This is another exciting and well written fantasy novel from Jen Williams. I particularly enjoy her solution to the perennial problem of the boring middle volume of the trilogy, which is to simply not write it. In my review of the first volume I moaned about how analogous the setting is to Britain, and the reasoning for that becomes clearer here, as we dig deep into the myth and folklore of the country, even glancing at the Matter of Britain. These elements are far more weightily felt this way than they would have been had they been entirely fictional. They are part of our shared consciousness, freighted with import that the most skilled writer in the world couldn’t mangae from scratch.

But this became something that niggled me about the book, something that took me out of the escapism of reading for pleasure. In a time when fascists are weaponising asylum seekers, small boats full of foreigners are the new folk devil, and children are being demonised for fleeing warzones, then a novel that’s about how terrible creatures from over the sea will land on our shores and cruelly destroy our way of life, and how the way to beat them back is go back to the traditions and lore of the old days lands .…awkwardly. I don’t suppose for one minute that Jen Williams wrote this book as an anti-immigration screed (it’s very good on LGB depiction for instance), but it’s one of those things where once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it.

So yeah, it’s entertaining as always, and I’ll certainly be around for another epic fantasy series from Ms Williams, but this one sat a little bit funny for me.

While its tempting to think it’s only Greek myths that get re-imagined on a fairly regular basis, I think in fantasy there is a much more normally nuanced use of the old stories, myths and folklores of the ages. For examples in various author’s hands dragons can be huge greedy beasts, intelligent equals to humans or just damn big monsters to fight! The evolution of fantasy is watching skilled authors come up with new interpretations and how they speak to us today. In Jen Williams’ new fantasy novel Titanchild that concludes a tale of a re0imag ned ancient Britain filled with fantasy creatures and strange locations we have such a unique spin on the old while delivering a fine sending with the traditional Willaims ability to make us really feel the stakes of the story all the way to its heart-wending conclusion

Two years have passed and the magical and often rowdy isle of Brittletain has been conquered by the murderous and giant winged Titan race known as the Othanim. The city of Londus is now theirs to torture its populations as they see fit while the Queen Boudicca is now sitting in their dungeons. Her daughter Epona is planning resistance, but the mighty Titans of the island are dwindling under the onslaught and loathe to join forces. The Othanim Queen Icaraine plans her next steps, and her mysterious strange child Malakim is key to her plans for ruling the world. Across the sea in the Imperium Envoy Kaeto has his two friends under his care a rebel Othanim named Felldir and his young assistant Belise has found herself turned into an Othanim warrior. They’ve managed to avoid Icarine but Kaeto’s own Empress has her own thoughts on how these two may strengthen her own hand negotiating with Icaraine

Elsewhere former warrior Leven, her lover the Druin Cillian and Leven’s newly discovered sister Ynis (who has lived with the Griffins for most of her life) are on the trail for Ynis’ Griffin sibling. Finally, they think they know where she is but a dangerous rescue is awaiting. The world is getting more dangerous, the remaining hope is various factions can finally work together and perhaps the mysterious power known as The Green Man could offer hope before all is lost.

It’s a really interesting conclusion that by the end I was fully immersed in and hit hard by the fates of many of the cast. There are few authors like Williams who can really make characters come alive and all their fates leave an impact. This story also has hugely inventive use of British folklore. It is also unusual to have an epic fantasy duology which initially wrongfooted me as we have a two-year time jump to get our heads around. Rather than the immense battle the previous book was ending with we find out that the bad guys won! In some ways its almost like the traditional middle volume bridge is quickly dispensed with. This means we don’t have the traditional wandering middle section of a trilogy, and this book is very pacey once it gets going. It did raise a couple of issues as with so many groups of characters and now all on slightly different missions I had to do some rapid reminder of the previous book as to who was who and what race was which. It does after a few chapters settle down into its new configuration but readers of the first book may want to refresh memories. Ideally a little time to help bring us up to speed and let the story breathe and readers to catch up may have made that transition easier

Once we get back to full speed though there is a lot to enjoy. At the character and plot level this starts that we have multiple types of stories weaving into the main plot. Kaeto and Epona are joined into more of a resistance type tale playing intrigue and acts of sabotage in the ruins of Londus. This storyline also has a new threat in the form of the spooky six-eyed young Othanim named Malakim. A strange sickly looking huge child with immense power and Williams make us ponder are they good or evil? Can a child even be evil? Malakim is a fascinating complex character that will keep us guessing their motivations and fate all the way through and that we care for someone so unsettling is to the author’s credit and their skill as an author. It neatly mirrors how Belise one of my favourite characters from the first book has moved from cheeky not quite evil apprentice of Kaeto into now a woman adapting to her new body but also learning she can play games of intrigue just as much as Kaeto has in the past. It’s a fascinating piece of character development seeing how someone ages and matures into a new subtly different form.

