3.5 stars from me. I love Ryan's Al Sorna books, especially because the depth of character is what makes people come back for more Vaelin! This series, however, started off with an assumption that the reader will already know and love these characters. Terrible for new readers, and difficult for those of us who haven't read the original series in years. I found myself constantly having to stop to remind myself of the characters and story arcs referred to constantly in this book with no further backstory or explanation. I was left with a whole lot of prose on war and almost none of the amazing character-building I've fallen in love with in Ryan books.

Still an entertaining read and a great story. Just lacking earlier series magic for me. ( )

Anthony Ryan redemption arc complete. This was fantastic. ( )

It is about 10 years after the adventures in "The Raven's Shadow"series. Vaelin is older, tired and has lost his bloodsong. When he learns about a new evil in the world, that threatens everything he knows, including Sherin, he travels to the lands of the Merchant Kings to fight this evil and rescue Sherin.

This book is easier to read than the previous books, because the perspective is mostly Vaelin and what he is doing. That will be good news to some, but I enjoyed all the different POV. I still like this book a lot, but it is no longer a really special story, so no 5 stars. The ending makes me want to read the second book NOW, but I guess I have to wait a little while longer.
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I had to sit back to think long and hard about my final thoughts about this novel. There were just so many great elements ranging from the detailed storyline, the diverse group of characters that each contributed to Vaelin journey and the story itself, and the author's writing style that changed this storytelling to something way beyond that made this an exceptional read. But going into this I had realized, much later on, I should have read Raven’s Shadow trilogy before diving into this fantasy novel to get a better understanding of the characters, their tormented pasts and how war changed each individual character. I believe because of that, I wasn't able to form a real connection with the characters and story thus making it more than difficult to really immerse myself into the epic fantasy world that the author was able to create for us. Furthermore I had a minor (or maybe the biggest?) issue was the pacing of the story. It was damn slow. Too damn slow if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong I normally love the build up when the slow pace is done right and unpopular opinion or not, “The Wolf's Call” was dragging me down. I’m not gonna lie but due to the pacing of the story, I found myself more often than not losing focus and having to backtrack to reread a line I have already read. That’s never a good sign people but despite that I was able to quickly redirected my attention half way through the novel when the story really started to progress. I won’t provide too many details to spoil the series holy shit, the author left a lasting impression on me and I look forward to seeing what he has to bring with the next edition of the duology.

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I really enjoyed this, I did not want to put it down from the moment I picked it up. This book continues the story of Vaelin Al Sorna, hero of the Blood Song trilogy.

Vaelin has returned to be the Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches, keeping the peace and recovering from the previous battles. He has a new ward, Ellese, the adopted daughter of Riva. There's also a reunion with some of the other characters from the previous series, but only a few.

This is fast paced, adventure fantasy. Once again following prophecy, Vaelin must go confront a new threat in the Far West. Once again there are long journeys to new places, new cultures to meet and new foes to overcome. I enjoy Ryan's writing and this style of fantasy novel. There's not a lot new here in terms of settings or plot, just well written fantasy. ( )