anthony Ryan, I can see why he apparently so popular.
Will be reading more by this author.
May 13, 2025
It’s SO good to read more from this universe! I hope Anthony Ryan will write more in this universe again soon. The characters were excellent (at once human and relatable) and Ryan avoided going overboard with the high fantasy, whereas some of the other books suffered from an excess of over-powered characters.
August 30, 2024
The book Burner’s Fall: A Raven’s Shadow Novella
I like this A Ravin’s Shadow Novella
A Raven’s Shadow was my first Anthony Ryan book, I try to read
his other books also.
When you read a Anthony Ryan book from start to finish you keep moving along.
I like this A Ravin’s Shadow Novella
A Raven’s Shadow was my first Anthony Ryan book, I try to read
his other books also.
When you read a Anthony Ryan book from start to finish you keep moving along.
January 5, 2025
It was a good novella to get into the writing of Anthony Ryan. Very quick and satisfying. I’m excited to pick up the next book.
March 3, 2025
This was a quick little read, but didn't really add anything to the Raven's Shadow world for me.
May 5, 2025
Great story and full of action and characters
November 27, 2025
Nice little story
This was a nice little story of the little known seventh order. I quite enjoyed it. I loved the Raven's Shadow books.
This was a nice little story of the little known seventh order. I quite enjoyed it. I loved the Raven's Shadow books.
February 7, 2026
Novella in the Unified Realm world 100ish years before Vaelin and Raven’s Shadow. Good, quick story.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews