I've liked Jen Williams previous works, and Talonsister lives up to the promise they showed. This is a fantastically strong fantasy read set in a dark fantasy version of Britain - full of folklore and an earthy grimness that Williams utilises to maximum effect. Bloody great

I think this book is the first one ever I give a half star rating to, and it's 3.5 ⭐

I've read and truly loved The Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams and I think that's why my expectations got really high. The Winnowing Flame was very unique, and has grabbed my attention from the very beginning.

That's, unfortunately, not what has happened here.
I'm very torn on this book, because when I recollect isolated scenes or relations, I know I've loved them, but I'm heartbroken that this feeling did not encompass the whole book. I think my issue was a slow pacing in the beginning, as well as the problem to connect to the characters. I'm mostly a character reader and I've truly loved just one character here, and it was a kid, which is honestly not my usual thing. 😅 Because of that, a cool worldbuilding, politics and some very interesting lore unfortunately fell flat at times, as I wasn't immersed enough.

I think I'll try the next book in the series, and this one was okay, but I was hoping for an absolutely fantastic story from the author again, and this one just didn't click with me that well, even though in theory I should have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for providing me an access to the e-arc.

A Soaring Fantasy Adventure with Depth and Heart

Jen Williams‚ Talonsister is an exciting and fascinating trip into a world where magic, mystery, and complicated characters combine to create a captivating story of identity, power, and survival. This story expertly blends fast-paced action and deep emotional resonance, making it an engaging read for epic fantasy lovers like me.

Talonsister ♦ Jen Williams
Opinion
The story revolves around three primary characters, each with their own unique voice and narrative arc. Leven, a former Herald and magical warrior, is probably the most intriguing of the three. Her battle with forgotten memories and search for identity in a world that has abandoned her after using her as a weapon is moving and realistic. Williams does a wonderful job of depicting Leven’s shattered psyche, dragging the reader into her uncertainty and desperation as she begins to see bizarre dreams of Brittletain, the mythical island steeped in magic and violence.

Leven’s path of self-discovery is paralleled by the experiences of Envoy Kaeto and Ynis, each of whom contributes a distinct perspective and stake to the story. Kaeto, a seasoned Imperium operative, offers a tough and morally complex worldview. His assignment to accompany Gynid Tyleigh, the bone-crafter responsible for generating Heralds such as Leven, adds layers of political intrigue and ethical quandaries to the plot. Kaeto’s rising concerns about Tyleigh’s goals, notably her discovery of a new source of Titan bones, foreshadow a future conflict with disastrous results.

Ynis, the wild girl raised by griffins, brings a more primal and magical perspective to the story. Her relationship with her talon-sister, T’rook, is one of the novel’s most wonderfully described scenes. The way Williams conveys Brittletain’s untamed energy and the strong bond between Ynis and the griffins is both enchanting and heartbreaking. Ynis‚ journey, as her past begins to catch up with her, is fraught with tension and wonder, making her chapters among the most compelling in the novel.

The world-building in Talonsister is rich and imaginative, with the island of Brittletain serving as a character in its own right. Williams creates a vivid image of this ancient and frightening world, complete with warring queens, untamed magic, and mysteries hidden deep beneath the ground. The place is brought to life through beautiful descriptions and a sense of history, adding dimension to the plot.

The novel has one minor flaw: the many perspectives and intricate plot lines can feel overpowering at times. The pacing occasionally pauses to accommodate the weight of world-building or the characters‘ internal problems. However, these times are few and far between, and the general narrative is powerful enough so it kept me me engaged.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Talonsister is a compelling and entertaining fantasy story that delves into themes of identity, loyalty, and the costs of power. Jen Williams has written a story that is filled with inventiveness and emotional depth, making it a must-read for fans of the genre. Despite some minor pacing flaws, the book’s engaging characters, sophisticated plot, and well drawn universe make it an excellent addition to any fantasy fan’s library.

This is exceeded all my expectations. I loved the Winnowing Flame trilogy so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this.

The World Jen Williams has created felt so unique filled with Griffins, Heralds - human weapons created by a seemingly insane queen, Druins who connect with the Wild wood and an unlikely found family.

