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The Raven and the Plague
A world with Fyre Goblins and Serpent Riders, with sunken cities and Seer towers, and with mortals and immortals. A world everyone wants for themselves.
The Five Kingdoms languish beneath the wiles of vengeful immortals, and only a small group feels able to take them on. Rogue immortals team up with a few mortal misfits to stand against the tide.
Shale, a young sorcerer, who recently discovered his immortal blood, sets out to seek his birthright. Together with his friends and a few rogue immortals, he prepares himself for the battle of their lives. They face the Dreln - savages gifted with elemental powers and the Elsiks - immortals that once ruled.
An old, reclusive sorcerer sets out with the belief that the ultimate weapon is still up for grabs and may be the solution to the land’s future.
The Elsiks appear to have the greatest advantage with the powerful Staff of Amrod, but the Dreln comes up with a nasty surprise for everyone.
The Five Kingdoms languish beneath the wiles of vengeful immortals, and only a small group feels able to take them on. Rogue immortals team up with a few mortal misfits to stand against the tide.
Shale, a young sorcerer, who recently discovered his immortal blood, sets out to seek his birthright. Together with his friends and a few rogue immortals, he prepares himself for the battle of their lives. They face the Dreln - savages gifted with elemental powers and the Elsiks - immortals that once ruled.
An old, reclusive sorcerer sets out with the belief that the ultimate weapon is still up for grabs and may be the solution to the land’s future.
The Elsiks appear to have the greatest advantage with the powerful Staff of Amrod, but the Dreln comes up with a nasty surprise for everyone.
- GenresFantasy
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2013
About the author
M.M. Mancey
4 books28 followersGrowing up on the likes of J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman, M.M.Mancey quickly developed a liking for the fantasy genre - minus unicorns, demons and long, generic battles.
With an English father and a South American mother, the author grew up in South America and has spent much time in the UK and mainland Europe. The author is currently taking a break from genre writing.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 18, 2013
A quick note – because there were so many things I liked in this book, this review is going to contain ***SPOILERS***.
The Raven and the Plague picks up right where book 1 left off – Shale and his companions travel the mountains in the company of the powerful Gray Sorceress who has thrived despite shunning the drawings that are known to guarantee the immortality of the Elsiks. Her golden eyes match those of her great snow lynx (and look just as feral).
Mendall is up to his schemes again. We learn the staff Obsidian won during The Match was not the true Staff of Amrod, but a decoy. With the help of Leif, a Lemerk and one of Mendall’s friends, Mendall begins his search to find the true Staff of Amrod.
Meanwhile, Obsidian continues to plot and plan. He still hasn’t figured out how to use the Staff of Amrod and is feeling rather anxious about it, so he plans to use his powers of illusion to trick others into believing he can wield the Staff’s power – for now.
And the plague the Dreln unleash upon the land is only the beginning.
As regards the new characters we get to meet – the Gray Sorceress (Beryle) is inherently intriguing and duly intimidating. However, what really impressed me was her method to survive and thrive without the drawings, or mektan, from human beings. Leif, the potbellied Lemerk, offers another source of comic relief at times. His resourcefulness continues to aid Mendall – and just in time, too. The Fyre Goblins aren’t the enemy you would assume them to be. The Serpent Riders are vicious, deadly, and sound pretty darn terrifying. I wonder if the Serpent Riders’ Kings – the Necromancer Kings of Tilinarth – will make an appearance in the next book. And if they do, will they raise the dead (those that perished from the plague) to control and use in their attempt to conquer the Five Kingdoms of Arezia?
There are a lot more questions left at the end of this book – and I feel Mancey has a lot of paths that this story may take. Will the shaky alliance between Obsidian’s crew and Shale’s companions solidify and will they successfully work together to ward off and defeat the threats to the Five Kingdoms? Will Shale and Obsidian eventually compete in a duel to the death – and will the battle be solely over the Staff of Amrod, or will the beautiful Jaspina have a role as well? Will we learn the story of how Tregad saved Beryle? Will Laris’ swig from the Golbin’s Chalice lengthen her lifespan and provide her and Feldspar a chance at a long and happy life – if they survive the Dreln and the Serpent Riders. Will Shale ever possess the Staff of Amrod? Does he even need it, being a Vanishing/White Elsik? Who is Shale’s father – and will he ever meet him?
