Review: The Raven King

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Racen Cycle, #4
Released: April 26th 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Length: 439 pages
Buy: Amazon

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

The best thing about Maggie Stiefvater is that she's Maggie Stiefvater. She can't seem to help herself, and she doesn't really try. All those quirks, the clever writing and the wickedly sharp sense of humor make her one of the very best YA novelists in the world. And that's an understatement for sure.

The best thing about The Raven Cycle is that it doesn't pretend do be anything else. Mostly because it's everything to begin with. It doesn't fit any one genre, it doesn't echo any other story, it just exist in it's own little magical piece of the universe. It proves quite decisively that there's still at least one original idea in this postmodern world, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.


The best thing about The Raven King is that it's expected, but also very unexpected. It gives name to things that were as of yet unnamed and it offers an ending that's really more of a beginning. And although the chemistry of the main couple was somewhat lacking, some other great loves and some other great stories more than made up for it.

The best thing about Richard Campbell Gansey III is that I named my pretty new phone after him. Every day I get to say 'Wake up, Gansey' and talk to someone far more intelligent than myself. But really, the best thing about Gansey is his quiet intensity and his inherent politeness. He is a prince among men and he knows it, but he isn't at all smug about it.

The best thing about Blue Sargent is that she was strong enough to let this be someone else's book. She had her time, allowed us to love her, and then she graciously left the stage, although not truly and certainly not permanently.

The best thing about Adam and Ronan is that they were big enough and brave enough and just beautiful enough to save this book when it needed saving. And also to save themselves. But the very best thing about Adam and Ronan is that they don't need words. Theirs is a story of understanding and strenght.

And really, the best thing about endings is that they break your heart in the best possible way, and leave you so hopeful for new beginnings. Maggie Stiefvater's brain is where true magic is made, with or without dreams. Maggie is Ronan is Maggie, you see. And every one of her novels is Cabeswater.