‘A hundreds loyal men and women, their memories erased and their dedication to the Imperium absolute. Their bodies are inscribed with the power of the Titans, and none will stand in their way.’

From the very beginning I was absolutely hooked. A screaming baby found by two Griffin’s who debate eating it and instead take them back to their nest. Ynis a human raised by Griffin’s with a fierce loyalty to her Griffin family.

Leven, a retired Herald goes in search of her past and finds herself embroiled in the politics of a country that hates her kind. Given a druin envoy who can think of nothing worse than being separated from his beloved wild wood to take a monster on a tour leads to a very unlikely partnership when a stowaway Princess joins them.

Meanwhile Gwynid Tyleigh, the original creator of the Herald’s continues her experiments and hunt for more power. If there was ever a twisted evil, she is that!

I loved this book and only mentioned a fraction of it. Featherless egg will remain my new favourite insult. All the stars.

I was unable to finish this book, I thought it had a strong start, but I never quite became engaged in the proceedings.

I really enjoyed Talonsister. Although there are a couple of things that I didn't like so much about the book, that's pretty common because it's very hard to have an absolutely perfect book and when they do come along, they are just a joy to behold. This one was actually pretty close though. I had so much fun reading it and there was such a great world, even if I was initially a bit put off by the world map.

There are two maps, one, a wider view which is clearly influenced by the outline of Europe, and then a closer view of the island of Brittletain, which is clearly Great Britain. In this second map in particular, some of the place names are clearly taken from Britain past or present, with Londus, Kornwullis, Mersia, etc.

This is only quite a small thing though, because it's very easy to forget about it. I'm someone who loves a fantasy map but I don't actually tend to refer back to them too much when I'm actually reading the book, so being based on a real world in terms of the physical geography is something that I can quickly get past. Here, if it wasn't for a couple of the names, I would have forgotten about it completely while reading.

Outside of that though, the worldbuilding is something I really did enjoy. In one storyline you have Ynis, a 16-year-old girl who was found by griffins as a baby and taken in by them. She has a Talonsister (which is where the title comes in) as her new griffin family already had a hatching, T’rook, who becomes sister to Ynis even though they are obviously very, very different.

So here you see a lot of the griffin culture and society. They can converse, as the griffins do speak the what you might call the common tongue, and as these two ‘sisters’ set out on a journey of discovery, it helps to build some of the lore of this world.

The second part of the story features the Heralds, or one particular Herald, called Leven. The Heralds are essentially super soldiers who have Titan ore grafted onto them which grants them incredible powers. They can go harder and faster and for longer than a normal human without tiring, and they're very difficult to defeat one-on-one. They do also have some additional abilities as well, including wings and a sword that can appear that are both made out of energy.

All of this makes them the perfect shock troops for the Imperium as they try to expand their empire. These Heralds do only have a shelf life of eight years and then they are cast off and released from the army. The reason for this is the Titan bones that grant them these powers do remember their original form, and after about eight years they start to very painfully disintegrate, essentially rendering these Heralds useless.

Leven sets out on a journey herself because she has been having memories, or a vision, that leads her to Brittletain, where the Griffins live. I really liked the worldbuilding around the Heralds, and you do learn a lot more about this as the book moves on.

The third part of the story features the envoy Kaeto, who works for the Imperium. He's the empress’s blade in the dark, doing various tasks for the Imperium in the shadows. You then have the bone crafter Gynid Tyleigh. She's the one who is responsible for grafting this Titan ore onto the bodies of the Heralds, and she has learned of a new source of Titan bones that she needs to get her hands on so that she can create more Heralds.

Kaeto's job on the one hand is to serve as a guide to Gynid, and on the other hand to keep her in check. In this storyline in particular, you learn about the different types of Titans, only two of which are known to still be alive—griffins being one of those. Other Titans of the past include wyverns, kraken, unicorns, and firebirds.

I also thought the characters were all pretty good. They all had what I thought to be a good story and also, when it came up, a pretty good backstory as well. I like how they interacted with each other and I thought that it made for some very easy reading character arcs.

