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Corvus
Eighty years have passed since flash floods, droughts, and tornadoes ravaged the North American landscape and mass migrations to the north led to decade-long wars. In the thriving city of La Ronge, George Taylor and Lenore Hanson are lawyers who rarely interact with members of the lower classes from the impoverished suburb of Regis and the independently thriving Ashram outside the city. They live in a world of personalized Platforms, self-driving cars, and cutting edge Organic Recreational Vehicles (ORVs), where gamers need never leave their virtual realities.
When Lenore befriends political dissenter and fellow war veteran Richard Warner, and George accidentally crash-lands his ORV near the mountain-sheltered haven of a First Nations community, they become exposed to new ways of thinking. As the lives of these near-strangers become intertwined, each is forced to confront the past before their relationships and lives unravel.
Taking its title from the Latin name for the Trickster bird of First Nations, Norse, and Christian mythologies, Corvus examines the illusions of security we build through technology and presents a scathing satire of a world caught up in climate change denial and the glorification of war.
When Lenore befriends political dissenter and fellow war veteran Richard Warner, and George accidentally crash-lands his ORV near the mountain-sheltered haven of a First Nations community, they become exposed to new ways of thinking. As the lives of these near-strangers become intertwined, each is forced to confront the past before their relationships and lives unravel.
Taking its title from the Latin name for the Trickster bird of First Nations, Norse, and Christian mythologies, Corvus examines the illusions of security we build through technology and presents a scathing satire of a world caught up in climate change denial and the glorification of war.
277 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Harold R. Johnson
15 books86 followersBorn and raised in Northern Saskatchewan, Harold Johnson has a Master of Law degree from Harvard University. He has served in the Canadian Navy, and worked in mining and logging. Johnson is the author of five novels and one work of non-fiction, which are largely set in northern Saskatchewan against a background of traditional Cree mythology. The Cast Stone (2011) won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction.
Johnson practiced law as a Crown Prosecutor in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and balanced that with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team.
Johnson died in early February, 2022.
Johnson practiced law as a Crown Prosecutor in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and balanced that with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team.
Johnson died in early February, 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 18, 2018
The author of this book will be coming to the annual When Words Collide conference here in Calgary in August. I try to read at least one book by each of the guests of honour before the conference and since I am a birder, how could I resist a book called Corvus?
I really enjoyed the book—Mr. Johnson is a talented writer. I loved how many threads he managed to weave into this story, everything from Aboriginal issues to climate change to poverty issues. He also painted an intriguing and rather grim view of the future. I loved his Organic Recreational Vehicles, developed from birds—swans, ravens, hawks, etc. One of the main characters, George Taylor, purchases a Raven ORV and true to Raven’s mischievous nature in Aboriginal tradition, George is taken on some unexpected adventures.
Some of Johnson’s themes are really overt—there are a couple of places where I was dismayed with the bludgeoning of the reader with his opinions (even though I agree with them). That prevented this from being a five star read for me—your mileage may vary. I would actually rate it about 3.5, but it was good enough to round up to 4 stars.
I really enjoyed the book—Mr. Johnson is a talented writer. I loved how many threads he managed to weave into this story, everything from Aboriginal issues to climate change to poverty issues. He also painted an intriguing and rather grim view of the future. I loved his Organic Recreational Vehicles, developed from birds—swans, ravens, hawks, etc. One of the main characters, George Taylor, purchases a Raven ORV and true to Raven’s mischievous nature in Aboriginal tradition, George is taken on some unexpected adventures.
Some of Johnson’s themes are really overt—there are a couple of places where I was dismayed with the bludgeoning of the reader with his opinions (even though I agree with them). That prevented this from being a five star read for me—your mileage may vary. I would actually rate it about 3.5, but it was good enough to round up to 4 stars.
April 25, 2019
This book is one big Mary Sue. It would have been better as a series of blog posts where the author could share his beliefs about the world. Some parts were good, but a lot of the book felt like reading an angsty teen’s journal.
The characters are flat and boring - doubly so if they’re women. Some of the themes covered in the book are very poignant, but it was extremely frustrating to read women who only think and speak about the men in their lives. Also, it seems as though the book was only edited up until the last third. There are spelling errors, odd sentences, weird formatting and discontinuities sprinkled throughout the last 100 or so pages.
The quality of writing is extremely mediocre, which is disappointing considering the number of important issues that could have been been highlighted had the writing been better.
