This is an impressive fantasy novel (thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of the book), and even more impressive for being Ed McDonald's first published book. If there's a criticism to be made of the story, it will probably be the oft-repeated saw of supporting characters not being fleshed out enough, though in my mind, readers receive what they need to know to keep the story moving at a brisk pace; and move at a brisk pace it does, indeed!
There's a bit of a feel of a western story here--a weird western, if you will--which I like quite a lot, probably enhanced by the use of "Range" fortresses and Matchlock firearms. The violence is suitably violent and descriptive, as needed, which is great, but I feel McDonald really shines when it comes to his creation and implementation of magic in the story; plus, there are god-like beings in the mix, which is a favorite fantasy trope of mine.
When all is said and done, Blackwing is a fine entry into the Grimdark sub-genre of fantasy novels. I would be very surprised if those who enjoy Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, et al., don't get a real kick out of this book.

When two godly forces collide, when both are cruel and don’t give a shit about humans, when you are forced to take a side, you choose the lesser evil.

The story starts with action already taking place and events happening. After trying to capture a few sympathizers who ran to the Misery, Ryhalt Galharrow receives a surprising call from his master, a Nameless called Crowfoot. After years of paying him little attention, he gives him a new mission. Vague and impossible to predict. He ends up meeting someone that he held dear a lifetime ago. It doesn’t stop there. After their last defeat, the Deep Kings retreated to their home at the East. However, at last, they made their move and sent a small army of their twisted creatures, the drudges. Only 2 Nameless are left. Meanwhile, there are 6 Deep Kings. Bad odds. But at least, the Engine that stopped them years ago is still standing. However, there are many hidden secrets, buried waiting for someone to discover them. Once revealed they’ll change everything Gallharrow has ever known.

The world McDonald weaved a very rich and creative world. The Misery was easily my favorite: “only three kinds of people willingly enter the Misery: the desperate, the stupid and the greedy”. Dangerous and rotten to the core, it was the barrier between the humans land, and the east, where the Deep Kings come from. You can find all kind of creatures in the misery. The dead air, the cracked sky, everything about it is so bizarre. The author’s imagination is very vast not only because of the world he created but also the magic. The Spinners use phos (like light) from the 3 moons to draw power but that’s only a small part of the magic system. It’s better to discover it by yourself.

While I can’t say that this book is fast paced, it certainly isn’t slow either. The real battle mainly takes place at the last 25% of the book, something is always going on. Thus, world-building and the actions intertwine throughout the whole book in a way that will not get you neither bored nor confused. To be honest, it did get a bit repetitive sometimes but I didn’t mind it. Moreover, the politics were something to admire. Even humans are, of course, corrupted. I would’ve liked to learn more about the Nameless, the Deep Kings, and the princes but I guess we have to leave something to learn in the sequel.

The characters were real, fun, and badass. I loved Nenn and Ezabeth. Ed McDonald created likable badass women. Both are flawed but you’ll like them for it. Nenn a strong fighter without a nose was just awesome. Ezabeth, noble but selfless, smart and also capable, she’ll play a huge role in the turn of events. Gallharrow came a long way from the start. He was a drunk who would do anything for money. A cold blooded veteran who went through too much to care anymore, he'd strike you at first as an anti-hero. However, soon enough, you'll realize that he’s more than just this façade. This book was told from his pov (1st person) but have no fear, it fitted perfectly with the book.

One thing I didn’t like was the romance. I don’t think it was necessary and honestly, the dialogues between Ezabeth and Gallharrow were sometimes awkward and just. I know that it serves the plot but I just couldn’t see the chemistry or even wish to see them together.
This is a great debut, best I’ve read so far this year. I enjoyed Blackwing quite a lot but I wish I'd taken my time reading it because I felt forced to finish it quickly since the publication date was on 27 july and I started it on 26.

It featured dark but not too dark events, politics, a bit of humor, lovable characters, and an original world. Ed McDonald created an outstanding story that I highly recommend for all the fantasy lovers out there. I will definitely be reading the sequel as soon as it comes out even though this book didn't end with a cliffhanger.

Its been a long time since I've come across a fantasy that was unique and breathtaking. Blackwing takes you to an old west type setting with strange magical creatures that are dangerous and hard to kill. I really enjoyed how the story just threw you into the Misery, a barren wasteland of death. You could feel how heavy the air was and how our main character, Ryhalt Galharrow and his band of Blackwing Mercenaries are tired of the long road. There are so many twist and turns in this awesome fantasy. It was a great read.

I’m calling every fan of Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence to put Blackwing on their radar. Blackwing, the debut work and the first book in the Raven’s Mark series by Ed McDonald is one of the most original grimdark fantasies I ever read.

My experience will most likely differ from a lot of readers but I envisioned Blackwing as something that was created out of an open world video games with a post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of Mad Max, with a little touch of the manga ‘Flame of Recca’. The result? Bloody brilliant.

The plot of the book revolves around Ryhalt Galharrow in his journey to survive his dark destiny as a servant to the Nameless, the ruthless ancient beings or maybe even gods of this world. The enemies, The Deep Kings is held at bay in Misery (a vast and blighted expanse) by a powerful weapon that protects its borders, and Galharrow will soon be thrown into the heat of this resurging war. The pacing of the book is slow paced due to the reason that the plot itself is very heavy with politics and a lot of world-building, especially during the 20%-50% marks. The political tribulations that the characters faced here more or less lasted around 60-70% of the whole book but there are a lot of thrilling elements in it that made the politics intriguing to read.

