The poison throne by Celine Kiernan
Allen and Unwin, 2009. ISBN 9781741758689. The Moorehawke Trilogy
Book 1.
(Ages
13+) Recommended. Fifteen year old Wynter Moorehawke
arrives at the King's Palace with her father after years away and finds
that all
she has treasured there in the past has changed. No longer can she talk
mind to
mind with the palace cats as the King's Cat Keeper. Almost all of the
cats have
been destroyed. The friendly ghost that she chatted with in the past is
forbidden to her on pain of death and her friend Alberon, once the heir
to the
throne, has been banished. Worst still there is talk of a wicked war
machine
that her father invented and which may destroy the kingdom. Together
with Prince
Razi and Christopher Garron, Wynter tries to work out what is happening
and why
King Jonathon, once a kindly man, has turned into a tyrant.
The
Palace is truly a Palace of Poison, a place where the
Inquisition tortures prisoners, where danger and intrigue follows the
trio
constantly. The constant tension and clever plotting kept me turning
the pages
well past my bedtime and I finished this book in one sitting.
The
Poison Throne has all the elements of an absorbing read:
an accomplished and likeable heroine, a beautifully described European
medieval
setting, political machinations, a low key romance, mystery and plenty
of
action. The characters are all believable and well developed, including
the
gruff cook and the cat. Wynter is a
skilled girl: She is a qualified apprentice, Protector Lady and
accustomed to
court deceptions. Loyalty to her father and friends is her outstanding
attribute and the reader is swept along with her dilemma about staying
with her
ill father, seeking safe sanctuary or doing something to save the
kingdom.
A
fantasy that has universal appeal for both adults and
teens, The poison throne will be of special interest to girls who have
enjoyed
books by Tamora Pierce and who relish a strong heroine. I can't wait
for the
next two instalments.
Pat
Pledger