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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
First thing that struck me was a problem with the cover art and banners (obviously two artists and one wasn't paying attention).
It was an easy, not unenjoyable read, but I disliked her (mis)treatment of the golem legend and the description of the people who use such said arts. I don't enjoy books where the heroine falls in love with her captive, even if it's through dark arts, and that point bothered me. Things were let poorly explained if explained at all and the division among the tribes left me politically confused. Still,the first chapter was a gripping one.
Not sure I'll bother with the second book.
It was an easy, not unenjoyable read, but I disliked her (mis)treatment of the golem legend and the description of the people who use such said arts. I don't enjoy books where the heroine falls in love with her captive, even if it's through dark arts, and that point bothered me. Things were let poorly explained if explained at all and the division among the tribes left me politically confused. Still,the first chapter was a gripping one.
Not sure I'll bother with the second book.
‘A Duethin stands still, Matilde. None among the Turasi will bend their neck to a fidgeter.’
Thus we are introduced to our protagonist, a young woman on the verge of becoming the leader of the squabbling Turasi Clans. To say she is wholly unprepared for the events of the novel is an understatement.
The Tale
Shadow Queen is a pacey political thriller in a fantasy setting. Our protagonist Matilde is to take the throne and rule over the Turasi. Before she can claim it, she is usurped by the leader of a renegade clan and in an effort to survive the slaughter of her entire line, offers herself in marriage. Her life hangs in the balance at almost every decision and forced to make decisions with her naïve understanding of politics, she often ends up getting into more trouble.
Kill your darlings or Oppress them
Kalin is merciless in placing her protagonist in dire straights from beginning to end. A consequence of this, is of course, that while we are constantly on edge we are also screaming at Matilde not to be so blatantly naïve.
I love that our protagonist rarely wields a weapon, or becomes Xena Warrior princess to achieve her aims. It is of course set against a backdrop of impending war, but Kalin has done a great job using psychological tension and the interplay between characters to ensure that neither Matilde nor the reader really have a chance to catch their breath.
If I were to contrast this against Brandon Sanderson's latest which aims to achieve similar things ie female protagonist, more political and psychological tension than grand battles, I’d have to say that Kalin comes out on top.
Story and Character
The world of Shadow Queen is broadly painted. I can see Anglo Saxon influence in the Turasi, Monghols in the Skythe Tribes and Romans in the Iltheans . Kalin gives us sign posts rather than detailed histories. She wants our focus on story and character. Kalin succeeds and the result is pacey and emotionally enticing.
Matilde is believable, a young adult thrust into leadership and woefully incapable of playing the political game. But she is a survivor and one gets the impression that she will learn, if painfully so.
Shadow Queen strikes me as a mature work, not a debut novel. Its pace and ease of reading feels more like the work of a journeyman than a novice. I am looking forward to more of Deborah Kalin.
This novel was provided to me at no cost by the author
Thus we are introduced to our protagonist, a young woman on the verge of becoming the leader of the squabbling Turasi Clans. To say she is wholly unprepared for the events of the novel is an understatement.
The Tale
Shadow Queen is a pacey political thriller in a fantasy setting. Our protagonist Matilde is to take the throne and rule over the Turasi. Before she can claim it, she is usurped by the leader of a renegade clan and in an effort to survive the slaughter of her entire line, offers herself in marriage. Her life hangs in the balance at almost every decision and forced to make decisions with her naïve understanding of politics, she often ends up getting into more trouble.
Kill your darlings or Oppress them
Kalin is merciless in placing her protagonist in dire straights from beginning to end. A consequence of this, is of course, that while we are constantly on edge we are also screaming at Matilde not to be so blatantly naïve.
I love that our protagonist rarely wields a weapon, or becomes Xena Warrior princess to achieve her aims. It is of course set against a backdrop of impending war, but Kalin has done a great job using psychological tension and the interplay between characters to ensure that neither Matilde nor the reader really have a chance to catch their breath.
