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The Books of Pellinor #3
The Crow
As this enthralling epic nears its climax, the young heroine’s brother discovers his own hidden gift—and the role he must play in battling the Dark.
Hem is a weary orphan whose struggle for survival ends when he is reunited with his lost sister, Maerad. But Maerad has a destiny to fulfill, and Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk, where he learns the ways of the Bards and befriends a mysterious white crow. When the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and an orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. It is there that Hem has a vision and learns that he, too, has a part to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
As The Crow continues the epic tale begun with The Naming and The Riddle, Alison Croggon creates a world of astounding beauty overshadowed by a terrifying darkness, a world where Maerad and Hem must prepare to wage their final battle for the Light.
Hem is a weary orphan whose struggle for survival ends when he is reunited with his lost sister, Maerad. But Maerad has a destiny to fulfill, and Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk, where he learns the ways of the Bards and befriends a mysterious white crow. When the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and an orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. It is there that Hem has a vision and learns that he, too, has a part to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
As The Crow continues the epic tale begun with The Naming and The Riddle, Alison Croggon creates a world of astounding beauty overshadowed by a terrifying darkness, a world where Maerad and Hem must prepare to wage their final battle for the Light.
528 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2006
About the author
Alison Croggon
54 books1,730 followersAlison Croggon is the award winning author of the acclaimed fantasy series The Books of Pellinor. You can sign up to her monthly newsletter and receive a free Pellinor story at alisoncroggon.com
Her most recent book is Fleshers, the first in a dazzling new SF series co-written with her husband, acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene. Her latest Pellinor book, The Bone Queen, was a 2016 Aurealis Awards Best Young Adult Book finalist. Other fantasy titles include Black Spring (shortlisted for the Young People's Writing Award in the 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards) and The River and the Book, winner of the Wilderness Society's prize for Environmental Writing for Children.
She is a prize-winning poet and theatre critic,, and has released seven collections of poems. As a critic she was named Geraldine Pascall Critic of the Year in 2009. She also writes opera libretti, and the opera she co-wrote with Iain Grandage was Vocal/Choral Work of the Year in the 2015 Art Music Awards. Her libretto for Mayakovsky, score by Michael Smetanin, was shortlisted in the Drama Prize for the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. She lives in Melbourne..
Her most recent book is Fleshers, the first in a dazzling new SF series co-written with her husband, acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene. Her latest Pellinor book, The Bone Queen, was a 2016 Aurealis Awards Best Young Adult Book finalist. Other fantasy titles include Black Spring (shortlisted for the Young People's Writing Award in the 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards) and The River and the Book, winner of the Wilderness Society's prize for Environmental Writing for Children.
She is a prize-winning poet and theatre critic,, and has released seven collections of poems. As a critic she was named Geraldine Pascall Critic of the Year in 2009. She also writes opera libretti, and the opera she co-wrote with Iain Grandage was Vocal/Choral Work of the Year in the 2015 Art Music Awards. Her libretto for Mayakovsky, score by Michael Smetanin, was shortlisted in the Drama Prize for the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. She lives in Melbourne..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 596 reviews
August 9, 2008
I loved The Naming. I loved The Riddle (with a few notable exceptions with parts near the end). But I might as well be honest. I did not like The Crow. It took me a long time to pick this one up and read it, and I’ll be honest, it was because of the lack of Cadvan and Maerad. I really got wrapped up in their story, and I was none-too-pleased to realize they weren’t in The Crow at all, but I decided to give it a chance anyway, and I was disappointed. In comparison to Cadvan and Maerad, the characters fell flat. The situations seemed less realistic. The story was darker than the first two books, but I think it tried too hard to be dark. At some point, I stopped being appalled by things and started thinking, “Ok, now that was just done for the shock value and to illustrate that the Nameless One is a Very Bad Man.” Yes, the Nameless One is a villain. Yes, he is a bad man. He is a very bad man. I don’t need the author to bash that into my brain by having him kick babies in his free time. She does, at least, give an explanation for why some things are done (which is good), but it’s not entirely convincing. In the end, I forgot the storyline was so much darker than it had been because it was more convincingly done in the first two books.
I still have hope for the series, and I do look forward to reading the last book, but I really thought this one fell flat. That’s a shame too, because I do love Croggon’s writing for the most part. And even though I really didn’t like this particular book much, I still love the first two, I still expect good things in The Singing, and I would still gladly recommend the series to others.
With that said . . . here are a few of the notes I made about things that bothered me. (Possible spoilers. I tried not to get too specific, but I want to give fair warning just in case.)
1) As Eliza said to Freddy in ‘My Fair Lady’, “Please don’t explain. Show me!” Yeah, yeah. So the kid’s heart is bursting with anger. Don’t tell me. Show me his fists are clenched and his eyes are brimming with tears of rage or some such. Show; don’t tell.
2) A makeshift hospital during a siege will probably not be an atmosphere of peace, even if you do like healing. I’m sorry, but no.
3) Adults who are a vital part of planning battles during a siege or who are in charge of short-staffed overrun war-time hospitals are not going to have time to stop and have comforting talks with children in the middle of what they’re doing. No, it’s not fair, but it is battle. A healer doesn’t have time to let men and women die so he or she can comfort a weepy child. It’s just not realistic.
4) Hundreds of men and women sacrifice their lives bravely and die in battle, and forever more the bards will sing of . . . the boy who talked the birds into fighting off some other birds. Yeah, it’s a good idea and helps the cause a little. A little. Not enough for the entire town to talk about him and for bards to write a song about him. Next thing you know, they’re going to be building the kid a statue. Which the birds will then make a mess on as they say, “Hey, we did all the work! Why don’t you give us some credit?”
