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A review by franrodalg
Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I went on a rollercoaster with this one. At the beginning I was convinced this would be the return to form that I had been waiting for. The last couple of entries were increasingly disappointing. But having (some of) the banter that elevated the first two back plus some political intrigue without introducing yet another magic system out of nowhere seemed like a recipe for success. Soon, however, some extremely weird plot/structure decisions left me baffled.
I won't go into it in detail because of spoilers, but more than once something extremely game changing happens (often terminating what until that point was the entire story question) yet its consequences are glossed over. Maybe a new complication arises from it, but the most obvious, immediate — and, I dare say, necessary — consequences are not even considered. In some cases, entire chapters pass until even a mention of that event appeared in page.
Even with those strange decisions I got somewhat engaged with the story. Every entry in series seems to have non-conventional pacing, giving it some episodic flavour, and yet I had loved the first two anyway, so I was willing to overlook my issues with it and enjoy the court intrigue for what it was. Yet a series of extremely uncomfortable scenes — including one I had to double the audiobook speed to avoid feeling nauseous while on a walk — dropped my enjoyment tremendously. I also didn't appreciate that the ending didn't rely on any of the cunning that the MC usually displays.
I only have one entry left in the series so I will push through and finish it. But I am glad I didn't buy the signed books as I was intending to do not too long ago. I am also quite concerned about the other series by the author I also intend to read. Hopefully the "teenager tendencies" that this series increasingly displays won't happen there.
I won't go into it in detail because of spoilers, but more than once something extremely game changing happens (often terminating what until that point was the entire story question) yet its consequences are glossed over. Maybe a new complication arises from it, but the most obvious, immediate — and, I dare say, necessary — consequences are not even considered. In some cases, entire chapters pass until even a mention of that event appeared in page.
Even with those strange decisions I got somewhat engaged with the story. Every entry in series seems to have non-conventional pacing, giving it some episodic flavour, and yet I had loved the first two anyway, so I was willing to overlook my issues with it and enjoy the court intrigue for what it was. Yet a series of extremely uncomfortable scenes — including one I had to double the audiobook speed to avoid feeling nauseous while on a walk — dropped my enjoyment tremendously. I also didn't appreciate that the ending didn't rely on any of the cunning that the MC usually displays.
I only have one entry left in the series so I will push through and finish it. But I am glad I didn't buy the signed books as I was intending to do not too long ago. I am also quite concerned about the other series by the author I also intend to read. Hopefully the "teenager tendencies" that this series increasingly displays won't happen there.