I loved the story itself—the three different elements all tied together quite nicely but also moved along well on their own. I really liked some of the little twists and turns at the end that brought some of these storylines together and I'm really looking forward to exploring those further in the second book in this duology.

There was one thing that was maybe a little bit obvious at the start of the book, but then when I was thinking about it, the timeline really didn't line up, so I was pleased with how that was resolved towards the end of the book. This turned out to be probably the biggest reveal of the story and I really enjoyed seeing both the way that it was revealed but also just what the actual reveal was. I thought it was masterfully done and really helped with overall enjoyment of the story.

An alternate European setting with a strong feel of 2000AD and Warhammer FRP. The book covered 3 storylines: that of the eponymous eponymous Talonsister, a child raised by griffins in the equivalent of Scotland, a former Imperial supersoldier sent to one of the last independent areas (the equivalent to Wales and England), and an Imperial assassin and his protegee escorting an alchemist to investigate a forbidden ruin.

The 3 storylines are linked; the Empire's conquests are powered by titan bones: griffins and the great bear in the England equivalent are the last remaining titans, and the Empire is running out of titanbone to create their supersoldiers.

I quite liked the story, although I thought perhaps the 3 linked stories in one book might have been a bit too much. The ending seemed a bit abrupt too - I presume the story will be continued.

OK - I'll probably read any sequel when it comes out.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

i never finished this as i lost interest about a quarterway into this. Might pick it up and give it another try in the future, because it does sound very interesting.

Leven’s past is shrouded in mystery. She spend her youth as one of the terrifying elite soldiers called Heralds, but has no memory of her life before joining the group. When the war finishes and her services are no longer needed, strange visions start that guide her to Brittletain— a wild island that resisted the Imperium...
Ynis was found in the wild as a baby by a pair of griffins, who decided to raise her with their daughter T’Rook. When she retaliates with violence to other griffin’s bullying, she is exiled to the edges of the griffin territory...
Envoy Kaeto has fulfilled several shadowy assignments for the Imperium. In the newest one, he is to escort Gynid Tyleigh, an alchemist and bone-crafter, in her search for materials that would allow her to create warriors stronger even than the Heralds...

Talonsister is an exciting fantasy novel full of action, adventure and all kinds of mythical creatures. The world-building is detailed and highly original. There are creatures and solutions in this novel I never read about. The plot consists of three apparently separate stories that do not intertwine until the last chapters, which is interesting but also confusing. I think I would enjoy this story more if there were more hints as to how the stories connect throughout the novel.

I've been really lucky with already established and beloved authors whose work I haven't read before lately, because their most recent work just totally blows me away and makes me want to pick up their previous novels immediately. Jen Williams' "Talonsister" is no exception. This was such a delightful reading experience, and I cannot wait to read more in this series.

"Talonsister" is set in a magical world clearly inspired by Olden European Times, with its central country of Brittletain as a fantasy version of ancient Britain. Brittletain is one of the few remaining "Unblessed" countries, meaning they have not been conquered by the mighty Imperium with the help of their magical super soldiers, the Heralds - regular people infused with the magic of Titans that allows them to grow wings and summon powerful weapons. One of these Heralds is also one of our protagonists, Leven (or Blessed Eleven). After her time as a soldier is done, she keeps having strange visions and dreams about her life before she was turned into a Herald, a life she can't remember but that somehow ties her to Brittletain.
On her journey she meets another protagonist, the druin Cillian, who feels like the mysterious Wild Wood that spans most of Brittletain is about to change for the worse, and the princess Epona who is probably the love of my life.
To the north of Brittletain, some of the last known living titans - the Griffins - are trying their best to stay far away from humans or else at least eat them. When two of them adopt a lost little human child and raise her as her own, things change and our third protagonist, Ynis, has to fight for her right to be among griffins.
Our last protagonist is Kaeto, an imperial envoy, assassin and spy, who travels with his assistant Belise and the very woman who once created the terrifying Heralds to another Unblessed country in search of new Titan bones.

