The Raven's Head

by Karen Maitland

The Raven's Head by Karen Maitland, author of the bestselling and much-loved Company of Liars, will delight fans of Kate Mosse or Deborah Harkness seeking a new, dark fix.

'A compelling blend of historical grit and supernatural twists' Daily Mail on The Falcons of Fire and Ice

Vincent is an apprentice librarian who stumbles upon a secret powerful enough to destroy his master. With the foolish arrogance of youth, he attempts blackmail but the attempt fails and Vincent finds himself on the run and in possession of an intricately carved silver raven's head.

Any attempt to sell the head fails ... until Vincent tries to palm it off on the intimidating Lord Sylvain - unbeknown to Vincent, a powerful Alchemist with an all-consuming quest. Once more Vincent's life is in danger because Sylvain and his neighbours, the menacing White Canons, consider him a predestined sacrifice in their shocking experiment.

Chilling and with compelling hints of the supernatural, The Raven's Head is a triumph for Karen Maitland, Queen of the Dark Ages.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Medieval, Mystery, Supernatural

500 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Karen Maitland, who also writes as KJ Maitland, has a doctorate in psycholinguists and lives in the beautiful county of Devon, close to Dartmoor where Agatha Christie had her writing retreat and Sir Arthur Colon Doyle wrote 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', one of Karen’s favourite childhood books.

Writing as KJ Maitland, 'A Plague of Serpents,' the final historical thriller in her Jacobean quartet, is now out in pb. Set in the aftermath of the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Daniel Pursglove is ordered to infiltrate the 'Serpents', a desperate band of Catholics plotting the death of the King, or face his own execution. The 1st book in the series -'The Drowned City', the 2nd - 'Traitor in the Ice', and the 3rd - 'Rivers of Treason', are all published by Headline.

Her first stand alone medieval thriller was 'Company of Liars', was set at the time of the Black Death in 1348. This was followed by The Owl Killers', 'The Gallows Curse', 'Falcons of Fire and Ice', 'The Vanishing Witch', 'The Raven's Head,' 'The Plague Charmer' and 'A Gathering of Ghosts', Her medieval novels are written under the name of Karen Maitland and are published by Penguin and Headline.

Karen is also one of six historical crime writers known as the Medieval Murderers – Philip Gooden, Susannah Gregory, Michael Jecks, Bernard Knight and Ian Morson – who together write joint murder-mystery novel, including 'The Sacred Stone', 'Hill of Bones' and 'The First Murder', 'The False Virgin' and 'The Deadliest Sin' published by Simon & Schuster.

Reviews

[Annet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never trust your secrets to a Raven when you are not its true master....
An entertaining, creepy story in the dark ages. Started a bit slow but the last part of the book is a rollercoaster of dark events and actions. Weird and dark characters inhabit the story...and weird inexplicable things happen... Mix of history and fantasy. My third read of Maitland, yes, I do like her books.

The chapel is in darkness, save the candle flames trembling on the altar. The great pillars supporting the arches stretch up like petrified tree trunks, the tops vanishing into the shadows above. The breath of a little huddle of boys escapes as white mist from their mouths, as if their spirits are leaving their bodies. Somewhere, overhead, a great bell tolls.....

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved, and read, all of Karen Maitland’s novels and I was delighted to have the chance to review her latest, The Raven’s Head. It begins in 1224 when orphaned apprentice, Vincent, chaffs at being shut up with his elderly master, the scribe Gaspard. He is seventeen and longs to discover life and love – he especially daydreams about the lovely Amee, daughter of Philippe, le Comte de Lingones, whose household he lives in. However, it seems his existence is to consist of being shouted at, beaten, scribbling endless documents and rarely seeing the outside, let alone snatching precious moments with a beautiful young girl. Then, he discovers a secret and a fumbled attempt at blackmail sees him fleeing for his life with an extremely expensive, silver raven’s head, given to him by the Comte.

Meanwhile, in Norfolk, Gisa works in her uncle’s apothecary shop and waits upon her aunt’s whims. However, her mundane existence seems almost blissful when she is told that she has to work for the feared Lord Sylvain. Rumoured to be carrying out sorcery, Sylvain is viewed with suspicion by the locals. Also nearby, Father Arthmael runs a religious house with a difference. Young boys are supposedly taught there, but visitors are certainly not encouraged and parents are not permitted to see their sons.

