A dangerous game of ancient power will push the last raven to the edge of his limits in the fifth installment of this hardboiled fantasy noir series.
Lucas Rurik is used to being on the bad end of a terrible deal. He’s survived wars, seen his entire Guild murdered, and saved reality from certain doom more times than he’d care to count. But none of that has prepared him for the mess he’s currently in.
It seems his nemesis, Dr. Callie Mitchell, has tapped into the deepest magic in the Rift and destroyed an one of the oldest rift-fused beings, tasked with ensuring the balance of power in the universe. No one knows what she’ll do next, and the surviving Ancients seem too distracted by their petty squabbles to take matters into their own all-powerful hands. So it’s once again up to Lucas to poke his nose where it doesn’t belong and attempt to negotiate with beings that most definitely don’t want to be reasoned with.
The clock is ticking, and Lucas will have to tap alliances and use every trick he has up his sleeve to stop a cosmically mighty madwoman on a mission. And time isn’t the only thing working against him. The secrets he uncovers could spell the undoing of everything, both on Earth and in the Rift . . .
Steve McHugh is one of those authors where even a “just good” book is still a great book compared to most of the genre. The Riftborn series took me a little longer to fully click with than his earlier work, but it got stronger with every book, and this finale is easily my favourite of the series.
The connection for me grew gradually. The early books were solid, fun, action heavy urban fantasy with interesting ideas, but I wasn’t fully emotionally locked in yet. As the series progressed and the worldbuilding deepened, I found myself getting more and more invested, and by this book I was fully attached to both the world and the main crew. This very much feels like a series that grew into itself and then absolutely stuck the landing.
The overall story arc builds across the whole book, but the last half really delivers. Big, explosive action, huge stakes, and consequences that feel like they matter on a world level, followed by space to breathe and then a strong emotional payoff and closure for the current story. The ending leaves the world open and imperfect, but moving forward. The story is closed, the future is not, and that is exactly what I want from a series finale.
What really makes this series shine, and especially this book, is the group dynamic. This is found family built out of competent professionals who became something deeper over time. These characters are good people at heart. They ask for help. They offer help. They accept each other, flaws and all. There is emotional openness, communication, and genuine care between them. No toxic “suffer in silence” nonsense, just people who trust each other enough to be honest and vulnerable when it matters.
I also really liked how relationships are handled across the board. Romance exists, but it is never the driving force of the story. It is just part of life. Past relationships don’t automatically become drama. People can move on and still care about each other. No one is expected to wait forever if someone might not come back. The world itself feels very LGBT-normalised. Sexual orientation simply isn’t a big deal. It’s treated as a normal part of who people are, not as conflict or spectacle, and it sits naturally alongside everything else in the story.
One thing I really appreciate about these characters is their balance between softness and ruthlessness. They are kind, loyal, and deeply human with each other.
But when it comes to people who actively harm others, they do not hesitate to end that threat permanently. There is no performative moral angst, just a very clear line between protecting people and stopping villains from ever hurting anyone again.
The worldbuilding also really came together for me here. The deeper dive into the world made everything feel more grounded and real, which in turn made the characters land harder emotionally. Once the world felt fully alive, my investment in the people living in it followed naturally.
Steve McHugh delivers big, explosive action, sharp banter, and a cast you want to spend time with even when everything is falling apart around them. A Murder of Crows is a finale that closes the story without shrinking the world, balances darkness with stubborn hope, and leaves you with characters who feel strong enough to survive whatever comes next. If you want urban fantasy with heart, found family, unapologetic power, and a crew that refuses to stop fighting until things are better, this one is hard to put down and even harder to forget.
Jennie Ivins