I would not recommend this book unless you’re trying to read all the longlisted Canada Reads 2019 novels. That’s the only reason I finished it.
-Spoiler alert-
There’s a strange subplot about a schizophrenic man from the local slum sexually assaulting a woman. The prosecutor (one of the bland main characters) decides it’s not up to him to put this man away for seven years (if that), and at one point ponders “how much she [the victim] really had to drink.” Given that the entire book seems to have been written to espouse the author’s personal beliefs, it was shocking to read these chapters. The victim isn’t discussed in the least, and in the end the prosecutor settles for a lesser sentence because he feels bad for the criminal.
The whole books smacks of a distaste for women. I kept waiting for some sign that it was just the awful characters being awful, but there was no indication that readers were meant to come away from this seeing women as real human beings. The male characters weren’t much better, but at least we got to see their thoughts and feelings.
The characters are flat and boring - doubly so if they’re women. Some of the themes covered in the book are very poignant, but it was extremely frustrating to read women who only think and speak about the men in their lives. Also, it seems as though the book was only edited up until the last third. There are spelling errors, odd sentences, weird formatting and discontinuities sprinkled throughout the last 100 or so pages.
The quality of writing is extremely mediocre, which is disappointing considering the number of important issues that could have been been highlighted had the writing been better.
I would not recommend this book unless you’re trying to read all the longlisted Canada Reads 2019 novels. That’s the only reason I finished it.
-Spoiler alert-
There’s a strange subplot about a schizophrenic man from the local slum sexually assaulting a woman. The prosecutor (one of the bland main characters) decides it’s not up to him to put this man away for seven years (if that), and at one point ponders “how much she [the victim] really had to drink.” Given that the entire book seems to have been written to espouse the author’s personal beliefs, it was shocking to read these chapters. The victim isn’t discussed in the least, and in the end the prosecutor settles for a lesser sentence because he feels bad for the criminal.
The whole books smacks of a distaste for women. I kept waiting for some sign that it was just the awful characters being awful, but there was no indication that readers were meant to come away from this seeing women as real human beings. The male characters weren’t much better, but at least we got to see their thoughts and feelings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2019
When you decide that certain human beings are the other...you can blame them...and you imagine the differences and exaggerate the differences until in your mind those others are insane because they are not like you; they're less than human and when they are less than human they are easier to kill.p198
Most of the people you are going to meet aren't outright crazy. But their brains work different....If you don't hear voices, then you are not listening. p213
And if you think that raven is just another crow, then you are fundamentally missing something.
HRJs dystopia is a little too close for comfort, and this slow-burner might have the reader cringing in recognition as he lists the ways the world as we know it is going off the rails. If we don't want to go there, his imaginative scenario addresses all of our most urgent tasks.
"If we cannot raise our level of sanity to the point that we care about other humans, about out own species, we will never learn to care about all the other species we share the planet with.''
Above all we can join in this prayer:
'Universe, I know your song, I know your rhythms; let me walk to your beat, let me stay in your song, let me be a pure note in your symphony."
September 26, 2025
Corvus is a set in the near-distant future after continental wars and climate change have re-arranged the North American continent.
Technology remains, but not quite in the same way as before. The land also remains, though many people are as blind to its presence and how to live in better harmony with it as we ever were.
Corvus is the story of George and Lenore, both prosecutors living in the technology-driven elite class in the city, and Richard and Kathleen, farm-focused residents of an ashram in rural Saskatchewan.
All have faced the danger and instability that comes from global turbulence, whether they were active participants (Richard and Lenore) or victims of circumstance (Kathleen).
Ravens, ranging from a curious flying device that George uses to escape his everyday life, to actual birds to the more mythical Raven also fly through this narrative in interesting ways.
Some of the main story action happens off the page. Occasionally, this stylistic choice meant my sense of time lurched forward in bursts more than I'm used to, but I got into Corvus's atypical storytelling rhythms about thirty percent of the way in and enjoyed what it had to say.
Dystopian literature is a widening speciality among Indigenous writers in this country. I read Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Turning Leaves earlier this year, which follows Moon of the Crusted Snow and tackles similar subject matter from a different angle. So does Cherie Dimaline's popular YA speculative fiction novel, The Marrow Thieves, and the action-packed Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (I should note Roanhorse is based in the South Western US, not Canada).
