The Wolf's Call

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this more than [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753] but not nearly as much as [b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922] or [b:Tower Lord 18138189 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382486392l/18138189.SX50.jpg 25481154].Audiobook: I was happy to see Steven Brand return to narrate this book. I really liked his narration of the original trilogy and was disappointed when he we replaced for books 2/3 of Ryan's The Draconis Memoria series. He did a great job as usual, so I'm glad they didn't go with someone else.Full Review[b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922] is one of my all-time favorite fantasy books, and [b:Tower Lord 18138189 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382486392l/18138189.SX50.jpg 25481154] wasn't far behind. It was for that reason that I felt like [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753] was a letdown. Everything felt so uneven. Slow at the start then rushed at the end.When his new series came out I was a bit reluctant to give that a shot. However that turned out to be pretty good from start to finish, but still not at the level of [b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922].When this book was announced I had similar mixed feelings. Could he recapture the magic of his earlier books, or would it be more like [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753]? The answer turned out to be somewhere in between.I probably should have reread the series as much of the details have escaped me so many years (and so many books) later. Eventually I got my bearings, but probably not as much as if I had reread.This book has a lot of setup, and we get a bit of perspective from the preludes to each section. Thankfully like his earlier books all the chapters are from Vaelin's perspective.Vaelin is older and wiser, but given where the series had previously left off, he's not quite the warrior he once was that earned him his infamy. Faced with a new threat, we get a bit of a different approach than in the past.Overall I enjoyed this book a lot, and there were parts of it where I was finding excuses to listen, but there were a few slower parts as well. Either way I'm happy to report that my concerns were mostly assuaged. I'm optimistic that this continuation of the series might help to redeem some of my disappointment from how the first trilogy was wrapped up.