Lila Bowen (Delilah S. Dawson)
Orbit
October 11th, 2016
When we last saw Nettie Lonesome, she was unsure who or what she was, until she took a leap of faith off a mountain. With that leap, Nettie knows two things–she isn’t Nettie Lonesome anymore. He is Rhett Hennessy, and Rhett Hennessy is both a Monster and a Ranger.
Rhett can transform into a very large bird. He forgets who he is for awhile, until he spots something odd.
He meets an irritating young man who turns into a donkey, and that red-headed Irishman has a story that interests the Shadow. Rhett feels the pull of destiny again, and knows there’s another evil thing out there that needs killing. This particular evil thing is enslaving monsters to work a railroad by day, and slicing parts of those monsters off for some nasty magic by night.
Rhett will have to stop it.
Conspiracy of Ravens is the follow-up to Wake of Vultures, where we first meet Nettie Lonesome. Nettie starts seeing monsters, and learns she is the Shadow–something compelled to kill monsters, that no one sees coming.
While the book is a rollicking Weird West tale of supernatural forces and vanquishing evil, at it’s heart, the book is also about identity. Coming to understand who we are at the core, and how who and what we are affect how we move in the world. About having the courage to leave behind the expectations and attitudes of others, and just telling those people where they can stick it.
Rhett is one of Bowen’s (Dawson’s) best characters to date, and the world built in this series is rich and complex. One of my favorite new series, to be sure. If you haven’t picked up the first book, Wake of Vultures, you really should. Then pick this one up too.
See our Quick Six Interview with author Delilah Dawson!
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.