A Cast of Corbies

Mercedes Lackey

Raven has been made unofficial leader of the Free Bards. Little does he know that things aren’t going to be the same at the faire – and that they might need to work harder than ever to make their livings.

Raven’s a neat guy character. He’s got that element of being rakeish that appeals to me, yet he’s really an understanding bloke at heart. Magpie on the other hand, I don’t feel much sympathy for her insecurities and wish she’d just get over it!

To some extent, this novel is not very interesting. There’s no real antagonistic figure other than the Church and the Guild, and that’s been the case in all the other novels of this series. The beginnings of the love interest between Raven and Magpie is ok, as is Jaysen and Linnet’s, but again, it’s nothing remarkable.

There’s some really neat one liners and coincidences that make the novel for me. Plus, I really like the play, and the way the music would have fit in with it. I only wish I could have seen a performance of it.

I managed to knock this novel over in around 3 hours, which I think is typical for me, even though I have read it before. It wasn’t a waste of 3 hours, and it made a nice change from the other Valdemar novels I have been reading recently.