The Poison Song is the finale to Jen Williams’ ‘The Winnowing Flame’ trilogy. The previous
two books were great fun to read, whilst also having a lot of heart, so the
conclusion had rather a lot to live up to. Fortunately, this is a book which
delivers the goods: characters who
matter, who feel real, in a backdrop of action, adventure, and saving the world.
The characters sit at the heart of the text here, and if you’re
coming back to the series after some time away, they’ll feel like old friends. Tor,
who I may have previously described as “a vampire elf with a drinking problem”
is struggling to take responsibility in a world looking for heroes. He’s
wracked by guilt, both institutional and personal. The institutional is perhaps
easier – Tor is an Eboran, and they have a recent history of massacres in order
to drink the blood of others, and keep themselves alive. Tor was too young to
be part of that history, but as we sit beside him, it can be felt in his bones.
Then there was the plague, which ravaged the Eborans who drank human blood –
and the slow, tortured demise of an entire grand civilisation. Tor’s regrets
evoke a certain amount of pathos; even as he claims to be a rake, a ne’er-do-well
who accompanies Vintage in search of good wine and good company, the light
behind his eyes is dimmed in remembrance. Tor also does rather a good line in affectionately
edged banter with Vintage, and his relationship with Noon is something else. So
yes, the Tor here is one on the cusp of change, an inch from either plunging
over a cliff, or learning to fly. Either way, his scenes are always an
affecting, albeit sometimes painful, read.
Vintage, whose friendship with Tor and Noon is the keystone
of the text, is also a delight to read. She absolutely seizes any page that she’s
on. Bluff, no-nonsense, and utterly unwilling to let either of the others
indulge in their worse natures. But behind the façade we can catch glimpses of
a compassionate woman, a romantic whose travails have left her a little
vulnerable; admittedly, that vulnerability is masked by some top-marks sarcasm
and a penchant for shooting things that annoy her with a crossbow. I have, it
must be said, a lot of time for Vintage, who manages to show off some of the
fragility inherent in humanity, while also demonstrating the benefits of
emotional honesty and a quick trigger finger. Say what you will about Tor,
moping around looking for excuses for things to be his fault; Vintage takes
things to heart, yes, then deals with them and cracks on. She’s an absolute joy
to read, a masterclass in character with heart and soul.
Then there’s Noon. If Vintage is the heart of the group,
Noon is the fire in the blood. She has passion and enthusiasm and a courageous stubbornness
which lets her leap off the page fully-formed. Noon is captivating – in part because
of her nuanced, awkwardly growing and from time to time bloody difficult
relationship with Tor. Seeing the two of them struggle to deal with the emotional
connections they’ve built around each other is by turns painful, amusing and
aggravating – but the feelings are recognisable and genuine. But Noon isn’t
just there to keep Tor company. She has her own agenda, her own goals. Getting
into it would be a bit spoilery, but suffice to say, Noon is fierce. She
absolutely won’t be denied, and her ability to throw literal fire to accentuate
her points is one that is likely to come in handy. As a survivor of a brutal
regime, Noon is also cautious, coming out of her protective shell and looking
around to work out what to do next – and determined not to repeat the mistakes
of the past.
They’re backed by a fantastic ensemble cast, whose
relationships and actions feel organic, feel human. These aren’t faces put on a
page to be devoured by a baddie, but living, breathing people who sacrifice,
who wake up with a bad hair day, who love and feel as much as we do. A shout
out to the villains in particular. The slithering Queen of the Jure’lia remains
terrifyingly alien, with a brutal precision that invites horror, and a curiosity
about humanity which hints at possibilities unspoken. Hest, Tor’s sister, and
her war-beast are as conflicted and broken as ever, a pair looking to make
something of or for themselves, to doom a world which didn’t want their help in
saving itself. They’re complicated people, capable of kindness, of anger, of
violence, and of some very poor decision making. A triumph of the text is
giving us antagonists who can be loathsome and understandable by turns, whose
wounds sit beneath the surface and shape their actions, even as the reader
tries to talk them out of it (well, I certainly did, turning pages in the hope
of redemption).
Alright, you say, the characters are fabulous, but what
about the world? Well, these players are what drives the finale, as the author
draws a world on the edge of destruction. From lush jungle to plains scarred by
the touch of the Jure’lia, to the towers of the witches of the Winnowry, this
is a world filled with small touches that make it feel alive, make it feel
worth saving. The broken towers of the Eborans carry a poignant history and are
the sign of a price to be paid; the fortified cities of the plains a sign of a
military might that hopes to avert catastrophe, the scars on the ground a
reminder of the absolute consequences of defeat
And the story? I mean, no spoilers, but it is the last book after all. This one
pulls no punches. It’ll pull your heartstrings taut with tension, then
emotionally gut you with no hint of an apology. Or it’ll have you turning pages
trying to beat a ticking clock, trying to find out what happens next; be
prepared to miss out on some sleep, is what I’m saying. It’s a story which has
spend two books giving you emotional investment in the characters and their world,
and I can only assure you that the investment absolutely pays off. There’s
kinetically elaborate fight scenes that left me feeling every slash of a blade,
and heartfelt talks that could bring you to tears. Prices are paid, costs
borne, and in the end, it’s a story which you’ll both want to tear through to
the finish, but also not want to be over.
As endings go, this one’s an absolute cracker. Pick it up,
you won’t regret it.
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