A Blight of Blackwings, by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey)
This sequel to A Plague of Giants is as detailed and
complex and just plain entrancing as the first volume. The war with the Bone
Giants may be over, but the giants are anything but vanquished; their spies, invading
forces, and menaces of various sorts, natural and magical, seek to weaken the surviving
kingdoms. As before, magical gifts called “kennings” arise in certain people by
way of life-threatening ordeals; once the kennings were thought to be only
five, now a sixth (the ability to speak to animals, including insects, with
predictably hilarious and dreadful results) has arisen – could there be more?
As before, the story
is told primarily through a Bard, whose kenning allows him to adopt the
appearance, voice, and verbatim tales of his subjects as he relates these songs
and stories to the refugees from the Bone Giants war, gathered on Survivors
Field. Each character knows only a small portion of the whole; each has his or
her agenda, cultural context, affiliations, and personal biases. The effect is
a bit like the classic movie, Rashomon,
in which each character’s telling of the same events produces a radically
different interpretation.
I loved the chance
to spend more time with characters from very different cultures (and the
utterly delightful portrait sketches). As before, with the first volume, I had
favorites and in this installment was coaxed into widening the field.
The story ended on a
cliff hanger, so I assume – no, I demand
that there will be more.
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