When Vincent makes it to England he attempts to sell the raven’s head, but nobody is prepared to buy it. When he hears of Lord Sylvain, he hopes that he will be interested; but is he taking the raven’s head where he wants to go, or is it leading him? Like all of Maitland’s novels, this book is full of magic and darkness. She creates a world which is historically accurate, but totally believable and her characters are sympathetic and well drawn. I think this is one of her best and I really enjoyed the storyline and the setting. Creepy, atmospheric and fast moving, this was an enthralling read and a great addition to the author’s work.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Maitland I have read: it’s a piece of historical fiction set in the 13th century. The plot is quite convoluted and certainly rather gothic, focussing on the practice of alchemy, very prevalent at the time. The story involves three protagonists whose destinies gradually intertwine. The narrative voices are written in different ways (first person, third person etc.) and this doesn’t always make for smooth reading and makes the whole a little disjointed. The three voices are all young, Vincent (later Laurent) is an apprentice librarian in France (although he is English) he comes upon a secret which he tries to use to his own ends with disastrous consequences and he finds himself on the run with an intricate silver raven’s head. He ends up in a town in Norfolk, where we find Gisa. She is the niece of an apothecary who helps her uncle prepare his potions and to find unusual things for the local lord. She is then charged with going to the local manor every day to help Lord Sylvian with his alchemical experiments. The third narrative voice is Wilky, a young boy who is given by his parents to the White Friars to pay off a debt, in the same town. Wilky, now called Regulus, discovers that the boys who are there have a purpose, at night the head of the order carries out alchemical experiments on one or two of them. Sometimes those boys don’t return. The three lives are drawn together as the alchemists’ experiments become more sinister.
The plot runs along fairly well, but Vincent is not easy to like or relate to as a main protagonist. The background is well set and I did like the writing. The twists and turns at the end take some suspension of belief and the twist on the last page didn’t feel right to me at all. I enjoyed it and will read some of her more well-known novels at some point. However it did send me off to sleep at night.

[K.J. Charles]

DNF at 48% and the umpteenth casual reference to how disgusting women's bodies are. I'd attribute it to the highly unpleasant male narrator except it comes up in the sole female character's POV too. Story was moderately intriguing but also highly unpleasant.

I feel that if a book makes me sit through ghastly people doing ghastly things in ghastly ways, it really needs to earn its keep with amazing writing or compelling storytelling or *something*. This didn't. Pass.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dark and disturbing story but also very well written and with great characters.
The book is presented through several point of view characters who gradually get drawn into the nastiness .
The book is about alchemy and the search for the philosophers stone, and highlights some of the horrors employed in the pursuit of this. The supernatural side of the book is well done and sufficiently terrifying.
But as with most Maitland books the real winner is the characters. The main characters are quite distinct and all interesting and she moves easily between hugely contrasting POVs.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who loved her other books but only if they don't scare easily.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

The theme of this story was interesting enough, but unfortunately, I never felt it grab me, and found myself at times not really caring whether I was keeping on reading, or taking a break to read something else.

The descriptions and atmosphere were vivid enough. This isn't glamourised historical fiction: when people pee in the street, they do, and when they're in a ghastly environment, they are. The author's writing made it fairly easy to picture the characters' surroundings and their lives—the sinister manor, Gisa's daily drudgery, the boys trembling in fear at night at the abbey, expecting to be seized never to return...

However, the characters themselves didn't leave me with a lasting impression. I liked how they were portrayed with their imperfections (Vincent especially: he started with justifying his bad actions as if they were logical, and I must say I quite enjoy such characters, bordering on sociopathic in their way of seeing the world while being the heroes of their own story). But only a few hours after finishing this novel, I'm already not exactly sure anymore of what they did, nor of what the plot tried to achieve. It took some time to get there, and mostly the protagonists were too passive, with things happening around them, or to them, without prompting a strong enough reaction. Gisa's passivity was all the more infuriating that she tried to help someone, but so slowly that her repeated thoughts of "wanting to save that person" felt fake (and a mere plot twist to lead to the decisions she made later).

In fact, the characters were here mostly to make the plot happen without giving vibes of being real people, with lives of their own. Their background stories looked interesting, but remained just that: in the background. All that was very weird, because the chapters were short, yet seemed to drag at the same time.

