The blurb below talks about Christopher returning to the archipelago but the actual focus of this second book is on Princess Anya Phoebe Cornelia Argen. Years ago her mother died but she has spent a happy childhood living with her father in a remote part of the kingdom. Unfortunately she and her father are forced to move back into the castle where young Anya is given training on how to behave as a perfect princess. Her father, Argus, is the first-born son and so when the old King Halam dies, which everyone assumes is years away, he will be crowned kind and then in turn, again decades from now, if her father dies, Anya as the next in line will become the Queen.
I imagine you have guessed that no one has to wait for this. Right from the start I did not trust the second son, brother to Argus - Prince Claude or Uncle Claude. On the night of a huge an important banquet, Halam is found dead and Argus is accused of the murder. Anya knows this has all been set up by her uncle but how can she prove it. In the middle of the night guards arrive ostensibly to take Anya to boarding school but in a scene reminiscent of Snow White, Anya is taken into the forest to be killed.
Anya is not alone in all of this. Yes she will meet up with Christopher and together they will discover the truth about the killing of many dragons but also he will help her return to the castle so she can reveal the truth about Uncle Claude and, as the title tells you, also reveal how he made and used such a deadly poison. Time is of course ticking because Claude plans to execute Argus in just a few days. As well as Christopher, Anya has her loyal gaganas. The Royal Gaganas are large bird with silver claws and beaks of solid gold. They are capable of extraordinary and lasting love and it is clear they will protect Anya. She also meets a Chimaera, a Sphinx, and several unicorns along with many other fabulous 'impossible creatures'. Oh and thank goodness for the skill of the firebirds who have been trained to detect the fainest whiff of any poison. Yes, this does lead to the wrongful imprisonment of Argus but later they are also able to definitely show that Claude has used this poison again on (spoiler alert) Anya herself.
Here are a couple of text quotes:
"There was a smell that she had never encountered before, of something metallic and acrid. He (the king) was still clad in the clothes he had died in, and a fleck of dark purple-red liquid lay on his collar, and another on his beard: a fleck of poison. She took scissors from his desk and cut the piece of cloth from his collar, where the poison had fallen ... even the tiniest amount of the poison might help her identify it, and if she could identify it she'd be closer to knowing who had committed the murder."
"The dragon led them down a long passage, which widened to become the mouth of a cave, vast enough, Anya thought in awe, for a thousand humans. The ceiling was open in places to the sky outside; ... There, at the heart of the cave, were five dragons. They lay like black-and-red carvings of unspeakable beauty; like the final great inventions of a perfectionist god. They did not move. ... It was the site of a massacre."
There are a myriad of characters in The Poisoned King all with distinct personalities and voices. One of my favourites is Meridarpax a Batrachomyomachian mouse and the assistant librarian. He is known as Meri and lives to help people with book finding and information requests.
"It would be a great relief to me if you would allow me to assist you, given I am the assistant librarian. ... I yearn to be out there, valiantly assisting, but there have been so few opportunities ... "
I also enjoyed the slowly emerging love story between Irian Guinne who is part neried and Nighthand a Berserker. (An illustrated glossary of the creatures can be found in the back of the book).
Here is a link to some discussion questions you could use with The Poisoned King.
I can hardly express how much I loved this second book in the Impossible Creatures series. Yes, I have read a plot like this before where the second son, who aspires to be the next king, kills his father and is set to kill the next two family members who are in line for the throne but in the hands of Katherine Rundell this story takes on a whole new dimension.
This is book two in the series but it can stand alone. I read the first book in 2023 and only remembered fragments. I didn't need to re-read the first book to thoroughly enjoy this second installment. I highly recommend you add both of these books to your library (Primary or High School). I visited a city bookstore today and they have a scrumptious hardcover of The Poisoned King with edge or for-edge painting. Even if this book feels outside the genre you usually read please add this book to your to-read list. The Poisoned King is such a rich and rewarding reading experience.
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