Myrren’s Gift (The Quickening #1) by Fiona McIntosh

Title: Myrren’s Gift (The Quickening #1)

Author: Fiona McIntosh

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Penguin Australia

Published: 4^th March 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 464

Price: $22.99

Synopsis: A gripping and original epic fantasy from the million-copy bestselling author.

Wyl Thirsk is very young when he inherits the role as commander of the Morgravian army for a new king he detests. His first act is one of compassion to the accused witch Myrren, and this earns him her reward – but is it a gift or a curse?

As war threatens from the north, the king deliberately sends Wyl on a perilous mission. But as Wyl discovers the true nature of Myrren’s gift, he is confronted with an unimaginable choice.

As the line between traitor and saviour becomes increasingly blurred, Wyl must navigate treacherous waters where the sinister new power he wields could either save or destroy him — and his entire country.

Myrren’s Gift is a gripping fantasy adventure filled with twists that will keep you guessing until the last page.

~*~

Wyl Thirsk becomes commander of the Morgravian army following the death of his father in war. He and his sister Ylena live close to the royal family, both cared for in the aftermath of being left alone. But Wyl is in service to Celimus, the son of King Magnus – who alerts Wyl to his concerns for the kingdom being left in the hands of his egotistical, dangerous son. Who is willing to do anything to get power and keep it. Wyl was Magnus’s favourite – the one who thought had more ethics than his own son, so his death has far-reaching implications. War starts to threaten Morgravia, and the king sets a trap for Wyl. But only after Wyl’s first act as general – showing compassion for a witch called Myrren, who gives Wyl a mysterious gift. A gift that makes itself known during a dangerous mission north, where Wyl’s choice ensures things change forever – and maybe not for the better either.

Myrren’s Gift is the first in a fantasy epic from Fiona McIntosh, first published in 2003, and is being re-rereleased with Penguin Australia this year. It’s traditional medieval-esque world of warring kingdoms, evil kings and magic is woven around Wyl Thirsk’s story, and how the day he meets Myrren, is the day his life changes forever. Fantasy epics like this are layered and complex, with the first book laying a lot of the ground for what is to come in the following books, traversing kingdoms that make up the world Wyl and the other characters live in. It’s a world filled with conflict and distrust, where everyone seems to pander to the evil king because hurting his ego can be the last thing that they do.

Fantasy novels like this can mirror our world in many ways, with echoes of people and events in history, foreshadowing or reminders of what can happen when we let the tyrants get their way. What happens when people don’t take a stand, and what happens when those who want to fight back have to find new ways to do so. Because sometimes, what someone started doing backfires or goes wrong, and they need to find a new way to keep fighting. In most fantasy novels and series, there are many sacrifices along the way – people we don’t want to lose can be lost. People we don’t want to see succeed can win or start to win. The feared are given more power they should be.

As this is the first book in the series and its re-release, it is one where finishing the series will give readers the answers they seek, especially for new readers who are just discovering the series as it comes out again this year. The second book came out around the same time as the first, with the third book coming out in a month or two, based on the publisher’s website. It is a good start to the series, and one that has a lot going on throughout – with lots of threads that have been tugged to be pulled together and teased apart throughout the series. But things are only going to get more complicated from where this one ends, and it looks as though things are going to get worse before they get better.

This was a compelling start to the series, and a series that looks like it is going to get better.