5) And your new name shall be . . . Slasher Blood? Oh, come on. Are we in a fantasy novel or the WWF? I laughed for a solid five minutes over that one, and I don’t think it was supposed to be funny. I mean, seriously? Slasher? First thought: fake wrestlers with bad face paint. Second thought: Wait . . . you mean he writes that weird Harry/Snape fanfic? Ew. Yeah, yeah. So these are some tough little kids because they collect ears they’ve bitten off of people and name themselves “Slasher” and “Slitter” and “Reaver.” I get the point. They’re Very Scary Children. You don’t have to keep hitting me over the head with it.
6) Boredom: perhaps NOT the best emotion to describe what someone might be feeling when in disguise in a hostile enemy stronghold fearing discovery and excruciatingly painful death at any moment.
7) “Hem sniffed the air uneasily: it was heavy with a vague menace, which grew stronger the closer they came to Dagra.” I wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow if he hadn’t actually smelled the air. So that uh “vague menace” there, what does it smell like anyway? Does Yankee Candle perhaps sell this scent? If not, maybe I should suggest it to them. “Dear Yankee Candle, in your winter line, I would like to suggest the following scents: Vague Menace, Quivering Fear, and Dank Oppression. I do hope you will comply, as I cannot quite decide how to take over the world without your candles to help me instill fear into people everywhere with their wicked scents.” Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot, “P.S. If you decide not to make these scents for me, I will kidnap your puppy, turn it against you, and make it eat out your intestines. And I’ll throw your lollypop on the ground too, because I am a Very Evil Person.”
8) So the hero is trapped right under the enemy’s nose. He’s just been caught trying to escape. There are deadly creatures flying around. Most importantly, there’s a barrier that extends so high birds can’t even fly over it and an impregnable gate. How does our hero escape? He passes out and when he wakes back up, he finds an earthquake and a battle have taken out the obstacles between him and freedom. Whiskey tango foxtrot? Can you say Dues ex machina? Prime example. Come on, Croggon, you’re better than this.
I still have hope for the series, and I do look forward to reading the last book, but I really thought this one fell flat. That’s a shame too, because I do love Croggon’s writing for the most part. And even though I really didn’t like this particular book much, I still love the first two, I still expect good things in The Singing, and I would still gladly recommend the series to others.
With that said . . . here are a few of the notes I made about things that bothered me. (Possible spoilers. I tried not to get too specific, but I want to give fair warning just in case.)
1) As Eliza said to Freddy in ‘My Fair Lady’, “Please don’t explain. Show me!” Yeah, yeah. So the kid’s heart is bursting with anger. Don’t tell me. Show me his fists are clenched and his eyes are brimming with tears of rage or some such. Show; don’t tell.
2) A makeshift hospital during a siege will probably not be an atmosphere of peace, even if you do like healing. I’m sorry, but no.
3) Adults who are a vital part of planning battles during a siege or who are in charge of short-staffed overrun war-time hospitals are not going to have time to stop and have comforting talks with children in the middle of what they’re doing. No, it’s not fair, but it is battle. A healer doesn’t have time to let men and women die so he or she can comfort a weepy child. It’s just not realistic.
4) Hundreds of men and women sacrifice their lives bravely and die in battle, and forever more the bards will sing of . . . the boy who talked the birds into fighting off some other birds. Yeah, it’s a good idea and helps the cause a little. A little. Not enough for the entire town to talk about him and for bards to write a song about him. Next thing you know, they’re going to be building the kid a statue. Which the birds will then make a mess on as they say, “Hey, we did all the work! Why don’t you give us some credit?”
5) And your new name shall be . . . Slasher Blood? Oh, come on. Are we in a fantasy novel or the WWF? I laughed for a solid five minutes over that one, and I don’t think it was supposed to be funny. I mean, seriously? Slasher? First thought: fake wrestlers with bad face paint. Second thought: Wait . . . you mean he writes that weird Harry/Snape fanfic? Ew. Yeah, yeah. So these are some tough little kids because they collect ears they’ve bitten off of people and name themselves “Slasher” and “Slitter” and “Reaver.” I get the point. They’re Very Scary Children. You don’t have to keep hitting me over the head with it.
6) Boredom: perhaps NOT the best emotion to describe what someone might be feeling when in disguise in a hostile enemy stronghold fearing discovery and excruciatingly painful death at any moment.
7) “Hem sniffed the air uneasily: it was heavy with a vague menace, which grew stronger the closer they came to Dagra.” I wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow if he hadn’t actually smelled the air. So that uh “vague menace” there, what does it smell like anyway? Does Yankee Candle perhaps sell this scent? If not, maybe I should suggest it to them. “Dear Yankee Candle, in your winter line, I would like to suggest the following scents: Vague Menace, Quivering Fear, and Dank Oppression. I do hope you will comply, as I cannot quite decide how to take over the world without your candles to help me instill fear into people everywhere with their wicked scents.” Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot, “P.S. If you decide not to make these scents for me, I will kidnap your puppy, turn it against you, and make it eat out your intestines. And I’ll throw your lollypop on the ground too, because I am a Very Evil Person.”
8) So the hero is trapped right under the enemy’s nose. He’s just been caught trying to escape. There are deadly creatures flying around. Most importantly, there’s a barrier that extends so high birds can’t even fly over it and an impregnable gate. How does our hero escape? He passes out and when he wakes back up, he finds an earthquake and a battle have taken out the obstacles between him and freedom. Whiskey tango foxtrot? Can you say Dues ex machina? Prime example. Come on, Croggon, you’re better than this.
