The Raven of Dusk: Transcendence, By Anthony Greer

I have over 400 science fiction titles behind me on my shelves, and while I love a good ray-gun and rocket ship tale, I’ve also found that as I became a more sophisticated reader I was more interested in why characters were firing their ray-guns, or what drove them to propel themselves across worlds and into space.

The Raven of Dusk, Transcendence delves into the sociopolitical conflicts driving the characters as a representation of modern political conflicts played out on the alien planet of Noreis in the arenas of religion, politics, persecution, and power. Hifalutin concepts aside, Greer approaches his subjects in a very personal manner, from the viewpoints of each of his characters. This shifting focus allows us insight into each personality and what causes them to act as they do and makes the novel very approachable.  The decisions the characters feel natural in their progression, not as if the reader is being led to a conclusion or preached to.

The book does start off hot, insofar as the reader is dumped straight into the action, but once you get your footing, you’ll find yourself keeping up, and turning the pages eagerly for more.

One aside: Mr. Greer, I believe you owe me several hours of sleep since you kept me up reading one night. :-)

Interested in reading The Raven of Dusk: Transcendence on your Kindle? You can get it here, or read the back cover blurb below!

Raiden, a young wildlife guide, watches his beloved and mysterious father murdered before his eyes without knowing why… or why his own child has been placed under a sentence of death.

Kostan, a dynastic hero, is slowly drawn into the realm of politics, while desperately trying to prevent his own son’s fall into moral depravity.

Vila, an ambitious politician, carries the unborn child of “mixed breed”, which her own religion and people would kill on sight if she were to let her secret be known.

And Eliza, an ambitious and brazen young woman, always the outcast amongst her peers, finds herself encased in an enigmatic white glow.

Each of these four separate life threads are being slowly drawn together and shaped by an even greater mystery… because once, long ago, all life on Noreis suddenly became extinct… and no one, not one of the many races, cultures, or religions which currently share this planet, knows why.

Over time, the story of how and why it happened has devolved from history and myth, and from the dust of fading memories, life has sprung anew. A new world has erected with city-states that have skyscrapers that touch the heavens, lands covered in crystals with pavements like rock candy, and culture is rich and vibrant. Some people flourish in the footsteps of their ancestors while others drown in their shadows. Women rule among men, disputes are fickle, and a brighter history is being written.

But trouble is brewing… and the Ravens of Dusk are preparing to make their presence known.

Shifts in the world’s balance threaten the long-standing peace of its inhabitants. Political ties are shifting and breaking, unlikely alliances are forming, and betrayals are devastating. As dawn sheds light on the beginning of the end of days, only one thing is certain: whatever once caused a global extinction thousands of years threatens to repeat itself.