Title: Flight of the Raven
Author: Jennifer Roberson
Series: Chronicles of the Cheysuli
Sexual Content: minimal
Objectional Content: Violence
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Aidan, only child of Brennan and Aileen, and the grandson of Niall, is heir to the Lion Throne of Homana and inheritor, too, of a prophecy carried down through the generations and finally on the verge of fulfillment. But will Aidan, driven as he is by strange visions and portens, prove the weak link in the ages-old prophecy—the Cheysuli who fails to achieve his foretold destiny? For as Aidan prepares to set out for Erinn to claim his betrothed, he will become the focus of forces out of legend, visited by the ghosts of long-dead kinsmen, and by the Hunter, a mysterious being who may be a Cheysuli god incarnate.
Commanded by the Hunter to undertake a quest to claim a series of “god-given” golden links, Aidan will find himself challenged by the Cheysuli’s most deadly foe—Lochiel, the son of Strahan—who will use every trick of Ihlini sorcery to stop Aidan and destroy the promise of the prophecy once and for all…
My Review
Aidan is an interesting character. He has what is known as kivarna, the ability to sense others emotions, a gift from his Mother’s side of the family. From the time he is a child, Aidan is plagued by strange dreams and a compulsion to go the throne room in the middle of the night. There, he sees a chain made of gold, though no one else sees it and when he tries to touch it, it crumbles to dust.
Unlike the heirs before him, Aidan was not betrothed to anyone and now has the freedom to choose who he wants for a bride. He travels first to Solinde, then to Erinn, to meet his cousins of similar age to see if they are suitable to one another. Honestly, the intermarrying in this family is getting to be too much.
I have to admit, I was extremely disappointed to learn that Keely had children. In her book, Daughter of the Lion, she was adamant that she didn’t want to have babies. However, in a world where their is no birth control and she married for love, pregnancy is pretty inevitable. Still, this felt like a disservice to her character.
Aidan’s fate is different than most who have come before him, and his life takes a tragic turn. I don’t want to say much more than that as to avoid spoilers.
I honestly don’t know how this series is going to turn out. It feels like everything should be coming to a head, but at the time of writing this I’m about halfway through the final book and I really don’t know how it can all be wrapped up in the few hundred pages left.
I feel like this review is somewhat lacking but I don’t know what else to say.
My rating for Flight of the Raven is 3 out of 4 stars.