These are a lot of protagonists to follow, all with their own point of view chapters, though Leven and Cillian often share theirs. All of them are on a journey in different parts of the world, with different goals that at first don't seem aligned at all. But I still found that I loved following all of them with great interest, though somehow I didn't enjoy Ynis' part of the story quite as much as the other two parts (weird, because I mean, griffins!!). The pacing is more on the slower side, but I felt this actually worked great for this story and I love a good slow-burn when done right. How these differents paths collide is fascinating and intriguing and makes me cry thinking just how long I probably have to wait to read the sequel, because I NEED to know what will happen after that incredible final hook.

The writing, the plotting, the world-building, the atmosphere especially in the Woods, the characters - all of it is just masterfully crafted. I cannot recommend this book enough, it's amazing and so worth your time. Easy 5 stars.

Incredible would building in this book I couldn't help but want to get lost in it and explore every nook and crany

I cannot wait to read more

This was such a fantastic read for me! I’m a huge fan of any fantasy book and this one hit perfectly! It’s a first time reading from this author too and it did not disappoint.
The world building was just amazing in this book and truly made me see what was happening and being described.
The book had what I felt was a good steady pace for me, not fast but not really slow either.
This book is told from multiple pov which gives us multiple different views of the world and perspectives too.
I found the characters to be well developed and had a good depth too them.


I really need book 2 now please! This one ended on such a cliffhanger which I love and hate at the same time!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

ARC provided by the publisher—Titan Books—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Talonsister is a slow-burn low-stakes novel that rewards its reader with an explosive high-stakes ending.

It is not an easy task to review Talonsister. I have been a fan of The Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams for roughly four years now. It can be gratifying to recommend The Winnowing Flame trilogy to other fantasy readers. When I hear readers start reading The Winnowing Flame trilogy, or any fantasy series, because of my review and recommendations, it satisfies me if they love the recommended series. It is a pleasure of mine, why I continue reviewing, and I’m even mentioned in the acknowledgment of Talonsister for doing that. And I am incredibly thankful for this badge of honor. The Poison Song, the final book in The Winnowing Flame trilogy, was released in 2019. And for the past four years, seeing new readers flock to the trilogy has undoubtedly been a joy. But yes, four years! It has been four years since The Winnowing Flame was concluded, and Talonsister marked the first time Jen Williams returned to the fantasy scene since then. This was easily one of my most anticipated books of the year. And with such high expectations, I am both happy and sad to say there were a few aspects where Talonsister did and did not meet my high expectations.

“A hundred loyal men and women, their memories erased and their dedication to the Imperium absolute. Their bodies are inscribed with the power of the Titans, and none will stand in their way.”


If you want to know the premise of Talonsister, I recommend you to check out the official blurb on Goodreads or Amazon. It did a great job explaining the premise without giving any spoilers away. Now, from me, if you’re going to read Talonsister, my advice is this: prepare for a slow-burn narration with exploration as the sole driving strength in the first 65% of the book. Talonsister takes place in a world inspired by Britain. From the map and the names of the locations, this is obvious. And we get to follow four main POV characters throughout the novel. But here’s the thing. Their storyline, all four POV characters, initially revolves around a single mission. These missions, although different from one another, are basically getting from one place to the destination. And within, the first 300 pages were full of slow-burn relationship development, explorations, world-building, and exploration. This is usually okay to do. I have read and loved many novels that utilize this minimal plotting while focusing on characterizations and developments. But the first 65%, more or less 300 pages of the book, barely have conflicts. And when they existed, they were too low-stakes to immerse me. And yes, that is how long it took before the story turned exciting and engaging for me. It was a slog reading through the first half of Talonsister, something I did not expect from Jen Williams's fantasy novel.

‘Convinced he is special, that one. Ynis, beware of those who are convinced of their own specialness– it usually means they can’t see further than their own beaks.’