In some ways, this focus makes sense: Indigenous peoples have lived through one apocalypse already (the coming of Europeans and other settlers), and survived, though at significant societal cost over many centuries.
Who better than to write dystopian novels grounded in that perspective to help guide humanity through the next one?
Harold Johnson was part of the first wave of Indigenous writers publishing in Canada who laid a lot of groundwork for the renaissance of Indigenous fiction happening now.
He died in 2022, a year after Lee Maracle's passing. I read her book Conversations with Canadians earlier this year, and there's a lot about their work that echoes both thematically and in terms of philosophical outlook. Since they were generational peers, this topical overlap made sense to me and enriched my reading of both texts, even though Maracle's book is non-fiction.
I'm glad I read Corvus, which hit my radar a few years ago when it made the CanadaReads long-list of nominated books. It's a short, insightful novel that has much to offer to a national conversation about where we're going as a species and what we should do to prepare.
Technology remains, but not quite in the same way as before. The land also remains, though many people are as blind to its presence and how to live in better harmony with it as we ever were.
Corvus is the story of George and Lenore, both prosecutors living in the technology-driven elite class in the city, and Richard and Kathleen, farm-focused residents of an ashram in rural Saskatchewan.
All have faced the danger and instability that comes from global turbulence, whether they were active participants (Richard and Lenore) or victims of circumstance (Kathleen).
Ravens, ranging from a curious flying device that George uses to escape his everyday life, to actual birds to the more mythical Raven also fly through this narrative in interesting ways.
Some of the main story action happens off the page. Occasionally, this stylistic choice meant my sense of time lurched forward in bursts more than I'm used to, but I got into Corvus's atypical storytelling rhythms about thirty percent of the way in and enjoyed what it had to say.
Dystopian literature is a widening speciality among Indigenous writers in this country. I read Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Turning Leaves earlier this year, which follows Moon of the Crusted Snow and tackles similar subject matter from a different angle. So does Cherie Dimaline's popular YA speculative fiction novel, The Marrow Thieves, and the action-packed Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (I should note Roanhorse is based in the South Western US, not Canada).
In some ways, this focus makes sense: Indigenous peoples have lived through one apocalypse already (the coming of Europeans and other settlers), and survived, though at significant societal cost over many centuries.
Who better than to write dystopian novels grounded in that perspective to help guide humanity through the next one?
Harold Johnson was part of the first wave of Indigenous writers publishing in Canada who laid a lot of groundwork for the renaissance of Indigenous fiction happening now.
He died in 2022, a year after Lee Maracle's passing. I read her book Conversations with Canadians earlier this year, and there's a lot about their work that echoes both thematically and in terms of philosophical outlook. Since they were generational peers, this topical overlap made sense to me and enriched my reading of both texts, even though Maracle's book is non-fiction.
I'm glad I read Corvus, which hit my radar a few years ago when it made the CanadaReads long-list of nominated books. It's a short, insightful novel that has much to offer to a national conversation about where we're going as a species and what we should do to prepare.
February 20, 2019
A book I'd like to read again. A book I believe we can learn from. A book I believe will reveal new meaning each time. A book to remind us we are of the earth, one with the earth, even if we have forgotten this simple truth. "I was a spirit traveling across the universe, just a little dot of blue light." (pg 124)
I enjoyed Johnson's philosophy and many insights throughout the book:
"There's a flow to the universe, Virgil said. Create a disturbance in one place and the flow will try to correct it. Minimize the disturbances that you create and try to follow the flow of the universe and your life will flow effortlessly. Listen and walk within the harmonics and you will experience good health and happiness." (pg 243)
I enjoyed Johnson's philosophy and many insights throughout the book:
"There's a flow to the universe, Virgil said. Create a disturbance in one place and the flow will try to correct it. Minimize the disturbances that you create and try to follow the flow of the universe and your life will flow effortlessly. Listen and walk within the harmonics and you will experience good health and happiness." (pg 243)
March 1, 2019
This is very high on my list of books by First Nations authors. Johnson's portrayal of a possible future, and its inhabitants grappling with deep themes, is interesting. I appreciate the spiritual tones - and I usually don't! Yes, it could have benefited from more editing/polishing. The characters were somewhat flat, but somehow it matched the tone of the writing for me. At the start, there were too many male characters with plain names (George, Richard, Bob, Paul), and I had to be deliberate about sorting out who was who. 3.5 stars
February 6, 2019
This is a really beautiful cli-fi novel - very different from everything else I've read in this genre. It's not quite a five-star book - some of the messaging is a little heavy-handed (although I loved the dig at Stephen Harper), there are quite a few typos, and the ending just kind of peters out - but I really enjoyed it and will be thinking about it for a while.