Overall, the writing of this story is much more concise and engaging. The dialogue is stronger and more consistent. There isn’t a lot of info-dropping, but rather more dialogues and scenes of subtle clues and hints to suggest at what the author will eventually reveal at the finale. There are so many little things I liked, such as the multiple point of views (Shale, Mendall, Fleetwing, King Jalmor, Olivina, Obsidian, and more). I also liked that Shale’s other companions gained more abilities, and that we learned more about the abilities they had already possessed – like Laris’ trance dance. There were many scenes that contained fantastic imagery (such as the Glean tree and Elsik village that Shale reveals to Mishra and Noran) – hopefully someday an awesome artist will draw those scenes!
I’m looking forward to book three and am a bit upset that I couldn’t find more information about it or its anticipated publication date. If Mancey offers ARCs for the next book – I will be begging her for a copy to read and review!
Fans of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter will like this series.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Appropriate for ages 14 & up.
***I received a free copy of The Raven and the Plague from Goodreads-Making Connections in exchange for an honest review.***
The Raven and the Plague picks up right where book 1 left off – Shale and his companions travel the mountains in the company of the powerful Gray Sorceress who has thrived despite shunning the drawings that are known to guarantee the immortality of the Elsiks. Her golden eyes match those of her great snow lynx (and look just as feral).
Mendall is up to his schemes again. We learn the staff Obsidian won during The Match was not the true Staff of Amrod, but a decoy. With the help of Leif, a Lemerk and one of Mendall’s friends, Mendall begins his search to find the true Staff of Amrod.
Meanwhile, Obsidian continues to plot and plan. He still hasn’t figured out how to use the Staff of Amrod and is feeling rather anxious about it, so he plans to use his powers of illusion to trick others into believing he can wield the Staff’s power – for now.
And the plague the Dreln unleash upon the land is only the beginning.
As regards the new characters we get to meet – the Gray Sorceress (Beryle) is inherently intriguing and duly intimidating. However, what really impressed me was her method to survive and thrive without the drawings, or mektan, from human beings. Leif, the potbellied Lemerk, offers another source of comic relief at times. His resourcefulness continues to aid Mendall – and just in time, too. The Fyre Goblins aren’t the enemy you would assume them to be. The Serpent Riders are vicious, deadly, and sound pretty darn terrifying. I wonder if the Serpent Riders’ Kings – the Necromancer Kings of Tilinarth – will make an appearance in the next book. And if they do, will they raise the dead (those that perished from the plague) to control and use in their attempt to conquer the Five Kingdoms of Arezia?
There are a lot more questions left at the end of this book – and I feel Mancey has a lot of paths that this story may take. Will the shaky alliance between Obsidian’s crew and Shale’s companions solidify and will they successfully work together to ward off and defeat the threats to the Five Kingdoms? Will Shale and Obsidian eventually compete in a duel to the death – and will the battle be solely over the Staff of Amrod, or will the beautiful Jaspina have a role as well? Will we learn the story of how Tregad saved Beryle? Will Laris’ swig from the Golbin’s Chalice lengthen her lifespan and provide her and Feldspar a chance at a long and happy life – if they survive the Dreln and the Serpent Riders. Will Shale ever possess the Staff of Amrod? Does he even need it, being a Vanishing/White Elsik? Who is Shale’s father – and will he ever meet him?
Overall, the writing of this story is much more concise and engaging. The dialogue is stronger and more consistent. There isn’t a lot of info-dropping, but rather more dialogues and scenes of subtle clues and hints to suggest at what the author will eventually reveal at the finale. There are so many little things I liked, such as the multiple point of views (Shale, Mendall, Fleetwing, King Jalmor, Olivina, Obsidian, and more). I also liked that Shale’s other companions gained more abilities, and that we learned more about the abilities they had already possessed – like Laris’ trance dance. There were many scenes that contained fantastic imagery (such as the Glean tree and Elsik village that Shale reveals to Mishra and Noran) – hopefully someday an awesome artist will draw those scenes!
I’m looking forward to book three and am a bit upset that I couldn’t find more information about it or its anticipated publication date. If Mancey offers ARCs for the next book – I will be begging her for a copy to read and review!
Fans of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter will like this series.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Appropriate for ages 14 & up.
