Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Crow’s Fate
SERIES: Carnival of Mysteries
AUTHOR: Kim Fielding
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 11 hours and 22 minutes
RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2023
BLURB:
You can’t fly away from destiny.
Crow Rapp assumes he’ll spend his life growing corn in rural Illinois, like the grandparents who raised him. But during a visit to a traveling carnival, he encounters a handsome stranger named Simeon Bell—and receives a prophecy of a horrifying future. When that future materializes soon afterward, Crow flees…only to find that no matter how far he goes, fate pursues him.
Simeon reenters his life a decade later and causes Crow to consider whether actively fighting his fate might be better than constant attempts at escape. In a world tinged by magic, where myths are as real as the sky above them, the men try to determine Crow’s true identity. Along the way, they test the powers of friendship and love and explore the boundaries of free will—ultimately discovering whether the force of destiny can be overcome.
Crow’s Fate is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains an Illinois farmboy, a roustabout from London, and realizations about the power of love.
REVIEW:
Crow Rapp has grown up on his grandparents farm in Illinois. There isn’t a lot of money and he doesn’t know what happened to his mother who left him there with her parents and younger sister. He assumes he’ll just work the family farm. He’s not unhappy, but he’s not happy either. Then there is the little niggle that he really doesn’t like girls in the way his friends do, but it’s 1975 so he’s keeping that to himself . Then the summer before his 18th birthday, he goes to a carnival with his friends. He ends up in a the end of the medium/fortune teller and meets an English roustabout named Simeon. He looks into the Madam’s crystal ball and sees something so awful, he doesn’t want to tell Crow. Soon after Crow starts having dreams of birds – awful red birds. But on Crow’s 18th birthday, it appears that whatever Simeon saw is put into motion.
Crow spends the next decade crisscrossing the country. He takes on different identities, works for a while and then when something bad happens, he ends up moving on to the next place. After a decade of this, he runs across the Carnival again. And unsurprisingly, he meets Simeon again. But Simeon hasn’t ages at all and tells him it’s only been 3 months since he saw Crow. Obviously Crow is not 3months older though. Crow is convinced that he’s not actually human. Things keep happening to him that he shouldn’t survive. And yet he does. Over and over and again. And those damn birds are still there. Wanting him to join them.
Crow is furious with Simeon for not telling him what he saw years before. But Simeon has had not had it easy either. And he wants to throw in his lot with Crow. He does his best to convince Crow to fight against whatever it is that is trying to recruit him. That means going back to Illinois and trying to put together the pieces of his past. It’s a long journey with a lot of crazy stops, but with Simeon by his side, maybe, just maybe he can do it.
This is one of the most amazing stories I’ve listened to in some time. I feel pretty sure this book will be on my best of the year list. I was totally sucked in from the very first page. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but this had some Carnivale vibes as well as Groundhog Day sensibilities. Crow spends his adulthood keeping people at arm’s length to protect them as best he can. Anyone who gets to close to him – well let’s just say things don’t go well for them. This is an extremely moody and at times pretty dark story. But Simeon is the light to Crow’s darkness. I loved that the characters appearances belied their disposition. I loved the whole mystery that was slowly unraveled during their quest to find out what happened and where Crow really comes from. There are some pretty low lows, but also some fairly high highs. The descriptions and evocations of place were spectacularly done (full confession – I used to work in the Sears Tower and my town is in the middle of cornfields – Indiana, not Illinois, but you get the idea). My favorite city in the US is Portland, OR, where Crow spends time. So really this hit all my buttons as far as setting and also timeline. The 1980s were some tough times – especially for gay men. I was brought back to those dark days in some parts of this story which were really very sadly accurate. Kim Fielding has a real talent for bringing fabulous stories to life in so many genres. This is no exception. I am a huge fan and this was just a fantastic listening experience for me. I was totally absorbed in this story and couldn’t wait to get the answers and see what would happen to Crow and Simeon.
What can I say about Joel Leslie that I haven’t said before? He’s an amazingly talented performer and this book is a really example of that. The voices, the accents. The emotionally wrought moments. The hopeful playfulness of Simeon. Crow’s despair. The other worldly beings. Everything just really was pitch perfect. I was sucked in from the very first moment. It’s a long story and well worth your time. Just a spectacular marriage of author and performer. Highly recommended.
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