When Among Crows

Reviews / Votes

A magical, action-packed read with vivid scenes and characters.
--IGN

Lovely, lush, and full of otherworldly longing, this modern fairytale about righteousness and the weight we bear for love is Roth at her most imaginative and ethereal.
--Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

I give it all the stars. A novella that harbors inside it a wonderfully fleshed out world of Slavic myth living just under the surface of modern Chicago. (yay Urban Fantasy!) Batting way above its average in character development and emotional intimacy, this is a story about a man looking for redemption even when it bleeds him, even when he doesn't deserve it. And about the people, the monsters, who have every reason to hate him but end up doing something quite different. There are moments of terror and violence. There are also moments of quiet intimacy. Roth accomplishes something magical in a very small number of pages and tells a heartbreaking and beautiful story. 5/5 would return to this world and these characters in a heartbeat.
--Rebecca Roanhorse, NYTimes Bestselling author of Black Sun

Roth's Chicago is one of outcasts, immigrants, secrets, family, and above all, hope. Only an author who knew the soul of the city could write this book.
--J.R. Dawson, author of The First Bright Thing

When Among Crows had me terrified, entranced, awe-struck, and quite literally at the edge of my seat. I dare you to try and stop reading. The kind of book that reminds us what human imagination and mysteries are made of. Magic and wonder as only Roth can do it. I'll never look at Chicago the same way again. These streets are brimming with dreams and nightmares, and I didn't want to wake up. The terrors and wonders of lore laid out in a dreamy, blood-dripping feast.
-C.J. Leede, author of Maeve Fly

Deliciously frightening folklore perfectly mixed with adventure, heart, and sinister surprise.
--Holly Black, New York Times Bestselling author of BOOK OF NIGHT

Rich with myth and tapped into the deepest kinds of magic, Roth has created a deliciously strange, multi-layered mystery full of very human longing.
--Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of NINTH HOUSE

A tantalizing blend of gritty Chicago noir and Eastern European folklore, When Among Crows is a thrilling tale of magic and uneasy alliances, betrayal and redemption. This book reminded me why I love urban fantasy. One novella set in Roth's intriguing world isn't enough-I'm hungry for more.
-Cassandra Clare, New York Times bestselling author of Sword Catcher

When Among Crows feels real and tangible in a way that makes me recognize Chicago. It is also fantastic in the old sense of the word, in that it feels like a curtain has been pulled away so that I step into a magical backstage. For something without any ordinary mortals, it is so grounded in emotion and intergenerational trauma. I loved it.
--Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo-awarding author of The Calculating Stars

From word one, Roth captivates the reader and takes you into a folkloric Chicago full of dark magic and dark delight -Chuck Wendig, bestselling author of Black River Orchard and The Book of Accidents

I was thoroughly hooked from the start and devoured it in a day.
--The British Fantasy Society

PRAISE FOR ARCH-CONSPIRATOR

A gut punch of a story. Roth takes everything fragile about love, everything powerful about certain doom, and blooms with it. You'll be holding your breath until the very last word.
-Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

Heartbreaking, intimate, inevitable. The worldbuilding tightens around the neck in a way that perfectly matches the noose-tension of the dramatic tragedy.
-Max Gladstone, co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War

Roth is a masterful conjurer, summoning both classic myth and visceral dystopia to weave a breathtaking tale of love, avarice, and the timeless desire for revenge.
-Ryka Aoki, bestselling author of Light From Uncommon Stars

Roth's powerful retelling of Antigone transforms a bleak classical tragedy into a story of ferocious, bittersweet triumph all set against the backdrop of a ravaged post-apocalyptic future.
-Sunyi Dean, bestselling author of The Book Eaters

An elegant, pressingly relevant Antigone retelling, with a fascinating chorus of viewpoints that both complicates and elucidates its complex themes.
-Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun

Tragic and triumphant in equal measure. Roth is a storyteller who reaches new heights with every tale.
-John Scalzi, bestselling author of The Kaiju Preservation Society

Queen of Dystopia Veronica Roth packs a lot of cool worldbuilding into Arch-Conspirator, offering a fresh take on a classic tragedy. If you're a fan of mythology and schemes, definitely put this one on your list.
-Tor.com

[A] taut, defiant reenvisioning of Sophocles's Antigone.... The plot preserves the shape of the original without ever losing the capacity to surprise and, more importantly, prod reflection and recognition. This powerful tale of reproductive oppression is sure to wow.
-Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

Roth deftly handles extensive world building, character development, and plot. Readers familiar with Sophocles' original story will have an extra dimension of appreciation, but those without that background will still race through the pages to learn Antigone's fate.
-Booklist

Roth uses the familiar tale of Antigone as a vehicle to tell a story about desperation, hubris, tyranny, and revolution. Combined with the dystopian setting of the dying planet and the tyrannical rule of the surviving city state, the story gives readers a heroine to root for, a despot to revile, and a thought provoking ending.
-Library Journal

An eerie, enchanting novella The Fantasy Hive

PRAISE FOR VERONICA ROTH

A memorable, unpredictable journey from which it is nearly impossible to turn away.
-'Publishers Weekly', starred review

There's a lot of magic and action to make for a propulsive plot... Roth makes a bold entrance to adult fantasy.
-'Kirkus Reviews', starred review

A stunning thriller/fantasy/sci-fi chimera like nothing I've read before.
-Blake Crouch

A hugely imagined, twisty, turning tale that leads through the labyrinths of magic and war to the center of the heart.
-Diana Gabaldon

This dark, complex novel rocked my heart... You'll never look at fantasy heroes the same way again.
-Charlie Jane Anders