This next book is a good one but a bit of a weird one. Myrren’s Gift is the first book in The Quickening trilogy by Fiona McIntosh. The book opens on a battlefield where Magnus, King of Morgravia, is fighting alongside close friend Fergys Thirsk, General of the Morgravian Army. Fergys takes a deadly hit protecting Magnus and ends up extracting a death bed promise from him, to protect his children, Wyl and Ylena, and to ensure that Wyl and Magnus’s son Celimus end up as close friends as they were. Unfortunately, Celimus has it out for Wyl from the very beginning and it takes everything in him for Wyl to circumvent Celimus’s various plans. One of the worst ones is when Celimus insists that Wyl go with him to see the trial and death of the accused witch, Myrren. Wyl, feeling sorry for her, does his best to alleviate her suffering while knowing he cannot prevent her death. In payment, Myrren gives him an unknown gift and asks him to look after her dog. Years later, Celimus tries to hurt Wyl by claiming Ylena’s virginity when winning the annual tournament. Wyl is only barely able to prevent this by bringing up her wedding to his best friend. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter Magnus dies leaving an angry Celimus the throne. Almost immediately Wyl is in a fight for his life and the life of his sister. In a desperate attempt to save Ylena he agrees to travel as an emissary to the neighboring kingdom of Briavel in order to negotiate marriage between Celimus and their princess, Valentyna. Celimus insists on him traveling with the mercenary Romen Koreldy whose mission is to kill Wyl Thirsk afterwards. It is in Briavel that Wyl discovers what Myrren’s gift really was.
This book was surprising as it was the kind of book that contained a lot of foreshadowing in regards to some things but at the same time was continually surprising as to what would happen next. I say this because if you pay attention at the very beginning it provides a lot of hints about what might be the ultimate conclusion of the series. However, how that conclusion might come about is what is surprising. I have very rarely come across a book with this kind of magic present in it. I don’t want to provide too many details and unintentionally spoil the book but I will say that when Myrren’s gift is finally revealed you will probably not be expecting it or how it will continue to play out over the rest of the book. The book itself is incredible in the way it navigates the changes to Wyl’s life and how he works on adapting to them, all while trying to stay true to himself at the same time, something that becomes increasingly more difficult as time goes on. Because of all these changes, Wyl is a different person by the end of the book, in more ways than one. However, at his core he stays the same as he remains the type of person that will do his absolute best to protect those he cares about. One thing that I greatly enjoyed about this book is the level of detail that is frequently present. It goes into great depth about Wyl and his interactions with the people around him, about the culture and time frame he lives in, and the politics that are involved in the struggle between him and Celimus but also between Morgravia and Briavel. While the book may not have been what I was expecting it was ultimately compelling and haunting. Compelling as you watch Wyl continually overcome the various obstacles in his way but haunting as you watch him deal with tragedy after tragedy. I am giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall, this was a great book and one that I would definitely recommend to other readers, especially those who enjoy the fantasy genre. In terms of age range I would recommend it primarily to adults, because it is aimed at that age range but also because it contains a decent amount of violence and occasional references to mature content, though it is not necessarily explicit. In terms of younger readers it would probably only be suitable for young adults and older teens and not anybody younger due to the content. The violence and borderline mature content do not detract from the quality of the book. Considering the medieval time frame being depicted it actually feels natural for them to be included but I did think this was something to be aware of before diving straight in. As always, consider letting me know what you think of the book if you decide to try it.