We have a slightly more mystical quest style plot for the other two main groups. For Leven and Cillian it’s the search for the power known as The Green Man. These sections of the story really allows Williams to flesh out the natural magical forces of Brittletain we return to the ever strange Wild Woods and their dimensions within dimensions but this also allows us to delve into bigger and older legends. We have here two young people in love but they’re putting everything on the line for the greater good of the world. For me this is the emotional heart of the second book as we start to see the price that is coming to be paid. They have an emotional power that good people will suffer here no matter the cost.

The final thread is focused on Ynis who in many ways the key figure of the last book as a human young woman who also sees herself as a Griffin creates more complexity in this instalment. Griffins do not like humans, have often eaten the unwary ones and so Ynis now suggesting Griffins need to help them is going to be difficult. The Ynis storyline is one that gently seems just to simmer but in the latter half of the book once again Williams brings an emotional drama to the story and weaves this into all three key plots to create a powerful conclusion. Fans of Williams’ work will not be surprised that we can be laughing one minute at a perfectly timed swear-word, a cheeky but funny joke, romance and then stunned by an act of body horror, violence towards characters we know and suddenly watch characters’ whole worlds are destroyed. It is rarely predictable what happens next, but Williams makes us as the reader watch and I think the real skill is they know how to make us feel the aftermath of a scene too. These actions have consequences good and bad.

My final key attraction to this book is the way Williams uses myth and folklore. Rather than simply re-using the myths this is perhaps better to say it’s a story with echoes of other tales that Williams creates their own unique spin. Our griffins here are a much more complex intelligent race than the monsters of old with their own religion, battle tactics and factions. But seeded throughout are really unusual twists on ancient myths. There are radically different nods to Arthurian legends than really tap int the idea that under this world is even more ancient magic that people don’t quite understand but its there from legends of sleeping giants to the unique and unpredictable version of the Green Man that we meet. If you love your old myths this is story to enjoyably explore what old tales are hidden and how they have been used and transformed. These versions really work well often still powerfully magical, weird and dangerous without lots of exposition as to their cause that gives this story the history, depth and texture that means we care about the world’s fate.

The Talon Duology for me is an extremely compelling read. With a unique take on the myths of the British Isles it very much feels its own thing honouring the old tales but very much a twenty first century fantasy with a lot of interesting and complex characters both good and evil to meet that make deep impressions on us to hate or to fall in love with. There is a wonderful mix of playfulness using legends in new ways but wrapped into the traditional Williams emotional character work and plotting to come together to create a compelling story. Highly recommended and as always intrigued to see where Williams goes next!

In my review of the previous book, I mentioned that I wasn’t completely into this story but it might have been because I wasn’t in the mood for it. After reading the second book, I think that it is just that I wasn’t really into this story.

Titanchild is by no means a bad book, in fact, I think it will appeal to a great deal to fantasy fans, it just wasn’t something I was into. The world building is great, the story is mostly good but I just didn’t connect with the characters. My problem was that, with the exception of Cillian and Kaeto, I kept forgetting who every other character was. This was a shame because the characters in Williams’ other series, Winnowing Flame, I loved the characters.

My main issue, however, was the ending. I started to warm to the characters about half way through the book and was even beginning to enjoy them and then the book finished. Rather abruptly, in my opinion. The ending was highly unsatisfying. It has an ending but it didn’t seem to resolve much, particularly the character relationships that I was just starting to enjoy. Maybe it’s because it’s a duology and not a trilogy but this really needed a more rounded ending.

Titanchild, like Talonsister, was just fine. It wasn’t amazing and it really didn’t match the amazing story Williams told in the Winnowing Flame trilogy. The characters were fine but not fantastic. The story was good but it didn’t feel completely satisfying. The only thing done really well was the world building and that’s not what I look for the most in a novel. I can see why people would like Titanchild but it really wasn’t for me.

