K. J. Taylor

The Dark Griffin is a story about a griffin and a human. The griffin has an unfortunately difficult life, fighting to survive from the time it's born. I was a bit surprised when I started reading, actually, that the first two chapters are told entirely from the point of view of griffins with humans barely featuring on the periphery. Taylor pulled it off, however. In a section that had the potential to feel like a drawn-out prologue, I was captivated the entire time.

In Taylor's world, show more griffins are as intelligent as humans, have varying magical powers and can talk. The humans that ride them are called griffiners and learn to speak the language of the griffins. Arren is a griffiner, despite being of Northern descent. His people were, until recently, slaves in his city and he looks a bit different to the Southerners he lives among. The only reason he's allowed to be a griffiner is because his griffin bonded to him when they were both and there was nothing to be done about it.

Arren's story is very much one of racism and ostracism. Once Arren's position in society becomes slightly less assured, he quickly finds out how thin the veneer protecting him was. A lot of bad things happen to Arren and almost all of them are thanks to racism against his people. After a comfortable life as a respected citizen with some status, denying his heritage out of shame, it all comes as a bit of a shock to him when he loses (ostensibly only some of) that status. Suddenly people no longer respect him and constantly use dismissive language against him ("Oh, but he's only a member of the slave-race"). (Possibly not a book to read if you're particularly sensitive of/triggered by racism and oppression generally.) In the end, Arren's actions, taken out of a desperation the reader can entirely understand, appear to be increasingly erratic to the people around him, giving them more ammunition to use against him. There were some gut-wrenchingly tragic moments.

I also liked how the racism was not based on skin colour. The small world Taylor created was based loosely on Britain and so there wasn't room, geographically, for wildly different ethnic characteristics. It's nice to be reminded that an ethnic group doesn't have to look completely different to be oppressed. And of course, the themes of racism/oppression explored in the novel are widely relevant to modern culture.

The Dark Griffin is a compelling novel. Both the griffin and Arren suffer due to unfair circumstances they cannot be blamed for, and their parallel stories intertwine to powerful effect. Another brilliant fantasy read by a brilliant Australian author. I have read few run-of-the-mill fantasy novels (particularly BFF — big fat fantasy) by Australians, and The Dark Griffin certainly doesn't buck that trend.

I highly recommend The Dark Griffin to all fantasy fans. In particular fans of any or some of Jennifer Fallon, Glenda Larke, Rowena Cory Daniells or Naomi Novik's Temeraire books will probably probably enjoy this book. Having foreseen a burning desire to read the whole series, I already have the rest of the trilogy on my TBR shelf and intend to pick up book two straight away.

5 / 5 stars

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I began reading The Shadow’s Heir almost as soon as I finished The Griffin’s War, so I didn’t have a long wait to get back to this world like many other fans did. It was great seeing all my favourite (and some of my not-so-favourite) characters twenty years on. As expected, some of them are changed but others are stubbornly the same.

Of the new characters, I found Laela to be the most likeable and loved watching her grow into herself throughout the book. The discrimination she faces as show more a ‘half-breed’ defines her, and it was saddening to realise that she couldn’t find true acceptance in the North or South. However, I was happy to see that her tenacity and honesty eventually won her a place in the North. She does seem to take everything to stride though, and I can’t remember her ever displaying any extreme emotions, which is a little weird. The bond she and Arenadd develop struck me as one of the best aspects of the book – I loved watching their mutual respect grow over the course of the book.

I wasn’t surprised to find that Saeddryn continued to antagonise me in this book and her griffin was even worse. I find her completely untrustworthy and power-hungry and kept waiting for Arenadd to throw her out. But I must concede that she has never tried to grab power through assassination, so she must have some moral code I’m not privy to. But seriously, I haven’t read too many characters that make me hate them so vehemently and I give credit where it’s due to the author. I also found myself taking a strong dislike to the warring Gods of the world – they use humans as pawns and are extremely self-interested (I guess this is expected, but I can still hate them for it).

I had thought that this book could only go in a handful of directions, and while I wasn’t expecting it to go the Star Wars way, I definitely didn’t anticipate what happened. I loved the book for this reason - I don’t enjoy stories where I can peg what’s going to happen early on. The engaging plot line is supported by the expansion of this fantastical world, introducing us to new countries and cultures and giving the book a string sense of place. I also liked the exploration of the turmoil that reigns in the South since The Dark War and the state of politics in the North as they establish themselves as a country in their own right.

