Palaces of the Crow

In Ray Nayler's speculative novel of the recent past, four young teens caught between Nazis and the Red Army survive winter in the woods with the help of a flock of highly intelligent crows with a magnificent secret of their own to protect.

Neriya, a young Jewish girl who dreams of becoming a biologist, has befriended a local flock of crows in her shtetl. Czeslaw is an underage Polish soldier who deserts the Red Army and runs into the freezing Lithuanian woods. Kezia is a Roma horse trader whose family is on the run from Soviet collectivization. As the German blitzkrieg crashes across the border in June 1941, all three are caught up in the onslaught. Along with Innokentiy, an abandoned boy who cannot speak, they are driven into the primeval forest, where they survive by forming an unbreakable bond with one another--and with Neriya's intelligent crows, who for years have been bringing her intricate gifts suggesting they are no ordinary corvids.

As the war goes on, the crows warn the children of danger and help them hide from the human threats of the forest--not only the Germans but also Russian deserters, Polish partisans, fascist Lithuanian police, and the other bandits and outcasts wandering the benighted landscape.

From the Ray Bradbury Prize and Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist, and Hugo and Locus Award winner, Ray Nayler, Palaces of the Crow blends history and haunting speculative wonder into a story of survival, loyalty and the fragile beauty of life in the darkest of times.

Author: Ray Nayler
Publisher: MCD
Published: 05/19/2026
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9780374620752


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/02/2026
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2026
Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 65

About the Author
Born in Quebec and raised in California, Ray Nayler lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Kosovo. A Russian speaker, he has also learned Turkmen, Albanian, Azerbaijani, and Vietnamese. Nayler is a Foreign Service Officer. He previously worked in international educational development, and he served in the Peace Corps in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. In Vietnam he was the Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. He also served as the international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is currently Diplomatic Fellow and Visiting Scholar at the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at the George Washington University.