Oh my God. I had this series recommended to me ages ago and have only just gotten around to reading the first book and it is amazing. Preferred writing styles are highly personal but this worked with mine to a T. Every page had something that made me audibly express how much I loved it and some of those plot twists, oh, did they shock me.
The Raven Boys is the first novel in a four-part series called The Raven Cycle and follows Blue, the non-psychic daughter of a psychic, who also lives in a house of psychics and makes their energy ‘louder’, as she joins a group of ‘raven Boys’ – boys who attend the ultra-exclusive Aglionby school – on their quest to find the ley line that holds the key to the raising of Glendower, an old Welsh legend. I can’t tell much more without giving anything away, but I hope this is enough to encourage everyone to read this
The characters could have so easily been stock characters. Blue could have been a quirky, standoffish girl with no room for the boys in her life, but she is hugely three-dimensional, both strong and admitting her weaknesses. Similarly, the characters I was most worried would be one-dimensional were Gansey and Ronan. Neither of them gave any credit to my concerns, however, as their rich inner and outer lives were developed. Ronan could easily have been an aggressive villain with no redeeming features, just as much as Gansey could have been the rich kid, flaunting his money and superficial interests. That Noah was used to effect that he was provided me with no end of delight and his character was suddenly keenly interesting.
Perhaps my favourite thing about this novel was its premise. Modern witchcraft is subtle and so does not often make for great fantasy novels – which I am not entirely sure this series is yet, it doesn’t fit into that category as obviously as it ought to – but this is brilliant. It is fresh and new and the lack of previous attention gives Stiefvater plenty of room for innovation and invention. I was skeptical when I started as I wasn’t expecting such fascinating prose to come out of something not as obviously magical as traditional fantasy novels, but this exploring of uncharted territory really pays off.
I have very little to say against this novel. My only thought is that, although the writing style is right up my street, it won’t be for everyone. Stiefvater has highly stylised prose, with lots of adverbs and off-the-wall adjectives and figurative language which, although entertaining, can sometimes cloud small plot points.
I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed this novel. It is not a series that gets lots of love in fantasy circles, not as well known as other series, but it should be. I can’t wait to read the rest of them.
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