January 2, 2009
When I began this book I was disappointed that we'd be following Hem rather than his sister Maerad. But then I stopped being disappointed, both because Hem is at least as interesting as Maerad, and because his part of the story is just as important as hers--in fact, it's fully half of the story. Who knew? It was pretty cut and dried in the first two books: Maerad was the one in the prophecy, and Hem was secondary. But no.
And watching Hem grow up in the course of the few months described in this novel is fascinating, too. He goes from a fruit-stealing, trouble-making ragamuffin to a responsible young mage in just a few hundred pages, and in some ways he does it more gracefully than his sister. I also was drawn in to the story of Zelika, a character I liked very much.
So now I'm just waiting for The Singing. Hurry UP, February, seriously!
And watching Hem grow up in the course of the few months described in this novel is fascinating, too. He goes from a fruit-stealing, trouble-making ragamuffin to a responsible young mage in just a few hundred pages, and in some ways he does it more gracefully than his sister. I also was drawn in to the story of Zelika, a character I liked very much.
So now I'm just waiting for The Singing. Hurry UP, February, seriously!
March 4, 2017
The Crow is very different from the first two books of the Pellinor series. It switches completely to Hem's point of view, going back to follow him through his experiences adjusting to the School in Turbansk, coming to love the city, and realizing the impact of the advancing war with the Dark.
At first, I found it hard to switch from Maerad's perspective to Hem's. My feeling at the end of The Riddle was an urgency to continue immediately to find out what was going to happen next - only to discover I had to wait for book 4 to read anything further about Maerad! That was tough. Switching to Hem was like starting a new story - getting to know a new character from the beginning, new surroundings, new conflicts. It took me a while to switch gears, but once I did, I came to love Hem's part as well. It turns out he's more important than we all thought, and deserves a whole book to himself.
As we join Hem in Turbansk, there's a change from the travel narrative of the previous books to impending siege and war. Hem feels very much like a boy out of his element at the beginning of this book. But as the siege approaches, he is jolted out of those petty troubles and is forced to look outside himself. He is too young to be directly involved in the fighting, but he finds important roles to play in defense of the city, learning about his own gifts along the way. His growing maturity as he experiences war and siege and flight is natural and profound. I hardly recognized him at the end.
Honestly, though, Saliman is really my favorite character in this. His generosity, kindness and laughter, along with his seriousness and strength in the face of disaster make him one of the bright points of the story - and it doesn't get much brightness once things begin to fall apart. He is the solid point around which everyone moves, and he does far more than fill the role of mentor and father to Hem.
Once again, Croggon's powers of description vividly bring to life the city of Turbansk so that you wish you could reach out and take a mango from a tree in one of the gardens. She really makes you care about this beautiful city, to feel it personally that this warm, lush, vibrant home is being destroyed by such overwhelming evil forces. We witness first-hand the fear and destruction brought by the Dark, making it more immediate than the visions Maerad had. Now we are not just being told that bad things are going to happen, we feel the impact and understand the urgency of Maerad's quest in a much more personal way. And somehow Croggon is also able, in just a few words here and there, to make you feel the loss of a close friend, or the depth of the sacrifices made by those who are fighting. The story is often heartbreaking and grows darker and more depressing as the conflict rises.
Because it was difficult to get into at the beginning with the sudden switch to Hem's perspective, and because it was much darker, I'm only giving this one 4 stars. I still loved it, and love the series, but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the first two books.
At first, I found it hard to switch from Maerad's perspective to Hem's. My feeling at the end of The Riddle was an urgency to continue immediately to find out what was going to happen next - only to discover I had to wait for book 4 to read anything further about Maerad! That was tough. Switching to Hem was like starting a new story - getting to know a new character from the beginning, new surroundings, new conflicts. It took me a while to switch gears, but once I did, I came to love Hem's part as well. It turns out he's more important than we all thought, and deserves a whole book to himself.
As we join Hem in Turbansk, there's a change from the travel narrative of the previous books to impending siege and war. Hem feels very much like a boy out of his element at the beginning of this book. But as the siege approaches, he is jolted out of those petty troubles and is forced to look outside himself. He is too young to be directly involved in the fighting, but he finds important roles to play in defense of the city, learning about his own gifts along the way. His growing maturity as he experiences war and siege and flight is natural and profound. I hardly recognized him at the end.
Honestly, though, Saliman is really my favorite character in this. His generosity, kindness and laughter, along with his seriousness and strength in the face of disaster make him one of the bright points of the story - and it doesn't get much brightness once things begin to fall apart. He is the solid point around which everyone moves, and he does far more than fill the role of mentor and father to Hem.
Once again, Croggon's powers of description vividly bring to life the city of Turbansk so that you wish you could reach out and take a mango from a tree in one of the gardens. She really makes you care about this beautiful city, to feel it personally that this warm, lush, vibrant home is being destroyed by such overwhelming evil forces. We witness first-hand the fear and destruction brought by the Dark, making it more immediate than the visions Maerad had. Now we are not just being told that bad things are going to happen, we feel the impact and understand the urgency of Maerad's quest in a much more personal way. And somehow Croggon is also able, in just a few words here and there, to make you feel the loss of a close friend, or the depth of the sacrifices made by those who are fighting. The story is often heartbreaking and grows darker and more depressing as the conflict rises.
Because it was difficult to get into at the beginning with the sudden switch to Hem's perspective, and because it was much darker, I'm only giving this one 4 stars. I still loved it, and love the series, but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the first two books.
