Review: The Quickening by Fiona McIntosh

Myrren's Gift
For centuries, a Thirsk General has fought alongside the King of Morgravia, but none ever swore allegiance to a royal as cruel as Celimus.
When General Wyl Thirsk is forced by Celimus to witness the torture of Myrren, a young woman accused of witchcraft, Wyl fears he may become the first of his family to betray the blood oath.
Leading a motley crew of mercenaries, unable to trust anyone, Wyl is sent on a diplomatic mission to a neighbouring territory. He finds treachery every step of the way, and begins to wonder if he will return home alive.
But Myrren, grateful for his compassion, has given Wyl an extraordinary 'gift'. Wyl's life takes an entirely unpredicted turn... he is about to discover The Quickening.

Blood and Memory
Wyl Thirsk has witnessed his best friend horrifically murdered by his King. All those close to Qyl have been traumatised in some way, and now Wyl's sister is being ruthlessly hunted down. Celimus will stop at nothing, it seems, to destroy the Thirsk dynasty.
The King has also turned his attention to the neighbouring realm of Briavel - and the woman Wyl loves. Wyl is desperate to return to Valentyna and prevent her marriage to Celimus, but fate has other plans. Trapped by Myrren's sinister gift of magic, Wyl must first track down the elusive Manwitch - the only person who can help him solve the Quickening.

Bridge of Souls
Struggling against time and repulsed by his latest guise, everything Wyl Thirsk has strived to prevent is happening - including the marriage of his beloved Queen Valentyna of Briavel to the reviled King Celimus.
The final curse of The Quickening demands that Wyl becomes the sovereign of Morgravia. But the chaos created by the Gift turns Wyl's life into an endless struggle and it is not certain that he can survive - or even that he wants to.
To save Valentyna he would give everything he has - including his life.

*~*~*

The first line catapults you right into the action. There's no trudging through a sluggish introduction before you get to anything exciting.

The series raises an interesting question. What is it that makes a person? What do you live for when all that you love are gone, and your own body is cold and dead, murdered by your own hand?

Coupled with a good plot and a few quirks, this series makes an interesting read. It flows well and is easy to follow, and has a lack of tedious passages that I find myself skimming through in other books. Don't start reading before anything remotely important, I vaguely recall pulling Blood and Memory out to read before my lecture started, and found myself with my eyes trained on the words for the rest of the lecture, instead of taking much needed notes.

Nothing is really predictable in this story, which is what makes me so eager to find out what happens. Everytime I think I've got it worked out, the plot has a twist, and my theories fall apart. I never (or rarely) see anything coming before I actually read about it.

The only thing that really put me off in this series was that one of the main points of the plot was dependent on love at first sight. It's not a romance novel, but this supposed 'love at first sight' is the driving force behind the protagonist. After the first few times, I started to get a little annoyed by the way Wyl referred to his 'love' and his 'beloved Valentyna'.

All in all, an easy and interesting read that I would recommend to anyone. Even if you're new to the fantasy genre, this would be a good place to start.