I also didn't get—still don't—the necessity for a switch between the first person and third person, complete with present tense. I have no idea why this kind of style keeps popping in novels more and more, and I wish I could see its point, because so far, it's been more jarring than anything else. It didn't achieve anything for me, didn't give me a sense of immediacy, and only made me keep wondering "wait, why are we doing that again"? Which in turn kept breaking my reading stride.

Not an infuriating book, but one that I'll proceed to quickly forget.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot I’d requested this on Netgalley, and ended up getting it via Bookbridgr as well. Oops! Especially oops considering I wasn’t a big fan of Maitland’s last book, and I was starting to think her recipe was getting a little past its sell-by date. There were ways in which this book was just as predictable for Maitland if you’ve read her other books, but something about the writing/tone kept me going, and I did enjoy it.

It’s full of dastardly characters, of course, and if there’s a sordid torturous thing you can think of, one of the characters has probably done it. Even one of the most innocent characters has a downright chilling moment. But there are things which got my attention and evoked some pathos, too: the friendship of Felix and Regulus, Gisa’s care over Peter, Gaspard’s fear for Vincent.

I think Vincent’s voice was really well done — as long as Maitland was intending him to sound like a sociopath, anyway. The way he manipulated people, only saw his own gain, twisted every situation to be about himself… Well, there are people like that.

Overall, more enjoyable than I found the last couple of Maitland’s books, but the medieval historical fiction with touches of paranormal that might just barely be explained away, plus awful characters doing awful things, and dire secrets, etc, etc… It’s getting a little old.

Originally posted here.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read of Maitland's work and won't be my last.

This is the tale of Vincent, apprentice to a crotchety scribe, opportunistic thief and blackmailer who comes into possession of the mysterious Raven's head. Getting too big for his boots (here, he put me in my mind of Rothfuss' Kvothe and his smart-arse inclinations), he flees France for England. Eventually, his path converges with Wilky, a little boy unwillingly in the care of some not-so-brotherly priests, Gisa, who works in the village apothecary (I LOVE that word) and the nefarious villain of the piece, Lord Sylvain.

I found this to be a fairly fast-paced adventure without any distracting medieval dialogue (this might work for some but not for me). It's dark, horribly real and has that just out of the corner of your eye supernatural element that was just enough to keep me interested, as well as a good dose of secrecy and superstition. I really wanted to know exactly what became of the little band of survivors did next, so I'm just going to invent my own where they lived together peacefully in the woods and lived happily ever after! So there!

[Manda Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen Maitland is one of our country's foremost writers of historical fiction, and right at the leading edge of the whole Mediaeval mystery/thriller sub-genre. From The Owl Killers to Company of Liars to the glorious, beautiful, 'Falcons of Fire and Ice', she is an expert in crafting intelligent, engaging, emotionally literate – and utterly compelling, thrillers. As a mediaevalist, her sense of time and place is pitch perfect, the language feels right without descending into thee and thou or the fake forsooths that can so often mar this era – and the small details of dress and lifestyle immerse us in the reality of it, without being overdone.
The key to this book is the sense of the troubador's tales. Vincent is an English nun's bastard, brought up in a French chateaux, as slave/apprentice to the librarian. A chance discovery, and a spot of failed blackmail set him on the road where he finds that his facility for spinning yarns can earn him far more money than any of this other skills – and this is one of his yarns. We see in from other directions, from the perspective of a young boy who is effectively kidnapped from his family and taken to a monastery to be 'educated' in what feels like a mirror to all the Church's child abuse abdications of centuries, and a young girl, apprentice to an apothecary – but it's Vincent's story really, his is the first person, his the sense of wonder and bewilderment and just enough devilry to carry us forward into what becomes and increasingly dark and dangerous place.
For Vincent carries the Raven's Head, which may be beautiful, but is certainly a lot more deadly than it seems, and it wants to return to its rightful master, an alchemist so utterly blinded by his own search for power that he has lost all sense of a moral compass.
This is an edgy, taut, beautiful thriller, but it's the alchemy that gives it its heart: the sense that this was happening just underneath the surface, and nobody, still, has any real clue as to what went on, or why.
If you've read any of Karen Maitland's books before, then you'll be waiting for this already. If you haven't, and you enjoy anyone from CJ Sansom to Susanna Gregory to Michael Jecks to Deborah Harkness, you'll want to read this..

