Raven's Ladder

Title: Raven's Ladder
Author: Jeffrey Overstreet
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 380
Why I read it: blog tour for publisher
Grade: C

Synopsis:
Following the beacon of Auralia’s colors and the footsteps of a mysterious dream-creature, King Cal-raven has discovered a destination for his weary crowd of refugees. It’s a city only imagined in legendary tales. And it gives him hope to establish New Abascar.
But when Cal-raven is waylaid by fortune hunters, his people become vulnerable to a danger more powerful than the prowling beastmen––House Bel Amica. In this oceanside kingdom of wealth, enchantment, and beauty, deceitful Seers are all too eager to ensnare House Abascar’s wandering throng.
Even worse, the Bel Amicans have discovered Auralia’s colors, and are twisting a language of faith into a lie of corruption and control.
If there is any hope for the people of Abascar, it lies in the courage of Cyndere, daughter of Bel Amica’s queen; the strength of Jordam the beastman; and the fiery gifts of the ale boy, who is devising a rescue for prisoners of the savage Cent Regus beastmen.
As his faith suffers one devastating blow after another, Cal-raven’s journey is a perilous climb from despair to a faint gleam of hope––the vision he sees in Auralia’s colors. 

My review:
When I was offered this book to review, I didn't realize that it was part of a series (the third in the series, actually).  And even if I had, I think I would have figured that since they were offering it for review, that it was enough of a standalone that it wouldn't matter that I hadn't read the rest of the series.  I would have been wrong.  It mattered a lot.

I really like the author's writing style, but I had no idea what was going on for most of the time.  I couldn't picture what he was talking about.  His brief backstory stuff wasn't enough to get me up to speed.  I couldn't figure out exactly what Auralia's colors were supposed to be, or what it even meant.  Did they live in a colorless world?  Were her colors just brighter?  I don't know.

I think if I had read the previous two books, I would have really enjoyed this, because, like I said, I did like the writing style.  I thought the characters were interesting.  But I could tell that this story would have been so much richer if I had known what was going on (obviously), and if I had read what had happened with the characters in the previous books.  I already had Auralia's Colors on my TBR list, so I think I'll just go back and read that one.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  To find out more information about this book, click here.