January 23, 2019
This whole series is phenomenal - be warned though, this one is very dark. The foray into the world of the Nameless One's forces gives Mordor a run for its money. Absolutely brilliant writing. #TeamIrc
August 13, 2025
In case you haven't read this series yet, please do. I'm not saying it for myself, or because I will get royalties if you buy the books, I'm being very kind to you and will point you in a direction that you won't regret taking. Thank me later.
You'll have to like a rather slow pacing. But the book isn't slow, neither is the series, it takes its time and is just filled with wonderful characters (ah, Saliman !) that you will love to read about. Their quest is rather vague, but their aim is true and destiny is on their side - so far. I haven't read the last volume - next month I will.
You will have to love languages and diverse cultures, you will travel from countries covered in ice to countries covered in sand. You will have to love folklore, music and songs.
Before, we followed the adventures of Cadvan and Maerad, here we accompany her little brother, Hem, his transformation from an angry boy to a healing bard with half a song. You will see monsters, cruelty, kindness, bravery and it will do you good. And let's not forget Irc !
You'll have to like a rather slow pacing. But the book isn't slow, neither is the series, it takes its time and is just filled with wonderful characters (ah, Saliman !) that you will love to read about. Their quest is rather vague, but their aim is true and destiny is on their side - so far. I haven't read the last volume - next month I will.
You will have to love languages and diverse cultures, you will travel from countries covered in ice to countries covered in sand. You will have to love folklore, music and songs.
Before, we followed the adventures of Cadvan and Maerad, here we accompany her little brother, Hem, his transformation from an angry boy to a healing bard with half a song. You will see monsters, cruelty, kindness, bravery and it will do you good. And let's not forget Irc !
August 24, 2020
Pellinor is arguably my favorite series ever. I'm at a point where a good 50% of my personality is a mix of Maerad and Cadvan. Which may or may not mean I have dreams about wandering around Edil-Amarandh, chanting "there is always a choice" like a parrot.
The Crow was never a book I was excited to read, however. Just knowing it was all about Hem, whom I tolerated in the previous books but thought of as a side character, killed my enthusiasm.
I was originally going to rate this one star because it was so incessantly plodding and dreary. Not even that part where Hem goes to Sjug-Hakar Im could hold my interest. One, I can't for the life of me pronounce that. Two, the snouts have names like Reaper and Fang and Bonecrusher and that cracked me up. It's like they were trying to sound scary, but ended up like a bunch of kids playing dress-up.
I found myself keeping track of how many pages I had till the end, which is something I usually never do. I couldn't get lost in the story like I did in the previous books.
Hem just isn't the character Maerad is. How Maerad and Cadvan slowly open up to each other, both accustomed to being solitary and both with dark fears, is by far the best part of the series. And with them hardly ever mentioned...
Finally, there were some things that just didn't make any sense, such as Hem being indestructible. First, he recovers from a serious illness in one day. With no later effects. It's ridiculous. Also, he escapes from Dagra, which is infested with Hulls, with no more than a few bruises. How does he get out after being spotted by one such Hull? A miraculous earthquake. There is no real explanation whatsoever, just a cheat.
I can forgive The Crow many things because it's Pellinor, after all, but there were too many faults here for me to overlook.
The Crow was never a book I was excited to read, however. Just knowing it was all about Hem, whom I tolerated in the previous books but thought of as a side character, killed my enthusiasm.
I was originally going to rate this one star because it was so incessantly plodding and dreary. Not even that part where Hem goes to Sjug-Hakar Im could hold my interest. One, I can't for the life of me pronounce that. Two, the snouts have names like Reaper and Fang and Bonecrusher and that cracked me up. It's like they were trying to sound scary, but ended up like a bunch of kids playing dress-up.
I found myself keeping track of how many pages I had till the end, which is something I usually never do. I couldn't get lost in the story like I did in the previous books.
Hem just isn't the character Maerad is. How Maerad and Cadvan slowly open up to each other, both accustomed to being solitary and both with dark fears, is by far the best part of the series. And with them hardly ever mentioned...
Finally, there were some things that just didn't make any sense, such as Hem being indestructible. First, he recovers from a serious illness in one day. With no later effects. It's ridiculous. Also, he escapes from Dagra, which is infested with Hulls, with no more than a few bruises. How does he get out after being spotted by one such Hull? A miraculous earthquake. There is no real explanation whatsoever, just a cheat.
I can forgive The Crow many things because it's Pellinor, after all, but there were too many faults here for me to overlook.
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August 14, 2023So What’s It About?
Hem is a weary orphan whose struggle for survival ends when he is reunited with his lost sister, Maerad. But Maerad has a destiny to fulfill, and Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk, where he learns the ways of the Bards and befriends a mysterious white crow. When the forces of the Dark threaten, Hem flees with his protector, Saliman, and an orphan girl named Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. It is there that Hem has a vision and learns that he, too, has a part to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
What I Thought
I am still enjoying the Pellinor books a lot and I truly wish I had found them earlier because I think I would have loved them even more as a kid. In The Crow, Hem is our main character instead of Maerad, and he holds his own as a protagonist. Over the course of the book, he goes from a petulant, defiant kid to a hero in his own right, stepping up in a time of terrible crisis, discovering his talent for healing and putting himself through tremendous suffering to try to save his friend Zelika. I also enjoyed having Hem as the protagonist because of his relationship with Irc, a white crow who he rescues as a fledgling and develops a telepathic bond with. Irc is adorable and heroic in his own right - I love his obsession with shiny objects and I think the author does a great job of writing a bird’s personality and voice. I also really liked Hem’s Bard mentor Saliman and how their relationship of trust and love develops over the course of the book.
