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britterization 's review for:
The Queen of Blood
by Sarah Beth Durst
In the world of Renthia, people live in trees. Not, like, in a DON'T CUT DOWN THIS REDWOOD protester kind of way, but entire cities built up in the branches kind of way. These trees, and in fact all nature and natural things, are controlled by spirits - but the spirits themselves are controlled by the ruling queen and women with power. Unchecked by a queen's power, these spirits are destructive. Destroy your town and everyone and everything in it destructive. It was when Daleina's town experienced such destruction that Daleina realized she had power over the spirits. She decides to put that power to use by studying at the academy, which prepares the lucky few to potentially take over should the current reigning queen die.
That synopsis was hard to write, but only because the worldbuilding in this novel is quite rich. I'm sure it's been done before (because at this point, what hasn't?), but I loved the idea of entire cities built in trees, with people that travel above the trees on wires/ziplines, and below in the forest on foot (but only if they are quite brave - lots of nasty spirits live on the ground). The magic system and the...spirit interface? matriarchal culture? made sense and were interesting to learn about as the book progressed. It was reminiscent of horro/fantasy involving demons/demon control, just minus any pentagrams/pentacles or whatever. Anyway, A++ for worldbuilding.
The characters were also pretty awesome. When we meet Daleina, she's pretty young, and we get to follow her as she matures and grows. Unlike in a lot of fantasy, Daleina is a pretty average girl. In fact, she barely has enough magic to get into the Academy in the first place. Once she's there, though, she works her ASS OFF and is creative and fosters teamwork. She's definitely a very likable character. Ven, the other "main" character, is a champion of the queen who is responsible for helping to train future queens, and he's a fairly interesting character as well. He's flawed, but appreciates Daleina for all of the reasons she should be appreciated - her motives, determination, and her SJW mindset. Throughout the course of her studies at the academy, she develops several female friendships, which is something sadly lacking from a lot of fantasy.
In short, if you are looking for your next seriously entertaining fantasy read, look no further. And, as a bonus, you don't even have to wait that long for book 2 (but even if you did, bonus! There's no cliffhanger in this one!) as it comes out July 2017. I really enjoyed this - 4 stars.
That synopsis was hard to write, but only because the worldbuilding in this novel is quite rich. I'm sure it's been done before (because at this point, what hasn't?), but I loved the idea of entire cities built in trees, with people that travel above the trees on wires/ziplines, and below in the forest on foot (but only if they are quite brave - lots of nasty spirits live on the ground). The magic system and the...spirit interface? matriarchal culture? made sense and were interesting to learn about as the book progressed. It was reminiscent of horro/fantasy involving demons/demon control, just minus any pentagrams/pentacles or whatever. Anyway, A++ for worldbuilding.
The characters were also pretty awesome. When we meet Daleina, she's pretty young, and we get to follow her as she matures and grows. Unlike in a lot of fantasy, Daleina is a pretty average girl. In fact, she barely has enough magic to get into the Academy in the first place. Once she's there, though, she works her ASS OFF and is creative and fosters teamwork. She's definitely a very likable character. Ven, the other "main" character, is a champion of the queen who is responsible for helping to train future queens, and he's a fairly interesting character as well. He's flawed, but appreciates Daleina for all of the reasons she should be appreciated - her motives, determination, and her SJW mindset. Throughout the course of her studies at the academy, she develops several female friendships, which is something sadly lacking from a lot of fantasy.
In short, if you are looking for your next seriously entertaining fantasy read, look no further. And, as a bonus, you don't even have to wait that long for book 2 (but even if you did, bonus! There's no cliffhanger in this one!) as it comes out July 2017. I really enjoyed this - 4 stars.