The Poison Song
Ratings37
Average rating4.1
Ooooooof what a series – a phenomenal one, one that ends on a sad, but hopeful note. This didn't end the way I really wanted it to, but I do like how it ended. The Poison Song wraps up the Winnowing Flame trilogy in such a way that is both satisfying and makes sense in the world that Williams created.
Tor, Noon, and Vintage were all absolutely wonderful characters that I will be thinking about for a good long time. We got to see a great deal more of Noon in this book, and I love just about every second of it. We find out what she did as a child, and it is heartbreaking. We see more of the war-beasts, but I do wish we had seen what happens to them in the future. The end is vague enough that we don't really get to know what they do. BUT despite that, The Poison Song was so good.
I enjoyed Jen Williams' writing so freaking much, and will definitely be looking into her other books for sure. If you're at all looking for an epic fantasy series to dive into, I highly recommend this one. Not only is there a really excellent new world, cool magic, neat and original races...there's also queer representation as well. This is a well done fantasy with such cool characters that I really want to shove it down everyone's throats.
Sorry not sorry.
I wholeheartedly recommend this series for folks looking for a unique sci-fi-fantasy mash-up with great world building. This turned into the epic conclusion I would expect after Ninth Rain. I had some dissatisfaction with the sequel The Bitter Twins, but had none of it with this final book.
And so one of my favourite fantasy trilogies of recent years comes to an end. I will blow any suspense right at the opening of this review by saying that Williams knocks it out of the park here. This is the climax I was hoping for, one that builds on the previous two books and surpasses them. There are epic widescreen battles, expertly choreographed, and quieter moments where character comes to the fore. There is stomach churning body horror and there is grace and heroism. There's love, acceptance and tolerance, and there is brutal bloody combat that doesn't always end well for our cast. Most of all, there's an imagination and originality that lifts these books far above the ranks of grimdark cliche or identikit LOTR/D&D knockoffs. The cosmic horror of the Jure'lia is almost Lovecraftian in scope, while the camaraderie and banter of our heroes never falls into smug cosiness. Yes, there are some loose ends and dangling questions (what did happen to the Yuron-Kai party that Tyranny decked the leader of? Have I forgotten something from the end of The Bitter Twins?) but this is a triumphant conclusion, one that is so far from dropping the ball it's doing a load of keep ups around bemused defenders and then volleying into the net from the halfway line. Superb stuff.