As with the two previous books, Croggon’s writing is lovely. There are so many luscious, gorgeous descriptions of the golden city of Turbansk which make it even more tragic when the city is sacked. But I think she is equally talented at writing places that are desolate and creepy and foreboding. I loved the abandoned underground city, and I truly felt the intended sense of desolation and destruction as the characters ventured into the lands conquered by forces of evil. Croggon definitely has an incredible skill for writing atmosphere and evocative settings.
The second half of The Riddle was noticeably darker than what came before it, and The Crow is even darker. A major part of this book explores the experiences of child soldiers who are brutalized and brutal in turn due to the influence of magic. We see pointless cruelty and torture that is pretty horrific, especially when it comes to the Blind House where Hem thinks his friend Zelika is being imprisoned. In a move that I think is quite bold, it turns out that Hem’s quest to rescue Zelika is fruitless from the start - she was murdered immediately upon being captured and he turns out to be sensing her brother’s essence instead of hers. He ends up not being able to rescue her brother, either. The tragedy of it was captured quite well, and I think it was an important addition to what feels very much like a classic high fantasy struggle of good against evil. While I appreciate this particular element of grimness and strife, I do think that the way Hem comes into possession of an incredibly important magical item feels somewhat random and cheap and far too simple for a book that seems to be striving against that overall.
I’m planning to read The Singing soon, and I hope it is just as good as the rest of these books have been so far. It’s somewhat bittersweet that there’s only one book left in this series because I think I’d be happy to read about this world for many more books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2020
When I was reading this series when I was younger this was always my least favourite. I still enjoyed it but just not as much as when we follow Maerad (rather than her brother Hem who is the focus of this book) but WOW this time I was so enraptured by this book and I'm so mad I've not read it more often! (says the person who's read it 10+ times already lol) but shit dude this was great. I'm now so excited to read Hem's pov in The Singing!!!
July 5, 2023
I've enjoyed this series so far, don't know why I hadn't read this earlier.
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April 7, 2026{March/April 2026 Reread}
This book is essentially what the post-Pelennor battle and Mordor chapters of The Lord of the Rings would be if they amounted to nearly 500 pages, and as far as that goes, it's probably fairly well-executed. However, with the exception of developing Hem's role in the central quest re: the Treesong, this installment contains very little that applies to my interest in the series, so I skimmed the vast majority of it this time around.
{Original March 2019 Review}
I didn't want an entire 483-page book solely from Hem's perspective, with no Maerad or Cadvan, but since I had to have it, it was pretty good.
"We will be mourning forever."
This book is essentially what the post-Pelennor battle and Mordor chapters of The Lord of the Rings would be if they amounted to nearly 500 pages, and as far as that goes, it's probably fairly well-executed. However, with the exception of developing Hem's role in the central quest re: the Treesong, this installment contains very little that applies to my interest in the series, so I skimmed the vast majority of it this time around.
{Original March 2019 Review}
Outside in the darkness, drums pulsed like a fever in the blood, and the archers on the city walls changed watch, and the guards in the Red Tower stared through their starglasses at the dark lines that separated sea and sky, searching always for ominous black sails, and fires leapt and spread in the shadowed Fesse of Turbansk. But the two children slept as deeply as if they had never heard of war.
I didn't want an entire 483-page book solely from Hem's perspective, with no Maerad or Cadvan, but since I had to have it, it was pretty good.
September 13, 2020
1.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2011
The Crow is the third in the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon. While it was an interesting book, and something that was certainly needed for the series, I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the previous two.
I think a large reason that I didn't enjoy this one as much was that it was concentrating fully on Hem. Hem is a fun and interesting character, but he is one I have care little about for the series. Maerad was with him only briefly and while he is talked about, we don't learn much about him. So to have a whole book dedicated to him when we've been shown the character so little, makes me care a little less about him.
However, Hem is still an interesting character and in different ways than Maerad. He is still very young and that youth shows. He's impatient and has a hot temper on him. He also has a very hard time fitting into this formal world. Maerad falls into the Bardic world easily, loving her lessons and her studies. Hem does not love it the way that Maerad does and is finding studying difficult and tedious.
One of the best parts of this book is the relationship between Hem and Saliman. It's such an honest and endearing love between the two of them, you can't help but feel every emotion that the two of them feel. I enjoy Saliman's character immensely because he's so engaging. He tries so hard to be happy, to keep high spirits while they push through a war but you can seen how much he hides and how powerful he really is.
We also meet Zelika. I have mixed feelings on her. We don't learn a lot about her. I feel like Croggon was constantly on the brink of letting us know who this girl was and never quite got there. We knew she was troubled; she wanted nothing more than to die fighting the things that killed her family and it's this reason she agrees to learn to spy with Hem. They learn that the Nameless One is starting a child army. As Zelika and Hem are spying, Zelika sees one of her brothers and is captured.
Hem goes after her. He spend a third of the book in this camp, looking for her, insisting that she's alive. He gets brought back to the city of the Nameless One, almost gets trapped in there and killed. When he finally makes it back, we find out in an almost backhanded way that Zelika had been killed, weeks before, and it seemed to make Hem's suffering worthless. I feel like we learned so little about Zelika only to hear of her death. It almost made me wonder what her purpose was. Why bother include her if we were to know so little about her?
I like the wrench that Croggon throws into this book. We've known since the first second of the series that Maerad is the chosen one, the one destined to save everyone. In this book, we find out that there's actually a chosen TWO. Hem is there to complete the other half of the TreeSong, to help Maerad defend all. I like that you didn't see it coming. It never occurred to me that both of them might be needed to save the world around them.