February 25, 2019
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but found the setting was not as well imagined as it could have been. I adored Johnson's "Clifford" for its unique and heartwarming approach to sci-fi, but Corvus fell a bit short in thought provoking narratives, as Clifford did so well. I very much enjoyed the ORV scenes, flying a robo-organic Raven in the sky, and appreciated its connection to traditional stories as well as the detailed descriptions of the Intra-Wars across the continent brought on by climate change. I did not like however, the lack of description in the "mega city" the book took place in. It never really felt like I was in a metropolis in La Ronge. As well, interpersonal dramas felt oddly unrealistic despite its accurate descriptions. They may have felt misplaced in the narrative.
Despite my criticisms, I did enjoy the book. Harold Johnson has a peaceful way of writing serious topics that feel like I'm being told a story before bed. It's obvious to me that this was not so much an imagination of a post-dystopia, but more so a reflection of everything that Harold Johnson is. The book contains Indigenous knowledge, wonderful descriptions of northern Saskatchewan, Law drama, climate change, and marital dilemmas, of which all these topics are relatable to anyone not directly involved with any specific one. Anyone can benefit from reading this book, but someone from Saskatchewan will likely feel something unique, like pride for the future and what we have to bring to the world of tomorrow.
Despite my criticisms, I did enjoy the book. Harold Johnson has a peaceful way of writing serious topics that feel like I'm being told a story before bed. It's obvious to me that this was not so much an imagination of a post-dystopia, but more so a reflection of everything that Harold Johnson is. The book contains Indigenous knowledge, wonderful descriptions of northern Saskatchewan, Law drama, climate change, and marital dilemmas, of which all these topics are relatable to anyone not directly involved with any specific one. Anyone can benefit from reading this book, but someone from Saskatchewan will likely feel something unique, like pride for the future and what we have to bring to the world of tomorrow.
January 31, 2019
WOW. More later. Here's my more: I wish this book had been on the Short List for Canada Reads since all of Canada should / must read it, but I'm still glad it was long listed, since I read it. And I will hold it deep inside my heart forever. Johnson has written a brilliant dystopic novel. If we pay attention, can we save this planet? He empowers women ("she simply was"), indigenous lives and experiences and wisdom, reminding us of what we have to lose. Beautifully and painfully written with much insight and wisdom. HIGHLY recommended.
Raven's ENDING.
ENDING before Raven.
Strong images, powerful writing. Gorgeous prose. Just a few examples.
1. "Sometimes a tree didn't fall, come crashing to the ground, sometimes the wind plucked it up — twisted and spun it across the sky."
2. Beautiful prayer: "He stopped to pray, put his shovel into the sand and leaned against it. 'Universe, I know your song, I know your rhythms; let me walk to your beat, let me stay in your song, let me be a pure note in your symphony."
3. So many images of pain and regret and acceptance. Lenore's experience (a spoiler which I won't include at all) is unexpected, brilliant writing.
4. All of Raven is important, instructive, deep, amazing. Thank you for that.
5. Something to hold on to in all troubled times: "I was a spirit travelling across the universe, just a little dot of blue light..."
6. Knowledge and understanding: "Knowledge is mechanical, physical, you can be hit over the head with knowledge. But understanding, not that is something different. Understanding can exist without words. It's like love."
7. The sections on Raven are amazing. But Katherine also speaks to Raven, others notice Raven, George flies an ORV that is a Raven. Ravens are powerful birds and the weaving of the stories, and the awareness and the knowledge and what we can learn if only we will listen. Brilliant. Beautiful writing. Insight. Wisdom. Depth.
8. Choices. Impact of choices. Choices are key to life. Wise.
And then more BEGINNING, placing it in time, a future that could happen (?).
"WHEN GOD QUIT ATTACKING POOR PEOPLE who lived in trailer parks with tornadoes and began to pay attention to mansions, those who could afford it took to the sky. At forty thousand feet there are no storms. The Kenilworth, Illinois twister boosted sales in the sky cities, but most people agree that the flattening of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania marked the beginning of the exodus."
