I closed out my review of Wake of Vultures, the first book in The Shadow, saying I was pleased to see a “1” on the spine because it promised more novels about Nettie Lonesome and this world. Nettie is an amazingly intriguing character at a crossroads of who they are, from a gender perspective and their place in a world of supernatural monsters and terrors. Lila Bowen introduced a wonderfully original character and placed this character in a fantastically imagined western landscape. After a literal cliffhanger, Lila Bowen (an open pseudonym for Delilah Dawson), Conspiracy of Ravens picks up the action.
Nettie Lonesome made a leap — not knowing what she’d become. But now her destiny as the Shadow is calling.
A powerful alchemist is leaving a trail of dead across the prairie. And Nettie must face the ultimate challenge: side with her friends and the badge on her chest or take off alone on a dangerous mission that is pulling her inexorably toward the fight of her life.
When it comes to monsters and men, the world isn’t black and white. What good are two wings and a gun when your enemy can command a conspiracy of ravens?
Bowen sorts out some of Nettie’s issues which were lingering in Wake of Vultures here at the start of the novel quite directly. One of the characters confronts Nettie telling them that before they can embrace their supernatural side, they must admit to themselves who they really are, in addition to being a Texas Ranger. At that point, Nettie gender-identifies as male, “christens” himself Rhett Hennessey, and can begin to more fully embrace his role as the Shadow. It is a bit unclear; however, what exactly the Shadow is. At a minimum, Rhett is able to shapeshift into a great winged bird of prey, a lammergeyer, also known as a bearded vulture. He soon crosses paths with another shapeshifter, an Irishman named Earl. Earl, an escaped “worker” from a railroad camp, fancies the shape of a donkey and seeks help in bring down the evil sorcerer who lures workers, who happen to be not-quite-human, to his camp and soon turns them into slaves. After taking Earl’s plea to heart, despite their initial dislike of each other, Rhett returns to his Ranger outpost and convinces them of his drive and need to take down the sorcerer. It is a calling that he as the Shadow cannot ignore.
This time around, there was more of an episodic feel to about the first third or half of the novel, with Rhett accumulating knowledge and more importantly, developing trust and faith in herself and her identity. It isn’t clear to her or her mentor Coyote Dan what exactly her role as the Shadow is, but they both know she is called to seek justice and perhaps balance. Think of a shapeshifter cross between a Jedi, a Gunslinger (of the Stephen King variety), and a super-hero, yet something unique and fully engaging.
Rhett has a wonderful imperfect quality, he acts impulsively at times, aggressively and violently. Even if Rhett has a better handle on his gender identity as Conspiracy of Ravens develops, he is still overall a fairly young person. Holding frustration and anger at bay is a challenge for people on the cusp of adulthood, compound that with burgeoning powers and finally crawling out from under years of abuse, as well as coming to grips with one’s most comfortable gender identity and it is admirable that Rhett hasn’t flat-out murdered more people. Bowen does a great job of portraying the character in many ways, not the least of which is Rhett’s internal struggle to keep his anger under control.
Where Wake of Vultures was more of an introduction to Rhett and her world, by the end, Conspiracy of Ravens feels like the beginning of the story. Even though Wake ended on something of a cliffhanger, Conspiracy feels more of a larger story. Lila Bowen/Delilah Dawson continues to tell her story unconcerned with borders and restraints, and I look forward to the next installment of The Shadow.
Recommended
© 2017 Rob H. Bedford
Orbit, October 2016
Hardcover, 368 Pages
The Shadow #2
http://www.whimsydark.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Orbit Books
