The Mob

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Preteen readers who enjoyed Ken Oppel’s Silverwing trilogy or Sharon
Stewart’s Raven Quest will be delighted by Clem Martini’s
crow-focused The Mob, the first volume in a projected animal fantasy
trilogy. Narrated by the elderly Kalum, the Chooser or leader of the
Kinaar or Crow Family, The Mob focuses on events connected to the recent
“annual spring Gathering,” when six clans numbering some 1000 crows
came together.

Divided into two parts, the story initially follows the crows’
migration along the west coast, then through the mountains to the
prairies and their Gathering Tree, a large cottonwood. Once isolated,
the tree now has human habitation encroaching on three sides, a
situation that leads to problems for the Kinaar. When Kyp, a headstrong
young crow, teases a local cat called “The Red,” his actions lead to
a crow’s death. Seeking revenge, Kyp organizes a mobbing—an attack
by some 30 crows—on the cat, but, in doing so, Kyp draws humans’
attention to the crows, a situation that leads to his being charged with
“Bringing Danger to the Flock.” Receiving “a judgement of
Eviction,” Kyp must spend six days alone away from the Gathering. This
section closes with Kyp’s finding and then entering a manmade tunnel,
the latter act another violation of “the Rules.”

In the book’s second part, a sudden spring snowstorm threatens the
family, with their survival choices limited to invoking “Cluster” or
finding another sheltered roost. Kyp returns to lead the family to the
tunnel, but one clan elects to fly to another shelter. At this point,
Martini alternates his chapters between the two locations. The Kyp-led
group finds itself attacked in the tunnel by The Red, who is reinforced
by four other cats, while the other group is eventually offered
sanctuary by humans because of the initiative of a young female crow,
Kym.

As expected in good fantasy, Martini has created an internally
consistent alternative world, that of the crows. Strong in character
development, The Mob also explores the theme of change within a society
bound by rules and customs. Highly recommended.