The Raven Tower

Jennifer

- 4 minutes read - 738 words

In 2020, The Raven Tower was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award, which isn’t surprising as it was written by Ann Leckie—New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards all in the same year.

Written in second person point of view from the perspective of an “ancient god,” the book follows the actions of Eolo, loyal servant of the son of the Raven’s Lease—the leader of Vastai. They return from battle because the Lease is dying and Mawat, the heir, must take his place on the bench. When he and Eolo arrive, they find Mawat’s uncle has taken over as the Raven’s Lease. Unlike Hamlet, the obvious comparable story, Mawat is not the central character. Instead, the focus is on Eolo, his servant and friend, and the point-of-view character. There are hints early in the novel that not everything is as it seems.

“…The Raven is a powerful god. He could… he could make it so you could…’ He gestured vaguely. ‘So you could be who you are.’

‘I already am who I am,’ you snapped. ‘My lord.’ And after a few moments of silence, ‘That’s not why I’m here.’”

This is an epic fantasy, made of an immense world filled with gods older than humans or human language. When we finally meet the character following Eolo, it’s unsurprising that it’s a god, but it seems to be a minor god with small powers called the Strength and Patience of the Hill. This small god is very sparing with its power, very careful with the words it uses to describe the world. As it says:

“Stories can be risky for someone like me. What I say must be true, or it will be made true, and if it cannot be made true—if I don’t have the power, or what I have said is an impossibility—then I will pay the price.”

But humans provide power to the gods, and they don’t pray to gods that don’t use their powers for them. So, this god is a minor god. It doesn’t move, preferring to remain in stone rather than embody a mobile avatar. It doesn’t grant requests, preferring to allow its priests to find their own solutions. It foregoes communication for generations and has only one friend.

In an echo of this small god’s existence, Eolo too seems to have but one friend—Mawat. He prefers to remain in Mawat’s company and refuses to compromise his morals even when it would benefit him to do so. He is a powerful man, with a strong character, and it’s clear why Mawat trusts him. But as you progress through the story, there is more to him than meets the eye—he has a secret only Mawat knows.

The Raven Tower is primarily told in brief scenes, first following Eolo, and later alternating to stories that The Strength and Patience of the Hill has heard. Many of the lyrical and magical stories the god tells are presented in just that fashion. “Here is a story I have heard…” The stories tell of events the god didn’t witness but presumed to be true and the writing is crisp and lyrical. The scenes following Eolo are presented in second person, as the god is watching and evaluating events.

This is an incredible fantasy story. Second-person narratives are uncommon and difficult to immerse yourself in, but within a short time, the prescriptiveness of the story, e.g. “…you stared frowning at the heavy oak door…,” loses force and the world building and scope sucks you into the intricacies of the world, the strong features of the characters. This book’s pacing is such that it brings you to the climax without even realizing it, and since the climax is also where you learn how wrong you were about The Strength and Patience of the Hill, this simply reinforces the theme that not everything or everyone is as they seem.

It doesn’t surprise me it did not win the World Fantasy Award in 2020. Unlike her debut novel, Ancillary Justice, which won nearly every available award for Science Fiction, it is not a standard read. The second-person point-of-view may put many people off, as may the structure mirroring Hamlet. Eolo’s secret is hard for some people to accept. But if you can get past those hurdles, the lyrical descriptions, immersive world building, and surprising conclusion, make this a book that shouldn’t be missed.