Of course when a new fantasy book by Jen Williams is announced, I jump right aboard. And it is one again a big hitter.

Talonsister has a unique world that seems to be based on old Great Britain with various queens throughout the realm called Brittletain. But also on the roman empire with the Imperium that would love to conquer Brittletain as it is called. But that is not the only reason Brittletain is unique. They have the last known Titans still alive on their grounds. Griffins and the great Bear. The griffons are hightly feared but rarely leave their terratories. The great bear is only still seen by the Druin that he has created to take care of the woods. But once there were many more Titans that roamed the earth. Their bones are a treasure and can give unknown strength and power.

We first meet people from the Imperium (prologue not withstanding). A soldier who has been genetically enhanced and a spy. Then we meet a young girl who is being raised by griffins and a Druin. These are the four that we will get to follow.

I fell for this world instantly. The idea of titans. Most dead, some still alive. This imperium that has created enhanced soldiers through the bones of a titan but they lose all their memories of their lives before. It creates a very interesting mystery and dynamic.

Of course Ynis was one I would instantly like. Such a fierce girl, raised by griffons. Than there was Kaeto, our imperium spy. No matter how much he is on the wrong side, there is something about him that just made me instantly like him. He's accepted his path in life, yet he takes on an orphan of the street as his assistant. Yet she quickly becomes his everything. It is so clear from the start.

I took a little longer to take to Cillian, our Druin and Leven, our warrior. But in the end, the way Jen Williams writes characters always gets to me. She builds them up, breaks them down and always manages to make me care for every one of them.

As for the set up of this story, a little over the first half is set up. We needed to get to know what was going on in this world and especially in Brittletain, before any real plots and mysteries could be diverged. But once that plot takes off, boy does it take off.

I am pleased to tell you, that yes, we do actually get answers to questions we have in this book. Instead of throwing things over multiple books, we get answers in this book of some important things to our characters. And of course, there is still a lot left to be discovered. But it did feel fulfulling to get some answers already.

While this book currently doesn't seem to have a series title, this is meant to be a duology as of right now.

It’s strange. Talonsister should have been something that I loved but there was something that just didn’t quite click for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book but I never felt completely invested in the story or the characters.

Maybe it’s because I was reading it off the back of a couple of rather disappointing fantasy books or maybe it’s because I’m unfairly comparing it to The Winnowing Flame trilogy, which I recently reread but it just didn’t hit the spot for me.

I really did like the setting, in a mystical Britain-like world before the Romans came and conquered. There’s also all the things that I have come to love about Williams’ fantasy work: mystical creatures, lots of magic and also bugs. Ok, maybe I’m not a fan of the bugs. I’ve had a things about swarms of bugs ever since I saw the 1999 Mummy film at the cinema as a teenager. They freak me out.

The characters are fine but I just didn’t warm to them. It felt like it took a little too long for the plot to get to where it was going and, as much as we spent time getting to know all the main characters, I didn’t feel any real connection to any of them until the very end of the book. For the first three quarters, I thought Leven, Kaeto and Ynis, as well as their companions, to be just all right. After immediately falling in love with all the characters in Winnowing Flame, it was a little disappointing.

Maybe when I reread this book when the second book is released I will have changed my mind about it. Maybe my head will be in a better reading space and I will find something about it that I didn’t this time round which will make me enjoy this book but for now, all I can say is that it is just an ok book. I can understand why people will like it and, who knows, maybe one day I will be that person but for now, it’s just an average book.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2023/09/11/talonsister-by-jen-williams/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Epic and Impressive, Fantastic Fantasy

Talonsister is just an absolute delight to read. It’s the type of story that originally hooked me to the genre in the first place and it literally made me anxious to get back to the characters and their plights every time life took over and forced me to temporarily stop reading (which happened a lot more than I wanted during the past week). Okay, so this is definitely epic in every sense of the word. This is a book with a number of characters and a lot of ground covered, it takes a little time to get into but it was such a pleasure to read, the characters were flawed and the setting was so magical that I swear that mysterious forces kept me reading late into the night.

Here we follow a number of characters.

Blessed Eleven (or Leven as she is predominantly known). A herald of the Imperium, imbued with magic that gives her strength and speed and the ability to fly. Heralds have been ‘tattooed’, if you will, with the crushed up bones of dead titans making them into a formidable force. Unfortunately, the procedure causes the person to lose their former memories and eventually Leven finds herself taking a journey of self discovery, leaving the Imperium behind to look into her past and find out more about the only known titans that still survive.

