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The Crow (The Books of Pellinor #3)

by Alison Croggon (Goodreads Author)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 5,202 ratings · 358 reviews

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...more

Hardcover, 511 pages

Published September 11th 2007 by Candlewick Press (first published 2006)

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Aug 08, 2008 Echo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, fantasy

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 charac...more 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.
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Jan 01, 2009 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

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...more

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Dec 04, 2007 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

...Two small figures toil towards the Dark Tower, the center of the evil in the land, disguised as servants of the evil powers...

The dark, oppressive mood of Tolkien's final book of the Lord of the Rings is also felt in this third installment of the Pellinor Trilogy. Actually, it will have four parts, for the final episode, The Singing, is not yet published. In the same way that Sam and Frodo compared their grim journey to a book with chapters that you did not want to read, there are some times...more

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Apr 21, 2010 J.Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes Garth Nix

This is the third installment of four. Why they refer to it above as a trilogy, I couldn't tell you, other than to say they are wrong. I enjoyed the first two novels although I have found that the beginnings of each are slightly hard to get into. Initially, I feel overwhelmed and slightly bored at the same time, until suddenly I am hooked. It always sneaks up on me so I couldn't tell you exactly when it happens, only that it always does. So, don't give up if it seems too hard or uninteresting at...more

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Oct 20, 2007 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really wasn't sure I was going to like this book at all. After all, the first two books were primarily about Maerad, and although there were some parts about the writing of that I found a bit odd, I was still interested enough. But now, to change to a book all about her brother, who we briefly met, barely got to know in the other book, well, needless to say, I was a bit worried.

Intriguingly, I think this was my favorite of the three so far. There were points I thought it dragged, just certain...more

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Feb 26, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-liked-it

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 f...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars

My reading-for-pleasure has taken a nosedive with the advent of homeschooling and a book as long as this one is a particular challenge. I decided to tackle it anyway because I've read the first two books of the series and figured this book would not be a difficult book, even if its length was a bit daunting. It wasn't a challenging book, but I did find the change in perspective from Maerad to Hem made for a slower start to the book.

That being said, I found I loved getting to know Hem better. I p...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Kit Fryatt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, fantasy

I am increasingly impressed with Croggon's decision to (and her editors to let her) do unfashionable things with plot development. This novel shifts viewpoints from Maerad to her brother Hem, which risks alienating the somewhat conservative target market. I think I would have been unsettled and discouraged by it as a young reader. But I found I actually preferred Hem as a point of view character--Maerad is very realistically drawn, and she can be hard-going in exactly the way real 16-year-olds a...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

***1/2
Book 1: The Naming
Book 2: The Riddle
Book 4: The Singing
I liked this better than I thought I would, considering Maerad and Cadvan are not in this book at all. It's a branching book, explaining what was going on with Saliman and Hem while his sister Maerad was off on her own adventure.
When we last saw Hem, at the end of The Naming, he was off to Turbansk with his mentor Saliman. He was to learn to be a bard, and escape from the war that is coming. Hem tried to settle in, but he felt separate...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, epic, favorites, mages-magicians, library

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 discov...more 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.(less)

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Dec 27, 2008 Ever rated it 4 of 5 stars

This installment in the Pellinor series is just as awesome as the first two (I was surprised to see it get so many poor reviews). In some ways, I thought this story was more brutal than The Naming and The Riddle, and the lessons at the end more harsh. Hem is a great character and I cannot wait to see how he and Maerad meet up in the final book. Alison Croggon is an amazing writer!