A gripping follow up to Talonsister - an absolute triumph of a conclusion to a brilliant duology. I really think this is some of Jen Williams' best work. She has created a mythic Britain full of griffins and old forest gods, where druids practice real magic, Boudicca and her daughters rule London and the Roman empire struggles to comprehend the chaos of a wild island brimming with unchecked elemental power. We rejoin the characters from the equally brilliant Talonsister - and all seems at its darkest. The monstrous Othanim have taken over Brittletain and Boudicca's daughters endure , Ynis is tracking her kidnapped griffin sister while learning the limits of her own mystical powers, and Kaeto, the master spy and assassin works against the empire who seeks to control his destiny. Each character has their own compelling story and the narrative jumps from each one keeping you on tenterhooks until the very end. And even the brilliant conclusion - well - it holds out some hope for a follow up! If I could give this series 10 stars out of 5 I would!

Another excellent novel in this series by Jen Williams. I wasn't always the biggest fun but I loved this novel: good storytelling, fascinating world building, fast paced and solid plot
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love William's writing style and her stories are always people with engaging characters. I enjoyed this duology but I still feel we didn't need all the povs and that it distanced me from the overall plot. So good but not as goid as The Copper Cat.

The first book in this duology, <i>Talonsister</i>, completely blew me away so of course I was really excited to delve into this sequel. And what a sequel it is.

I adore Jen William's writing style and she just cemented herself as an auto buy author for me. <i>Titanchild</i> is evenly paced and exciting, and all the characters get their time to shine. It leads to an incredibly satisfying ending for this duology even if it doesn't come without sacrifice. The world-building is amazing and intricately woven into the narrative, never relying on infodumps.
I also really enjoyed how gruesome parts of this world were. Icaraine as the prime antagonist is genuinely horrifying, as is her son. They really delivered on the promise book one's ending gave us. There's a bit more focus on the romances this time around, and all three of them were very cute and also very dramatic but never overshadowed the bigger plotline.

Still, it's not quite a 5 star read for me and that's because of a time jump happening at the beginning of the book. I would have loved to see some of the events taking place during these two years and wasn't a fan of them being kind of glossed over, even though I understand why the time jump was there. It isn't a major issue in my book though, which is why I happily rounded up my 4,5 stars. I just felt this could have been done a bit better, more organically.
Also Jack. Like, I loved Jack, she's an amazing character, but man the name really took me out of the experience whenever it came up. Just did not fit with the vibe of the world and the other character names. But that is a very minor issue because the name doesn't mean so much when she's a cool knightly woman with a giant magical talking sword, so who am I to complain, really.

But all in all this is a fantastic sequel that sticks the landing and turns this into a really worthwhile fantasy duology that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

This book, and indeed this duology, was a ride! I loved it even if it was a bit weird at times – the story and characters more than pulled me through.

I thought it was a bit of a weird one (and again this goes to the duology as a whole) in that I really dislike some of the worldbuilding, where it borrows too heavily from our world, but yet some of the other worldbuilding, and what Williams does with the borrowed stuff, is just spectacular.

There is so much on display in this second book that is weird and wonderful – pretty much everything around the Green Man, the Lich-Ways, Queen Mab, King Arthwr, and more.

The pacing of the book was really high, but not at all in a bad way. It had those moments you need where it slows down for a bit, but then it picks up soon after and whisks you away again. Much of this was done in the absence of battle as well, which is a common place for the pace to pick up. I think the writing as a whole, and the ideas brought to the page, just really suited the high pace and was served well by it.

I think everything that probably needed to happen storywise did happen, though not always in the way it was expected, and that was excellent. I did think a couple of things would be left alone, so I was pleased to be proven wrong (and two of these involved the last actions we see from Belise, further cementing her as a favourite character).

Overall, this was an excellent series, the two books probably about equal in my estimation, and a high recommendation.

Great continuation. Jen Williams keeps hitting it out of the park. The characters continue to be some of my favourites.

Jen Williams once again proves her mastery of storytelling with Titanchild, the compelling conclusion to an unforgettable duology. Her hallmark blend of intricate world-building and evocative imagery shines through, paired with a cast of tenacious, weathered characters who feel profoundly real, regardless of age or role.

This was a deeply satisfying end to the series, though I find myself a bit conflicted in my feelings about it. While the conclusion delivered on its emotional promise, I couldn’t help but yearn for something more. The middle section, though rich in detail, occasionally felt convoluted and repetitive, making it difficult to pinpoint where the narrative lost some momentum. Additionally, the central antagonist fell slightly short of my expectations, lacking the depth and nuance that could have made them truly memorable.

