Buying a new fantasy book is always so exciting. Fantasy is one of my all-time favourite genres, and there’s always a high chance that I might find a new favourite book or series to obsess over for the next few weeks/months/years(?). Plus, in my opinion, fantasy books have some of the most beautiful covers. Yes, I am that shallow. I love having a pile of pretty books decorating my bookshelf. So of course, I was super excited when I picked up a copy of ‘The Prison Healer’ by Lynette Noni. The premise is intriguing, and that cover is divine. I bought a copy during its release week earlier this year, and I’ve actually managed to read it in a semi-timely fashion which, if you’ve been around here for any length of time, you’ll know is rather a big deal. ‘The Prison Healer’ was absolutely one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, and it absolutely didn’t disappoint.
Before we get into my thoughts on this book, here’s the synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.
When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.
Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.
But no one has ever survived.
With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.
I’m not a huge reader of dark fantasy normally. Not because I don’t like them, but just because I haven’t actually come across too many so far (though I do have Nevernight on my TBR, and I’ve heard that one can get pretty inky). ‘The Prison Healer’ isn’t afraid to go to some really dark places, though of course, what can one expect when the whole book is set inside a prison? It’s raw, it’s gritty, and it doesn’t shy away from the very real ugliness of prison life. It can get a little heavy in places, but at the same time, it’s never so bleak or hopeless that you feel like it’s overwhelming. I’ll be interested to see whether this same gritty style carries over into the sequel, or whether a change of setting might also indicate a slight change of tone.
‘The Prison Healer’ hits several of my favourite fantasy tropes, including characters going through a set of trials. It’s a trite comparison, but there are definite ‘Hunger Game’ vibes at the start of the trials, when the main character Kiva volunteers to take them in place of the Rebel Queen. The trials aren’t the whole story, but rather a part that weaves together with several other story threads, creating a mess that Kiva struggles to deal with in every part of her life. The trials are unfair, and meant to be so, and it takes a great deal of creativity and team thinking from Kiva and her friends to get through them, which is fantastic. There’s nothing like a motley group of friends pulling together to cheat death over and over.
Definitely one of my favourite parts of any book are, of course, the characters. The cast in ‘The Prison Healer’ are fantastic, and hit on another of my favourite tropes, found family. They’re distinct and morally grey a lot of the time, and are a spot of light inside the hellhole that is Zalindov. There’s the tough female guard with a prosthetic hand and a heart of gold, who is definitely somewhat out of place in a prison as brutal as this one. Also, an apothecary who murdered his whole family before being sent to Zalindov, but still cares deeply for his friends. And of course, there’s Kiva herself. She’s been made tough by her life in the prison, and is slow to trust and to let people see the real her. One thing I especially appreciated was that her personality didn’t automatically change when the male lead appeared. She unlearns some of the harsh lessons, but at a more natural pace, and more because she has a solid group of friends around her to love and support her than because of any romance.
If I do have one criticism, it’s that plot reveals are guarded almost too closely. Don’t get me wrong, I love a plot twist that completely pulls the rug out from underneath my feet. There’s nothing like the sudden gasp as a reveal you didn’t see coming changes everything you thought you knew. However, at the same time, plot twists do need some sort of set up, some thread throughout the book that integrates them, so that when the big reveal happened, the surprise feels earned, rather than dropped on your head like ‘like, here’s all these things I didn’t put in the text but totally happened’. The last chapter of ‘The Prison Healer’ hits you with a couple of massive reveals that definitely catch you by surprise. Unfortunately, for me at least, they lost a little of their power, because there was no indication in any of the rest of the book that these things could even be possible. Without some subtle foreshadowing, big reveals can feel like they’ve been dumped in there just for effect. I don’t know, I’m just not super fond of reveals with no basis throughout the story for shock value. It doesn’t detract from the story, particularly, but it was a little surprising to be hit at the end with reveals that literally came out of nowhere, especially when the rest of the book was so good..
This nitpick aside, ‘The Prison Healer’ was a fantastic read. It’s not afraid to to take you into some uncomfortable places at times, but it’s also never oppressive, and shows the best side of people in difficult situations as well as the worst. This book doesn’t allow you to fall into comfortable black and white ways of thinking, but presents you with problems that don’t have a black and white solution. And it hits several of the best tropes, including found family, and characters being put through a trial. All in all, it sets up of a really interesting trilogy, and personally, I’m excited to see what happens in book two.
Have you read ‘The Prison Healer’? If so, what did you think? If not, is it on your TBR? What book has the best plot twist you’ve ever read?
Ooooh, this one’s on my list! I look forward to reading it even more now. As for plot twists, anything by Brandon Sanderson usually takes a stunning turn. His latest book, Rhythm of War, had some great twists that I’m still reeling from.
I highly recommend it. It’s soooo good. Can’t wait for The Gilded Cage to come out later this year now. I’m so tempted to preorder it actually. Ooh, Brandon Sanderson. I haven’t read many of his books yet, but I do remember being completely taken by surprise by one of the twists in Steelheart and absolutely loving it. It was set up perfectly, and concealed beautifully as well, so it was natural, but I never guessed it. Definitely going to look forward to Rhythm of War. I have it on my list, but haven’t read the previous books yet, so I feel like I have a bit of catching up to do, haha.