Product Description

She is Rhia, bound to the Spirit of Crow and gifted with vision. In a world besieged by escalating conflict, fate has marked her to deliver the Reawakened from oppression.

Now, with a mighty army of Descendants threatening to crush what's left of her people's magic, she must trust an ancient prophecy and accept the power that is her birthright—the power of life and death itself.

For while the storm of revolution rages, the legacy of the Reawakened is about to be rewritten…in her family's blood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #365227 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780373802715
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Pseudo-Native American myth blends with passion in the colorful conclusion to Smith-Ready's Aspect of Crow trilogy (after 2007's Voice of Crow). A brutal war rages between those who embrace Spirit, animal magic that grows stronger with each generation, and the Descendants, who shun it. Twelve years have passed since the bloodthirsty Ilion Army of the Descendants invaded the cities of Velekos and Asermos, and the hoped-for Raven leader has yet to emerge. Spirit mages Rhia and Marek follow their son after he joins his uncle's army to avenge his girlfriend's murder by Ilion soldiers, while Asermon refugee Sura, recently bestowed with her Snake aspect, falls in love with Dravek, a Snake betrothed to someone else. Newcomers will feel a little lost, but those familiar with the soap opera will enjoy the satisfying conclusion. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Jeri Smith-Ready's previous novels include Requiem for the Devil and Eyes of Crow. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and a retired racing greyhound.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Tiros

Dust gritted between Rhia's teeth as she buried another dead soldier. She tugged the rough cloth covering her mouth and nose, securing its bottom edge inside her collar. As the hot wind changed direction, she shifted, keeping her back to the scouring gusts to protect her eyes.

A warm hand touched her elbow. "Rhia, let me finish."

She squinted up into the early evening light, at the ruddy face of her husband, Marek. "I need to occupy my mind as much as you do today. Besides, I'm the only one who can deliver them."

"But you're not the only one who can shovel." His blue-gray eyes smiled at her over his own cloth mask, crinkling the lines at their corners. "Save your strength for dancing."

She wiped the sweat from her temple and looked behind her at the road leading into Tiros. "It's hard to imagine celebrating in this place."

Trees had been razed for a mile outside the village's perimeter to avoid giving cover to the enemy. Their trunks and branches had been used to build watchtowers, two of which loomed behind her, one on either side of the road leading into town. Inside the towers, Eagle lookouts and Cougar archers kept guard.

Few people left Tiros unseen. Fewer entered Tiros unshot.

At Rhia's feet, the Ilion soldier lay in a hole deep enough to keep the vultures away but shallow enough that the Ilions—or "Descendants," as Rhia's people called them—could retrieve the bodies the next time they arrived on a "diplomatic mission."

In a line stretching to her right lay the soldier's five comrades—dressed in plainclothes rather than their typical red-and-yellow uniforms—along with the spy who'd brought them. Other Tirons had dug the graves this morning; it was up to Marek and Rhia to fill them in and send the soldiers to the Other Side. No one joined them to pay respects to the dead, for the enemy and its spy had done nothing to earn it.

Marek tossed a shovelful of dust over the Descendant's face. "If Lycas were here, he'd want to put their heads on pikes on the road to Asermos."

She sighed at the reminder of her brother's brutality. "And give the Descendants an excuse for a full-scale invasion. At least with an honorable burial, we can claim our archers killed them defending the town—which is the truth."

"Doesn't mean they didn't enjoy it." His shovel clanked against a rock hidden in the dust. "Gave them a chance to practice the unofficial village motto: 'Keep Outsiders Outside.'"

They shared a grim look at the rows of tents sitting on the edge of the village. Tiros, built to hold perhaps a thousand people, had swollen to three times its original size with refugees from the villages of Velekos and Asermos, as the Ilion army pressed northward. The same aspects that made Tiros easy to defend—no immediate water access and flat, dry terrain surrounded on three sides by steep, rugged hills—also made survival difficult. In the twelve years since the Descendant invasion, Tiros had suffered growing pains that threatened to tear it apart.

