Myrren's Gift

[sawyl]

In line with my current bias towards fantasy novels, I've recently finished Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh. Read on for a vague summary and a few random thoughts.

Following the death of his father Fergys, Wyl Thirsk finds himself appointed to the hereditary position of General of the Legion at the tender age of 14 and forced by his father's dying promise to spend time with bullying Prince Celimus. In an attempt to humiliate Wyl, the prince orders him to watch the torture of a young witch called Myrren, but things go awry when Wyl offers to relieve Myrren's suffering and she gives him a mysterious Gift.

Years pass and the magical nature of the incident is forgotten, while the animosity between Wyl and Celimus grows stronger. Eventually, following the death of his father and his assumption of the throne, Celimus comes up with a plan to sort Wyl out once and for all. Alone, deprived of friends and family, forced to carry out a suicidal mission, Wyl discovers the secret of Myrren's Gift. On the run, Wyl seeks help from an old fortune teller who seemed to know more than she should, get tangled up with the King of the Mountains, falls in love with a princess called Valentyna and tries to persuade her that marrying Celimus for political reasons would be a serious mistake.

Myrren's Gift, while perhaps not the most contemplative of novels, is fun page turner which doesn't shy away from the nastier side of life. Wyl is a nice, if occasionally clueless, lead who always wants to play things straight but who's usually forced by circumstances into some hugely complicated lie that is obviously going to cause some sort problem further down the line. The backdrops are detailed — thanks to the inclusion of Fynch the gong boy, I now know more than I ever wanted to about medieval sewerage — and the dark moments, such as the witch burnings and moments of torture, are deeply unpleasant with long lasting effects.

While I thought that there were moments early on which didn't entirely convince, I found Gift to be an enjoyable read that had me hooked right up until the last page. So, why haven't I read the sequel? I've exhausted this week's book buying budget, that's why.