Thankfully, Talonsister was not thoroughly disappointing. It could be that if we read only the first half. If you persevere to the end and have read The Winnowing Flame trilogy, you will know Jen Williams is not a storyteller who wastes all the build-up to the world-building and character work. Unique world-building and great characters are some of Jen Williams’ forte as a fantasy writer, and as I said, we follow the perspective of four main characters in Talonsister. Ynis is an orphaned human kid raised by Griffins. Leven, a powerful Herald with a mission to go to Brittletain to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of her fellow Herald and the reoccurring strange visions she keeps seeing that tell her to go to Brittletain. Then, a druin named Cillian is assigned to be Leven's tour guide in Brittletain. Finally, there is Kaeto, an Envoy of the Imperium in charge of accompanying the bone-crafter, Gynid Tyleigh, across the Imperium in search of new Titan bones. Although it is true the low stakes and the slow burn did not make me feel invested in the main characters in the first half of the novel, my opinion and feelings have shifted in the final 35%.

‘Sadness and pain are nothing to be ashamed of. They are important parts of our lives, the darker twin to love and joy. Without them, without all these things, we are incomplete.


By the end, as it turns out, I did care about the friendship between Leven, Cillian, and Epona. More than I thought I would! The same goes for Ynis. I found it difficult to feel interested in Kaeto’s storyline for most of the book because his story felt so disjointed compared to the rest. It was not until the end, after a big revelation and convergence, that I finally ended up enjoying Kaeto’s storyline and his affection for Belise. Jen Williams left the best of the series in the final 35%, and although there were times when I almost DNFed the book, I am glad I strived to the end. The last third of Talonsister is Jen Williams at her best. I cannot deny I do wish I felt invested in the story and characters much earlier in the story, just like I did with The Ninth Rain. But I still got what I wanted from Talonsister, even if it was later than expected.

“Brittletain is built on the bones of giants, it is said, and a great skull is buried underneath the kingdom of Galabroc. Beneath the keep there are echoing tunnels of bone, and dark spirits walk there, thinking only of the lost ages of ice. As bright and bustling as Galabroc is, as sturdy and as forthright its people, it is a melancholy place, and such mood seeps into the earth and stones. The ghosts are so old that no one knew their names even in my time. I do not like to go to Galabroc.”



In other words, to put it simply, your patience with Talonsister will be rewarded. If you are in the mood for reading a slow-burn narrative about a found family in an intricate world reminiscent of Princess Mononoke, then you cannot go wrong reading Talonsister. After that ending, I certainly look forward to reading the conclusion of Talon Duology as soon as possible. Hopefully, there will be a detailed summary of what has happened in this book by the time the sequel and final book of the duology is out. Once again, thank you so much to Jen Williams for including me in the acknowledgment of Talonsister. Even though I did not enjoy this as much as The Winnowing Flame trilogy, I still will undoubtedly recommend Talonsister to the correct readers.

“I’d also like to send huge dollops of gratitude to Petrik Leo, Elliot Brooks and The Broken Binding, who together brought a whole new audience to the Winnowing Flame trilogy. Publishing can be a hard business, often crushing entire authors underfoot, so it’s incredibly uplifting to witness the power of people who just love books and reading and want to share their passion. Bravo!”


You can order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

BEAUTIFUL, IMMEDIATELY on my fave list! I cannot wait to read more from Jen Williams! The world building was extremely impressive and made the whole story a hit for me!

Leven has no memory of her life before she was a soldier. The process of turning her into a Herald – a magical killing machine – was traumatic enough that it wiped her mind clean. Now, with the war won and the Imperium satisfied, she finds herself unemployed and facing a bleak future. Her fellow Heralds are disappearing, and her own mind seems to be coming apart at the seams. Strange visions, memories she shouldn’t have, are resurfacing, and none of them make any sense. They show her Brittletain, the ancient and mysterious island that the Imperium was never able to tame. Leven resolves to go to this place of magic and warring queens, with the hope of finding who she really is.

Envoy Kaeto has done a number of important little jobs for the Imperium, most of them nasty, all of them in the shadows. His newest assignment is to escort the bone-crafter Gynid Tyleigh as she travels across the Imperium – as the woman responsible for creating the Heralds, his employers owe her a great deal. But Tyleigh’s ambition alarms even Kaeto, and her conviction that she has found a new source of Titan bones, buried deep in the earth, could lead to another, even bloodier war.

