Review – The Daughters’ War (Blacktongue, Book 0) by Christopher Buehlman (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 403 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: June 25, 2024
ASIN: B0CGRYQKVC
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel to the Blacktongue series
Source: Borrowed ebook from library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Galva ― Galvicha to her three brothers, two of whom the goblins will kill ― has defied her family’s wishes and joined the army’s untested new unit, the Raven Knights. They march toward a once-beautiful city overrun by the goblin horde, accompanied by scores of giant war corvids. Made with the darkest magics, these fearsome black birds may hold the key to stopping the goblins in their war to make cattle of mankind.
The road to victory is bloody, and goblins are clever and merciless. The Raven Knights can take nothing for granted ― not the bonds of family, nor the wisdom of their leaders, nor their own safety against the dangerous war birds at their side. But some hopes are worth any risk.”
Series Info/Source: This is the prequel to the first Blacktongue Thief book . I borrowed this on ebook from the library.
Thoughts: I really struggled with this book, but admittedly, a lot of that was personal. I was hoping when I picked up this book to have the same darkly funny witty high action type of tale that we got in “The Blacktongue Thief”. However, this is the backstory for Galva. This story is dark, really dark, and really sad. This is more of a military fantasy, and even though we go through a few major battles, this is more about the pain war leaves behind than the action of battle. On a personal note, I was dealing with the sudden death of my young cat who has been my constant companion for the last five years in the midst of reading this. I was definitely not in the right mindset to be reading something so darkly depressing and disturbing, especially when you consider the way Galva’s military unit is bonded to their ravens.
This is the back story of Galva (who was in The Blacktongue Thief). She has trained with an experimental unit in the army that uses giant war corvids to battle. This is a battle against the viscous goblins that threaten to send the kynd (humans) to extinction. Galva is bonded to two war corvids. Given that the goblins are strangely scared of birds, the kynd armies are hoping that these giants birds will give humanity the edge it needs against the goblin horde. Glava heads into war green as can be, a celebrated swordswoman but with little to no actual battle experience. She quickly learns the pain of war, as she goes through towns of tortured kynd, destroyed beauty, and general misery. This is the story of how Galva and her unit help to turn the tide of war and the cost it takes.
Galva is a tough woman coming in to war but throughout the book she learns the true meaning of pain and struggle. She looses friends, family, is grievously wounded and watches her beloved corvids die in battle after battle.
This is well written in a very distinctive style that is different but easy to read. The horror of war, along with the small joys found in misery, are very well described and really come alive for the reader. Although the story does end on a hopeful note, the path there is painful. If you don’t like gore in your novels, this is most definitely not the book for you (although the same can be said for The Blacktongue Thief). There is a lot of irony in how often conflicts between the kynd cause more misery than the goblins themselves do.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I appreciate that this is a well done fantasy but I didn’t really enjoy reading it at the time. This doesn’t have the fun and wit that “The Blacktongue Thief” does and dealt more with the horrors that war leaves in its wake and the horrors or battle itself. I will definitely be keeping an eye on future books by Buehlman and hope that future books have a bit more fun in them.