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vincent, an orphan scribe in France, discovers treachery and attempts to convey it to his master, Philippe, le Comte de Lingones, in the hope that his daughter Amée will fall madly in love with him. Vincent thinks he is being awarded by being given a mysterious silver Raven's head flask, but unbeknownst to him the ubiquitous Raven's head is etched with tiny carvings that mark it out as witchcraft and Vincent must flee France if he values his life.

This book was extremely difficult to follow. It can be separated in to two books, wherein one is narrated in the first person (present-tense) by Vincent-who later becomes Laurent-in a very conceited manner with no shame at all, and the other is narrated in the third person (present tense) and concerns Gisa, the niece of an apothecary and Wilky-who later becomes Regulus-, the son of a farmer, who is given to the White Canons in lieu of a debt.

I found that the first-person narrative disjointed the whole novel and it ceased to flow; the necessity to tell these parts in first person is a mystery to me. There were over 50 chapters, but each one was so short it felt as if it were being told via many stops and starts. Vincent as a character was as dull as he believed his life was and his "love" for the Comte's daughter was bile-rising. His journey from France to London was one huge Carry On Alchemist escapade with little actually happening, except the miraculous revelation that a man who has spent all his life surrounded by books can spin a good yarn.

The third person narratives were often very pleasant, though far too short and the present-tense narration was off-putting. The character of Wilky/Regulus was quite intriguing despite the fact he was a young boy who didn't understand what was happening, but since the chapters were much too short we couldn't really grasp his true feelings. Gisa of the Apothecary was a flat as her chest was, but she made the story move along which was the main point of her.

It was written well as much as something like this could be: the chopping and changing of narrative was, to me, very unnecessary and I felt it would have been a much better story had it been told in the more popular third person omniscient, though I appreciate the author for what she tried to do. There were occasional slips within the narrative, and at times I found myself really lost within the story because of the short chapters. It was a fairly good tale, though it seemed at times to just drag and I didn't find myself excited for any of the characters nor their fates.


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[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a swashbuckling tale of escape, magic and survival against a grim background of medieval Europe. I hadn't read any of Maitland's books before this, but will be catching up with them now.

Vincent is a penniless, orphaned apprentice scribe in France. In England, Wilky is a young boy wrenched from his family and sent to live in a monastery, spending each night in terror that he will be woken from his bed and taken away. Gisa works for uncle and aunt, learning the trade of an apothecary. Through their eyes we see a rather different Europe from that of knights and princesses, kings and battles. And it's a pitiless one, with injustice, starvation or death from cold never far away.

Vincent knows this and wants to rise - so when he sees an opportunity to blackmail his master, he seizes it, setting off the action of the novel with a string of encounters, escapes and betrayals which occupy the first half of the book. In the meantime we slowly learn the history of Regulus, for whom the white-robed monks seem to have a particular purpose in mind, and Gisa.

It's all bound up with alchemy, that hybrid of secret philosophy and experimental science by which medieval scholars hoped to achieve power, wealth or immortality. In the climax to the book we discover that alchemy has been shaping Vincent's steps all along, and that there is a purpose, too, for him...

Maitland backs up her story with several pages of notes explaining terms, customs and history and each chapter opens with a quote from a genuine alchemical text. That is pretty incomprehensible stuff, to be honest, and I was intrigued by the contrast between this "real" hidden, magical learning and the typical magical/ occult system of a fantasy world. It's a sign, perhaps, of how completely the worldview that created alchemy has been replaced by science that even made up "magic" seems more rational and systematic. You (literally) couldn't make it up. So by grounding her book in this stuff Maitland both makes it more realistic than typical fantasy (whatever that means!) and also more alien. It's an impressive achievement.