Ynis was raised by the griffins, and has never seen another human face. She lives wild, as they do, eating her meat raw and flying with her talon-sister, T’rook. The griffins fiercely protect their isolation – the piles of skulls that litter the mountains of Brittletain are testament to that – but the magic they guard will always make them a target for the greed of men. By choosing not to kill Ynis when she was just a baby, the griffins may have doomed themselves – because the girl’s past is coming for her, and it carries a lethal blade.

I’ve been looking forward to Jen Williams’ latest novel, eagerly waiting as it crept higher and higher to the top of my review pile. Talonsister is the author’s return to the fantasy genre and I come to you bearing the best of news, it is an absolute gem.

Leven is a retired super soldier, lost without an army to be part of or a war to fight. Cillian is a mystical druin far too interested in the wildest of magics, and Epona is a princess of Londus, thirsty for adventure. This trio couldn’t be more different from one another but circumstance brings them together on a journey that will define the shape of a nation.

Elsewhere, a shady Imperium agent, Envoy Kaeto, is tasked with helping to unlock the secrets of the Titans. These once mighty races have dwindled away to all but nothing. The thing is, Titan bones are imbued with magic containing the rarest of elements. In order for her gleeful plans of world domination to continue, the Empress of the Star Imperium demands these resources must be found and that Kaeto is the man to do it.

Gosh, I haven’t even mentioned the griffins yet, have I? These magnificent beasts aren’t greatly impressed with humanity. In fact, it’s probably fair to say they look down on us with a certain amount of disgust. They have an almost regal aloofness when it comes to us mere mortals. The fact that Ynis, a human child, has grown up amongst them is a bit of a miracle. She longs to be accepted, to be the equal of her adoptive family but it’s clear deep down there is also a longing to understand where she comes from.

Each character fits neatly into their various roles and they are established so well they feel like old friends almost immediately. With so many strong contenders there is, no doubt, going to be lots of debate about who the best character is. Once the dust has settled and we’ve all agreed it’s Kaeto’s protege, Belise, then we’ll be able to move on. Who knew a gleefully snarky attitude and natural inquisitiveness are the perfect attributes for a trainee troublemaker.

Williams skillfully weaves together these characters and their respective narratives to create a first-rate tale.

As an aside, I was convinced the plot was going to go in a particular direction and I was entirely wrong. I’m always pleased when that happens. I love when authors throw me an unexpected curveball like that.

If the characters in Talonsister are great (they are) then the world-building is sublime (it is). That extra effort given to even the smallest details really does pay dividends. There is such a perfectly captured sense of history and magic. It’s an impressive feat, Brittletain feels both oddly familiar and yet completely otherworldly in the same breath.

The various clans of Brittletain just about manage to maintain an easy peace between one another. It helps having a shared enemy in the form of the Imperium. Times, however, they are a changing. From Londus, where Broudicca holds court to the secretive sea-faring souls of Kornwullis and onwards to Galobroc conspiracies abound.

I’ve enjoyed all of Jen Williams’ novels, but this is hands down my favourite. It just clicked with me at a fundamental level. I think it might have something to do with the Druin. A photo of me was recently described as having something called Big Druid Energy* so it’s hardly a surprise I’m drawn to their symbiotic relationship with nature and all that other good hippy-trippy stuff.

Talonsister is published by Titan Books and is available from 12th September. Highly recommended. There had better be a bloomin’ sequel in the works and it had better be soon! I can guarantee that no one wants to have a ludicrously bearded, grumpy Scottish idiot on their hands.

After much pondering, my musical recommendation to accompany Talonsister is the soundtrack to The Last Guardian by Takeshi Furukawa. It all seems suitably griffinish** in tone. The album has a perfect balance of exciting, anthemic action and quieter more delicate moments. It was the ideal fit to me. If you are looking for something with more of a druin vibe then Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull is a more than acceptable alternate.

*No, I’m not sure what that means either.

**My spellchecker informs me griffinish is not a word. I beg to differ!

I read other books by this author and it was a hit/miss. This one was a hit as it feature the most exciting and original world building I read in years.
A well plotted, exciting, and highly entertaining story that kept me reading and turning pages.
I loved the griffin, the more intriguing characters in this story.
The plot is action packed, fast paced and full of surprises.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I went into this book blind really as I’ve never read any Jen Williams before. BUT I have heard about her work and I am expecting her other series Winnowing Flame to be a favourite - just like this one.

