Scottish Myths, Fallen Orders and Cursed Swords

Rating 5/5

Imagine Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher but with a Scottish twist. That’s what to expect from Tristan Gray’s Call of The Black Wing; a six story collection following wandering Crow, Fiadh on her quest for answers and vengeance.

It was inevitable that I would end up getting a hand on this collection. By now we already know my fondness for Gaelic inspired tales. Still a thanks to Gray for selling me a copy at World Fantasy Con.

Call of The Black Wing was the standalone collection I needed to revitalise my love for old tales/myths and storytelling. Having a protagonist like Fiadh only sweetened the deal.

After reading Call of The Black Wing I can’t help but wonder whether the inspiration behind Fiadh may have come from a certain white-haired monster hunter for hire. There are some small similarities but certainly not the kind to dull expectations.

While Geralt’s profession earned him his titles, his wisdom and fame over the years, Fiadh comes off as someone whose legacy is yet to be defined. She is simply known as ‘a crow’ much like Geralt is known as ‘a witcher’. She doesn’t have titles. She’s not much of a fighter, mostly relying on her human bodyguard Angus to do the heavy work. However, she certainly possesses an ancient wisdom and mysticism readers want to unravel.  Her burden is a cursed sword, Caerdrich, with which she has struck a bargain, that becomes a tightening noose she cannot escape.  She’s a tragic hero simply looking for a means to an end but also a spark of hope that could re-establish the order she once represented.

Asides from Fiadh, I also like Gray’s choice of storytelling. As mentioned already, Call of The Black Wing is a collection of short stories and, piece by piece, they build a bigger picture. It does not divulge too much information at a time, keeping an ambiguity for both the plot and character. Each encounter, each interaction is playing a part in Fiadh’s quest and all of it accumulates to a bittersweet finale by its conclusive tale, ‘The Red Raven’. Out of the six it was the fifth story, ‘Eyes of Gold’ I felt to be the most interesting. Not only does it reference various Scottish myths/ folk tales but it also reveals important information with regards to Fiadh’s sword Caerdrich, implying that the possession of such a weapon is no blessing.

I do confess the five star rating may have been a bit generous. It is a slow read and the Scottish dialect can take time to interpret. However, if you are willing to put that aside, Call of The Black Wing will bring back a kind of nostalgia to story-telling and offer a sense of mystery that will keep you going.