Jen Williams is another one of those authors I love to read. Her first novel, The Copper Promise was an absolute gem of a read, and everything she's written since then has just gotten better.

The novel follows several separate and disparate characters in a world not dissimilar to our own during the height of the Roman Empire. Indeed, there is an all-conquering Empire that strives to bring all other nations under its Blessed mantle, and a rebellious holdout nation called Brittletain that according to the included map. So, a fantasy alternative to Roman Europe, but not quite. And honestly, this conceit in itself made this one of my favourite reads of the year so far.

The characters themselves include an interesting mix. There's Leven, the retired Imperial super-soldier; Ynis, a human girl raised by griffins and struggling to fit in; Kaeto, an Imperial spy and assassin charged with escorting bone-crafter Gynid Tyleigh on a quest to uncover a hitherto undiscovered race of Titans; Belise, Kaeto's young, brash assistant and protégé; and Cillian, the mystical young Druin with some fringe opinions that make him unpopular amongst his colleagues. Through their eyes and individual narratives, we get to see quite a bit of the world that Williams has set up for us here, and slowly get to piece together a tale of some unnamed darkness lurking in the shadows. A darkness that, given the author's previous works, we know damned well will rise up to bite everyone in the ass.

According to ISFDB this is Williams' eighth novel to date, and of the ones I've read is, so far, her best. It carries a lot of the same tongue-in-cheek humour as her earlier works, and while it may not be quite as dark as her Winnowing Flame trilogy, it still has a murky edge to it that will occasionally send the odd shiver down your spine. Add in more than a few traces of Celtic influence, some Ghibli-esque spirits, and a nod of the head to Egyptian mythology, and you have a fine recipe for adventure.

I genuinely loved this one, and definitely can't wait for book two to come along. In the meantime, I may have to go back and reread some of the author's earlier stuff, just because.

This is absolutely superb. It's set in a version of the Roman Empire - the Imperium, with Brittletain as one country not conquered by the Imperium's blessings. Leven is a former Herald of the Imperium, an elite soldier with Titan powers grafted into her so that she remembers nothing of her former life - and yet, flashes keep coming to her, so she sets off to try to understand. Ynis is a human, raised by griffins, who becomes an Edgewalker, linking life and death. Kaeto is an Imperium spy, on a mission to seek out new Titans with the scientist who created the Heralds. Their stories weave in and out, and the common threads only become apparent as the book nears the end.

The world building is absolutely brilliant - the wild woods, the Druin, the Titans, the different kingdoms and rivalries which make up Brittletain and the history of the Imperium all come together to make a compelling story. The characters are all good, Ynis is possibly the least interesting to begin with, but strengthens as the story goes on. I loved it, and the only disadvantage is that it's the first of a series and I'll have to wait to find out what happens next.

This is a fantastic introduction to this new series by Jen Williams. The characters are all well written, the plot is compelling throughout and the world is an interesting one. I would highly recommend checking this one out. I can't wait for more in this world.

Was excited to see a new release from Jen Williams and it was up to standard. I enjoyed everything about this except the pacing. There were parts that I felt needed to be relaxed and others expanded but all in all it's a great new novel.