Ynis is a girl, found in the forbidden lands of the griffins as a baby, she is raised as part of their clan although as a human she obviously never truly fits in, although her family and sister love her very much. Eventually Ynis is banished from her home following an argument with a couple of young griffins and her sister joins her in the search for a new home. A search that eventually brings the two to a strange place populated by Griffins known as Edgewalkers – those who help others to pass comfortably over to the land of the dead.

Cillian is a Druin who walks the paths of the Wildwood. He is still in training but his elders, fearing he is maybe getting a little ahead of himself, give him a task that they believe will keep him in check a little. Ahh, the best laid plans.

Finally, Kaeto. An envoy of the Imperium (also, let’s be honest a ruthless assassin who takes whatever action is needed to complete the tasks he is saddled with). Kaeto and his assistant are about to accompany an ambitious, aka totally ruthless and without any feelings for others, alchemist.

The setting is inspired. Think of Britannia during the rise of the Roman empire (known here as Brittleton). The country here comes alive with myth, legend and history. Griffins live in the North. The Wildwoods are traversed by use of complex and magical interconnecting paths using Druins as guides. Pixies roam causing mischief. There is even an abandoned city that people fear to visit. It’s all so wonderfully magical whilst at the same time taking a particular period in history and giving it a few fantastic embellishments that feel almost like a reflection of the fears and superstitions that people from the period believed.

The writing is really good, Williams excels at writing people who are flawed and hoping for second chances. She is really good with dialogue and has a great knack for inserting conversations that really help to lighten the mood and prevent the story from becoming too dark. I love this aspect of her writing.

All told I really enjoyed Talonsister – my only issue, the insufferable wait for book No.2

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Talonsister is a slow book. There is a lot of plots at work here but I loved the mystery. Who is Yins and how did she come to be raised by Griffins? And Leven why can't she remember her past?

I loved all of these characters. Yinis was the storyline I struggled with most more because the other storylines were more interesting than Yins was boring. but Williams knows how to tie things together.

Trust in the author. Things were slow but it all has a point and came together in the best way.

The world was fascinating. Williams took a lot of inspiration from Britan and she doesn't hide it, but with queens and Griffins, a wild seniant forest, druins and Titans it made for a world I loved to explore. Also queernormative:

The characters were what drew me to this story. Keato I loved. His relationship with Belise almost broke my heart.
I did find the romance a little rushed however.

The ending. Everything beforehand was written to the ending and it made the slow book worth it. Questions were answered and characters coming together. I almost cried.

a lot of things were set in place for future books and I cannot wait to read them

Having loved The Winnowing Flame trilogy, I couldn’t wait to try this new title from Jen Williams. Once more the author shows her skill in creating a believable and engaging world, one clearly inspired by the Roman Empire and old Britain, but also one with sentient griffins, mysterious woods, and intriguing magic. In this setting, she focuses on a handful of flawed characters, each with their own agenda and journey, as well as an Empire bent on spreading itself, always hungry for more power and control, one that uses religion as well as war to achieve it. The result is a little slow at first, Williams taking her time to lay her pawns, but it all does come together satisfyingly. Can’t wait now to see how this duology develops and ends.

My thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reading Copy of Talonsister.

Jen Williams writes some of the best fantasy going at the moment, and a new series from her is something to be celebrated. This is up to her usual standards, with some intriguing world building, likeable characters, snappy dialogue and disparate plot strands that promise to weave together in interesting and unforeseen ways. I have one tiny complaint though. It's a bugbear of mine when authors fictionalise real places and only change the spelling very slightly, and this book is guilty of it - Kornwullis for Cornwall, Londus for London etc. I HATE IT. Just think of a new name! Nobody complains that Guy Gavriel Kay's books aren't set in Spane or Itallya! That misstep aside, this is a lot of fun, and I'll be looking out for the next one.

THIS WAS AH-MAH-ZING!!! Firstly I have to thank Titan Books for letting me have this arc, Jen Williams is one of my favourite authors and I won’t lie, getting the email was one of the best things that has happened to me this year!

This book goes into the list of best reads of 2024, how can it not!? JW has taken the history of the isle of Great Britain and an amalgamation of the Roman Empire’s invasion of Europe and used this as inspiration to world build an intriguing deep, brilliant and absorbing fantasy backdrop.

