by John Crowley
First published 2017
Dar Oakley breaks the most basic rule of his kind when he becomes the first crow in history to claim a name. Born two millennia ago, he discovers something no crow should possess: the ability to cheat death. When Dar steals immortality from the human underworld, he sets himself apart from his murder forever. A crow alone is no crow, yet Dar must navigate his endless existence in solitude. He witnesses Julius Caesar's invasion of Celtic lands, sails west with Irish monks seeking the Paradise of the Saints, and repeatedly journeys between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. Through countless lifetimes, Dar accumulates secrets about Ka, the mysterious domain of crows, and learns truths that could transform human civilization. Now, after ages of silence, he finally finds a human who understands his language. The time has come for Dar to reveal everything he has learned during his impossible lives.
Genres: mythology, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, fantasy
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ymr, Celtic Lands, Ireland
Period: 2000 Years Ago, Julius Caesar's Invasion, Middle Ages
442 pages · Hardcover · S&S/Saga Press