Ynis, a wild girl with the spirit and mind of a Griffin. Raised by these titans, the only human ever to live with Griffins, she fiercely protects her family and her identity.

Kaeto. A shadowy hand in the dark. “Fixing” problems for the Empire and the Emperor when they arise, before she even knows of them. Belise, a street urchin grown. A shadow in her own right. The found family between these two is just amazing

Leven has Titan bones in her skin, created to be a super warrior she has no idea who she is outside of war, and she needs to find out

The Empire has mown through the known world. “Blessing” the lands with the blood of its people. It brings order and straight roads, and subservience to the Emperor. Brittleain has always shaken off any hold. The south ruled by a fierce warrior queen, the north by the Griffins themselves. The Wild Wood spans between, and ancient place full of forgotten times and powerful spirits that walk the earth. The Druin are the only ones able to safely walk it’s pathways

I loved every single pov in this book. Every single one. They all showed a different side to the world we are showed. The freedom of the snowy peaks, the turmoil of wild politics of Brittleain. The sinister control of the empire. The continent around. The magic, the creatures, just everything.

I feel woefully inadequate trying to describe how awesome this book is okay. All that’s in my head is slightly incoherent screeching about how amazing it is… so please read it ? It’s perfect high/epic fantasy

Talonsister by Jen Williams is a deep rich fantasy of epic proportions, we follow three different groups of people as they travel throughout this world filled with Titans. I truly wanted to savour this fantasy because of the brilliant cast of characters, the mysteries sprinkled throughout and the unexpected betrayals that left me gasping. There’s also a very unexpected romance subplot that added another beautiful layer to this epic tale. The cliffhanger has left me yearning for book two!!

Wow this book is good! JW has built such a rich and textured world filled with magic and politics and a fairly shocking revelation at the end. The multiple narratives added extra layers to the story as everything gradually pieced together. I'm excited for book two!

One of the joys of fantasy is the way it can play with myth and history. There are so many interesting periods where the two get blurred as any debate on King Arthur usually goes. What I find fascinating is when authors take ideas from myth and evolve then. More than a simple refresh but a new approach that creates something really interesting. Jen Williams has achieved just that in their new epic fantasy novel Talonsister that creates new version of the ancient world and adds it to William’s now traditional blend of great characters, inventive plotting and delicious adventure.

The Star Imperium is rightly respected and feared across the world as it absorbs (some would say conquers) it’s blessed new outposts. A key part to that are the Heralds an elite group of fighting soldiers who use ancient magic to give them immense strength, weaponry and the ability to fly. Leven though after eight years has come to the end of their tour of duty. The warrior is now wondering what to do next when she gets a strange vision of a place that she does not recognise but she knows she is seeing in her vision a Griffin. Who now only live in one part of the world – the mysterious and dangerous isle of Brittletain.

In the Imperium the Empress seeks more power and strength to keep it going. Her best alchemist/technician the eccentric Tyleigh believes that there is a new source of the infamous Titan bone that fuels the Heralds – in a far-off place even the locals fear entering known as The Black City. The Empress assigns her Envoy Kaeto. A man just as skilled with spying and gaining knowledge as he is with blades and poison. He and his eternally cheeky assistant Belise head with Tyleigh into the unknown.

Meanwhile in Brittletain a young rebellious Druin named Cillian, who is learning the magical ways of the Wild Wood is summoned by one of it’s ancient guardians and told he must accompany a Herald called Leven around the various Queens of the Isles and is warned danger is coming. In the far North though in the mysterious Kingdom of the Griffins where humans are not welcome (and often eaten) the young human foundling Ynnis who two Griffins mercifully saved as a babe is finding she is never accepted as a true Griffin and she is banished but finds another hidden part of Griffin life is calling to her.

