The Raven King

The Raven King is the fourth and final novel in the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. The book follows a group of friends as they try to find the Welsh King Glendower. The kids have magical abilities and are guided by the forest Cabeswater, which is alive and sentient and speaks to the kids in Latin. During the final book in the series, the kids awaken a demon that has the power to “unmake” the world, and they find that their precious Cabeswater is dying from a horrible infestation.

The main characters in the series are Blue Sargent, Richard Gansey III, Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch, and Noah Czerny. Gansey is the de-facto leader of the group, a boy who has made it his quest to find King Glendower, whom he believes saved him seven years before from a nearly fatal bee sting. As he continues on his mission, others have joined him: Blue and her psychic family; Ronan with his ability to remove things from his own dreams; Adam, who has sacrificed his free will to Cabeswater; Noah, who, sacrificed by his Latin professor, remains alive only through the power of magical ley lines; Blue, who can amplify psychic and supernatural forces.

In The Raven King, the kids have found themselves on the last leg of the hunt for Glendower. The world seems to be crumbling around them, as dreams and nightmares converge and their quest becomes increasingly complex. Gansey, knowing that he will die if he doesn't find Glendower, also feels obligated to solve some of the other, significant problems that are plaguing the group. The most prominent of these problems is the discovery of black ooze emerging from a tree in Cabeswater. Increasingly, black goo appears until the group is forced to accept the fact that Cabeswater is under attack, and their beloved, timeless forest is dying.



Cabeswater dying poses a problem for all the characters in some ways, but for some characters much more significantly. Adam has given his free will to Cabeswater, essentially sacrificing himself to fix the powerful ley lines and maintain the forest's power. With the forest dying, Adam is also under attack, slowly losing parts of himself and his ability to survive.

A number of romances also blossom during the final book, many of which were in the works in earlier volumes. The first is the relationship between Blue and Gansey. Blue has always known she loves Gansey but has also had a strong sense that someday she would cause his death. Struggling with the knowledge of his own death, too, Gansey refuses to open himself up to a relationship for fear of it distracting him from his quest. Nevertheless, during this book, Gansey is forced to accept a truth he has always known: he loves Blue and wants to pursue a relationship with her.

Ronan and Adam are also in a relationship in this book. The two of them struggle with their romance, especially as Adam fights the infestation in Cabeswater, and Ronan tries to control his powerful dreams. They offer each other support and compassion, strengthening each other through this hard time.



Ultimately, the crux of the book is the discovery of the sleeping King Glendower; fighting a demon called the third sleeper who has the power to unmake the world; and finding a cure for Cabeswater. However, the characters suffer for their bravery, and the quest comes at a great cost.

Maggie Stiefvater was born Heidi Hummel in Virginia in 1981. The author of young adult fantasy and horror novels, she is best known for her series: The Raven Cycle and The Wolves of Mercy Falls. She has also edited and contributed to a number of young adult anthologies dealing with supernatural beings and written a few standalone novels. Steifvater produces soundtracks to accompany each of her books in conjunction with her sister, and is known for her visual art. She received a Printz Award for her book The Scorpio Races, and is a New York Times Bestselling author.