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hoffmann_fanatic's review
4.0
Oh man, I loved this book. The most indulgent, wacky, world with all the magic and fantasy races you could ever want. Lots of cool, fun characters running around all sorts of weird places with just enough horror elements to get your heart racing. Griffins, druids, princesses, and surgically enhanced super-soldiers.
Jen Williams should be an A-list fantasy author. She just writes excellent, excellent fantasy books. The creativity of the worldbuilding is unmatched, the plot twists are all there, the scope is epic, and the writing and characters are pretty damn snappy and good.
But why 4 stars out of 5? Well, it's really a 9/10, rounded down. My issue with this book, and with all the Jen Williams books I've read so far, is just that it's so well put together. Everything is worked out, everything makes sense, it's bulletproof. I want something in a Williams novel to not make sense. Even though the twist at the end was still good, I don't want to see it coming and be able to figure it out in chapter 5. I want to be shocked and awed and horrified and for whatever reason I always just feel like everything is under control and is going to be all right.
That said, it's still a 9/10. Read this! And please, US publishers, sign this to a deal now!
Jen Williams should be an A-list fantasy author. She just writes excellent, excellent fantasy books. The creativity of the worldbuilding is unmatched, the plot twists are all there, the scope is epic, and the writing and characters are pretty damn snappy and good.
But why 4 stars out of 5? Well, it's really a 9/10, rounded down. My issue with this book, and with all the Jen Williams books I've read so far, is just that it's so well put together. Everything is worked out, everything makes sense, it's bulletproof. I want something in a Williams novel to not make sense. Even though the twist at the end was still good, I don't want to see it coming and be able to figure it out in chapter 5. I want to be shocked and awed and horrified and for whatever reason I always just feel like everything is under control and is going to be all right.
That said, it's still a 9/10. Read this! And please, US publishers, sign this to a deal now!
ampersandread22's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katiesbookmarks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
laelyn's review
5.0
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.
many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!
"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.
many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!
astaps's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
curatedchoas_books's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mynameisinigomontoya's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
courtneysbooks's review
4.0
#1 Jen William’s fan right here. This was a wild ride, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. It is very different from The Winnowing Flame trilogy but an exciting and captivating read!
If you like Princess Mononoke, a slow-burn, low-stakes fantasy, you’ll likely enjoy this one!
If you like Princess Mononoke, a slow-burn, low-stakes fantasy, you’ll likely enjoy this one!
tashasbookishcorner's review against another edition
4.75
Worldbuilding - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Characters - 4.5/5
Plot - 5/5
This had me GRIPPED.
I love a fantasy book with mysteries to uncover and this had plenty. What is Leven's past she can't remember? What happened to Ynis as a baby that she was left alone in the snow to be discovered by griffins? What is in the Black City? Will Cillian realize being told to talk to people wasn't actually meant as a punishment?
The connecting threads between the stories is the Titans, near extinct giant creatures at least some of whom are capable of magic. Titans is a classification rather than a species, most of them have become extinct and as far as anyone knows the only ones left are in the island of Brittletain, the Griffins and the last Great Bear. Ynis is raised by griffins, Cillian is granted powers by the Great Bear as a member of the Druin Order, Leven is granted magical powers by the Titan Ore (made from Titan bones) grafted to her skin, and Kaeto is helping the imperial bone crafter in her search for a new source of Titan bones. Kaeto's storyline feels quite separate from the others, which all take place in Brittletain, and I did wonder what the connection was but oh boy the end sure answered that question.
I liked all four POV's, the characters all felt very distinct from one another and they were all three dimensional. Both Leven and Kaeto have done terrible things in the service of the imperium and I would classify them as morally grey. The main difference is that Leven doesn't remember anything but being a herald and part of her storyline is realising the imperial propaganda she's been fed is a load of rubbish.
Kaeto knows what the imperium is like but thinks siding with them is the only way to survive. His storyline is more about whether it's worth it and the father daughter bond he has with his young assistant Belise (who's like the artful dodger but female and more stab happy).
