The Raven

I received an electronic ARC of The Raven from Netgalley and the publisher Flame Tree Press in return for my honest review, which follows below. I thank both for the opportunity. The setting is two years after a world changing event, put into action by scientists hoping to divert countries from starting nuclear war. Biological bombs with the ability to unlock long dormant DNA in humankind are unleashed, infecting people who then unknowingly spread it to the rest of Earth's population. All but a small percentage of humanity would be forcefully changed. The world was free from the danger of nuclear fallout, but now more bestial than civilized, society still fell. With fiction one is given the freedom to imagine as far as one could wish; the ability to make it seem possible is the difficult task given to the author so we can see their vision through their words. I felt Jonathan Janz accomplished this and more, because the fantastical changes were still steeped in the realm of scientific possibility. He also put his own spin on some the lore associated with reality of the creatures in this novel, which I thought were well thought out and added to the overall immersion for me. I'm not going go into detail about them because I am trying to keep this spoiler free, the book was a pleasure to discover for me and I hope others get to enjoy it the same way. The protagonist falls into the small number of unchanged humans. In this new world he and others are (often derisively) referred to as latent, and survival is more difficult for them to carve out. We follow his travels as he searches for Susan, a woman traveling with him who was stolen by a group of men. He has guilt that grips him, this often guides his hand in this dystopian landscape. I felt he was a sympathetic narrator. The book ends, not on what I would consider a cliffhanger but a nod to the series continuing. There are things introduced in passing that I imagine will be explained in further detail in subsequent books, as well as characters just met that will be given more page time. But I feel the author did a great job of not cutting the story off abruptly so you felt pressured in buying the next book to find closure. This first book came to a natural end, promising more, an invitation to keep reading if you so wanted. I rated this book 5 stars because I really enjoyed all aspects of it, I would recommend it to others or give as a gift. I will continue to read if this indeed becomes a series, and I would re-read this one.