Marek tapped down the dust over the last soldier with the toe of his boot, then marked the grave with a makeshift Ilion flag— a long stick with a red-and-yellow cloth attached.

Rhia knelt beside the grave, closed her eyes and raised her palms. In the span of one deep breath, she drew a shroud between herself and this world of vigilance. The next breath brought an awareness of Crow, her Guardian Spirit Animal, whose presence had hovered close to her for nearly all of her thirty-seven years. Now He waited to take what was His.

With her third breath, she called the crows.

The chant rumbled low in her throat, and as soon as it left her mouth it was swept away by the wind. No matter, for in this song her voice traveled to the Other Side, where all places were one. She could have whispered it or even sung it inside her mind. They would hear. They would come.

Within moments they approached, their caws riding the wind, whose roar obscured the rush of their heavy wings. Seven birds, one for each death.

Rhia wondered how the Descendants felt about being carried off by Crow, a Spirit they didn't believe in. Did they search for Xenia, their goddess of Death, lament her absence and finally her nonexistence?

The souls of these soldiers passed quickly, without reluctance. Though their deaths had been violent, they believed they had died for the greater glory of Ilios, just as they'd desired.

The young Asermon spy, on the other hand, resisted. The ache of his regret skewered her as he tried to escape Crow's embrace. The man, whose name she didn't know, had betrayed his own people.

His own people. Generations ago, the citizens of the four villages—Asermos, Velekos, Kalindos and Tiros—had divided themselves, focusing on their differences and long-standing tribal rivalries. The disunity had made them easy prey for the Ilions. But now, with their common oppression by the Spirit-shunning Descendants, they stood as one people.

Crow took the spy, completing His passage to the Other Side. Rhia worried the Asermon would linger, full of bitterness and sorrow, in the gloomy Gray Valley between here and there.

The cries of the crows faded, and Rhia lowered her hands. Marek's fingers under her elbow steadied her as she stood, her knees aching and heart thumping from the last soul's perilous journey.

He brushed the dust off the crow feather around her neck, then did the same for his own fox- and wolf-tail fetishes. Then he unbuckled the waterskin from his belt and offered it to her. As usual, it was nearly empty.

She squinted at the angle of the sun. "It's almost time."

"Nilik could come back tomorrow, or the next day. A Bestowing might take longer if Raven claims him."

"Hush." She rubbed the back of her neck, which always prickled at the mention of the greatest Spirit. "Don't assume anything. It shows arrogance."

"No." He put an arm around her shoulders. "It shows faith."

Rhia clamped her lips tight. She couldn't blame Marek for wanting to believe that Raven would deliver them from occupation. Raven was the only Spirit who had never bestowed a human with an Aspect—a combination of power and wisdom reflecting traits of that animal. An ancient legend said that Raven would one day bestow Her Aspect when the Spirit-people faced their most harrowing hour. Rhia hated to imagine an hour more harrowing than those they lived in now.

Before her son Nilik's birth eighteen years ago, a deluge of dreams foretold that the Raven child would be born to a Crow like Rhia. Most of her people believed it. Some even hoped this event would spark another Reawakening, when the Spirits would all appear together in this world, to save the people who had served Them for thousands of years.

Some days, the only alternative to faith was despair.

As Rhia and Marek walked hand in hand into the village, a shout came from the watchtower above.

"South!"

They stopped and looked up. Sani the Eagle woman pointed to their left. All five Cougars in her watchtower scrambled into position. Rhia saw the silhouettes of their bows against the azure sky.

"Someone's coming." Marek dropped the shovels and ran in the direction Sani was pointing.

"Wait!" Rhia rushed to keep up with him, and only succeeded because he waited for her at the foot of the watchtower. "It could be more Descendants."

She stood on tiptoe and strained to see what had provoked the alert. The only sign was a rising cloud of dust, small enough that she could block it with her outstretched thumb. It created a tan puff against the darker browns and greens of the background hills.

"It can't be Nilik." Marek shaded his right temple against the glare of the setting sun. "Near as I can tell, this person's on horseback."