JW takes us on a journey across this world, building in four separate points of views to take us from the north of Brittletain and its griffins, the last titans of the world, to the far east and a malevolent evil that lies beneath the streets of an abandoned city. This is also a story of finding yourself, finding yourself as a Druin walking the Wild Wood, finding yourself as the human among the griffins, finding yourself as an envoy of the imperium and your own family, and finding yourself after being a soldier (and your memory being only 8 years old) and realising that you were a conqueror not a herald.

The cliffhanger of this book is both frustrating because I need book 2 and brilliantly paced to stop where it was.

This is not a fast paced book by any means, instead you have a well crafted world build with a cast of characters who are fully rounded with flaws and strengths and the final third of the book will have your feverishly turning pages wanting more.

It’s always an exciting event when one of your favourite authors releases a new epic fantasy book and I was so pleased to receive the ARC for Talonsister. This is a brilliant fantasy set in a world that looks very similar to Europe at the height of the Roman Empire.
The Empire has conquered all of the neighbouring lands (or brought them under its blessed rule) apart from the islands of Brittletain which remains unconquered. The empire won’t give up though as Brittletain is the last place where the Titans survive. Titan remains can be used to create superhuman warriors known as heralds and they are the key to the empire’s success so getting hold of more remains is important.

I absolutely loved the world building in this novel. We travel from the farthest North of Brittletain, home to the Griffins, last of the titan races, to the heart of the Empire and then east to unknown lands. Each of the different lands comes alive for the reader. It's quite a slow paced novel but I really enjoyed being immersed into the different settings and story lines. Although, sometimes it seems as though not much is happening, no scene in this book is wasted.
The four POVs give us very different views of this world.
Ynis is a human child who was discovered by Griffins and brought up by them (definite Jungle Book echoes here). She discovers that she has gifts that traditionally have only been given to griffins and is able to walk the edge between life and death.
Leven is one of the elite imperial heralds who has been given the powers of the titans. However she is getting mysterious flashbacks of her previous life and travels to Brittletain to see if she can discover what she was before being transformed. She is accompanied by Cillian, a druin who doesn’t always want to follow the rules of his order.
The fourth POV is that of Keato, an imperial spy/assassin whose current job is to accompany a cold hearted alchemist, deep into unconquered lands to try and discover more titan remains.
I loved all of the different story lines although Keato’s stood out as it was set in a completely different part of the empire and I really enjoyed how his character was gradually revealed during the novel.

The novel ends on a cliffhanger which I normally dislike intensely but this definitely felt like the right end point. I just hope that we don’t have to wait too long until the duology is completed.
Huge thanks to Titan Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a tough time getting into this one. It's clearly imaginative and clever, inclusive as well. The story is centred aroynd the Luminous Empire (kind of like Ancient Rome) and an unconquered vaguely magical Celtic Briton and Ireland. There are four view points - Leven, a herald - which is a soldier who gives up their memories and former life in order to be imbued with Titan ore which gives them the power of flight and great strength and speed. Cillian (if you pronounce that the correct Irish way it's Kill-ee-on) who is a warden of the Brittleton wildwood. Kaeto - an emissary for the Luminous Empress. And Ynis and orphan girl brough up by griffins.

Sounds really promising, right? And it is but it takes way too long to get going. Part of the issue is that the chapters are short so you've barely met one character before you're on to the next. While this might work for some readers, it means it takes longer to really get to know a character and bond with them. As is always a risk in multi pov stories, there was one pov that just didn't interest me. Which was compounded by the fact that there is no obvious main plot fir a long time. Instead there are four plots that are interelated but you won't find out how until much later in the book.

So overall, I enjoyed it and I liked the world building, but there were times when the way the book was put together got in the way for me. It's a bit like Samantha Shannon's A Day of Fallen Night but unlike that multi pov multi plot tome, this didn't haveva central conflict as a guiding thread. At least not at the beginning.

Overall though if you want fantasy with a different slant you can't go far wrong here.

Mythical creatures battling against ruthless religious overlords? SIGN ME UP! This was an absolute thrill ride from start to finish - bring on Book 2!

Very mixed feelings

I am a massive fan of the Winnowing Flame trilogy, and I was incredibly excited to read Williams’s next epic fantasy work. So, did it live up to the hype?