The other thing about this book that bothered me was towards the end it dragged. It was interesting and engaging but the entire last half of the book was Hem looking for Zelika, and never finding her. Nothing really happened and he seemed to be repeating the same steps over again. Croggon was trying to convey his misery and instead, just bored her readers a bit.
Overall, it was a good book and definitely worth it to read, especially considering the rest of the series. I find that the third book in a series tends to be the one that drags the most and this was no exception. However, I still look forward to the last installment.
I think a large reason that I didn't enjoy this one as much was that it was concentrating fully on Hem. Hem is a fun and interesting character, but he is one I have care little about for the series. Maerad was with him only briefly and while he is talked about, we don't learn much about him. So to have a whole book dedicated to him when we've been shown the character so little, makes me care a little less about him.
However, Hem is still an interesting character and in different ways than Maerad. He is still very young and that youth shows. He's impatient and has a hot temper on him. He also has a very hard time fitting into this formal world. Maerad falls into the Bardic world easily, loving her lessons and her studies. Hem does not love it the way that Maerad does and is finding studying difficult and tedious.
One of the best parts of this book is the relationship between Hem and Saliman. It's such an honest and endearing love between the two of them, you can't help but feel every emotion that the two of them feel. I enjoy Saliman's character immensely because he's so engaging. He tries so hard to be happy, to keep high spirits while they push through a war but you can seen how much he hides and how powerful he really is.
We also meet Zelika. I have mixed feelings on her. We don't learn a lot about her. I feel like Croggon was constantly on the brink of letting us know who this girl was and never quite got there. We knew she was troubled; she wanted nothing more than to die fighting the things that killed her family and it's this reason she agrees to learn to spy with Hem. They learn that the Nameless One is starting a child army. As Zelika and Hem are spying, Zelika sees one of her brothers and is captured.
Hem goes after her. He spend a third of the book in this camp, looking for her, insisting that she's alive. He gets brought back to the city of the Nameless One, almost gets trapped in there and killed. When he finally makes it back, we find out in an almost backhanded way that Zelika had been killed, weeks before, and it seemed to make Hem's suffering worthless. I feel like we learned so little about Zelika only to hear of her death. It almost made me wonder what her purpose was. Why bother include her if we were to know so little about her?
I like the wrench that Croggon throws into this book. We've known since the first second of the series that Maerad is the chosen one, the one destined to save everyone. In this book, we find out that there's actually a chosen TWO. Hem is there to complete the other half of the TreeSong, to help Maerad defend all. I like that you didn't see it coming. It never occurred to me that both of them might be needed to save the world around them.
The other thing about this book that bothered me was towards the end it dragged. It was interesting and engaging but the entire last half of the book was Hem looking for Zelika, and never finding her. Nothing really happened and he seemed to be repeating the same steps over again. Croggon was trying to convey his misery and instead, just bored her readers a bit.
Overall, it was a good book and definitely worth it to read, especially considering the rest of the series. I find that the third book in a series tends to be the one that drags the most and this was no exception. However, I still look forward to the last installment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2011
All novels, and especially fantasy novels, provide the opportunity for authors to create their own worlds in which to place their characters, and in large measure what makes the story convincing is the plausibility of that secondary world. Croggon's land of Edil-Amarandh is given credible substance by its characters' interaction with the geography, climate and changing seasons, and the success of The Crow and the other Pellinor books is enhanced by the impression that Maerad and Hem, Cadvan and Saliman are all inhabiting a real landscape: we are with them, almost in real-time, every step of their journeys, every rest in their tasks. It may or not help to imagine their world as perhaps that straddling what is now the mid-Atlantic ridge between Newfoundland and western Europe, sometime towards the end of the last Ice Age when sea levels were lower, but it is not essential, particularly as Croggon's storytelling skill provides the verisimilitude to convincingly transport us to this sprawling continent in the grip of unfathomable changes.
Fans of Maerad from the first and second books may baulk at a volume in which she gets only passing mentions, but her brother Hem becomes as fascinating and sympathetic a character as his sister in the course of nearly 500 pages. In many ways The Crow appears as a narrative reflection of The Riddle: they straddle the same time-frame, ending with each of the two siblings meeting up with a lost friend on Midwinter's Day; one sibling travels to the north-west, the other to the south-east to gain insights into the Treesong; both become imprisoned though in rather different circumstances, having to rely on their own inner resources; both discover they have gifts that they were not aware of; and both are rightly distressed when they lose significant friends. But The Crow is not just a mirror image of The Riddle, and the dangers Hem meets and his responses to events and predicaments are strikingly different from his sister's.
The Crow is an absorbing read, and while there are stretches where nothing much seems to happen, the inner turmoil and personal growth that Hem undergoes is as essential to Croggon's tale as any burst of action is to a more conventional sword-and-sorcery novel. Love and loyalty, beauty and poetry alternate with scenes of horror and destruction and cruelty; the feeling that one is there when Turbansk is besieged, when the child-soldiers are abused, when friends are separated or re-united is strong throughout these pages and re-inforces the reader's empathy and sympathy for the youngsters in the story as they grow old before their time. It is a harsh observer who doesn't engage with Hem and Irc, his friend the white crow.
