This book opened strong. Mungo, the son of a plantation owner, was in England at school in the 1840s when his slave girlfriend wrote him a letter that his father had died and to come home quickly. Upon returning home he discovered that his father had not just died, he had been killed by a man named Chester so the plantation, the slaves, and Mungo's sweetheart Camilla could be captured. Mungo attempted to fight against Chester but was overwhelmed.
At this point Mungo thinks Camilla has been killed and vows to do whatever he can to avenge her and destroy Chester brick by brick. He sails off and does things that are both illegal and unethical in an attempt to make enough money to achieve his goals. Mungo seems to simultaneously have both the best and the worst luck. He always survives when most others don't or wouldn't but he hardly gets closer to his goals, until he finds out Camilla is actually still alive and decides that he will do anything to get her back.
This book has some very Count of Monte Cristo vibes, except in the Count of Monte Cristo, there is a large gap missing where Edmund goes off to prepare for his revenge. In the Call of the Raven the bulk of the book's 400+ pages are focused on that preparation. The revenge part happens quickly and is almost anti-climactic. The middle of the book seems to be written boastfully and in an attempt to do little more than boastfully show off the skills and brains of the unrealistic main character.
This book started strong, as I mentioned above, but that did not last. The way the author describes women is laughable and makes me wonder if he has ever seen a naked woman in his life. Additionally I spent the bulk of the book mentally screaming, "just get on with it already!" Then, at the end of the book, everything happened so quickly and was so hastily described that I ended up confused. Personally, I felt like the middle of the book should have been less drawn out and the end of the book more clearly written.
This book wasn't awful, I think the plot had a lot of potential and parts of it were really enchanting, but it struck me as shallow and vapid and unable to hold my attention for the duration.
At this point Mungo thinks Camilla has been killed and vows to do whatever he can to avenge her and destroy Chester brick by brick. He sails off and does things that are both illegal and unethical in an attempt to make enough money to achieve his goals. Mungo seems to simultaneously have both the best and the worst luck. He always survives when most others don't or wouldn't but he hardly gets closer to his goals, until he finds out Camilla is actually still alive and decides that he will do anything to get her back.
This book has some very Count of Monte Cristo vibes, except in the Count of Monte Cristo, there is a large gap missing where Edmund goes off to prepare for his revenge. In the Call of the Raven the bulk of the book's 400+ pages are focused on that preparation. The revenge part happens quickly and is almost anti-climactic. The middle of the book seems to be written boastfully and in an attempt to do little more than boastfully show off the skills and brains of the unrealistic main character.
This book started strong, as I mentioned above, but that did not last. The way the author describes women is laughable and makes me wonder if he has ever seen a naked woman in his life. Additionally I spent the bulk of the book mentally screaming, "just get on with it already!" Then, at the end of the book, everything happened so quickly and was so hastily described that I ended up confused. Personally, I felt like the middle of the book should have been less drawn out and the end of the book more clearly written.
This book wasn't awful, I think the plot had a lot of potential and parts of it were really enchanting, but it struck me as shallow and vapid and unable to hold my attention for the duration.