***I received a free copy of The Raven and the Plague from Goodreads-Making Connections in exchange for an honest review.***
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to Read
July 19, 2026I want to read this book, but can't seem to find a copy anywhere online. It appears that the author has stopped listing their work online. A pity... I read the first book as an audiobook (I think it was an audiobook) back in the day and wished to finish the series, but I think only the first book ever became an audiobook. The first book was really captivating and I wanted to see where it all went.
July 26, 2018
Great sequel!!
The book picks up right where the first book left off. Shale and others are with the Grey Sorceress in the mountains. This time instead of two POV (Olivina and Shale) we have multiple POVs. My favorites are Mendall, Shale (of course), King Jalmor. Fleeting is an awesome character too! Can’t wait to read the final book!!
The book picks up right where the first book left off. Shale and others are with the Grey Sorceress in the mountains. This time instead of two POV (Olivina and Shale) we have multiple POVs. My favorites are Mendall, Shale (of course), King Jalmor. Fleeting is an awesome character too! Can’t wait to read the final book!!
May 30, 2013
I enjoyed the first book in this series and started this volume as soon as I finished part I. It's actually a little better than the first. Part I had two story lines which centered on the characters Shale (a young apprentice magician) and Olivinia (a powerful Seer). When those two met, the story lines merged into one.
Part II is more complex with multiple story lines told from the POVs of different characters. Despite the complexity and number of characters, I had no trouble following the plot. And the plot is exciting and keeps you reading, with lots of old secrets which are gradually revealed. As before, this volume is a 'to-be-continued' tale with a cliffhanger ending which left me eager for part III. The characters are well developed and each is a unique individual (just like in real life - well, except for their magical talents). I admit that I like lengthy tales of this type.
There is more violence than in part I, mostly in the form of a plague. I hate spoilers but I don't think I'm giving anything away since plague is part of the title. I still don't think anything in it would be disturbing to teens and would rate it as a PG-13 movie - meaning it qualifies for the young adult genre as well as adult.
The plot and characters are excellent. I will say that I found some typos and format errors (line spacing, etc.) of the type which can occur when you upload an eBook. However, the number was not large and did not distract my attention from the story in any way.
Part II is more complex with multiple story lines told from the POVs of different characters. Despite the complexity and number of characters, I had no trouble following the plot. And the plot is exciting and keeps you reading, with lots of old secrets which are gradually revealed. As before, this volume is a 'to-be-continued' tale with a cliffhanger ending which left me eager for part III. The characters are well developed and each is a unique individual (just like in real life - well, except for their magical talents). I admit that I like lengthy tales of this type.
There is more violence than in part I, mostly in the form of a plague. I hate spoilers but I don't think I'm giving anything away since plague is part of the title. I still don't think anything in it would be disturbing to teens and would rate it as a PG-13 movie - meaning it qualifies for the young adult genre as well as adult.
The plot and characters are excellent. I will say that I found some typos and format errors (line spacing, etc.) of the type which can occur when you upload an eBook. However, the number was not large and did not distract my attention from the story in any way.
June 6, 2013
This was a really good sequel, a lot darker but just as good. So much is happening now that the Elsiks have taken power again, and one effect was Mendell leaving his tower. He's gone to try and find Shale who has disappeared after not winning the staff. I like that Mendell feels bad, it makes him seem a better person. He actually ends up saving so many lives after the Dreln cause a magical plague. He even turns into a raven so he can reach all the kings and queens in time. Shale learning more of his power was good to see. Having him exploding with power after copying the way the others draw on the sun was good for him, gave him a lot more confidence. Then there are the serpent riders and there attack. That Obsidian kept getting angry because he was to late to sort things out and show of was just good fun. His temper tantrums in his head just made me laugh. I can't wait to read the next book.
April 9, 2013
This series remind me so much of The Lord of the Rings triology. Shale is by far a heroic character and I loved in the first book and he came through real and wonderful in this one. This is an awesome read for fantasy lovers.
June 28, 2013
Not bad, the story was about as compelling as the previous in the series. The Raven and the Plague manages to introduce enough new elements to keep it interesting while keeping on track with the plot line.
January 21, 2016
Great read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one.
Editing could use a lot of help, if you can look passed the many many errors you it can be enjoyable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one.
Editing could use a lot of help, if you can look passed the many many errors you it can be enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews