“No hope without change, no change without sacrifice.”: Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston

Release Date: September 8, 2020
Publisher: Tor.com Publishing
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Description

“The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find.

Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.
Awa, a young woman training to be a powerful griot, tests the limits of her knowledge and comes into her own in a world of sorcery, floating cities, kindly beasts, and uncertain men.”

My Thoughts

Master of Poisons is the story of Djola and Awa, a powerful man and a curious young woman. Djola, the Emperor’s right hand man, has for years tried to warn his leader about the imminent disaster that awaits his people. A poison desert is spreading across the land, destroying everything it wake. Starvation and thirst drive villagers into cities and create fractures in once-strong inter-clan relationships. Years ago he came to the Arkhysian Empire and helped secure the throne for the current Emperor, but now he must risk the wrath of a powerful and angry man to save what is left of the empire…

Read the rest of this review at Tor.com.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.