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May 14, 2013 Christina Welbourne rated it 4 of 5 stars

First of all, let me just say that when I heard that the Third Book of Pellinor was not about Maerad or Cadvan, but was instead about the little brother, Hem, (or Cai), I was fully prepared not to like the book. I had my expectations set very low. Thankfully, I was wrong and was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book! It starts in Turbansk, where Hem was taken by Saliman, to be tutored and trained in the proper ways of Barding. The Dark Army descends upon Turbansk and all he...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Kiersten added it

Having been very eager to continue Maerad's epic, I was really disappointed to find that this didn't involve her at all. Hem's narration irritated me for the most part, and this book was a very slow read. It wasn't until the book was almost over that i started to get into the story at all, and then the ending turned out a huge disappointment. Hem was not that likable of a character for me, and neither was Zelika - Saliman and even Irc were much more appealing, but they turned out as pretty minor...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 06, 2012 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 05, 2010 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-and-young-adult-books

In the third book in her Pellinor series, Croggon continues to explore the familiar fantasy novel territory of the struggle between good and evil. However, Croggon's writing is so rich with detail and interesting characters that it never feels stale. So, The Crow is a good follow up to The Naming and The Riddle, but with surprisingly a much darker twist. Specifically, this book is drenched in horrors of war, and in the second half of the book on a exploration of the particular travesty of child-...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Jamie Hendrickson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is the third in a series of four. The first two books are narrated in third person, but the storyline follows the main character Maerad. This book is also in third person, but it follows a boy named Hem. At first it was a little hard to get into like the first two books in this series, but once I got into it, I could not put it down. I really liked it, and it was interesting to follow Hem. At first I thought I would not like it since it followed Hem, not Maerad, but it was a really goo...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Riannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Once I realized that this book was from Hem's point of view, I had my doubts about its ability to live up to the quality of writing and the level of enjoyment I found in the previous two books. Maerad is such a unique and interesting protagonist, and Hem's character had been barely developed at all up to this point.

I was pleasantly surprised. This book, like the others in the series, is excellent. Hem gains his own character and the supporting characters are good too. Despite switching to a dif...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, pellinor

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...more 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.(less)

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Jul 31, 2010 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This series is oddly entertaining, considering it's essentially traditional fantasy fare. The lowly main characters are suddenly the foretold / prophesied saviors, versus a ultra-powerful evil, etc.. It's somewhat predictable, as well, but something about this particular version of it I find appealing, so I read this in one sitting. I can't really nail down what all I like about it, unfortunately, but I'd recommend the series for those looking for somewhat light traditional fantasy faire, with a...more

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Aug 29, 2011 John Waite rated it 4 of 5 stars

This installment ended up having a little bit of the same flavor as the Hunger Games series. There was a touch of the desperate, a touch of desire, and a touch of humanity that was not present in the past books. I ended up enjoying this one even though I felt that the characters, especially Hem, were not quite true to how a teenage boy would be. I don't think the author truly understood (or maybe just didn't articulate) the inner workings of a young teenage boy's mind. The plot arc he followed w...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Mohini rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 07, 2011 Ola rated it 4 of 5 stars

I must say I was very surprised with the turn of events in this third book of Pellinor. The choice to follow Hem instead of Maerad was risky, I think. That was my thought when I first started reading. Then, as the story unfolded, slowly and then deeper and darker into the land of the Nameless One, I was mesmerized by the power of the main character, by his story and his sacrifice. This series is just such an under-appreciated treat. I find traces of Tolkien, Rowling, and Collins (in the best mea...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Rachael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, series, fantasy-science-fiction

Hem, his mentor Saliman, and an orphaned girl named Zelika are caught up in the battle at Turbanask and the fight with the Nameless One's Army. Maerad sent Hem to the southern city to escape danger but instead Hem finds himself even closer to their enemy.
The Crow follows Hem through his adventures in war and self discovery. This book is the 3rd installment in the Pellinor series. You must read the other 2 to understand what is happening in this one even though those are told from Maerad's perspe...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Brittany rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-ebooks

I'm super pissed off right now that this book is apparently about her brother, when she JUST GOT REUNITED WITH CADVAN (i.e. my favorite character!!!). So after rushing through the 2nd half of book 2 to get past the part without Cadvan, now there's a whole other book I have to get through without him! I'll read it so I can get to the 4th one, but I am not happy about it. At least put the different viewpoints throughout the books! George Martin already tried splitting books this way, and it sucks....more

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Feb 03, 2012 Echo rated it 3 of 5 stars

This would have been a four star book, but the first 100 to 150 pages were mind-numbingly slow. Croggon took a long time to set up where each of the armies are and how the city looks and such, but instead of coming off as well fleshed off it is too much information without enough plot. I know the appeal of the Books of Pellinor is the entire world she builds, but it was too much.