Let me start by saying that in typical Jen Williams fashion, Talonsister has some of the strangest and most unique world-building I have ever come across. This world is clearly inspired by Great Britain, with a map that almost resembles the United Kingdom. Moreover, the world is called Brittletain, and the capital is called Londus; we have a place named Kornwullis, and the people are ‘Britons’. Williams is not trying to hide where the inspiration came from. However, this world does differ from our world in a lot of ways. This world has intelligent griffins, mysterious and haunted woods, weird magic, spirits and a fantasy race tasked with maintaining the forests. I must also mention that I am a huge fan of fantasy worlds with ‘mysterious’ locations that people never go to for various reasons, and this world has several of those places. It is also refreshing to read a fantasy that takes place primarily in the woods. There is no doubt that Williams succeeds in creating a lush, weird and unique fantasy world, so if you are looking for something different, pick up Talonsister.

While I loved the world-building in this book, I did have some issues that ultimately hindered me from loving this book. Firstly, there are a couple of scenes where our characters escape from life-threatening situations, and unfortunately, most of these were resolved in quite convenient ways, leading to the stakes not feeling as high. Secondly, this book is very slow-paced. I don’t mind a good slow burn, but the plot doesn’t really start going until page around 300, and even then, I still wasn’t fully invested in the story. The slow pacing led me to not really care about this story’s climax, which is unfortunate since there are some significant reveals at the end. Williams has set up a lot of exciting things for book 2, but only time will tell if I will pick up book 2. I hope Williams will consider adding a recap for Talonsister in book two since I am confident that I will probably forget some elements of this story when the next book is published.

So, what are my concluding thoughts? I loved many aspects of this story, and I will always recommend Jen Williams’ books to my followers since she has an incredible imagination and unique takes on world-building. Unfortunately, while the mysterious woods and griffins were terrific, I never truly felt invested in this story, leading to a mixed experience.

3 / 5

Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Talonsister" by Jen Williams is an electrifying fusion of intricate magic, forgotten pasts, and formidable creatures. Williams unfurls a realm where the weight of history intertwines with personal quests for identity, with Leven's haunting journey to Brittletain taking center stage. Envoy Kaeto's shadowy missions and Ynis's primal bond with the griffins add layers of intrigue and tension, painting a canvas of complex alliances and age-old secrets. Williams' gift for blending visceral action with emotional resonance shines brilliantly. "Talonsister" is a testament to the depths and wonders of high fantasy, establishing Williams once again as a maestro of the genre.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I really enjoyed this one, with a good mixture of characters, world building and plot. We follow three very different stories, and while initially it was difficult to see any connections between the three (and the pacing of the first third or so was a little slow which is I think my only minor niggle) but the way these start to weave together in the last few chapters was absolutely brilliant. I am really looking forward to the next instalment of this duology!

I am so confused about why Talonsister isn’t working for me, because everything about it is objectively amazing??? We have a human girl raised by a pair of gay griffins, we have an ancient-Ireland analogue ruled by a Boudicca-esque queen, an empire called the Starlight Imperium (I completely understand that some readers might find that kind of trite or whatever, but I adore star-things in fantasy), and warriors who can FLY and are in practical terms unstoppable because they have the bones of magical creatures fused to them!

And it’s not like there’s a problem with the prose; Williams is a great writer, whose books I’ve massively enjoyed before.

So why am I dnf-ing it???

Talonsister is like a pleasant walk; while I’m reading it, it’s perfectly nice, but every time I put the book down, I have no interest in picking it up again. Despite the well-crafted world, great characters, and various plots and mysteries that by any objective measure ought to be genuinely tantalising…there’s nothing drawing me on, nothing that hooks behind my breastbone and DEMANDS I see how it all ends. It feels weirdly…forgettable? I read dozens of books at the same time, reading a few chapters here, jump to another book and read another few chapters, and so on, and when I jump from Talonsister, I forget it exists until I happen to see the cover on my ereader screen while looking for something else.

This is very puzzling, but with an enormous pile of books I do feel the need to get through, I can’t justify pushing on with it when I simply don’t care about it. I fully intend to come back and give it another try later, though – maybe when the sequel comes out, I can try rereading this to prepare for it. Hopefully it’ll hook me then!

Having heard so much about The Winnowing Flame series by Jen Williams and hanging it stare accusingly at me from my shelves, of course I did the best thing and requested the arc for Talonsister. Why read and complete a whole series when I can just start a new one?!?

Anyway, on to my review. Talonsister is an epic fantasy set in a world reminiscent of Briton during the era of the Roman Empire. The Imperium is in so many ways similar, conquering Europe to bring it into its ‘Blessed’ kingdom. And yes, I did pronounce blessed as a two syllable word whenever I read it. The one country that has escaped the domination of the Imperium is Brittletain, a country of multiple regions and Queens divided by the Wildwoods that strike fear in the heart of the hardiest traveller, especially if they try to traverse them without a woodland Druid guide.

