The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman – Review

Published: June 25, 2024

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: Blacktongue #0

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 403 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis:
Enter the fray in this luminous new adventure from Christopher Buehlman, set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.

The goblins have killed all of our horses and most of our men.

They have enslaved our cities, burned our fields, and still they wage war.

Now, our daughters take up arms.

Galva ― Galvicha to her three brothers, two of whom the goblins will kill ― has defied her family’s wishes and joined the army’s untested new unit, the Raven Knights. They march toward a once-beautiful city overrun by the goblin horde, accompanied by scores of giant war corvids. Made with the darkest magics, these fearsome black birds may hold the key to stopping the goblins in their war to make cattle of mankind.

The road to victory is bloody, and goblins are clever and merciless. The Raven Knights can take nothing for granted ― not the bonds of family, nor the wisdom of their leaders, nor their own safety against the dangerous war birds at their side. But some hopes are worth any risk.

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After loving The Blacktongue Thief when I read it back in 2021, I was elated to see that Galva was getting her very own origin story! While Kinch Na Shannack may have been a memorable main character in that first book, Galva was a terrifying mystery. I couldn’t help but wonder how this woman with a war corvid magically inked onto her chest got to where she was and The Daughters’ War shows that in all its gory detail.

The Daughters’ War is of course narrated by none other than Galva dom Braga and it’s told as if she is writing her story down for someone. You get all of her hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares spilled out for you to see, but as she is naturally a stoic woman even this is done with an efficiency of words. Though she is the daughter of a duke and would make a fine marriage match, Galva mastered the blade and then joined an experimental unit called the Raven Knights. She and a small group of other women were each paired with two magically enhanced corvids. Birds that are intelligent enough to speak and respond to commands, but large and powerful enough to (hopefully) cut through swathes of goblins. 

Though Galva is unblooded against the goblins when she arrives in Gallardia she doesn’t remain that way for long. The goblins are vile little devils who eat the flesh of man, stripping them on battlefields and going so far as to farm humans for their meat. They are truly one of the most awful foes I’ve come across in a fantasy book and give me the creeps. The war corvids on the other hand… They are simply fabulous. Galva’s birds, Dalgatha and Bellu, are her partners and she loves those birds. The scenes of them fighting as a team are really quite something. 

Beyond the epic battle scenes and the gruesome horrors of war, there are many scenes with Galva’s three brothers who are also in Gallardia playing their roles. I won’t say fighting because, well, her eldest brother is a drunken shithead who would drink away his family heirlooms. These segments, along with Galva’s interactions with friends and lovers help bring in a much needed human element to an otherwise grim tale. Galva is so much younger here than when we meet her in The Blacktongue Thief and she has so much yet to experience, both good and bad.

This was an excellent prequel and if you like audiobooks, I would highly recommend that format. Nikki Garcia gives Galva voice with such emotion! I’m honestly not sure I would have enjoyed nearly as much in print. The Daughters’ War is perfect for fans of military and grimdark fantasy, plus who wouldn’t want to read about giant, goblin-rending ravens?

*Please forgive any character or location misspellings – I only have the audiobook and Google at hand!