The Raven
John Lawson
Reviewed by Sabrina Williams
John Lawson's swashbuckling sequel to Witch Ember is The Raven.
Admittedly, "swashbuckling" is a term that is probably a bit too
cavalier for The Raven with its gritty, disconcerting narrative.
However, the bulk of the story does revolve around the knight
Guiromélans, aboard a pirate ship on the open seas or exploring
treacherous shores inhabited by scores of Lawson's imaginative beasts.
His charge as Raven enlists him in an eternal "witch hunt" for those
born with stones, sources of immense magical power, of which possession
alone flags the owners as heretics in the eyes of the Medianist Church.
Readers of Witch Ember will remember that Guiromélans made a
brief appearance in that novel, so he will be a familiar character.
While the witch Esmeree is no longer the protagonist in The Raven, she
still haunts Guiromélans, disrupting his battles and plaguing
his heart. Lawson introduces another strong lead female, Caidryn,
somewhat of a pirate's wench and guardian of the boy Balen. It is
fascinating how Lawson reverses the temperaments of male and female in
so many of his characters; while Caidryn is obviously far from the
stereotypical weak, emotional woman, Guiromélans is passionate
under his warrior's veneer, fighting the allure of love at every corner
and battling with his own inner turmoil over religious doctrine and his
purpose in life.
Lawson's mythical settings and storyline are at times parallel to
reality, allowing the reader an outsider's perspective of common human
conflicts. War, religion, politics, race, gender, poverty: if it is an
ill of man, it is likewise a concern of the inhabitants of the Seven
Kingdoms. While engrossing and entertaining as a fantasy novel, it is
concurrently a sociological study and a psychological thriller.
The chapters are interspersed with Lawson's haunting black and white
illustrations, as was Witch Ember. These drawings are important because
at times Lawson's preternatural creations are almost unimaginable, not
for lack of explanation and description, but because it may be
difficult for a conditioned mind to wrap around the absolute
grotesqueness of the image. The pictures help define Lawson's vision of
the characters.
The Raven's narrative consists of Lawson's fictional slang and
terminology, which was a major complaint of some readers of Witch
Ember. While some of the words are a bit difficult to grasp and can
cause some stumbling, they also seem to be an important aspect of the
truly imaginative backdrop of Lawson's characters. They aid in creating
a complete and rounded view of The Raven's milieu. To challenge this
verbosity would be to challenge the entire concept of Lawson's fantasy.
In essence, The Raven makes an excellent complement to Witch Ember,
exhibiting the same intellectual qualities and fantastical experience
readers will expect from John Lawson. Hopefully, Lawson will continue
releasing exemplary works of fiction.