After the first 100 pages I like it. Once this event happened (view spoiler)...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Arjen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very good book overall that really fits naturally into the Pellinor series.

My biggest complaint about the book is that the last major adventure of the book takes up too much of the book. Up to that point the life and stories of Hem are new and fresh and compelling. Somewhere into the last adventure it is just too much of the same thing and starts to mirror some of the life of Maerad to the point where the reader is left feeling that this is not a fresh story but a retold story.

Looking forward to...more

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May 10, 2013 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, owned, young-adult, high-fantasy

Today’s post is on “The Crow” by Alison Croggon and it is the third book of Pellinor. It is 511 pages long including maps, notes, and appendices. It is published by Candlewick Press. The cover has the three main characters on it with Hem, who has a white crow on his shoulder, facing the distance to the side of the reader, Zelika looking at Hem, and Saliman looking the Iron Tower. The cover is very telling about the plot of the story. The intended reader is all young adults, not just girls, but a...more
Today’s post is on “The Crow” by Alison Croggon and it is the third book of Pellinor. It is 511 pages long including maps, notes, and appendices. It is published by Candlewick Press. The cover has the three main characters on it with Hem, who has a white crow on his shoulder, facing the distance to the side of the reader, Zelika looking at Hem, and Saliman looking the Iron Tower. The cover is very telling about the plot of the story. The intended reader is all young adults, not just girls, but anyone who loves high fantasy in the Tolkien style will just eat this up and I should know. There is nothing in this book that should make parents nervous. It is told from third person close following Hem. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Hem is a rough and weary orphan whose brutal struggle for survival ends when he’s reunited with his lost sister. Maerad, though, has her own destiny to fulfill, and the two must soon part. Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk in the south, where he learns the ways of the Bards and discovers a hidden gift when he rescues a white crow. But when the forces of the Dark threaten, and a young orphan girl named, Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. He, too, has a crucial role to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
In the Third Book of Pellinor, which continues the epic tale begun with The Naming and The Riddle, Alison Croggon creates a world of astounding beauty overshadowed by a terrifying darkness as Hem- and, distantly, Maerad- prepare for a final battle in defense of the Light.

Review- I liked this book so much more than The Riddle. The Riddle continues Maerad’s story from the end of The Naming and this one picks up about two months after the beginning of The Riddle. Hem is learning about how to be a Bard and in the beginning of the story he is a whiny 12 year-old but by the end he is a young man with responsibilities both to himself and to his destiny. Unlike in Maerad in The Riddle the darkness in The Crow is not just as bad. I do not know why. There is little hope, bad things are happening all around them, and one of the main characters dies but there is something about it that is not as bad as The Riddle. The Riddle was not easy for me to read because of all the bad things that happen to Maerad and it was horrible to experience. I just do not know what about The Crow is not has unbearable to read and experience with Hem. Hem grows so much over the course of this book, he really does change into a better person because of all the bad things and maybe that is it. All the suffering that Maerad goes through does not grow her as a person, it is just suffering not growth. But Hem is now a character with power in this story and I look forward to seeing where he is going from here and I cannot wait to see him interact with Maerad again. I do have a problem with the cover because Zelika looks white and she is not, she should look Arabian because that is how she is described in the text but other than that the cover is very good. Croggon renewed my faith in her series with The Crow.

