Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is a wild ride into a new world of myth and magic. Welcome to the Witchlands. Safiya and Iseult are two unusual witches. One- Safi- bears the burden of a rare type of witchery. She is a Truthwitch, her magic granting the ability to tell truth from lie. Iseult is a Threadwitch of the Nomatsi, though one who cannot create Threadstones, and cannot control her emotions like a proper Nomatsi Threadwitch. She fled her tribe years before, unable to follow in her mother’s footsteps. The pair are more than just best friends. They are threadsisters. Only Heart-threads are closer.
A caper gone wrong, and a plot years in the crafting, sets the pair on a life-altering path. Pursued by a deadly Bloodwitch named Aeduan for the attempted robbery from one of the Dalmotti Guildmasters, the pair are separated when Safi’s uncle Eron demands her presence at a banquet hosting the nations of the Twenty Year Truce where the Cartorran Emperor has an important announcement to make. Unwelcome due to her Nomatsi heritage, Iseult makes her way back to the Midenzi Nomatsi enclave. However, neither girl’s night goes as expected. They manage to meet back up, only to be attacked by Aeduan. Rescue comes in the form of the fiery Admiral Merik of Nubrevna, much to Safi’s dismay. The Admiral has a much needed trade contract dependent upon getting Safiya to the port town of Layna without her blood being spilt. Sea foxes, Bloodwitchery, and other mishaps, many created by Safi herself, make this increasingly difficult for Merik. Can he succeed in his objective or will his agreement fall to ruin?
I fell in love with this world from page one! With rich worldbuilding, and compelling characters, Dennard has opened the door to a storyworld you’ll want to visit again and again. I can’t believe I’ve not read this yet! I liked all the major characters, though I did often want to thwack Safi for making things more difficult than needed for Merik. It took her seeing Nubrevna for herself to understand just how vital the trade agreement was for him.
I hope Corlant and the Midenzi are revisited in a later book. That storythread seemed to have a major part, but it wasn’t explored deeply in Truthwitch. I also want to know more about the inherited Nihar rage Merik suffers from. He seems able to control his temper for the most part, though sometimes it gets away from him. Is it related to his magic? Vivia, his sister, doesn’t have the same Witchery. Nor does Kullen, Merik’s threadbrother and first mate, seem to be plagued with rage. Pulmonary problems are another story… Poor Kullen. Temper aside, or possibly because of it, Merik was my favourite character. It’s clear he cares for his crew and his people. He’s an honourable man, and one who sticks to his word. Even when that word is to lock up Safi for disobedience that endangers his crew. He’s not as heartless as she thinks at first. And Aeduan! I want to know more about him!!
I do wish we’d learned more about how Witcheries manifest in the young, how they are trained, what dictates the type of Witchery a person has. It seems a person is born with their specific brand of magic, rather than having generic magic that is then honed to specific Witcheries. The fact Merik and Vivia have magic, but different Witcheries makes it seem specific types do not follow bloodlines, though likely the predisposition towards Witchery in general does.
If you love magic and intrigue, this series is well worth checking out! Can’t wait to read the next in the series!
***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/ Tor for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
