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neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was definitely a challenging read. It makes you question the effect privilege has across communities and shows a character that you aren't sure you want to root for. It challenges the MC’s own motivations (are they in the her best interests, or everyone’s?) and how readers perceive the MC. It highlights the brutality of colonization, slavery, and genocide. It toes the line of unreliable narrator (their perception of their reality may not necessarily be real) and makes reader questioning what is and isn’t reality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Slavery, War, Blood, and Child death
elissareadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read this book because I really enjoyed Callender’s “Felix Ever After” and was interested in checking out more of their work! It is entirely different in tone, but a worthwhile read. Queen of the Conquered tells the story of Sigourney Rose, a young woman who lives on the islands of Hans Lollik Helle. She is determined to get revenge on the kongelig, who have colonized her islands and killed her family. To achieve this revenge, she believes she must wield power herself. The book explores themes of colonization, power, racism, privilege, and complicity in really thorough and interesting ways.
What works: I think this book does a lot really well. It takes on the hard task of creating a complicated and flawed protagonist. Sigourney feels fully realized as a character; her internal struggle consumes the pages. While Sigourney doesn’t have a lot of action in this book, it makes sense in the context of the novel. Sigourney feels so trapped between wanting the power and freedom of the kongelig and wanting the love and respect of her people that she ultimately is rarely able to take action until she absolutely has to. It is painful to read. The worldbuilding is also well-executed. There is a rich history behind the characters and places in the book, which grounds the more fantastic elements. Another thing I found impressive was the way it explored the history of colonialism and slavery in the Caribbean, weaving it into the fantasy world. It is blunt and brutal.
What doesn’t work: My largest issue was the use of one device: Sigourney’s ability to read minds. I was excited to see how it would be used in her revenge, however, it mostly presented lots of background information about characters and places. While this showed off Callender’s worldbuilding, it slowed the pace significantly, especially since so much of Sigourney’s journey is already internal. However, I still found this a worthwhile read and am interested in the sequel! I’m invested in how the characters of this world move forward following the plot twist at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Trafficking, and Rape
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