That said, Titanchild excels in many other areas. One of the most refreshing aspects was seeing secondary characters from the first book step into the spotlight, their perspectives adding new layers of complexity to the story. These voices, combined with thrilling twists, vivid depictions of British folklore, and a uniquely captivating magic system, ensured the book retained its charm and allure.

What I appreciated most about this duology was its folkloric quality, which beautifully underscored themes of reverence for nature and humanity's connection to the world around us. Few stories manage to rekindle such a deep sense of awe for the natural world, but this one succeeded in doing just that, leaving a lasting impression.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC. Titanchild is a richly woven tale that cements Jen Williams as a powerhouse in modern fantasy, and I’ll be eagerly anticipating whatever she writes next.

Once again, Jen Williams has delivered a rich, wonderful story set in the alternate world to our own, so wonderfully detail-heavy that you can not help but crave more. Once you continue on this journey, you will be swept up and unable to put the book down.

It is two years since the end of Talonsister, and Leven, Cillian, and Ynis are still hunting for T'rook, Ynis' griffin sister who was captured by the Imperium, but they will find much more than just a missing griffin in the end. Envoy Kaeto is torn between two worlds; the Imperium who has had his loyalty most of his life, and Felldir and Belise who have his heart. But soon he will be sent to Brittletain ambassador to the Othanim who have taken over the island. Icaraine, Queen of the Othanim wants to kill the griffins, the last titans, and feed the bones to her horror of a son.

I love this rich, well-thought-out world, and the deeply flawed characters that inhabit it. I love the way the characters connect, the love and anger, the fighting and the connections that hold them together. I have to admit that Belise is my favourite character, the way she uses the training that Kaeto has given her, her adaptability, and the way she turns to face everything in the world.

It is a great finish to this duology, I hope Williams revisits the world in the future.

Titanchild is the thrilling conclusion to the Talon Duology begun in Talonsister. Set in a world that bears a passing resemblance to the world at the time of the Roman Empire, the story picks up a couple of years after the dramatic events at the end of Talonsister and nothing seems to be going right for the people who are opposing the titan race of Othanim. Brittletain has been conquered and it seems that nothing can stand between the Othanim and the destruction of the griffins. The Imperium is desperately trying to get an alliance between themselves and the Othanim and have forced Envoy Kaeto to become their ambassador and try to work out a deal.
As with the first book, the story is told through multiple POV, each one seeing their own part of the confict but giving the reader a complete picture. I loved all of the main characters but especially Belise. She has absorbed all of the training she has received from Kaeto and uses it brilliantly to maintain some control over the events that are taking place around her. She has really matured from the ever-hungry urchin we met in the first book.
I think that the character that touched me the most this time though was Ynis. She is desperate to have the gift of flight to make her more equal with her grifftin family but this has huge implications for her relationship with her human sister. Her story arc through the novel was brilliant and for me, surprising. However, it all fitted together beautifully and I felt that the story couldn’t have worked out in any way that was more in keeping with her character.
The queen of the Othanim, Icaraine, is truly monstrous and it’s interesting to see how having a ruler who enjoys giving pain has impacted on the rest of her subjects. From being a people who loved beauty and creativity, they have become cruel and heartless too. Her child, the strange Malakim is also a monster being deformed in body and apparently in mind too. He is the queen’s ultimate weapon and must be destroyed.
Titanchild was a brilliant read and I thoroughly recommend it for any fantasy lovers. Jen Williams has created a fantastic story bringing together myths and legends as well as British folklore and I just couldn’t put it down. It has magic, love, battles, betrayal and legendary creatures. What more could you want?
Huge thanks to Net Galley and the publishers, Titan Books, for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

My thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for a free eARC of “Titanchild” by Jen Williams, the conclusion to the “Talon Duology”.
It was such a joy to return into this Epic Fantasy world full of griffins, titans, British Folklore and one of my favorite magic systems in the whole of Fantasy, plant magic where nature can be both magnificent and terrifying, but most importantly I wanted to see what these lively characters have been up to.
In order to avoid spoilers, I will just say that I loved getting the point of view from one of my most beloved secondary characters from the first volume. My love for this character and the role and risk she has been giving and her masterful evolution secured “Titanchild” as one of the best books I’ve read in 2024.
Another tremendous joy for me were the references to some of Britain legendary or mythical figures, but I want each reader to discover them on their own and just rejoice on the twists they have been given in this fantastic story.
I highly recommend the “Talon Duology” to all Epic Fantasy that love a multi POV narrative, nature, mythical creatures and brilliant characters with some wonderful LGBTQ+ representation.