Sure there are maybe only around three action sequences throughout Galharrow’s journey in Blackwing but the climax sequences itself took up the last 20% of the book. All the previous 80% imo was completely just a setup for this section. They’re bloody magical and truly well orchestrated. I should also mention that the plot somehow felt concluded already, like how 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' ended, we know that there will be a continuation to the story but the first book worked greatly as a standalone in my opinion.

Only the plot itself will not guarantee a great book, and considering that Blackwing is completely toldin 1st person view solely through Galharrow’s perspective, it is prominent to have a greatly written main character. Ryhalt Galharrow, the captain of Blackwing, a barely 40 years old bounty hunter that’s also a servant to one of the Nameless, Crowfoot, started out simply as an anti-hero and a long hardened battle veteran. However, as the story progressed, a lot of backgrounds were revealed seamlessly within the plot. His deeply hidden longing of the past in particular made him easier for the reader to connect with him despite his cold-hearted actions and overall, I love his character development.

“Spirits knew I needed the money. More than I ever had before. But there are promises you make to yourself, vows you place your pride in. Some things are worth the struggle.”

One more thing to mention, the female characters, Ezabeth (which I can’t help but pronounced as Elizabeth) and Nenn are really well written but I’ll let you find out about them yourself. I also can’t wait to find out more about the other Nameless and in particular, Crowfoot, who’s responsible for the creation of Misery during the old/past war with the Deep Kings.

The first thing that came to my head when encountered with a grimdark fantasy book with a post- apocalyptic setting is 'The Broken Empire' by Mark Lawrence (I haven’t read Red Queen’s War yet), it’s in my opinion that Blackwing is better on this aspect, by far. I have huge praises towards the intricacy of the world-building in this genre, it is excellent.

Although the book doesn’t took place in Misery most of the time, it is still an amazing place to dive into. Consisting of fractured skies, multiple moons, shifting landscape, zombiesque and mutant creatures, it truly made Misery one heck of an original place to visit. There is a sense of danger looming everywhere in the world and the post apocalyptic atmosphere worked splendidly in bringing the feeling of despair in the world. I’m reading the ARC edition of this book so I have no idea if there will be an official map or not in the final edition of the book but this world would benefit so much more from one and I truly can’t wait to see it.

I have mentioned in the beginning of my review that the book reminded me of the manga/anime ‘Flame of Recca’, this is due to the reason that in the anime, Recca could summon a dragon from the tattoo on his arms. It’s almost the same case here, Crowfoot nestled himself as a tattoo on Galharrow’s arm and could come into existence from there, the difference with Recca is that Galharrow cannot summon him voluntarily, while Recca can but the concept is more or less the same. This is a good thing because 'Flame of Recca' is one of my favorite manga from my teenage years and I'm pleased to see some of the elements there made it into a novel.

Let’s talk a bit about the prose. Ed McDonald’s prose is profound and poetic at times. There are a lot of terminologies here and Ed doesn’t spend any time to explain what they are. This can be confusing at first and usually, this kind of storytelling method tended to bother me but the contexts in the narrative allow me to fully understand the meaning behind the terminologies with ease. To give a sense of how great his prose is, there’s no better way other than a direct quotation from the book. I don’t usually post long quotation in my reviews but I’ll make an exception this time, please, just read this gem and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“The world is a cruel mother, a matron of darkness, selfishness, greed, and misery. For most, their time suckling at her breast is naught but a scramble through stinging, tearing briars before a naked, shameful collapse as the flesh gives out. And yet in the bright eyes of every newborn, there lies a spark, a potential for goodness, the possibility of a life worth living. That spark deserves its chance. And though most of them will turn out to be as worthless as the parents who sired them, while the cruelty of the earth will tell them to release their innocence and join in the drawing of daggers, every now and then one manages to clutch to its beauty and refuses to release it into the dark.”

Despite all the greatness, there are, however some minor cons I had with the book that prevented me from giving this book a full 5 stars ratings. First, although the world-building is the best part of the book for me, it also felt a bit repetitive in the first half that it hurts the pacing a bit. I also think that the relationship development between Galharrow and Ezabeth felt a bit ‘forced’ at the last section of the book. Finally, I wish the characters spent more time at Misery, that place is truly amazing and in my opinion, maybe the biggest strength of this book. These are all minor cons and overall and it only affected my enjoyment factor a bit.

To conclude my review, I’m just going to say that I don’t think there’s any reason to not read this book if you’re a fan of grimdark, gritty fantasy or just in the mood for something original in your read. Blackwing will rise with its engrossing tale of conflagration soon, as some of us may know already, 2017 is a great year for adult fantasy debut, and this is precisely one of the book in the list. Highly recommended!

Ed McDonald’s debut novel, “Blackwing,” has the potential for being the fantasy novel of the year. It was a superb postapocalyptic story set on the frontier of a desolate wasteland. A world ravaged by war with the immortal Deep Kings over a century ago. It definitely gives misery a new meaning.

The characters were interesting and the system of magic was intriguing. By the end of the novel, I no longer wanted to put it down. The foreshadowing makes if obvious who the mystery “big bad” of the novel is, but the reveal comes with a twist.

Note: An ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.