[Clemens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Karen Maitland is another top-notch dark tale which is set in the Dark High Middle Ages.
It is a story in which the ingredients are superstition, black magic, intrigue and power, but the main ingredient most of all is the science of alchemy.
The author certainly has the capability to bring this dark tale in such a fashion that it will grip you and hold your attention right till the end.
The book is set in the year AD 1224 and it tells the tale of a young man called Vincent, who's an apprentice to Gaspard the scribe in France.
The story itself is about Vincent, who after trying blackmailing his Master, Philippe, Le Comte de Lingones, is sent away on a mission by this same Master Philippe with in his possession a silver raven's head, and while in the possession of this same silver raven's head his Master's cronies try to destroy Vincent, but in the end they will fail completely, and Vincent escapes his pursuers and so flees for his life to England.
In England Vincent tries to sell the raven's head in every town he visits, but fails to do so, when all of a sudden he learns of a Baron who's prepared to buy the head of the raven from him, but what Vincent does not know is that this same Baron, Lord Sylvain, is also an Alchemist and thus an absolute danger to Vincent's life, and so Vincent will have to do his utmost to save his life and also that of his friends who are dear to him.
Recommended, for this is a very intriguing and exciting dark tale about power and intrigue in politics, but most of all about the power and fear of the main ingredient of the book, which is "Almighty Alchemy"!

[Maya Panika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply creepy, chilling and unexpected, The Raven's Head begins with an apparently simple, historical tale about a bored, amoral and entitled young librarian, trying to gain advancement with a bit of ill-judged blackmail. It quickly veers into a tale of dark magic that ends in pure horror. A wonderfully well-worked story; my favourite Karen Maitland to date.
It opens with separate threads led by disparate characters: Vincent, the aforementioned librarian who finds himself - unexpectedly, and completely against his will - running from a rich and vengeful prince, in possession of a silver raven's head of great value and mystical power; Lord Sylvain, the sinister mage and alchemist; Gisa, the plain apothecary's daughter, subject of Sylvain's strange and obsessive attraction; Father John, Father Arthmael and the fearful White Canons (what are they doing with those children?!). All characters, major and minor, are strong and engaging, and from the start I was wondering, how is this going to come together? How are these characters linked? Of course, everything is connected, and a well-woven supernatural fantasy slowly emerges from the everyday horrors of these contrasting lives. The threads are drawn tight, and everything finally collides in a disaster-strewn, explosive, catastrophic end.
The Raven's Head is darkly Gothic, dense with atmosphere, long yet fast-moving, well-paced and endlessly entertaining. As always, there is no definitive end; Karen Maitland always leaves you with a puzzle, and always wanting more.

[Bettie]

Description: The Raven's Head by Karen Maitland, author of the bestselling and much-loved Company of Liars, will delight fans of Kate Mosse or Deborah Harkness seeking a new, dark fix.

'A compelling blend of historical grit and supernatural twists' Daily Mail on The Falcons of Fire and Ice

Vincent is an apprentice librarian who stumbles upon a secret powerful enough to destroy his master. With the foolish arrogance of youth, he attempts blackmail but the attempt fails and Vincent finds himself on the run and in possession of an intricately carved silver raven's head.

Any attempt to sell the head fails ... until Vincent tries to palm it off on the intimidating Lord Sylvain - unbeknown to Vincent, a powerful Alchemist with an all-consuming quest. Once more Vincent's life is in danger because Sylvain and his neighbours, the menacing White Canons, consider him a predestined sacrifice in their shocking experiment.

Chilling and with compelling hints of the supernatural, The Raven's Head is a triumph for Karen Maitland, Queen of the Dark Ages.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is been quite an incredible novel to read. Its content dark, mysterious and unforgettable. I have enjoyed the alchemy side of it, and the characters were very well written. Sylvian was an absolute nutter To be honest. There was a touch of insanity about him, that I did find scary as he developed over the pages.
I didn’t actually guess about Gisa , That was a very good twist at the end of the book which builds up the Momentum of a quite perfect End into the book.

[Beth (bibliobeth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this four and a half stars if I could..

Full disclosure time – I’m a massive fan of Karen Maitland and have been since her excellent book Company of Liars which introduced her readers to the dark and gritty world of the Middle Ages. I was therefore very excited to receive a copy of Karen’s new novel, The Raven’s Head from Karen’s publicist in return for an honest review, many thanks to Caitlin Raynor and Headline Books. The story is set in the 13th century and involves a number of intriguing characters, one in particular may win the grand title of Villain Of The Year.