Thus it BEGINS with Raven.
"The emptiness of the land swallows the raven's call, absorbs it into the white frozen earth. The bird sends out another, a repeat of the first, a throaty plea of loneliness, out to the forest, to the boreal, to the spindly black spruce and naked tamarack. Again there is no reply. He is the only raven here, and here is nowhere. He throws himself up from the ground, beats hard at the frozen air, black wings over white snow, and seeks the grey sky. Purposefully, deliberately, he flies a straight line, a rhythm of wings and wind, due east toward the pale light of daybreak."
Raven's ENDING.
ENDING before Raven.
Strong images, powerful writing. Gorgeous prose. Just a few examples.
1. "Sometimes a tree didn't fall, come crashing to the ground, sometimes the wind plucked it up — twisted and spun it across the sky."
2. Beautiful prayer: "He stopped to pray, put his shovel into the sand and leaned against it. 'Universe, I know your song, I know your rhythms; let me walk to your beat, let me stay in your song, let me be a pure note in your symphony."
3. So many images of pain and regret and acceptance. Lenore's experience (a spoiler which I won't include at all) is unexpected, brilliant writing.
4. All of Raven is important, instructive, deep, amazing. Thank you for that.
5. Something to hold on to in all troubled times: "I was a spirit travelling across the universe, just a little dot of blue light..."
6. Knowledge and understanding: "Knowledge is mechanical, physical, you can be hit over the head with knowledge. But understanding, not that is something different. Understanding can exist without words. It's like love."
7. The sections on Raven are amazing. But Katherine also speaks to Raven, others notice Raven, George flies an ORV that is a Raven. Ravens are powerful birds and the weaving of the stories, and the awareness and the knowledge and what we can learn if only we will listen. Brilliant. Beautiful writing. Insight. Wisdom. Depth.
8. Choices. Impact of choices. Choices are key to life. Wise.
And then more BEGINNING, placing it in time, a future that could happen (?).
"WHEN GOD QUIT ATTACKING POOR PEOPLE who lived in trailer parks with tornadoes and began to pay attention to mansions, those who could afford it took to the sky. At forty thousand feet there are no storms. The Kenilworth, Illinois twister boosted sales in the sky cities, but most people agree that the flattening of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania marked the beginning of the exodus."
Thus it BEGINS with Raven.
"The emptiness of the land swallows the raven's call, absorbs it into the white frozen earth. The bird sends out another, a repeat of the first, a throaty plea of loneliness, out to the forest, to the boreal, to the spindly black spruce and naked tamarack. Again there is no reply. He is the only raven here, and here is nowhere. He throws himself up from the ground, beats hard at the frozen air, black wings over white snow, and seeks the grey sky. Purposefully, deliberately, he flies a straight line, a rhythm of wings and wind, due east toward the pale light of daybreak."
August 8, 2022
SPOILER ALERT
This book was a recommendation from a friend. Harold Johnson was an Indigenous writer and former lawyer from Northern Saskatchewan, and his novels reflect that experience and location. This novel incorporates some sci-fi technology that is likely not that far-fetched, and presents yet another dystopian world, albeit more as a prediction than as a warning or parable.
Corvus here refers to the raven, a character and theme that appears throughout the novel. Set in the beginning in the year 2084, there have been a series of cataclysms (climate change, wars, social upheaval) that have led to the development of a megacity on the northern shore of a northern lake. Food, water, and most consumer goods are no longer made from natural products but produced/manufactured/synthesized. Most inhabitants are dependent upon a hyper-connected digital platform that runs almost everything in their life, with most people having a microchip implanted in them to run the platforms and serve as their official identification (hello, social credit system). Alongside that digital network, the characters come to recognize the natural network - the connections that run through nature and the environment linking the trees, water, animals, and humans.
There are several main characters - George, a crown prosecutor; Lenore, another crown prosecutor; and Richard, a defendant that Lenore stays charges against, and then proceeds to have a kind-of-but-not-really affair with. All three are veterans of the Second Intranational War (involving the Southern US and Central America in a fight over water). George and Lenore live in the main city, connected to the Net as part of their lives and jobs. Richard is not connected, living on an ashram outside the city, but visiting occasionally for supplies and to attend protests against all of the above. There are a bunch of coincidental interactions between all the characters that move the story along, and over the course of a dozen or so years they experience both the digital and natural world.
