King of the Crows

Greetings peeps
How are you all bearing up in this Groundhog Day world we are currently living in? It's all a bit weird innit??!!


Thank God for books then eh? There's so many great new releases around at the moment, and superb deals on e-books and paperbacks, especially from indie bookshops and publishers - a veritable pick 'n' mix of literary treats and I have certainly been filling my, ahem, sack with plenty of selections over the last few weeks.


If you follow me on Twitter (and if not, why not?) 😏, and/or if you read my previous review for the excellent Slow Bear in my Double Whammy Weekend review post, then you'll be aware of my love for the awesome publishers Fahrenheit Press, and the gibbering anticipation I have had for their forthcoming blockbuster King of the Crows by Russell Day. Well, the day of release is nearly upon us, with publication due on 1st May and if you're very quick and get your pre-order in soon, like, NOW, Fahrenheit have indicated a mysterious announcement to be made which may be of benefit - no idea what it may be but look - you can go to the Fahrenheit Press site Using this link and pre-order your copy now, along with any other of their superb titles, and I'll wait for you to come back before I continue. Go.....


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So.......what can you expect from King of the Crows? Well, I and a select few other bloggers have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to read it so without further ado may I present.........



I don’t even know how to start reviewing Russell Day’s King of the Crows to be honest, and even this review took several drafts, believe it or not! I think it is fair to say that it is probably one of the most unique books I have read in terms of its style, structure and content. This is no ordinary novel; its intricate plot threads and set pieces deserve some attention so it’s not a book to read lightly. Although that might just be me, who knows!

Looking at recent entries on Twitter, there appear to be some fledgling authors seemingly trying to “cash in” on the current Covid-19 outbreak by submitting works based on current events, causing some agents to denounce them and refuse to look at them. I agree that this is wholly inappropriate and definitely not something that I think many people would want to read at this time. Taking this into consideration, I can totally understand why publishers Fahrenheit Press were in two minds whether to go ahead with the release of King of the Crows. It is after all a novel about a pandemic that hits Europe and the UK and the resulting impact this has on the global economic and political infrastructure, not to mention the social and health implications for the public.  


However, Russell Day wrote and developed King of the Crows back in 2016 which in itself is scarily prescient and uncanny; add to this he is currently working on the frontline in the NHS helping to fight Covid-19.  Whilst the timing may seem unfortunate, this is not a novel based on actual events as they currently stand, albeit there are some unnerving parallels that could be interpreted as such, like an inept U.S President and a UK Government that seemingly favours power and patting themselves on the back over helping the struggling majority in a time of crisis. To that extent, it does reflect a somewhat damning indictment of the world we are currently living in. But I agree that Fahrenheit Press made the right decision to release it, after delaying it for some time. Whilst comparisons could be made, King of the Crows is an utterly absorbing and addictive read, and outrageously funny in parts as well. To that end, I think it’s exactly the right time to lose yourself within its pages.

King of the Crows reads like a masterclass in creative writing, in that Russell presents the story using a range of assorted styles and perspectives across an eight-year timespan yet still manages to maintain a tight storyline filled with chilling imagery, darkly black humour and scarily accurate portrayals of modern society in the grip of madness. Incorporating passages from main character Colin Robertson’s memoir; pages from the big budget Hollywood screenplay of his life (hilariously highlighting the skewed “artistic licence” for portraying accuracy that such films have); internet forum chatrooms; chapters from academic research and papers, as well as army records, a police procedural investigation, interviews, eye witness accounts and the third person perspective of the main story narrative itself, King of the Crows is a huge literary jigsaw puzzle with every piece slotting together to form a stylish and compelling novel of chaos and corruption. Oh……and zombies!

Yes, zombies for want of another word. Although these guys aren’t the lumbering, flesh eating, walking dead we’ve all come to know and love throughout the movies. If the virus doesn’t kill its victims, it continues to cause brain lesions resulting in their increasingly psychotic behaviour, leading to random acts of violence and a developing horde mentality that Robertson and his “band of merry men” must contend with, whilst plotting the mother of all heists against the backdrop of a ruined London financial sector. Yes, despite the apparent apocalyptic demise of Europe as we know it, the lure of being rich is still enough to risk life and limb it seems.

The tagline for King of the Crows is “Ocean’s Eleven meets 28 Days Later” and that’s a pretty fair summary. But for me, add elements of The Dirty Dozen, World War Z, The Walking Dead and even The Italian Job and The Long Good Friday into the mix and this gives you an idea of what awaits you within the pages of this glorious novel. It’s a superb mix of action, horror, social commentary and pure escapism, albeit terrifyingly realised against the world as we currently know it.

Do yourselves a favour, scroll back to the top of the review, click on the link and pre-order your copy now. If you haven't already guessed it, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Huge thanks to Fahrenheit Press for the opportunity to read it and I can clarify that there was no obligation to write a review - I just wanted to!

As always, thanks to you all for reading.