Vincent is a seventeen year old boy who is apprentice to a scribe in the household of Philippe, le Comte de Ligones. He fulfils the role of general dogsbody, running around after the whims of the elderly Gaspard whilst trying to avoid his ferocious stick, beds down on a smelly, uncomfortable and very inadequate pallet at night and dreams of a life out of drudgery. When he happens upon a secret which Philippe is attempting to hide which could have drastic consequences for his family, he grasps the opportunity to try and blackmail his master in return for a better life. The tables are turned, however when Philippe gives him an important mission – to carry an intricate and valuable silver raven’s head to one of his contacts.

Our next main character is a young girl called Gisa, who also hasn’t had the easiest life. She works as an assistant in her uncle’s apothecary shop whilst also tending to her bed-ridden aunt’s every desire. There’s nothing wrong with her aunt really, but she enjoys making the girl run circles around her (and occasionally rub a bit of lotion on her..ugh!). Gisa is almost relieved but very apprehensive when she is sought out by the notorious and much feared Lord Sylvain to be his assistant and help him with his “laboratory work.” However, things start to take a more sinister turn when she realises exactly what his experiments entail…

Lastly, we have a group of priests known collectively as the White Canons, headed by the mysterious Father Arthmael that takes boys away from their families at a young age in order to settle a debt with the assurance that they will be teaching the children and that they would fare better away from their poverty-stricken home. One such boy is Wilky, taken from his penniless and desperate mother and father and given a new name – Regulus. We must question what is happening in the middle of the night however, when a young boy is chosen and taken from his pallet and more often than not, never returned.

There are so many different threads to this story and believe it or not, they are all connected and come together in the end to produce a darkly magical (literally) and spell-binding (also literally) tale with a nail-biting finale that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved everything about this novel – from the quotes that begin each chapter which are from a genuine alchemical textbook to the scene-setting that Karen Maitland envisaged. This period of history was an incredibly superstitious one and if you did fall ill, the apothecary was usually your best bet, even if their strange concoctions seem slightly irregular (or even psychopathic?) to modern society. The author invokes the smells, sounds and sights of the medieval age so beautifully that it seems effortless although you have to appreciate the amount of research that must have been undertaken to produce a novel such as this. Finally, the characters in the story are superb, no matter how minor a role they are to play. From the wonderfully innocent Gisa to her hideous aunt, from the dastardly villain and ultimate bad guy Lord Sylvain to the cocksure lad with a heart Vincent – I really enjoyed reading about them all. In this novel, Karen Maitland has cemented her role as Queen of the Dark Ages and I truly believe she’ll earn herself a lot more followers with this offering.

For my full review please see my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com

[Blair]

I’ve always been a fan of Karen Maitland, and I’ve read every one of her novels set in medieval times – that is, until this one. There’s nothing much different about it from her other books – and that’s half the problem (the medieval shtick is wearing a bit thin at this point) – but what this lacks is the colourful, engaging characters that have made some of her previous novels so successful. I only got 20% in, but the cast of a cocky, obnoxious guy, an annoying kid and an insipid girl wasn’t doing anything for me. I think this might be the end of my policy of reading all Maitland’s books (but The Gallows Curse, The Owl Killers and Company of Liars are still great).

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was an absolutely thrilling read packed full of characters taken straight of the tales of yore combining historical settings, alchemy, religion and the paranormal. It is quite a long book and in places I felt it probably could be cut down a little but then that might ruin the ambience that the book has with is darkened rooms, candle lit towers and rowdy taverns. Even having finished the book, I'm not sure what I think of Vincent, I can't decide if he's a good guy with a bad streak or a bad guy with a good streak. And, as it turns out, a few of the characters you think are good really aren't and the ones you think are bad are actually pretty good. Love having my mind changed as a story progresses. I can see me keeping a keen eye out for more of Maitland's work in future.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken from my blog: https://lilypadblogs.wordpress.com/20...

Having loved Karen Maitland’s The Vanishing Witch, I was so happy to receive a review copy of her newest novel. Ravens, death, magic, and medieval history – what’s not to love?

Unfortunately, love I didn’t. Unlike The Vanishing Witch, The Raven’s Head lacks pace, and the numerous viewpoints make it very confusing rather than entertaining. The characters lack decent personalities, and aren’t very well fleshed out. True, there are certain passages and phrases that are beautifully written, but overall I just couldn’t get into the plot, or feel for the characters.

