The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman is an utterly harrowing, dark and heart wrenching read, interspersed with moments of absolute beauty and hope. It was my most eagerly anticipated book of 2024 and I loved every single page of it.

In terms of chronology, the story is a prequel to Buehlman's previous novel "The Blacktongue Thief." It is not essential to read the books in sequence, though the order may influence the reader's perception of each story. Stylistically, they diverge: ""The Blacktongue Thief" provides a humorous and vast adventure akin to the Odyssey, while "The Daughters' War" immerses the reader in an extended and fierce conflict more reminiscent of the Iliad.

"Daughters; War" takes place in the bleak landscape of a thirty-year battle to protect humankind from unyielding goblin hordes intent on world domination. These goblins are a particularly terrifying, savage and sly foe, and their gradual capture of human cities, giving no quarter, leads to terrible outcomes for their victims. Namely, enslavement and, eventually becoming a human meat snack. With most of the eligible men of fighting age already depleted, humanity must now train and enlist women as combat soldiers, alongside the deployment of new and experimental magical weaponry. Meet the war corvids, fierce giant ravens, trained in pairs by specialist army handlers known as Raven Knights.

The story is narrated by Galva, a central character in the Blacktongue Thief. As the privileged daughter of a duke, Galva becomes a Raven Knight at the age of twenty, joining a new army unit composed entirely of women and the war corvids. Together they set out to defend a city besieged by goblins, knowing full well that their mission is likely to be fatal. Galva's fate in the Daughters' War is clear both from her role in Blacktongue as well as her acknowledgement at the start that her survival was unintended. While knowing that outcome might lessen the suspense in some tales, it does not in this one. Galva must face deep fears, untangle complex family dynamics (her three brothers feature prominently as wizards or generals), and confront the severe collateral damage inflicted by an army upon the very citizens they aim to protect. The latter aspect can be almost as unsettling for the reader as the descriptions of havoc wreaked by the goblins at times. The experimental war corvids, with their stunning beauty and power, are both lovable and extremely dangerous, epitomizing the extreme risks humanity is willing to face for survival. Let's just say a hungry corvid off its leash is the stuff of nightmares.

In Blacktongue, Galva comes across as a badass but also a bit of a humourless enigma. Here, her personality and motivations are unveiled, revealing her as a truly complex character. Amidst the extraordinary terrors of war, she discovers strength in her newfound devotion to the goddess of death, solace in her steadfast comrades, and hope in the romantic love of a beautiful witch queen. There are quiet, kind moments showing the best of humanity throughout the chaos. As we are inevitably pulled towards what we anticipate to be the bleakest of fates for Galva's unit, it's impossible not to root for her and her birds.

Last year, I came across a tweet by author Christopher Buehlman hinting about a scene he was writing for the book, which depicted certain events in the city of Goltay. This somewhat prepared me for what awaited Galva, yet the actual narration still exceeded my expectations. It's hard to describe without giving anything away, but the story builds and builds, up to the final last quarter of the novel before unleashing absolutely insanity with sheer raw and bloody energy. When I finally turned the last page I had to go lie down on the floor and stare into space for awhile. This story has taken up a chunk of my available head space since then and I predict it will be a long time until I am fully able to put it aside. Buehlman is, in my opinion, an absolutely masterful story teller and I recommend this book to anyone with a taste for slightly darker fantasy. As Galva would say in her war cry, "Short life, bloody hands"- don't hesitate, just read this.

With sincere thanks for NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group/Gollancz for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was under sail, on my way to war. On my way to fall in love with death, and with a queen. On my way to lose all of my friends, and two of my brothers. I would see a great city fall in blood and fire, betrayed by a false god. Later, I would be commanded to die on a high stone bridge, but I would fail in this.

This opening sets up the rest of the story as Galva narrates her adventure. Her downfall.

Galva is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Braga with three brothers, all fighting in the war against the goblins. She is in an experimental regiment using raven-like birds the size of stags and is basically resigned to dying a bloody death.

This has been a hard skill to learn, the forgiving of self, and it is not always easy to know when it is good and when it is indulgent.

This was rich in world-building. Buelhman is self-aware that he lays the world-building on thick at the start but it is done creatively through different mediums so it doesn’t feel like an information dump: flashbacks, letters, observations.
Not to mention, Buelhman has a way with poetry. Normally, I find multiple verses of poetry included in a fantasy book annoying and worthless, yet I was enraptured by his words and how it added to the story.

Buelhman builds a gritty, dark world, full of the horrors, depravity, and cruelty of war.
Told from a first person point of view, Galva offers many rich observations and depth to this world and her humanity really shows.

To be loved by a man is to be issued a decree he has written in advance, and has presented to others; to receive a woman's love is to have a very personal letter written on one's body.

What I immensely enjoyed was that the goblins weren’t the traditional stupid creatures usually sent to overwhelm. They actually seem scarier, smarter, and crueler than humans.

Magic also has a price to pay for its usage, and this raises stakes and doesn’t guarantee victory so each step forward is hard-won and questionable.

The ending felt rushed, however, as this is a prequel book, I don’t feel as cheated as I might have.
I think you could totally read this without reading the Blacktongue thief. You might miss some allusions and details, but you wouldn’t miss out on any plot.

Thank you to Tor Publishing for providing an archive of in exchange for a review!