The central character seems to be George. Early in the novel, he purchases something called an organic recreational vehicle (ORV) - a suit genetically engineered from an animal but powered by digital technology - that he can wear that allows him to fly like a bird. In his case, the bird is a raven - hence the prevalence of that bird throughout. On one of his first flights, he is swept up by a storm and transported hundreds of kilometres into the mountains, where he's rescued by an Indigenous community that lives off the land. At the same time, there is a catastrophic disruption of the Net that traps Lenore on the ashram with Richard. From these pivotal encounters, the rest of the story emerges.
The actual narratives are choppy and hard to follow in places, sometimes staying tediously in the day-to-day and then suddenly leaping ahead a few years, and there several long passages that come from other novels and stories, including Nineteen Eighty-Four and a fictional philosophy book (Virgil's Little Book on Virginity, which includes "Only a mind in constant virginity can learn", a theme that repeats as requiring people to be open to new and old ideas). Social commentary - including racism, classism, justice, the environment, GMOs, manufactured viruses, technology, climate change - appears left and right in the novel, which while prescient and interesting is distracting from the story. There are lots of scary and crummy things in today's world, and to try and cram them all into a novel makes for a bit of a mess. And in the end, several of the stories feel unresolved, as the mythical raven appears to give up on mankind and flies away.
The world that is created in the story is interesting, and could have withstood more detail and engagement, with less philosophical and editorial digressions. What I found most intriguing was the somewhat uncanny link to other books I've read recently and some that are currently in progress.
This book was a recommendation from a friend. Harold Johnson was an Indigenous writer and former lawyer from Northern Saskatchewan, and his novels reflect that experience and location. This novel incorporates some sci-fi technology that is likely not that far-fetched, and presents yet another dystopian world, albeit more as a prediction than as a warning or parable.
Corvus here refers to the raven, a character and theme that appears throughout the novel. Set in the beginning in the year 2084, there have been a series of cataclysms (climate change, wars, social upheaval) that have led to the development of a megacity on the northern shore of a northern lake. Food, water, and most consumer goods are no longer made from natural products but produced/manufactured/synthesized. Most inhabitants are dependent upon a hyper-connected digital platform that runs almost everything in their life, with most people having a microchip implanted in them to run the platforms and serve as their official identification (hello, social credit system). Alongside that digital network, the characters come to recognize the natural network - the connections that run through nature and the environment linking the trees, water, animals, and humans.
There are several main characters - George, a crown prosecutor; Lenore, another crown prosecutor; and Richard, a defendant that Lenore stays charges against, and then proceeds to have a kind-of-but-not-really affair with. All three are veterans of the Second Intranational War (involving the Southern US and Central America in a fight over water). George and Lenore live in the main city, connected to the Net as part of their lives and jobs. Richard is not connected, living on an ashram outside the city, but visiting occasionally for supplies and to attend protests against all of the above. There are a bunch of coincidental interactions between all the characters that move the story along, and over the course of a dozen or so years they experience both the digital and natural world.
The central character seems to be George. Early in the novel, he purchases something called an organic recreational vehicle (ORV) - a suit genetically engineered from an animal but powered by digital technology - that he can wear that allows him to fly like a bird. In his case, the bird is a raven - hence the prevalence of that bird throughout. On one of his first flights, he is swept up by a storm and transported hundreds of kilometres into the mountains, where he's rescued by an Indigenous community that lives off the land. At the same time, there is a catastrophic disruption of the Net that traps Lenore on the ashram with Richard. From these pivotal encounters, the rest of the story emerges.
The actual narratives are choppy and hard to follow in places, sometimes staying tediously in the day-to-day and then suddenly leaping ahead a few years, and there several long passages that come from other novels and stories, including Nineteen Eighty-Four and a fictional philosophy book (Virgil's Little Book on Virginity, which includes "Only a mind in constant virginity can learn", a theme that repeats as requiring people to be open to new and old ideas). Social commentary - including racism, classism, justice, the environment, GMOs, manufactured viruses, technology, climate change - appears left and right in the novel, which while prescient and interesting is distracting from the story. There are lots of scary and crummy things in today's world, and to try and cram them all into a novel makes for a bit of a mess. And in the end, several of the stories feel unresolved, as the mythical raven appears to give up on mankind and flies away.
