by Veronia Roth

Curse Bearer Series #1

When Among Crows is a short novel, more of a novela really, that is steeped in Polish Folklore. The juxtaposition of European folklore against a contemporary American setting makes for an interesting story, to say the least.

Dymtr comes from a family whose calling is to slay monsters. Think “Grim” from the TV series; unfortunately, he has to sacrifice half his soul to be a monster slayer.  At the very beginning of the novel, Dymtr is tasked with finding the infamous Baba Yaga and, well, slaying her. We get a bit of Dymtr’s backstory: how his Grandmother (Bubcia) trained him, and his first kill being a striga, even though she seemed so “normal.”  Dymtr travels to Chicago to find Baba Yaga and, along the way, meets Ala, a monster herself, but not by choice; her family was cursed, and with the death of her aunt and cousin, the curse bounced to the next living relative, her. Ala is a Zmora, a night “demon” who feeds off fear. They also meet up with Nikko, a male Strzga, another Slavic creature in human form who feeds off anger and can turn himself into an owl, who it seems may fall in love with Dymtr, which, of course, will complicate things.

In the novel, our main character, Dymtr, has to reconcile with the “sins” of his past and decide how to move forward: should he retain his identity and fulfill the obligations of the family legacy, or will he move forward with a renewed sense of righteousness? 

This novel was a great palate cleanser. It was a quick, easy read between heavier books—a wonderful escapist novel using Slavic folklore, always a favourite.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for the copy.