Talonsister
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Titan Books Ltd
Published:12th Sep '23
£16.99
Available for immediate dispatch.
Uncover a magical past that refuses to be forgotten in a world of mythical creatures and ruthless religion in this brand-new duology from the multi-award winning author of The Ninth Rain, perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Andrea Stewart. 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.
"An intricate and compelling new tale from one of the great original voices of fantasy. Full of fascinating ideas, engaging characters and magic." Adrian Tchaikovsky "This is an author going from strength to strength. An unforgettable magical fable from Britain's Queen of fantasy." Fantasy Hive "Talonsister is wonderfully rich and inventive, it takes familiar things and places to make them new and interesting and the tone is perfectly balanced. I hugely enjoyed it." Mike Brooks, author of The God-King Chronicles "One of my favourite books of the year so far, Talonsister shows Jen Williams at the peak of her powers. An enthralling tale split across a cast of complex and fascinating characters, each flawed yet loveable in their own way... I cannot wait for the second part." David Wragg, author of The Articles of Faith "Talonsister has all the hallmarks of a Jen Williams novel: a fast pace, humour, slick and sure worldbuilding, but most importantly it's driven by characters you immediately adore. . . I was utterly charmed by the world and people of Talonsister and I am certain you will be too." Lucy Holland, bestselling author of Sistersong "Dizzyingly inventive and packed with mythologies familiar and strange, Talonsister is Jen Williams at her storytelling best." Anna Stephens, author of the Godblind trilogy "Talonsister sweeps readers into a fantasy world both delightfully familiar and brilliantly unexpected, brimming with griffins and broken warriors and forests filled with uncanny beasts. Williams knows her craft, and her confidence and ingenuity shines through every twist and turn." H.M. Long, author of Hall of Smoke "I thoroughly enjoyed Talonsister. It's perfectly balanced between whimsical and gritty, with characters so skillfully drawn you even have sympathy for the villains (well, most of them). A superb piece of fantasy storytelling by a writer at her peak." James Oswald, author of The Ballad of Sir Benfro "Like all the best fantasy Talonsister goes for the heart. Relatable characters in strange situations, a rich world painted with a wry sense of humour, and more cool creatures than you can shake a stick at." Peter Newman, award-wining author of The Vagrant
ISBN: 9781803364353
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
560 pages