Ynis deals with fitting in and finding a place to belong, being a human surrounded by Griffin's, and the realtionship between her and her adopted griffin sister T'rook is one of the best in the book.
Cillian's storyline mostly follows Leven's, and the group dynamic between him, Leven and Princess Epona was my favourite in the book. He learns to open up to people, I think he'll probably get more attention and development in the next book (I mean he got it in this but I felt it was laying the groundwork for more in the next book). My only real complaint about the book, the reason I knocked a .25 off, is that I felt the relationship between him and Leven felt really rushed. I would have liked it better if they kept it more as they were attracted to each other and growing closer in this book and then had the relationship start properly in the next book.
The worldbuilding was awesome. It definitely borrows from ancient Rome and Britain, and is upfront about it, but adds in some original ideas. The Wild Wood was really cool, full of interesting creatures, space and time can be a bit trippy there and generally having great weird vibes. The Druin are the only ones who can navigate the way through by opening up paths and they also have some general earth manipulation abilities. Think Poison Ivy but with horns and without all the murder. The Griffins have their own culture, we particularly get a lot on their death rituals and grieving process. I can't think of many fantasy books that give mythological creatures their own culture so I really appreciated that.
Overall, a great book, well developed, interesting world building, three dimensional characters and just generally really cool. Would totally recommend.
Writing - 5/5
Characters - 4.5/5
Plot - 5/5
This had me GRIPPED.
I love a fantasy book with mysteries to uncover and this had plenty. What is Leven's past she can't remember? What happened to Ynis as a baby that she was left alone in the snow to be discovered by griffins? What is in the Black City? Will Cillian realize being told to talk to people wasn't actually meant as a punishment?
The connecting threads between the stories is the Titans, near extinct giant creatures at least some of whom are capable of magic. Titans is a classification rather than a species, most of them have become extinct and as far as anyone knows the only ones left are in the island of Brittletain, the Griffins and the last Great Bear. Ynis is raised by griffins, Cillian is granted powers by the Great Bear as a member of the Druin Order, Leven is granted magical powers by the Titan Ore (made from Titan bones) grafted to her skin, and Kaeto is helping the imperial bone crafter in her search for a new source of Titan bones. Kaeto's storyline feels quite separate from the others, which all take place in Brittletain, and I did wonder what the connection was but oh boy the end sure answered that question.
I liked all four POV's, the characters all felt very distinct from one another and they were all three dimensional. Both Leven and Kaeto have done terrible things in the service of the imperium and I would classify them as morally grey. The main difference is that Leven doesn't remember anything but being a herald and part of her storyline is realising the imperial propaganda she's been fed is a load of rubbish.
Kaeto knows what the imperium is like but thinks siding with them is the only way to survive. His storyline is more about whether it's worth it and the father daughter bond he has with his young assistant Belise (who's like the artful dodger but female and more stab happy).
Ynis deals with fitting in and finding a place to belong, being a human surrounded by Griffin's, and the realtionship between her and her adopted griffin sister T'rook is one of the best in the book.
Cillian's storyline mostly follows Leven's, and the group dynamic between him, Leven and Princess Epona was my favourite in the book. He learns to open up to people, I think he'll probably get more attention and development in the next book (I mean he got it in this but I felt it was laying the groundwork for more in the next book). My only real complaint about the book, the reason I knocked a .25 off, is that I felt the relationship between him and Leven felt really rushed. I would have liked it better if they kept it more as they were attracted to each other and growing closer in this book and then had the relationship start properly in the next book.
The worldbuilding was awesome. It definitely borrows from ancient Rome and Britain, and is upfront about it, but adds in some original ideas. The Wild Wood was really cool, full of interesting creatures, space and time can be a bit trippy there and generally having great weird vibes. The Druin are the only ones who can navigate the way through by opening up paths and they also have some general earth manipulation abilities. Think Poison Ivy but with horns and without all the murder. The Griffins have their own culture, we particularly get a lot on their death rituals and grieving process. I can't think of many fantasy books that give mythological creatures their own culture so I really appreciated that.
Overall, a great book, well developed, interesting world building, three dimensional characters and just generally really cool. Would totally recommend.