As the first book in the Risen Sun series, The Shadow’s Heir forms a great basis for an epic new story, one that I am looking forward to following. I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again: K. J. Taylor is a talented author who continues to bring us spellbinding stories and if you aren’t already reading her books, then you should remedy that!

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The Griffin’s War finishes off The Fallen Moon series admirably and delivers an action packed story that explores the darkest sides of human nature. I don’t know why, but I kept looking for themes of redemption throughout this book, as if somehow, Arenadd would find something and cease to become ‘The Dark Lord’. Silly me, I knew all along that The Fallen Moon series is not about a hero in the traditional sense, and I enjoy the themes that K. J. Taylor explores in the trilogy – but show more I guess old habits die hard.

This book blurs the line between good and evil more than either of its predecessors, and forces the reader to re-consider their preconceptions of morality. Arenadd does some despicable and horrific things, but only because he wants to liberate his entire people from slavery. His enemies – the forces of light who oppose his darkness – are also willing to act similarly, but they justify it by saying that in wartimes such acts are necessary. Taylor thus explores, deftly, the willingness of the so called righteous who suspend their values at the first sign of trouble and can justify victory through any means.

One of the things that I feel detracted from my enjoyment of the book is the large chunks dedicated to Erian. I’m not sure what the passages are meant to convey – aside from his lack of life skills and brain cells to rub together – and I was constantly itching to skip these parts (although I didn’t because I was expecting something awesome to happen). Erian sees a few tantalising things in the cave he finds, but disappointingly, this is not followed up. I have the first book in the follow up trilogy, The Shadow’s Heir, in my possession, and I hope some questions will be answered in this new body of work.

I have to be honest: I do not like Saedrynn. Not only is she pushy and extremely entitled, I was never sure whether she could be trusted and I felt that she would much too readily take up the mantle of power if allowed to. In fact, I found it difficult to like any of the Northern rebels. I think I found them too proud. I understand that’s the whole point – these people have retained their pride, freedom and heritage even though most of their race has been enslaved by Southerners – but at times it got to be too much. When they don’t like Arenadd’s ideas – and remember, he is the only one who has any experience of how Southerners think and behave – they oppose him with a strength I did not expect from a people who almost worship Arenedd as The Dark Lord.

I’m glad I was introduced to the works of K. J. Taylor: not only did I enjoy this book a lot, I will re-iterate that any Fantasy fan will benefit from reading The Fallen Moon series because of the author’s exploration of humanity’s morals and ethics through Arenadd. Plus supporting Aussie authors is awesome!

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Ostracised from society and wanted for murder by former colleagues and peers, Arren runs to the North with only the fearsome Skandar for company. While the first book in this series is focussed on Arren’s rapid estrangement from his friends and family, The Griffin’s Flight deals his struggles to accept his heritage and come to terms with the drastic changes his life has seen over the past few months. Planning to escape to the North and live amongst his people, Arren begins to understand, show more for the first time, the plight of the Northmen as the slave-class in Cymria. In many ways this book is a lot more personal than its predecessor and allows us rare glimpses into Arren’s heart.

Arren and Skandar develop a lot throughout the novel and strengthen their bond over time. Arren becomes stronger and more self-sufficient, but is increasingly troubled - plagued by the things he has had to endure to retain his freedom. In contrast, Skandar almost seems blithely unconcerned about everything, as long his end-goal of a new mountain home is fulfilled. In my review of The Dark Griffin I mentioned that the ‘voices’ of the griffins sounded human to me. In this book the other-ness of the griffins is more pronounced and I found I enjoyed getting glimpses into their unique world view. It also helps that Skandar now has a better command of the griffish language.

I love Taylor’s writing style because the prose is direct and honest, perfectly fitting the mood of this dark fantasy. The plot is not overly dramatic but always keeps one at the edge of their seat. Arren and Skandar are constantly in danger and treat everyone they meet with mistrust, but their situation doesn’t degenerate to seem absurd. In comparison to The Dark Griffin, I found the writing in this book tighter and more engaging, and although I was expecting a different conclusion and was taken by surprise at the end, I still enjoyed the reading experience a lot.

The Griffin’s Flight is a wonderful continuation of the saga of Arren’s life as he struggles to find where he belongs in a divided world. I love seeing the rich world Taylor has created unfold as I read! An example of excellent Australian Fantasy, I believe this series will be enjoyed equally by both avid fans of the genre and newcomers.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less