Veronica Roth's New Fantasy Book Deserves The Divergent Treatment

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for When Among Crows.

Summary Despite its brevity, When Among Crows offers complex characters, rich lore, and a vivid setting, leaving readers hungry for more.

Veronica Roth's novella masterfully builds a fully formed fantasy world within limited pages, and there's plenty of potential for sequels or spinoffs.

The compelling dynamics between characters and the intriguing Knights of the Holy Order deserve deeper exploration in future books.

Veronica Roth's new fantasy book, When Among Crows, is finally here — and while its narrative is fairly short, there's little doubt that it deserves the Divergent treatment. When Among Crows is set in a version of Chicago that's full of dark magic. The novella pulls from Slavic folklore to tell its story, which centers a Knight tasked with killing beings like strzygi and zmory — though Dymitr teams up with those very creatures in order to track down the witch Baba Jaga. As Dymitr, Ala, and Niko embark on their journey, they uncover each other's secrets. Eventually, Dymitr's true intentions come out as well.

With its lush backdrop, fascinating take on magic, and compelling characters, When Among Crows is easily one of the most exciting fantasy books hitting shelves in 2024. Unfortunately, it's rather short. Roth's latest story is a novella, so the tale of Dymitr, Ala, and Niko unfolds in about 160 pages. This makes it a fast read to get through. However, if any of Roth's recent novels deserve the Divergent treatment, it's this one.

Related 10 Fantasy Duologies To Read If You Can't Commit To More Than Two Books Fantasy duologies including These Violent Delights, We Hunt the Flame, and Six of Crows offer brief yet complex stories to fans of fantasy literature.

Veronica Roth's New Fantasy Book Does A Lot In A Small Amount Of Space

It Successfully Introduces Complex Characters, Intriguing Lore, & A Lush Setting

Despite being limited to 162 pages, When Among Crows accomplishes a lot during its short narrative. The novella thoroughly fleshes out its three main characters, but it also builds a fantasy setting that doesn't feel like an afterthought. Roth's story conveys the complex lore of the Knights of the Holy Order, as well as the magical beings they're tasked with finding. Every place that Dymitr, Ala, and Niko visit has a well-established history. And even characters who appear briefly — from Dymitr's grandmother and sister to Baba Jaga herself — feel fully formed.

The novella thoroughly fleshes out its three main characters, but it also builds a fantasy setting that doesn't feel like an afterthought.

It's impressive that Roth successfully crafts such an extensive fantasy setting in the space of a novella. Of course, When Among Crows inevitably leaves readers wanting more from its characters and lore. While nothing in Roth's story feels unfinished, there are plenty of threads that the author could elaborate on. And while Roth has crafted many other settings since writing the Divergent books, When Among Crows' has the most potential. Its lore is too promising to drop after just one novella. In fact, Roth should really write sequels or spinoffs.

When Among Crows Deserves A More Expansive Approach Like Divergent

The World Leaves Plenty Of Room For More Books

Although When Among Crows works as a standalone, it deserves to have its world explored with the same level of depth as Roth's best-selling young adult series, Divergent. There's so much to take in while reading Roth's May 2024 fantasy book, and one can't help but hope the author will expand on the concepts introduced in this novella. The Knights of the Holy Order are intriguing villains, and Roth could easily make an entire series about this group alone. Other elements of When Among Crows that deserve more attention are Baba Jaga's character and the underworld of monsters residing in Chicago.

There's so much to take in while reading Roth's 2024 fantasy book, and one can't help but hope the author will expand on the concepts introduced in this novella

When Among Crows tells a complete story, but its world and characters still deserve more time to leave an impression on readers. Roth expands the world of Divergent in its sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant, and the author even explores the character Four in his own short story collection. There's enough lore within When Among Crows to warrant similar treatment.

How Veronica Roth Can Expand On When Among Crows & Its Fantasy World

The Author Could Pen A Sequel Or Spinoff Book

There are several ways that Roth could expand on When Among Crows' story, and the simplest path forward would be to pen a sequel. While Ala and Dymitr's agreement comes full circle at the end of the novella, there are plenty of questions about what becomes of Dymitr after his encounter with Baba Jaga. It sounds like he'll face greater threats after making a definitive choice about the Knights of the Holy Order. It also sounds like Dymitr could become something entirely new, which could be worth exploring.

Of course, a sequel to When Among Crows could feel like overkill — but there are prequels and spinoffs Roth could pursue instead. Another When Among Crows book wouldn't need to focus on the main characters of the original novella. With the Knights of the Holy Order going way back and Baba Jaga being shrouded in mystery, Roth can easily visit earlier time periods in this fantasy world. Perhaps another installment could even focus on the reason the Order was founded in the first place. When Among Crows leaves plenty on the table, and all of it warrants further exploration.