What strikes me about this first half of the Talon Duology is how wide this world is and how many characters and plots are being followed. We are very used to fantasy leading quickly to the ‘quest team’ being formed early on and adventures ensue. What I liked here is largely we have three core plotlines and only towards the end do the characters start to cross paths; but we see in advance of that the many links between the stories emerge organically. Williams gives each of the characters a tone and a small supporting cast that could very easily have been one of two books themselves. The confidence Williams has in letting these develop and breathe is a sign of a skilled fantasy author who knows how to keep our attentions even as we jump around the world and dangles cliffhangers we want to return to.

Williams is always very good with playing with the archetypes we find in fantasy and seeking new dimensions to them. With Leven we get an initially standard fierce and bolshy warrior but rather than being the one to take charge of events, by plunging Leven into Brittletain where she knows little of the culture, politics or magic she is soon more the vulnerable fish out of water getting into constant trouble and starting to perhaps regret her military past. Leven is charming but we are aware she has been following orders and done terrible things – yet totally wins us over. In Kaeto we get with his initial appearance as a sinister all-knowing spy for an Empire and yet he is in own way honourable, funny and particularly with his chirpy assistance Belise (how can anyone not like a well-armed intelligent spy who calls her boss ‘Chief’ all the time) are a double act that we first admire and then really pull for as they move from an all powerful Empire into a world of thieves, intelligent and dangerous Beetles, mysterious cities and just possibly lost gods. Their plotline moves into all sorts of interesting directions that will drive the main story with the impatient and science focused Tyleigh endlessly wanting to know more about the world regardless of what is in the way.

At the more magical end of the spectrum are Cillian. Rather than the traditional meditative chilled magicians linked to nature we often get he is impatient, anti-social and just wants his tour of Brittletain to end tomorrow so he can go back to the forest. Mixing him up with Leven makes a dynamic double act that allows for conflict and a gradual understanding of each other develops that keeps the story well balanced while the most unusual strand is Ynnis who rather than our traditional teenage rebel we have seen so often (and initially appears to follow that path) turns into a much more unusual direction of exploring the spiritual and magical elements of the world.

The worldbuilding choices here are a highpoint. Williams has taken familiar elements in particular of British mythology and as this is a secondary world with its own history gone riot with them. For example, the concept of the Wild Wood is not unusual in fantasy and is based on the ancient large forests of pre-Norman times but here Williams fills it with all sorts of magical creatures and intriguingly hidden dimensions and areas where the dead can be spoken to and ancient spirits and guardians hide. It’s a mix of the old and the new and with Cillian we have the concept of almost portal like travelling across the ancient land and each part of the forest has its own wonders and dangers. I loved seeing how this part of the tale evolved.

For Ynnis’ plotline Williams gives us another highlight – the Griffins. This is not a race ell known or used in fantasy, so Williams gets free reign to create a unique non-human race. They live apart from humans; have their own bonds (Ynnis has two stepfathers) and initially appear more interested in hunting and violence but Ynnis finds the other half of the culture focused on a mysterious area known as the Bone Fell - the graveyard of the Griffins and that has a lot of unusual surprises in store for the reader and open up a more mystical element to the book as Ynnis starts to find her story is entwined with the bigger cast. The Griffin scenes are always fascinating; and you want to know more of them.

Finally there is the overall linking concept of Titans and this time not in Godzilla form but the idea that all the magical races from Unicorns to Giant Bears were once real but have for various reasons died out and left their heavy metallic like bones hidden in the earth. Bones that if used correctly have magical properties. Ones that drive the Imperium and those seeking more power. The biology and history of this world is a common theme in all the plotlines and we starts to see as it reaches a dramatic conclusion what struggles on it are to come. The overall tone here is more sombre than in some other Williams trilogies as the stakes for the characters are high and yet in this part of the tale often very personal rather than simply stopping the ‘End of the World’. It’s the kind of fantasy world you’ll very happily get pulled in full of new things to find.

From warring monarchs, ambitious proto-scientists and giant monsters there are a host of things going on in this tale all at once, but Williams skilfully uses this mix to create a beautiful fantasy symphony of a book. Full of wonder, adventure, characters to love and some to intensely dislike. It is never boring; feels a wonderful blend of the old and new fantasy traditions and further cements Jen Williams as one of the UK’s most interesting fantasy authors around. Strongly recommended!