The world that is created in the story is interesting, and could have withstood more detail and engagement, with less philosophical and editorial digressions. What I found most intriguing was the somewhat uncanny link to other books I've read recently and some that are currently in progress.
April 18, 2019
Johnson tackles things like intrusive tech, government surveillance, the widening gap between rich and poor, climate change & its resultant extreme weather and soil/water conditions, valuing the economic story over the human one, and much more. He extends all of these things to likely outcomes, and it's quite plausible, and also alarming. But he uses creative storytelling to provide a way to take all this in, and includes brief segments from the viewpoint of Raven, giving an overview of history in a sense.
There are many philosophical detours, which simultaneously are the point of the book and slow down the narrative, which I liked. There is so much Indigenous wisdom shared, in a natural way, during these detours. The miniscule thing that most niggled me was the role of Lenore and Katherine - their stories are dramatic and could have been explored much more deeply, but it's the men who get the guidance and insight here. The women are more valued for their ability to give life. I'd hope that dynamic would have changed by 2084. There's also George's last case in which begins to think he should no longer punish people and take part of their lives away as a prosecutor - the circumstances of this crisis of faith left me wanting more details, but anyways...
Still, this was a fresh take on a likely future if we keep going the way we are -- he points out that leadership is lacking politically in our world, that chasing the economy is destroying the earth and our relationship with it -- all quite resonant today. The story didn't so much build a world as explore our current world from a wider vantage point. The focus was on these characters and their existential journeys. It was intriguing, and a good addition to my Goodreads quota this year.
4 Stars for sure
There are many philosophical detours, which simultaneously are the point of the book and slow down the narrative, which I liked. There is so much Indigenous wisdom shared, in a natural way, during these detours. The miniscule thing that most niggled me was the role of Lenore and Katherine - their stories are dramatic and could have been explored much more deeply, but it's the men who get the guidance and insight here. The women are more valued for their ability to give life. I'd hope that dynamic would have changed by 2084. There's also George's last case in which begins to think he should no longer punish people and take part of their lives away as a prosecutor - the circumstances of this crisis of faith left me wanting more details, but anyways...
Still, this was a fresh take on a likely future if we keep going the way we are -- he points out that leadership is lacking politically in our world, that chasing the economy is destroying the earth and our relationship with it -- all quite resonant today. The story didn't so much build a world as explore our current world from a wider vantage point. The focus was on these characters and their existential journeys. It was intriguing, and a good addition to my Goodreads quota this year.
4 Stars for sure
March 12, 2019
A dystopian fiction unlike any dystopian novel I have ever read. Sadly this book didn't make it on the "Canada Reads Shortlist" considering this year's contenders, it should have. The novel weaves in Indigenous lore, technology, climate disruption, collapse, and resilience into the story line of a few characters who are surviving in the new urban landscape of what was formerly north-rural Saskatchewan. Here humanity survives in various formats (through technology, with little technology). All main characters in the novel are flawed, all (well virtually all) come through their journey better people. Watching this journey with infinite patience and wisdom is Raven. Raven in the end is disappointed with humanity, yet hopeful.
April 20, 2022
The world in the future, after two "intra" wars. A great drought drives people north in search of water and protection from mega storms. The story settles in La Ronge Saskatchewan where their is much crime and separation between classes. Condos in the sky, and ORVs to fly around in. At the same time there is an ashram hidden away where living is not based on capitalism, and an Indigenous settlement where spirit lives. And the Raven who knows all
The book jumped around too much for me, so 3 stars.
The book jumped around too much for me, so 3 stars.
February 11, 2024
I read a little over halfway. 3.5/4 stars ⭐️
If Seinfeld is a show about nothing then Corvus is a book about nothing. I kept waiting for a plot to unfold but not much of anything happened. But that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy reading it! After a few chapters in (once I learned all of the characters names), I found it pleasant to read. I enjoyed reading about the landscape of Saskatchewan, although it was challenging to picture la ronge without any trees. Wouldn’t read again, doubt I’ll read the end.
If Seinfeld is a show about nothing then Corvus is a book about nothing. I kept waiting for a plot to unfold but not much of anything happened. But that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy reading it! After a few chapters in (once I learned all of the characters names), I found it pleasant to read. I enjoyed reading about the landscape of Saskatchewan, although it was challenging to picture la ronge without any trees. Wouldn’t read again, doubt I’ll read the end.