"And it's the wrong direction from the Bestowing." The site for this sacred three-day quest lay to the west of Tiros—far from Descendant-occupied territories. Despite the Ilions' best efforts—negotiations, bribes and escalating shows of force— Tiros remained a free village, as did Kalindos, Marek's birthplace in the high mountain forest two weeks' travel away.

How long this freedom would last, no one knew.

Another shout came from the tower. Rhia looked up to see Sani leaning over the rough wooden railing.

"It's Lycas!"

Rhia yelped with joy and bounced on her toes. Her brother's continued survival amazed her. As the leader of the guerrilla fighting forces, Lycas was the Ilions' favorite target. She feared it was only a matter of time before they found a way to counteract his Wolverine savagery, wiliness and inhuman strength.

"Nilik will be glad," Marek said in typical understated fashion.

Rhia smiled, imagining her son's face when he came back from his Bestowing to see his uncle waiting. During Lycas's sporadic visits to Tiros, he treated Nilik like his own son.

Small wonder. Rhia had named him in memory of their brother Nilo, Lycas's twin who had died in the first battle against the Ilions nearly twenty years ago.

She rubbed her breastbone, as if she could feel the wound herself. No death before or since had carved such a gouge in her and Lycas.

Her brother waved one of his immense arms as he approached at an easy trot. His long black hair streamed in the wind despite the tie binding it at his nape. Even at a distance, his size and strength were intimidating. She didn't envy the Descendants whose last living sight was Lycas's face.

He slowed the horse to a cooling walk, and the cloud of dust around him diminished. Unable to wait any longer, Rhia ran to greet him.

Lycas dismounted, his posture showing no symptoms of a long ride or a long life. He gave a casual wave, as if he'd been gone eight hours instead of eight months.

"You made it!" Rhia hurtled into her brother's arms, dwarfing herself in his enormous embrace. His dark bay mare snorted and danced at the end of the reins, startled by the sudden movement.

"Good, I'm not too late, then." Lycas let go of Rhia and picked up the wide-brimmed hat that had toppled from her head. He tugged her auburn braid, then tossed it back over her shoulder, as if to confirm that it hadn't be...

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Conclusion to a Phenomenal Trilogy!
In the Aspect of Crow trilogy, people are gifted with the aspect of a Spirit. When they reach a certain age they venture into the wilderness for three days with no food or shelter and await their bestowing. But then there are the Ilions who are much like we are. They do not embrace the Spirits. They fear the magic and only want to claim the land and suppress the ones who embrace what they do not understand.

In the first book, Eyes of Crow, Rhia is bestowed with the gift of Crow. She helps people pass on to the other side, freeing their souls. On her way to Kalindos to train with another Crow, she meets Marek. Together, Marek helps Rhia accept her Crow aspect and Rhia helps him overcome his past. They may have found love but the inevitable war begins at the end with a battle with the Ilions. Tragically, lives are lost, but out of that battle an Ilion is saved and healed. Which leads you into the second book, Voice of Crow, and a wonderful romance. However there are some tough moments to get through in regards to Marek and Rhia. And now, 18 years later, in The Reawakened, the war between the ones who embrace the Sprits and the Ilions is here. With the Ilions trying to gain full control over the two main cities, Asermos and Velekos, there is still resistance.

Several of the characters from the previous two books play important roles in this one, as well as the children and babies from Voice of Crow, now grown with their Spirit aspects bestowed upon them. In Voice of Crow a prophecy revealed that The Raven would bestow her gift on one child born of a Crow. The people have held on to that hope, because Raven has never bestowed her Aspect and they believe that when she does it will save their people. In Voice of Crow you're left wondering if one of two babies will be gifted with Raven.

In The Reawakened, it's battle to push back the occupation of the Ilions. To regain their land and freedom, to make a stand. The Aspect of Crow Trilogy is an Epic story encompassing all three books. The first book was wonderful, the second was fabulous, and the third was superb!! Combined together, producing one Phenomenal Trilogy!

