I would like to thank Nazia from Orbit for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price – £9.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle ebook

Abandoned by her people, Queen Talyien's quest takes a turn for the worse as she stumbles upon a plot deeper and more sinister than she could have ever imagined, one that will displace her king and see her son dead. The road home beckons, strewn with a tangled web of deceit and unimaginable horrors - creatures from the dark, mad dragons and men with hearts hungry for power.

To save her land, Talyien must confront the myth others have built around her: Warlord Yeshin's daughter, symbol of peace, warrior and queen and everything she could never be.

The price for failure is steep. Her friends are few. And a nation carved by a murderer can only be destined for war.

One of the things I like to see more of in fantasy is trying a different type of story. Quests, chosen ones and battles against an empire are all brilliant but sometimes it is fun to try a different type of storytelling. Earlier this year I reviewed (The Wolf of Oren-Yaro - helpfully reviewed here) and I’m now very pleased to report that I found The Ilkesar Falcon is an even better second adventure as our Queen now tries to return home; save her son and try to keep on the throne but is also about to discover that her own kingdom is now a stranger to her.

In The Wolf of Oren-Yaro we had Queen Talyien very much powerless and trying to survive on her own in a hostile kingdom. Slowly she found that she was part of a evil magical royal’s gain to take over her throne raising the the stakes for her survival but she survived only to find that her estranged husband is now prepared to kill her son if adultery can be proved. The book pretty much picks up shortly after that cliff-hanger and now the focus is on how our Queen can escape this hostile land and arrive in time? But we are about to find that long planned strategies are coming to a head; that magic is not nearly as dead as people think and court intrigues once again will try to tear the Wolf apart.

There is a lot to love about this series. A key point to the success is Talyien’s narration. If this was third person, we would see an often brave, humorous and occasionally ruthless leader – she is effectively the daughter of someone that could be seen to resemble Genghis Khan based on his reputation. But with Talyien’s inner voice we see that a lot of this is a front polished by her father’s less than gentle tuition and the trappings that she cannot show her inner thoughts – every decision for a ruler can have consequences. Over the two books we really get to see her as a human being – one for whom letting people in or even showing affection is difficult. Her experience as a royal though makes her great at examining people’s motivations and how to use them ion a strategy. She herself is finding that she is changing her worldview though as having seen empires now from the viewpoint of those at the bottom of society she can now see that power and privilege isn’t enough and perhaps something else is going to be needed for the fragile kingdom she rules to survive.

If the first book was very Talyien focused in order to get to know her this time we also get some a closer look at two really interesting travelling companions. We again get the smart conman with a heart Khine who Talyien hugely relied upon to guide her in her last set of adventures. But this time we also get Agos who is a warrior; Talyien’s childhood friend and potentially the father of her child. It creates an interesting dynamic between all three characters and also allows Talyien to start thinking about the relationships she has been drawn too and now perhaps what she wants for herself. Again, that conflict between the role as a ruler and as someone who wants to be happy plays a key emotional strand of the book. One thing to add here is these characters are not your typical young people finding the world for the first time we have people shaped by their life in their thirties and that adds a refreshing depth to their interactions.

For me, the big difference in the second novel is that we get to explore Talyien’s realm Jin-Sayeng itself. Pleasingly we actually again go on an episodic trip around the kingdom and discover some of the key factions battling for position. This brings up issues of democracy and also the way magic and those who wield it are perceived. Oh, and did I mention we get more dragons? Those readers used to long journeys to the big climax may be phased by the incidental nature but as the story progresses we see these mini adventures all feed into he major story and I’m fairly sure will come to a head in the final book.  Each of these serves plot and character development and by the end of this novel I expect you to be having major feels for several characters’ fates.

This was another hugely impressive instalment of a trilogy I think many fantasy fans will love – especially those looking for something a bit different. Villoso’s use of plotting to explore a character and their internal dialogue and conflict is brilliantly done. Strongly recommended and I very much look forward to seeing where we go next…once I get over my gasping at this one’s conclusion!