I give this one Four out of Five stars. I get nothing from for my review and I bought this book with my own money.
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Nov 30, 2011 Ticklish Owl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, high-fantasy, ebook, young-adult

I'm commenting on the entire series as a whole, not just this book.

I liked this series and might reading it again at some point. The writing is good, the plot is (mostly) well paced, there are plenty of likable (albeit predictable) characters, and some interesting world/myth building. The appendix in The Singing touches on the background of a few characters. I would have enjoyed it if those details had been integrated into the story.

The problem with the majority of fantasy novels is that they al...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Adela Bezemer-Cleverley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-stars, wish-list

I'm not going to write a really long review this time, because I'd either have to include spoilers, or just repeat the things I said about the first two books.

Basically, these books are SO GOOD and they KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.

When I saw that the narration is from Hem's perspective this time, I was a little bit disappointed because I'm kind of attached to Maerad as a protagonist. But that feeling disappeared within the first three chapters. I love Hem, he is adorable.

I feel like Alison...more

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About Alison Croggon

Born in 1962, Alison Croggon is one of a generation of Australian poets which emerged in the 1990s. She writes in many genres, including criticism, theatre and prose.

Alison Croggon is the author of the young adult fantasy quartet, The Books of Pellinor. The first volume was nominated in two categories in the Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction in December 2002 and nam...more Born in 1962, Alison Croggon is one of a generation of Australian poets which emerged in the 1990s. She writes in many genres, including criticism, theatre and prose.

Alison Croggon is the author of the young adult fantasy quartet, The Books of Pellinor. The first volume was nominated in two categories in the Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction in December 2002 and named one of the Notable Books of 2003 by the Children's Book Council of Australia. The series has since been released to critical and popular acclaim in the US, the UK and Europe. Her new novel Black Spring will be released in 2012 and a children's book, Jimmy Wonderspoon (ages 9-12), is available as an ebook.

Her poetry has been published widely in anthologies and magazines in Australia and overseas. Her most recent poetry publication is Theatre, (Salt Publishing 2008). Others are Ash (Cusp Books, Los Angeles 2007), November Burning (Vagabond Press Rare Objects Series, Sydney, 2004); Mnemosyne, (Wild Honey Press, Ireland, 2001); The Common Flesh (New and Selected Poems) (Arc Publications, UK, 2003) and Attempts at Being (Salt Publishing, UK, 2002).

Her first book of poems, This is the Stone, won the 1991 Anne Elder and Dame Mary Gilmore Prizes. Her novel Navigatio, published by Black Pepper Press, was highly commended in the 1995 Australian/Vogel literary awards and is being translated for publication in France. Her second book of poems, The Blue Gate, was released in 1997 and was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Poetry Prize. Attempts at Being was shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. In 2000 she was the Australia Council Writer in Residence at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge (UK).

Alison has to date written and had performed nine works for theatre. Her performed work includes the operas Gauguin (Melbourne Festival 2000) and The Burrow (Perth Festival, Sydney, Melbourne 1994-95 and broadcast by ABC Radio), both with Michael Smetanin. Her plays include Lenz (Melbourne Festival 1996), Samarkand and The Famine (Rules of Thumb season, Red Shed Company, Adelaide 1997 and ABC Radio 1998), Blue (CIA, La Mama, Melbourne and the Street Theatre, Canberra, 2001). ABC Radio commissions include Monologues for an Apocalypse (2001) and Specula (2006). She also wrote lyrics for Confidentially Yours (Playbox Theatre 1998, Hong Kong Festival 1999).
Many of her poems have been set to music by various composers, including Smetanin (Skinless Kiss of Angels, Elision New Music Emsemble), Christine McCombe and Margaret Legge-Wilkinson (Canberra New Music Ensemble) and most recently Andreé Greenwell.

She was Melbourne theatre critic for the national daily newspaper, The Australian, until 2010, and keeps a blog of theatre criticism, Theatre Notes. at http://theatrenotes.com (less)

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The Crow (The Books of Pellinor #3)

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