The abundance of emotions I felt while reading this book was almost too painful to read at times, but I couldn't help but turn the page knowing hope was there. No matter how much violence and bloodshed it was there as long as they did not give up hope. No one person did not feel the affects of the war with the Ilions. Even the relationship between Dravek and Sura seemed hopeless. My insides were twisted through so many parts of this book. For Jeri Smith-Ready to be able to express in words, giving you that feeling over and over again, shows how truly talented she is. Not one time did I feel certain the outcome would be joyous and happy. She kept you on the edge of your seat, turning page after page, wondering what would happen next.

The Reawakened was a superb conclusion to this Trilogy. More than I ever bargained for. There is romance in all three books, but this Trilogy is soooo much more than three books focusing on two people in each book, searching for their HEA. This series is about survival and standing up for what you believe, fighting for what is yours.Each book enhances the previous creating one heck of a story.

I recommend this Trilogy to everyone. It's...well...it's simply Amazing! Perfect! An emotional roller-coaster you don't want to miss!!

A Recommended Read!
The war has begun....

Guardian Spirits have guided Rhia and her people in all that they do. The war with the Descendants threatens all of that while Rhia and her fellow Crows are wearied from the deaths. Rhia is in her second phase Aspect, a phase that brings great power but also great responsibility. Many of the younger generation imbued by various other Guardian Spirits want to increase their powers to help the cause, but at what personal cost? Sura, Dravek, Kara, and Etarek are on a forbidden path, one that will have them questioning if their choices were indeed worth it. And just who is the prophesied Raven?

Stop reading if you haven't read EYES OF CROW and VOICE OF CROW and immediately pick them up! The Aspect of Crow series should be read in order as the nuances of the characters and the storyline are carefully built throughout each book in this phenomenal trilogy. Rhia's character growth in particular is a key part of the series and is best appreciated if the books are read in the correct order.

Jeri Smith-Ready does a beautiful job at creating legends that make the reader truly care. It was all I could do to not peek to see which character would be revealed as Raven! The mythology behind the trilogy is superbly explained and THE REAWAKENED brings the entire story full circle.

THE REAWAKENED is a powerful book. Readers should be prepared to experience a gamut of emotions. Jeri Smith-Ready takes readers from sadness, to grief, to outrage, to sheer rage, to relief, to yes, even joy. The concept of heroism is paramount as multiple characters display it in ways that are deeply gripping and yes, even painful and yet a sense of hope permeates the entire story. Even in the midst of the most awful, most despairing moments, there is still that glimmer of hope for a better future. Never have I read a trilogy that exemplifies the spirit of freedom in so meaningful and poignant a way! THE REAWAKENED packs one emotional punch that stays with the reader long past the last page.

Without a doubt, Jeri Smith-Ready is a master at creating the perfect blend of ambience, character development, and storyline. THE REAWAKENED concludes a trilogy that ranks among the best in the genre. Highly recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

deep metaphoric cultures at war thriller
Twelve years ago the feral Descendents of the Ilion Army took advantage of the schism between the four Spirit villages attacked Velekos and Asermos. The war between them is nasty with one side unconcerned with collateral damage to innocents. There is the fundamental value of the world at stake in a winner takes all conflagration. The Spirit uses animal magic that has made them increasingly more powerful with each new generation; the Descendants loath Spirit magic as evil. However, the Descendents outnumber their enemy and increasingly appear to be winning the hostilities.

The Spirit followers pray that the ancient prophecy that claims the only Spirit Raven who has failed to guide a human will do so soon as the dark days are turning bleaker. Spirit mages Rhia of the Guardian Crow Spirit and her husband Marek accompany their eighteen years old son Nilik, who they hope is the one as he seeks vengeance against the murdering Descendents who killed his girlfriend; He joins his uncle's army while the hostilities remain unabated. Rhia must deliver the REAWAKENED if her side is to survive.

Fans of the Aspect fantasy (see VOICE OF CROW and EYES OF CROW) will relish this entertaining finish but newcomers will be lost for much of the tale. The story line is filled with action, but driven by the desperation of Rhia and her family as a way of life is to be decided between clashing cultures. With a nod to Native-American nineteenth century heritage (including war with the invading American armies, Jeri Smith-Ready provides a deep metaphoric trilogy of cultures at war.

Harriet Klausner