What bothered me most was just how slow it was. It took ages to get anywhere, and it just dragged and dragged. Nothing exciting seemed to happen, and by the end of it I just didn’t care.

I can’t deny that Maitland is a good writer, given how great The Vanishing Witch is – but The Raven’s Head, sadly, isn’t her best. If you’re looking for a medieval-era piece of fiction with a touch of magic, avoid this one.

[Paula Brackston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodness, that was a wild ride! As with all Karen's books, this was superbly crafted, from the vivid but spare prose, to the spot-on dialogue, and the tightly worked story itself. I really enjoyed the different viewpoints. Karen is a master of the unreliable narrator, as this book clearly demonstrates.

The tone of the book is treacle dark. Highly gothic. Grim and terrifying. If you like your stories to thrill and scare you, you will love this. A word of warning, though, Karen never pulls her punches. The violence and macarbre scenes are pretty graphic in their depiction. As some of the main characters are children, many people might find this hard to take. I confess I found some of the storylines challenging in this respect, but they were perfectly set in context, and give such a visceral experience of the period and the lives of the characters that I was glad I worked though these bits.

So, overall a darkly fabulous book, which will both delight and terrify!

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I find all of Maitland's books enjoyable, though I don't know if she has made the plots less twisty in her newer books or if I'm more suspicious as a reader because I'm expecting her to pull the rug out from under me. She got me real good with Company of Liars and The Falcons of Fire and Ice, but after that, it hasn't quite happened again.

The main cast in The Raven's Head were unexpectedly nice people, I almost missed having the POV of some horrible character to follow. The plot was moderately interesting, the writing was ok and the mystery engaging enough to have me sprout theories constantly while reading. A nice read, but definitely not one of Maitland's best.

[Mike Bevel · Rating 2 out of 5]

guys I don't know.

I read all of it, and I read all of it because I wanted to know how it ended. but I wasn't rewarded for my dogged steadfastness with anything like an ending that was enjoyable or worth my time.

here's what the book has going for it: large print almost double-spaced so that while it's 500 pages, it's not ::really:: 500 pages.

the historical flavor is interesting, if not consistently handled well. there are three third-person sections and one first-person and he's the worst and I sort of wanted him to get [redacted] by the alchemists at the end. (Spoiler: he doesn't get [redacted] at all.]

I can't recommend it. but if you read it it may be more to your liking than mine.

[Gordon Mcghie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun historical fantasy novel. Brilliant scene setting which gave the book a real sense of place and history which made the events seem so much more real.

Bring two young innocents up against the powerful (and evil) Lord Sylvian and the sinister priests of the White Canon - we get an engaging story which will please the fans of Karen Maitland and draw in new followers who will be keen for more.

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 Week long holiday really delayed me finishing this! But back on track.
It also started off really slow and for some reason it didn't hook me straight away, but so glad i kept reading, it is intriguing and exciting and starts to come together in a amazing 2nd half. The alternating views and story from each character are all interesting, very engaging and the end is a roller-coaster where these individual stories weave together in a lovely way.

A creepy story from the dark ages, with mysterious characters and overall a thrilling tale. Really liked the historical notes and glossary and the way the author writes and creates a vivid imagine of the 13th century.

First book i have read by this author but i am very keen to read more.

[Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an unbalanced book really as the three main story lines take a while to draw together then when they do - I couldn't put the book down.
As always KM has the medaevil world in the palm of her hand - the mud, the guts, the rain, the glory. And this is beautifully evoked. I could feel the cold of the White Canons Abbey, the fear they generate, the creepy forest near the Manor House, the dull warmth of the Apothecary's Shop and the dust of the turret library. Blimey, KM is good. But, the story takes a long time to get going. Worth the wait? Have a warm cuppa and choc handy.
Toast

[Mieneke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Raven’s Head is Karen Maitland's latest historical novel, one that I'd been very much looking forward to reading. I have enjoyed Maitland's writing on The History Girls blog and have wanted to read her work since reading reviews for Company of Liars. Earlier this week I read her previous novel The Vanishing Witch , which I really enjoyed, and I was interested to see how much of the unique style of that book was particular to that story and how much was part of Maitland’s authorial voice. Based on the sample I've read so far (n=2) Maitland definitely has a distinctive and consistent writing style, one that really suits my reading tastes.