Fans of Maerad from the first and second books may baulk at a volume in which she gets only passing mentions, but her brother Hem becomes as fascinating and sympathetic a character as his sister in the course of nearly 500 pages. In many ways The Crow appears as a narrative reflection of The Riddle: they straddle the same time-frame, ending with each of the two siblings meeting up with a lost friend on Midwinter's Day; one sibling travels to the north-west, the other to the south-east to gain insights into the Treesong; both become imprisoned though in rather different circumstances, having to rely on their own inner resources; both discover they have gifts that they were not aware of; and both are rightly distressed when they lose significant friends. But The Crow is not just a mirror image of The Riddle, and the dangers Hem meets and his responses to events and predicaments are strikingly different from his sister's.
The Crow is an absorbing read, and while there are stretches where nothing much seems to happen, the inner turmoil and personal growth that Hem undergoes is as essential to Croggon's tale as any burst of action is to a more conventional sword-and-sorcery novel. Love and loyalty, beauty and poetry alternate with scenes of horror and destruction and cruelty; the feeling that one is there when Turbansk is besieged, when the child-soldiers are abused, when friends are separated or re-united is strong throughout these pages and re-inforces the reader's empathy and sympathy for the youngsters in the story as they grow old before their time. It is a harsh observer who doesn't engage with Hem and Irc, his friend the white crow.
May 28, 2014
"The Crow" by Alison Croggon
The Crow is about Maerad's younger brother, Hem. Hem is now in Turbansk with Saliman and a girl runs into him as shes running from someone else and Hem takes her in. Zelika, the girl, is grateful that Hem took her in an fed her although she still wants to take vengeance on the Black Army for killing her family. After a few weeks Saliman, Hem, Zelika and a friend of theirs leave the city as another Bard creates an earthquake. Once to their destination, Hem is confronted by an Elemental who tells Hem that the Treesong once belonged to him and his brethren. After the encounter the group went on and gathered information on the child armies that the Dark is using. Hem follows them to Dagra, the capital city of the Darks' movements. After a terrible experience, Hem returns and finds out Zelika s dead and he traveled all that way for nothing. Then he and Saliman take to the north and find a group of travelers whose leader is in league with the Hulls and not knowing it.
The main characters are Hem, Irc, Saliman, Zelika, and Soron. Hem is a boy of fourteen and is the brother of Maerad. Irc is a white crow who is saved by Hem when he is attacked by other normal crows. Saliman is Hem's teacher and guardian in making him a Bard. Zelika is a girl who escaped to Turbansk because her previous home was destroyed. Soron is a friend of Salimans and is a famous cook in the Suderain.
The book is based around he medieval times and is moved around the same traditions as Lord of the Rings but there are a lot of different things. The characters mostly stay in the city of Turbansk but are otherwise traveling throughout the country.
I like the book very much. The series interests me more than most book do at the moment. I recommend "The Crow" to anyone who enjoys a great series of books that are not as technological as today.
The Crow is about Maerad's younger brother, Hem. Hem is now in Turbansk with Saliman and a girl runs into him as shes running from someone else and Hem takes her in. Zelika, the girl, is grateful that Hem took her in an fed her although she still wants to take vengeance on the Black Army for killing her family. After a few weeks Saliman, Hem, Zelika and a friend of theirs leave the city as another Bard creates an earthquake. Once to their destination, Hem is confronted by an Elemental who tells Hem that the Treesong once belonged to him and his brethren. After the encounter the group went on and gathered information on the child armies that the Dark is using. Hem follows them to Dagra, the capital city of the Darks' movements. After a terrible experience, Hem returns and finds out Zelika s dead and he traveled all that way for nothing. Then he and Saliman take to the north and find a group of travelers whose leader is in league with the Hulls and not knowing it.
The main characters are Hem, Irc, Saliman, Zelika, and Soron. Hem is a boy of fourteen and is the brother of Maerad. Irc is a white crow who is saved by Hem when he is attacked by other normal crows. Saliman is Hem's teacher and guardian in making him a Bard. Zelika is a girl who escaped to Turbansk because her previous home was destroyed. Soron is a friend of Salimans and is a famous cook in the Suderain.
The book is based around he medieval times and is moved around the same traditions as Lord of the Rings but there are a lot of different things. The characters mostly stay in the city of Turbansk but are otherwise traveling throughout the country.
I like the book very much. The series interests me more than most book do at the moment. I recommend "The Crow" to anyone who enjoys a great series of books that are not as technological as today.
July 18, 2021
Dieser Band behandelt den Handlungstrang rund um Maerads Bruder Hem. Auf der einen Seite hat mir die Geschichte gut gefallen, aber an manchen Stellen zog es sich schon ganz schön. Manchmal ist weniger eben doch mehr. Aber ich bin trotzdem gespannt wie alles im letzten Teil enden wird.
March 4, 2016
Although not as enjoyable as the first two books inthe series this was a good book. I found it a bit repetative and I just kept waiting for the poor boy to get something accomplished. I have to say, though, that my love of the series is helped tremendously by Cadvan, who is not in this book at all (its like The Lord of the Rings without Legolas, Aragorn and/or Gandalf. I cannot say that Alison Crogon is as great a writer or scholar as Tolkien but she makes a briliant effort, and I hope the the fourth offering will have the same depth and power as the first two books.
July 29, 2019
I lovedddd this! This story follows Hem and Salimon instead of Maerad and Cadvan and at first I was a little bummed because I loved how the previous book ended and wanted to keep on with that story. But this story was so awesome. So far my favorite in the series. I think Hem figuring himself out just was way more interesting to me and he isn’t as whiny as Maerad which is nice. Can’t wait to read what happens in the next one when Hem and Maerad hopefully find each other again!
March 22, 2016
Third book tears at your heart
At first I did not like Hem. He was only a side character in the first two books. Why was this whole third book his adventure.