As I’m sure you can tell, I am a huge admirer of the world-building that Williams delivers, developing a huge encompassing world with roots in history, myth and fable - think a well balanced mix of Celtic, Ghibli-esque, Egyptian and possibly Mayan god-like. Williams doesn’t limit herself to just the basics of myth, she expands this world to incorporate a kingdom of Griffins and other Gad like creatures, known as Titans. She creates a historical and political environment that spawns eras of war, death, and destruction that lead to the story of Leven, Ynis, Cillian, Epona, Kaeto, Belise, and the dreadful bone-crafter Gynid Tyleigh.

This chapter in their story is told from multiple POVs, providing a variety of lenses and perspectives on events, politics and history that serve to strengthen and expand this world to immense proportions, and an ever growing sense of tension and darkness as the plot unfolds.

Williams carries along this narrative with a fabulous tone and seriously tongue in cheek, often dry sense of humour that lightens the tone, deftly handled to lighten the darkest of moments but, not deflecting from the intensity and at times poignancy of the plot. She deftly manipulates tropes, and varying myths and magic to create a world that is intriguing and simultaneously spine chilling. Talonsister totally captured me and Jen Williams has captured a new admirer. Can I have book 2 now please? I need to see where this adventure goes next!

A unique fantasy by a great new voice. This was my first read by this author and I loved our story and main characters as I was completely enthralled by the world building and the immersive lore learning I adored this and cannot wait for more. I look forward to reading more as Jen Williams can definitely write a fabulous story.

The Winnowing Flame trilogy is one of my favourite ever series so I have been looking forward to this for some time and it absolutely not disappoint

This a great piece of story telling following a wonderful but complex cast of characters. It's quite rare to find a book where you are equally invested and excited to follow all POVs, they're all unique in terms of their personalities, backgrounds and current goals and they're all shrouded in their own mysteries and motives that makes it hard to not feel a connection with them

The world is interesting and immersive. There's unique environments and fantastical beings which are encountered along the way adding to the excitement of the story. Learning about the lore of the Titans and the Griffins was interesting, little bits of information was slowly revealed and it never felt like a history lesson but instead left me craving for more

There's twists, turns, emotional moments, self discovery, ancient magic and some political intrigue in this well paced adventure. The ending was executed well with some revelations but not too many leaving me intrigued for the next book in this duology. This was really was such a fun read and I flew through it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for a free ARC of "Talonsister" by Jen Williams.

This is a highly imaginative Fantasy adventure that follows the intertwined fates of a human girl raised by griffins, a former soldier and an envoy to the empire's alchemist.
We also get to see from the point of view of a member of the misterious Druins.
Their nature based magic and ability to comunicate with the forest souls was my favorite experince, reminescent of "Princess Mononoke".
I loved how Jen Williams created such a vivid and trully magical worldbuilding with the help of British folclore and some Egiptian inspired ellements.
This is a story about identity, embracing the responsability towards nature, found family and the ties that bound us.
"Talonsister" has the best use of folclor and magic, great emotional tension between its diverse cast of characters, and an atmosphere to captivate any reader's imagination.

Talonsister by Jen Williams 5⭐️

I love Jen's books and this confirms she is one if not THE all time favorite author for me!
If you look for an epic fantasy series with magical beasts pick up any of her series.
If you think Jen's mythical war beasts in The Winnowing Flame trilogy were fantastic, you are not ready for this book where one of our main character is raised by griffins and taught their sacred way of Edgewalking.

In Jen's new world there is the Imperium (her version of the Roman Empire) and Brittletain un unconquered land with magical titans, wilde woods, and Druids.
One of our main characters Leven served the Imperium as one of its magical supreme soldiers: a Herald. She has been genetically modified, infused with Titan bones to have these extra powerful abilities including golden wings. However, the magic only lasts so long and Leven is now retired from her duties planning to visit Brittletain to try to find out more about her past.

Please pick up this book if you love fantasy steeped in folklore, magical creatures, evil power hungry scientist, and magical woods!
The only negative point I have is that Vintage is not in there, but these new set of characters will hook you too!

3.5. Pretty solid book but it had some pacing issues for me. I enjoyed the characters and plot and it's made me want to read Williams' other books.