What is The Sign of the Raven about?
Sixteen year old Ashlyn Threadneedle is a bicycle messenger (no.32 – C class) for the Lords of Parliament. She is also soon to become part of a secret society with the emblem of a raven. Members of this society dream, but know they are in a dream while doing it. This brings all sorts of imaginative possibilities whilst ‘asleep’.
There are powerful forces (members of government) who want to have this ability, and will go to nefarious means to achieve and control it for their own benefit. Ashlyn and her friends, old and new, must stop them.
Not only so the common man isn’t treated even worse by society, but to finally try and find Ashlyn’s mum who vanished into the dreamscape (Stream) when Ashlyn was very young.
Plot summary of The Sign of the Raven (No Spoilers)
When Ashlyn sees a strange contraption unwrapped from one of her messenger deliveries, she is intrigued. It makes a sound that seems very familiar, and Ashlyn risks much trouble in trying to find out why. Getting caught in the halls of Parliament, far from where her duties would allow her is frightening, but her best friend Dimitri comes to her rescue.
He has another name – as he pens articles against the government in one of London’s newspapers. He knows the halls well and Ashlyn is grateful for his help. Her work is long, hard, and poorly paid, but she is behind in her rent and needs to keep her messenger job. Still, the sound from the contraption plagues her.
She is pleased to be able to escape life through her dreams. The more she dreams and realises she has some sort of control, the more she learns about it. Learning that there are a whole group of people travelling in ‘The Stream’, when asleep, and they are part of an old London secret society, is thrilling for Ashlyn. Especially the possibility of finding her own mother.
This is harder than imagined however as her skills aren’t up to the task just yet. Powerful men are also planning something terrible, and are becoming a scary part of her dreams. Propaganda is rife on the London streets, in and out of her dreams and Ashlyn’s discoveries too terrible to believe.
Can she go up against the Lords of Parliament, or even the President himself?
Review
I’m not usually a fan of dreamscape stories, but the world building in The Sign of the Raven is so richly written, it was so easy to plunge myself into the narrative. This is for both the tough reality of speculative Victorian London streets, and into the world of the author’s imagination and wonder in a dreamscape called The Stream.
Ashlyn is a curious, independent, loyal and feisty character, increasingly aware of a villainous plot in her beloved city. The actions she takes to try and save it are thrilling and held me to the page and the heartbreaking, incredible ending.
Something really different, with sumptuous storytelling and language.
Book Style
352 pages
FAQ’s
What age is it for?
13+
Where & When is it set?
A speculative Victorian London called The New British Republic
What is the Point of View / Tense of the novel?
Is there Violence?
Yes – Capture by Beefeater Police
Is there Sex in this novel?
No
What genre is The Sign of the Raven?
Speculative Fantasy Young Adult Fiction
Themes
Historical / Fantasy / Dreamscape / Friendship / Love
Is it part of a series?
No
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Author
Pippa Dunn
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley
(2026, Dorling Kindersley, Historical, Fantasy, Love, Friendship, Grief, Victorian London, Speculative Fiction, Loyalty, Courage, Parliament, Propaganda, Mystery, Action, Tower of London, Beefeaters, President)