But oh what an adventure it was. Tour out my heart and stomped on it for good measure. Now that is how to write a good adventure story.
At first I did not like Hem. He was only a side character in the first two books. Why was this whole third book his adventure.
But oh what an adventure it was. Tour out my heart and stomped on it for good measure. Now that is how to write a good adventure story.
July 4, 2021
I actually began this book quite a few years ago. But because I was so invested in Myrad's story, I didn't want to backtrack and follow Hem. So I only got about a chapter in before abandoning the book. Now years later I picked it up and began again. And wow was it an amazing book! Hem's story is so full of darkness and grief, and he does such a load of character development. The descriptions of Turbansk were so vivid that I felt as though I were there. Salaman is such a great character, it was really good to get to know him better. Zelika was a good addition...I loved her fierceness and determination. And of course I loved Eerk, I never realised that you could fall in love with a crow. This really was a brilliant book full of action, desperate peril, darkness and love.
April 25, 2022
The Crow continues to build on Croggon's rich world, with diverse cultures, a detailed history, and imaginative storytelling. By the end of this third installment, I'm really beginning to feel a part of the journey! I'll be quite reluctant to exit this world when the time comes.
Some reviewers complained about The Crow focusing on Hem's storyline, but I'd been actively looking forward to it throughout the entire second book, and enjoyed it the most so far. Hem is a really wonderful character, and I preferred his headspace to Maerad's. His story is both heartbreaking and sweet, and his growth is felt as time goes by. I hope we will get his POV again in the next novel, even if only for a few chapters.
Some reviewers complained about The Crow focusing on Hem's storyline, but I'd been actively looking forward to it throughout the entire second book, and enjoyed it the most so far. Hem is a really wonderful character, and I preferred his headspace to Maerad's. His story is both heartbreaking and sweet, and his growth is felt as time goes by. I hope we will get his POV again in the next novel, even if only for a few chapters.
August 29, 2020
Did I just read the same book twice? The plot of The Crow is eerily similar to The Riddle. I found this version slightly less infuriating.
September 2, 2020
In the third installment of this series, we spend the whole book with Hem, Maerad's younger brother. I liked this better than the second of the series. 12 year old Hem is living in a new city, with a new parent-figure, and just trying to figure things out, which is hard, especially when his early life was such a mess (kidnapping, orphanages, evil wizards, etc.) Here, Hem is trying to figure out what friendship and bravery mean in the context of a very scary war. Plus, there's a lot of good adventure and magic bits. Looking forward to finishing this series out.
March 1, 2025
3rd installment of this young adult fantasy quartet, following Maerad's brother through some rough (to say the least) events and a lot of maturing. I thought it was just as well written as the other novels but like so many others... I just didn't like it. The last quarter really slogged but I'm still excited for the final book.
May 7, 2025
ah... love in all things
like 3.5? tbh I have pretty mixed feelings on this book in that I actually did end up liking Hem's story more than I thought I would but simultaneously it's just like. Odd in some ways. I think seeing the war through a 12 year old kid's eyes is a pretty good narrative device, and I like that different pov of this special kid who's still frothing at the bit to do something, anything. Zelika is... compelling in a strange way too. I love Irc. So so much more worldbuilding happening here. The bad guys are truly diabolical who could've guessed. I am however really into the whole Treesong quest thing it goes crazyyy hello Elidhu. If I were Hem I woulda jus died actually thanks. Uhh yeah I'm fascinated by the world and most of the plot and characters but not all the way. I just don't know if I believe some of the shenanigans that occurred. Still pretty good and I appreciate Hem's perspective and insanity Maerad ur little brother is terrifying
like 3.5? tbh I have pretty mixed feelings on this book in that I actually did end up liking Hem's story more than I thought I would but simultaneously it's just like. Odd in some ways. I think seeing the war through a 12 year old kid's eyes is a pretty good narrative device, and I like that different pov of this special kid who's still frothing at the bit to do something, anything. Zelika is... compelling in a strange way too. I love Irc. So so much more worldbuilding happening here. The bad guys are truly diabolical who could've guessed. I am however really into the whole Treesong quest thing it goes crazyyy hello Elidhu. If I were Hem I woulda jus died actually thanks. Uhh yeah I'm fascinated by the world and most of the plot and characters but not all the way. I just don't know if I believe some of the shenanigans that occurred. Still pretty good and I appreciate Hem's perspective and insanity Maerad ur little brother is terrifying
April 4, 2021
listen this was really good and it woulda been five stars if I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to murder zelika like every 2 seconds
June 10, 2022
4 stars bc it's pellinor, if it wasn't it would be a 2.5/3
September 9, 2023
“It is only the darkness in our own hearts that will defeat us, in the end.”
I didn’t expect to like this book very much. Boy, was I wrong.
While some parts of the plot were incredibly convenient and were much darker than the first two installments, the characters were more vibrant and endearing. Sibling-centered stories touch me in a profound way, and I’m grateful to read this one.
I didn’t expect to like this book very much. Boy, was I wrong.
While some parts of the plot were incredibly convenient and were much darker than the first two installments, the characters were more vibrant and endearing. Sibling-centered stories touch me in a profound way, and I’m grateful to read this one.
December 28, 2024
Beautiful writing, powerful story, inspiring characters.
June 11, 2025
2,75
3/4 książki - nuda
3/4 książki - nuda
August 18, 2020
I liked both the Naming and the Riddle. At the beginning of the Crow, I didn't like it because it was a completely different point of view, and in a different place. But as I got farther into the book I got more used to the point of view, and I ended up really liking the book.
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