If I were to contrast this against Brandon Sanderson's latest which aims to achieve similar things ie female protagonist, more political and psychological tension than grand battles, I’d have to say that Kalin comes out on top.
Story and Character
The world of Shadow Queen is broadly painted. I can see Anglo Saxon influence in the Turasi, Monghols in the Skythe Tribes and Romans in the Iltheans . Kalin gives us sign posts rather than detailed histories. She wants our focus on story and character. Kalin succeeds and the result is pacey and emotionally enticing.
Matilde is believable, a young adult thrust into leadership and woefully incapable of playing the political game. But she is a survivor and one gets the impression that she will learn, if painfully so.
Shadow Queen strikes me as a mature work, not a debut novel. Its pace and ease of reading feels more like the work of a journeyman than a novice. I am looking forward to more of Deborah Kalin.
This novel was provided to me at no cost by the author
I enjoyed this tense, dark fantasy, about Matilde, the heir to the throne, and the considerable political upheaval that takes place in her land. I was a bit concerned that the story was edging towards a falling-in-love-with-a-captor thing, which is one of my pet hates. It's ends ambigiously - there's clearly a lot more story to come, and ends in a fairly dark place - and so it's not clear whether Matilde's feelings (whatever they are, and even she is not sure) are the result of a sort of Stockholm syndrome.
I like the uncertain nature of this novel, Matilde's desperate attempts to regain and secure power, the desperate sense of how much is at stake. It's not a cliffhanger ending (not a happy end, but not really a cliffhanger) which is nice in a series where you have to wait for the next book to be published.
I like the uncertain nature of this novel, Matilde's desperate attempts to regain and secure power, the desperate sense of how much is at stake. It's not a cliffhanger ending (not a happy end, but not really a cliffhanger) which is nice in a series where you have to wait for the next book to be published.
It was,,, ok.
The book started pretty meh, felt like a formulaic fantasy novel set in a mediaeval world with magic and politics. Wasn't that great of a hook, but a few chapters in and you realise that oh this was a deliberate writing style since our main character and narrator
The book picks up it's pace and I quite liked her struggling through the middle section.
Ok but then the ending was a bit disappointing. It felt very haphazard and forced for her to end up the way she did. It was like the ending had already been set and we needed to see her there before the page limit was reached. Also, she can suddenly shake the earth? That make's no sense- how does one as unexperienced and physically weak as she is suddenly achieve all of that?
Do I want to read the sequel? Kind of, since the story has already gotten to this point. If they all die, they all die. I'm actually ok with that kind of ending, because protagonist was framed to be this realistically helpless. But will I enjoy it 100%? Probably not.
The book started pretty meh, felt like a formulaic fantasy novel set in a mediaeval world with magic and politics. Wasn't that great of a hook, but a few chapters in and you realise that oh this was a deliberate writing style since our main character and narrator
Spoiler
is as dumb (ignorant?) and unobservant as her grandma makes her out to be. There really is a good reason why she hasn't taken the throne yet.The book picks up it's pace and I quite liked her struggling through the middle section.
Spoiler
She really is trying, and it really feel like her struggles are realistic given that she's only 17. There's also the soft magic system introduced, where even Matilde doesn't know how her powers work.Ok but then the ending was a bit disappointing. It felt very haphazard and forced for her to end up the way she did. It was like the ending had already been set and we needed to see her there before the page limit was reached. Also, she can suddenly shake the earth? That make's no sense- how does one as unexperienced and physically weak as she is suddenly achieve all of that?
Do I want to read the sequel? Kind of, since the story has already gotten to this point. If they all die, they all die. I'm actually ok with that kind of ending, because protagonist was framed to be this realistically helpless. But will I enjoy it 100%? Probably not.
I'm not sure what I thought of this. The main character had an original and compelling voice, but on the other hand, all of the characters behaved erractically. I couldn't work out anyone's goals or motivations, and that made for an unsatisfying read. I didn't feel I knew who any of these people were by the end of the book, which makes it rather difficult to care what happens to them.