Queen of the Conquered
Kacen Callender
Paperback, 400 pages
Publication Date: November 12, 2019
Publisher: Orbit
Genre: Fantasy
Orbit Books has quickly become one of my favorite publishers. Specializing in science fiction and fantasy, they work with authors I already love and have introduced me to new voices in genre fiction. When I came across Orbit’s “Queen of the Conquered” by Kacen Callender, I immediately wanted to read it.
The cover was the first thing that caught my attention. It stood out among other books when I was scrolling through an endless list of recent releases one day. I checked out the premise, which seemed to subvert a lot of conventional fantasy novel tropes. I was excited.
“Queen of the Conquered” tells the story of Sigourney Rose, the only surviving member of the Rose family. Sigourney’s family was killed as part of a political coup when she was a child. As citizens of an island colonized by a faraway empire, Sigourney’s family were the only islanders who were not enslaved by the colonizers. It quickly becomes clear to Sigourney her family was killed because they were perceived as a threat to the other ruling families of the islands, so she decides to take revenge for her family’s murders.
Aiding in Sigourney’s vengeance is her magic, or “kraft.” She has the ability to read the emotions of another person and influence those emotions as she sees fit. Years after her family’s murder, the king of the islands reaches out to Sigourney and the other rulers to announce his successor. Sigourney has plans to be that successor, and she has much less pleasant plans for anyone who gets in her way.
This premise may seem a bit convoluted, and it took me many, many pages to figure out exactly what was going on. There are a great number of terms and titles which are not immediately explained and difficult to interpret even in context. It took over 50 pages before I found out what kongelig, Halle, Konge and other words meant. After that, “Queen of the Conquered” continued to provide backstory and further explanation of prior events until almost the end of the book. This made for a frustrating reading experience which felt incomplete. I think if everything was explained at the beginning of the book, I would have been less confused and enjoyed it more.
My dissatisfaction with “Queen of the Conquered,” unfortunately, goes on from there. Sigourney was not a likable character in the slightest, although she was purposely made not to be a sympathetic character. Even understanding that, though, she was still incapable of making a single good decision or acting in anyone’s interest except her own. It is hard to like a book when there are very little redeeming qualities in its protagonist.
Without spoiling anything specific, I will say there is a large twist at the end of the book which explains why Sigourney acts the way she does. However, I am not someone who enjoys plot twists which invalidate almost the entirety of the book, and that is what Callender does. The twist itself was clever, but I do not feel like the entire book had to build up to it. The series concludes in an unreleased second book, although I easily think the twist could have happened much earlier in “Queen of the Conquered” and erased the need for a sequel.
I was excited for this book, but I was left not very impressed. For something 400 pages long, not a whole lot happens, which is another reason why I think this entire series would be better if it was just one book. I will not be reading the sequel, although I will keep a tentative eye out for any future projects Callender may undertake.
Paige Holmes is a senior journalism major from Topeka, KS. Reading is her favorite thing to do because it teaches one how to think, imagine and live. Paige believes there is no better way to learn something or be entertained than by reading a book. Her favorite genre of books is fantasy/thriller and her favorite book is ‘Opening Moves’ by Steven James.
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