The Raven's Head is a thriller set in the early thirteenth century, partially in France, but mainly in England. The narrative features multiple points of view and is told in both the past and the present tense. I really enjoyed these interwoven narrative modes and I found the way they developed the characters and my response to them quite interesting. For example, Vincent – one of the main characters and one of the three primary viewpoints – tells his story in the first person, but in the past tense. This created a bit of a remove for me unconsciously, as it was obvious that Vincent would survive whatever danger he encountered in the novel, which made my worry for him less immediate. Additionally, Vincent was a bit of smug git, particularly early on, which meant it took me a while to warm up to him.

In contrast, the other viewpoints are told in third-person present tense and they felt far more immediate, especially since Maitland never hesitates in killing off characters. I found the juxtapositions between viewpoint and tense interesting, since present tense is far more often used paired with a first person narrator instead of a third and you’d expect to feel closer to a first person narrator than a third person viewpoint, but it certainly didn’t work that way here.

Though I took a while to warm up to Vincent, he certainly grew on me, even if he never becomes a saint. Vincent is very much a flawed human being, one who does what he has to in order to survive – lie, cheat, steal, and more – but one with an uncanny grasp of human nature and an ability to zone in on those who are vulnerable to his brand of trickery. His understanding of the power of stories, the need to tell tales to explain things away and the power of gossip coupled with the callous willingness to create rumours he can then solve for his clients, is powerful, but also land him in trouble more often than not. Vincent takes care of Vincent, unlike Gisa who has a huge heart and wants to do right by everyone. I liked Gisa a lot, though she lacked agency a little until she discovers one of the Abbey boys in distress and decides to save him. In many ways the boys at the Abbey were my favourite characters in the book. Maitland writes them very well and Regulus is just lovely; I absolutely loved the bond that developed between him and Felix. I thought the way the boys’ views of events at the abbey both served to explain some of the mysteries in the book and deepen the horror and pathos was wonderful. A word of warning though, children’s deaths play a prominent role in the book. It’s never graphic, but it is there and I know that I find children dying harder to swallow since becoming a mum, so just be aware they are there.

As always in Maitland’s books the supernatural plays a large role in the narrative. In The Raven’s Head it appears in the form of alchemy. What makes alchemy so fascinating to me is the curious mix between superstition and science. Alchemists applied scientific principles to what was – and is – considered magic at best and witchcraft at worst. Apart from the alchemy and the otherworldly things that accompanied it, the most overt and unexplained supernatural entity in the book is the titular raven’s head, which Vincent names Lugh. Mysterious, creepy, and curiously nebulous in its nature, I kept oscillating between thinking it a benign talisman or a cursed idol; a question that is never completely resolved, as once again there is a more than a modicum of unreliability to the narrative, though far less so than in The Vanishing Witch.

I loved The Raven's Head, perhaps even more than I did The Vanishing Witch. It’s a bit quicker paced and has a wonderful narrative structure. Maitland creates a vivid world rich in small details, such as the implicit competition between the apothecary and the village doctor and the cleverness of Master Gaspard’s ink recipe. However, Maitland seemingly doesn’t do ‘happily ever after’ conclusions to her tales. While The Raven’s Head ending is not truly an unhappy one, it certainly ends on an ominous note. It’s a brilliant ending, but one that left me worried about what will befall our protagonists from here on out. Those with a hankering for a gripping, early medieval tale should definitely pick up Karen Maitland's The Raven's Head.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I would like this story when I started, but I often found myself unable to put it down. Rather gothic, dark and occasionally disturbing, but not predictable. I got a little lost in the political plot, but it doesn't really matter to the story -- the French and English are fighting that's all I needed to know. The ending seems to set up for a sequel, but maybe not. Overall a good read.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vincent, an apprentice scribe in France, tries to blackmail his master but it all goes horribly wrong when men are sent to kill him. He escapes to England with the mysterious silver raven's head where he finds himself drawn to Lord Sylvain, an alchemist in league with the local White Canons. Great story set in the 13th century with a slight supernatural undertone.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last Karen Maitland book I read, The Owl Killers, was excellent. This, unfortunately wasn't. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, except perhaps Wilky/Regulus and none of it rang true for me.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️