It's been a while since my last Dogs of the Spires review, so let's hop to it! Spoilers ahead.
Step faces his biggest trial yet, now that Duke has taken over Ignum and is dead set on wiping out all of Solum, all the while the Madness is still going around as well. Will Step and his pack survive?
Yet another superb installment in the Dogs of the Spires series. Raven's Call actually concludes the first trilogy of the overall series, and it did not disappoint.
My favorite aspect of this book easily was Tenebrum, the dogs that live belowground in the Spires and are said to be nothing but a myth by many. Salvo also has become my favorite character from the Spires series so far. He's basically this (nigh-)immortal dog that has been leader of Tenebrum forever and is pretty much a walking corpse as this point. I really hope he returns in future books. The whole concept of the Spirit of Tenebrum was also interesting, something that'll no doubt be explored in future books, especially now that Step pledged his firstborn pup to it to eventually replace Salvo.
But for the whole main plot with the Madness and Duke and Delta, it's obviously still great. Things get to their highest point of the trilogy in Raven's Call. Duke now not only has power over all of Ignum, but also azure fire with the channeling necklace he took from Flare.
Speaking of her, she's still alive! I really hoped so, though she goes through some interesting development in this, becoming a prophet to Duke as she gains the ability to gain visions after being fed the white berries. I really hope that, now that she's been freed from his curse, she'll keep some of her spunky attitude. I still lowkey ship her with Step, to be honest.
There's also an interesting development between Hope and Step: Hope is actually in love with him. This I did not see coming. Honestly, this might just be me, but I always read their bond as more sibling-like due to Hope's family taking Step in pretty soon after he lost his original mother. They aren't exactly adopted siblings, but their relationship definitely felt more sibling-like to me. I was worried the romance aspect (which is often not one of my favorite things about books in general) was going to become very central, but things are thankfully kept to a minimum. We don't even know if Step has the same feelings for Hope as she has for him, but I honestly think that's a good thing. Things were just so chaotic and they're still very young, so it's a bit early to start getting knees-deep into relationship stuff with these characters.
The villains of Delta and Duke both get their ending in this book, and I'm very glad to see it. They both deserved to die for what they put others through, obviously, and their deaths were satisfying. I also just loved Delta's death in particular, with her being killed by an orca in the river.
Then there's the aspect of Malcolm/the Doctor, arguably the only thing in this book I'm mixed about. He finally abandons this title and returns to his family in Solum in Raven's Call, and I'm honestly not sure if he got enough comeuppance for his actions. Step makes the connection that he was the Doctor, but he never really confides in Hope or Auburn that he is. I get that there are more pressing matters, but I honestly would've loved to see more comeuppance for the Doctor than just having him die. This felt a bit like an easy way out, when it would've led to arguably more interesting conflict if the pack knew he was the Doctor and the atrocities he committed. Still, Malcolm's death is actually a satisfying one, with him being killed by none other than Brutus, the dog he experimented on, blinded and literally wore the face of as a mask.
Overall, Raven's Call is a great conclusion to the first arc. I think up next in this series for me to read would be Ruins of Greatness, but it may take a while for me to get to it as I have about a zillion other series to catch up on. Still, I can't wait to continue my journey into the world of the Spires!
Rating: 5/5
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