February 11, 2019
I am really uncertain how to rate this as two stars seems so little against the effort it takes to write a book ... even a mediocre one. Corvus started strong, and I was quite intrigued but ultimately I was left feeling disappointed. The first third was great and then -what I thought to be- great potential was squandered.
Still Harold Johnson might have something about him yet and I might give him another try.
Still Harold Johnson might have something about him yet and I might give him another try.
August 8, 2019
The references to other literature concerning ravens was fun, adding extra depth to the story. The female characters were only present as a foil for the two main male characters which was disappointing. The world building was interesting but really not explored enough.
The book ended up being very preachy. While the writing style was engaging the preachiness overrode my enjoyment of the story.
The book ended up being very preachy. While the writing style was engaging the preachiness overrode my enjoyment of the story.
September 24, 2022
What a mixed bag. On the one hand, it had some truly beautiful passages, a disturbingly plausible vision of the near future, and some very interesting concepts/gadgets. On the other hand, the characterizations were underpinned by a gender bio-essentialism that made the whole thing come across as aggressively hetero, and several characters were weirdly unidimensional, just kind of dropping pearls of wisdom in the MC’s lap out of nowhere.
February 4, 2019
Neither the writing nor the story is cohesive. I started speed-reading at the halfway point, until I realized I was only flipping pages. Why? I really did not care about the flat characters. I really hated being told details about the narrative world that didn't hold together. I was not invested in the book enough to read the limited number of words remaining in the book.
February 6, 2019
A really good story that gets slightly bogged down with unnecessary story lines that drag a little too long. When it's good, it's really good. Unfortunately, there were large sections of the book that lost my interest and it felt like a bit of a slough to get through. The premise is very interesting, and a little terrifyingly too realistic.
April 27, 2019
Picked it up because it was on the Canada Reads longlist. It is a dystopian novel showing the lives of those struggling to survive in a world ravaged by the impact of global warming. One community lives on an ashram trying to revive the soil and be in tune with the environment. Another group has altered cities and seek to be safe there.
Thoughtful and thought provoking.
Thoughtful and thought provoking.
May 9, 2019
Incredibly deeply spiritual!! I loved this book so very much! Inspirational... the theories, the myths, the truth about human nature... a very prolific view of the future of humanity, the life force of nature and spiritual connection. Brilliant and wonderfully written ❤️❤️❤️❤️
It’s tagged as science fiction but I consider it more spiritual (non-denomination)
It’s tagged as science fiction but I consider it more spiritual (non-denomination)
November 25, 2019
I really enjoyed this novel. It was such an interesting idea for a book - set in Saskatchewan in the future and how due to climate change, people have migrated to more northern parts of Canada after 2 “Intra” wars. It is written by an Indigenous author and I loved the parts of the book where we are hearing the ravens point of view on what has happened to the world. I read this as it was on the Canada Reads Longlist this year and I probably would never had known about it otherwise. This is why I love Canada Reads as it leads me to some great Canadian books!
April 2, 2022
I truly enjoyed this book...very spiritual...and I loved the political jabs here and there throughout the book. The story and characters were fascinating, and the writing was wonderful. Yes, it was a little preachy in the latter part of the book, but I enjoyed the points Harold made, and I agreed with what he was trying to say. It’s an unusual, very wise & wonderful novel and I recommend it.
March 9, 2019
I gave it 3 stars. The storyline was confusing at times and there were points were I was thinking what’s the point yet there also several moments of profound thought that blew my mind.
Not one I would have read if not for the 2019 Canada Reads long list.
Not one I would have read if not for the 2019 Canada Reads long list.
July 13, 2019
This book is too real for the future of our world... Definitely scary effects of climate change. Not sure if my ebook version was missing headers, but sometimes I couldn't tell until halfway through a chapter that a year or 10 had passed.
April 1, 2019
Interesting twist on the dystopian future. Easy to read, compelling characters.
October 3, 2019
Way way way too much political positioning and philosophical ranting. The characters were believable, and the setting was interesting. That's it. I skimmed the last 100 pages.
November 27, 2019
Every moment of your life you are making choices, even when you choose not to choose.
November 13, 2021
Didn't love the execution but enjoyed the wisdom and wonder.
January 23, 2022
Set in the late 21st century in La Ronge, a big city now because everyone has moved north out of the southern deserts.
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