The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black
Holly Black, author of the Magisterium books and The Spiderwick Chronicles, is one of the best-known and most celebrated writers of fantasy for children and young adults. Her work tends to be both thoughtful and action-packed and there’s always a vividness to her writing that makes for fully immersive reading.
That’s why we’re excited to bring you the brand new conclusion to her latest duology! It began with The Stolen Heir and it concludes now with The Prisoner’s Throne. The books return us to Elfhame, one of Black’s most fully realised and memorable worlds. Here’s a bit about both of them.
The Stolen Heir
In the first novel we are introduced to Prince Oak of Elfhame – a reluctant noble who’s as manipulative as he is beautiful – and Suren – a queen who has fled her palace of ice.
Following a terrible battle and the power struggles that ensued Suren, the changeling child Queen of The Court of Teeth has fled the Ice Needle Citadel to live a lonely, haunted life in the forests of the human world. She waits to be fully forgotten and passes the time by toying with mortals and dwelling on the events that forced her from her home. One night she is pursued by the terrifying storm hag, Bogdana, who remembers her and whose malice is limitless, only to be saved by Prince Oak.
Suren and Oak were once promised to each other, but now she has nothing but resentment and distrust for him. Which makes things awkward because Oak is about to embark on a mission that will lead him into the frozen North… and he needs Suren’s help. She can’t trust him, and returning to the North will force her to relive horrors she’s fought hard to forget, and yet certain events have already been set in motion.
The Prisoner’s Throne
When we rejoin the story, Prince Oak has been imprisoned in the North for his treachery and the sadistic new queen is doing everything in her power to make his survival unlikely. Cardan and Jude, king and queen of Elfhame will do whatever they must to get Oak back… but his loyalty to them is not so straight forward as accepting their help could also mean ending the life of the girl he loves.
War is coming from multiple directions and trust is in short supply across the land. Thus far Oak has gotten by on his charm and his quick wits, but this time those won’t be enough to spare those he cares for. Every action he might take ends with the pain and death of someone important to him. All he can do is try to decide which loss to suffer.
Captivating, magical and shockingly bloody The Prisoner’s Heir concludes the tale of Suren and Oak in grand, completely irresistible style.