Authors: Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S.J.A. Turney, and Russell Whitfield
Publisher: Knight Media LLC
Publish Date: November 17, 2015
Source: HF Virtual Book Tours
What's the Story?:
From Goodreads.com: "Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Celt . . . and these are their stories.
A calculating queen sees the sparks of revolt in a king’s death.
A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war.
An idealistic tribune finds manhood in a brutal baptism of blood and slaughter.
A conflicted warrior hovers between loyalty to tribe and loyalty to Rome.
A death-haunted Druid challenges the gods themselves to ensure victory for his people.
An old champion struggles for everlasting glory in the final battle against the legions.
A fiery princess fights to salvage the pieces of her mother’s dream as the ravens circle.
A novel in seven parts, overlapping stories of warriors and peacemakers, queens and slaves, Romans and Celts who cross paths during Boudica’s epic rebellion. But who will survive to see the dawn of a new Britannia, and who will fall to feed the ravens?"
My Two Cents:
"A Year of Ravens" is the story of Boudica, the warrior queen of Brittania who fought Rome. It's broken up into mini stories all surrounding Boudica's rebellion. Each story is written by a different author! This is the second historical fiction release by The H Team, a collection of some of my favorite HF writers. Their first book was "A Day of Fire." This time around, some of the previous writers are not there and have been replaced by other great HF writers.
A continuity is such a great way to tell the story of Boudica. By having linked stories, the authors were able to cover so many different aspects of all of the players in the rebellion. The book is also able to capture a wide swath of time from just prior to the rebellion until the aftermath. We meet other queens, Romans, and druids among others. We get a front row seat to Boudica and her family, including her two daughters. I have not read a lot about this era and I loved visiting it in fiction! The detail in each of the sections of the book is richly detailed and made for a fairly easy time picturing what was going on!
The writing of the book was good! By having so many different authors write the stories, each character felt so different. This rebellion had so many different sides and I loved reading so many different perspectives. The authors also did a good job of continuing the overall story from section to section (a huge task to be sure) so the book really flowed. Will there be more from the H Team? This reader certainly hopes so!
Sounds wonderful.
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