Earn The Ravens Seal Narrated By Andrei Baltakmens Offered In Physical Book

an avid reader, I read aroundbooks a year, the majority of books I read are historical fiction, In general like filth and grit, rats and lice and a little dose of plague in my fiction, I've read a number of books featuring Newgate Prison and the Tower of London and even though Bellstrom Gaol is a fictional prison, this novel sounded like it was destined to become a favorite of mine.


I did enjoy the setting and the details of the period, the story begins in, with rival gentlemen engaged in a duel, later the victor is found murdered, the loser is accused of the crime and the case is pretty well open and shut.
The guilty man Mr. Thaddeus Grainger is confined to Bellstrom Gaol and his bosom friend William Quilby makes every effort to get him out, Mr. Grainger also enlists the help of Cassie Redruth and Sukie Mills in an effort to find out why he was convicted of a crime he didn't commit.


The storyline itself, the setting, the mysteries and the writing are all good but where this story fell apart for me was with the characterizations and the relationships between the protagonist and his female helpers.
The women are too eager to help Thaddeus and while the motivation for Cassie to assist is understandable at first, it's only understandable to a point.
Her actions go beyond that point to where she is taking risks and acting on Thaddeus's behalf in a way that isn't realistic.


If there had been some more character development and relationships with these characters had been developed in a way that made their efforts to assist the protagonist logical I would have found their actions reasonable.
If there had been more character development in general I would have been more invested in finding out what happened to them, As it was I read half of the novel before giving it up because I was no longer engaged by this story and didn't care enough about the characters to read on and find out what happened to them.
Thumbs up This book came from Netgalley for review a long time ago sorry about that thank you to NG and the publisher.


I seem to say this a lot lately: this was not what I expected, It's a Dickensian, Dumasesque, dark mystery with fantastic elements I think that covers most of it, That The Count of Monte Cristo is in the The Ravens Seal's genealogy is without doubt,

It all begins with a tussle in a tavern, as Thaddeus Grainger defends the honor of a young workingclass woman against someone who sees her as fair game.
Thaddeus saves the girl, Cassie Redruth, and earns himself a duel with her aggressor, to her dismay, By the next evening, Thaddeus is nursing his wounds but his rival is dead, and not from their duel, Thaddeus knows that, and his friends believe it, but the constabulary do not, and he is arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned he never stood a chance.


And there's where The Count of Monte Cristo comes in except that the conspiracy behind the scenes of The Raven's Seal is much bigger and more impersonal.
They don't care about Thaddeus, or Cassie, or even much about the murdered man, The latter had to be put out of the way, and Thaddeus was a convenient scapegoat, As a larger entity, this shadowy force is harder to discover, harder to get at, and harder to overcome especially when the troops arrayed against it consist of a young housemaid, a man in prison, an impoverished writer, and an old man.
Goliath, meet David.

The description on Goodreads for this specifically states that it is set in latethcentury England and that surprises me, I don't know if I failed to pay attention at the right times, but I had this pegged as being set elsewhere entirely, a setting that looks and sounds and smells like but isn't quitesomething England.
I think that's my only real problem with the book, is that the setting Bellstrom Gaol is fictional, yet it was supposed to be England.
I could have wished for either more of a footing in reality, or a complete disconnect from reality, It isn't a fantasy, really, at all but it feels like it ought to be, In fact, it feels a great deal like Ellen Kushner's fantasies of manners and that isn't in any way a bad thing, I received this book through LibraryThing Early ers,

In the press release that accompanied the book, there is a lot of emphasis on this The Ravens Seal's similarity to sitelinkCharles Dickens' books.
There is certainly comparison points with Dickens' work: the time period, the darkness of the setting, the juxtaposition of wealthy and poor, criminal activity and honesty.
The weaving plot is also like a Dickens plot, Which all makes sense, given that the author has studied Dickens intently, The actual writing style, however, is not Dickens butst century, The book lacks the richness and depth of Dickens' descriptions, his style of building a rich, deep character and his/her background, This plot moves at a faster clip than Dickens, I think, and there is much more telling, whereas Dickens draws out every concept for the reader to come to it with much study.
Of course, if Dickens was to write today, he likely would not be published: his work is greatly connected the time in which he wrote when people poured over his words again and again because there were few other opportunities for escape and entertainment.
We are saturated with opportunities for escape and entertainment,

Putting the Dickens comparison

aside, I did feel drawn in with the characters and the plot and enjoyed reading the book.
There are some similarities to The Shawshank Redemption, too innocent prisoner, prisoner who is aloof and well respected, prisoner who befriends a bird.
It is its own story, too, and worthwhile, Mystery amp more

Well written but at times tedious! Excellent characters, solid storyline amp an excellent research base for the plot, Good read! Andrei Baltakmens The Ravens Seal is an amazing work of historical mystery set in fictional city of Airenchester, England in.
Baltakmens has an incredible gift for writing in period English without bogging it down with either unnecessary Dickensian bluster or anachronisms, Even if the plot werent great which it is, it would be a treat to read this book just for the language Baltakmens uses.
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Read the rest of my review at sitelinkA Bookish Type, A Murder. A Fall from Grace.
A Mysterious Symbol That Could Be the Key to One Mans Salvation

When the body of Thaddeus Grainger's rival turns up stabbed to death in an alley just hours after their inconclusive duel, only one suspect comes to mind.
Charged with murder, Grainger's fate is sealed before his trial even begins,

A young gentleman of means but of meaningless pursuits, Grainger is cast into the notorious Bellstrom Gaol, where he must quickly learn to survive in the filthy, ramshackle prison.
The "Bells"where debtors, gaolers, whores, thieves, and murderers all mix freely and where every privilege comes at a pricewill be the young man's home for the rest of his life unless he can prove his innocence.


Despite his downfall, his friendsthe journalist William Quillby and Cassie Redruth, the poor young girl who owes Grainger a debt of gratituderefuse to abandon him.
But before they can win his freedom, they must contend with forces both inside and outside the prison determined to keep Grainger behind bars and, at the same time, decode the meaning behind the crude wax seal that inspires terror in those who know its portent.


Set against the urban backdrop of latethcentury England, The Raven's Seal unravels a tale of corruption, betrayal, murder, andultimatelyredemption and love.
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