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The Mad Queen #1
Sister Sable
THE FIRST TENET OF THE WIND: Do not get caught.
Sister Sable has lived by the first tenet for seven years, but when an unexpected accident reveals the runaway nun to the clergy, she is forced to embrace the remaining four.
THE SECOND TENET OF THE WIND: Win by any means.
With the King’s spymaster committed to killing her, and his general regretting he didn’t, Sable enters a deadly game.
THE THIRD TENET OF THE WIND: The purpose of picking up a blade is to cut the enemy.
Scaring them is discretionary.
THE FOURTH TENET OF THE WIND: Have no preferred weapon.
Even so, she likes the axe.
THE FIFTH TENET OF THE WIND: Know the way of all professions.
Prophet, pilot, assassin, spy, Sable will need to call upon all she has learned to protect the King’s future from the past.
Sister Sable has lived by the first tenet for seven years, but when an unexpected accident reveals the runaway nun to the clergy, she is forced to embrace the remaining four.
THE SECOND TENET OF THE WIND: Win by any means.
With the King’s spymaster committed to killing her, and his general regretting he didn’t, Sable enters a deadly game.
THE THIRD TENET OF THE WIND: The purpose of picking up a blade is to cut the enemy.
Scaring them is discretionary.
THE FOURTH TENET OF THE WIND: Have no preferred weapon.
Even so, she likes the axe.
THE FIFTH TENET OF THE WIND: Know the way of all professions.
Prophet, pilot, assassin, spy, Sable will need to call upon all she has learned to protect the King’s future from the past.
361 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2015
2356 people are currently reading
11478 people want to read
About the author
T. Mountebank
2 books116 followersT. Mountebank is a world traveller, a rogue, a renegade, an optimist, a futurist, a fearless psychonaut, and a very bad pilot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
April 29, 2016
Yes, it is really dark book for adults without porn and part of story-line is about relationships. As somebody wrote: "beautiful dark tragedy" about hard decisions, politics, betrayal, about manipulation and war. Without blank descriptions. And very interesting style of writing. Great storyline from beginning, but for me the last quarter of book was perfect. And twists and turns in story were handled with care. Very nicely done. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series soon.
February 5, 2016
Wow! Great original storyline with dangers and twists. Sable is more than a nun in the Cloture. She's meant to marry the King of Erentude and fulfill a prophesy and a centuries old promise. More than that, her destiny is meant to somehow change the world as they know it, but the leaders of her Cloitare convent are using her for their own purposes and Sable, her friends, and her King are doing everything they can to prevent the Cloture from coming into power.
It's a unique world that Mountebank has created, but it's not too far off into the future of our own. The Cloture have strong mental powers that could be considered far fetched, but are written onto the storyline so seamlessly that they appear like it's natural everyday thing to have telepathic powers.
I love that the secondary characters are more than average people some a little over the top. Their strengths and weaknesses make them more releasable- wicked hacking skills, drug dependency, professional assassin, sociopath, daredevil pilot, and others. The character of Sable is great. Though it can be a little annoying how brash she is sometimes when she has so much power, but she doesn't know how to use it. I thought that's what she had been doing in the convent for so long, but apparently training her for the future and her destiny was not at the top of the list in there.
There's humor and romance, political intrigue and religious zealots, bombs and explosions, virtues and vices, assassins and thugs. Overall, it's a great scifi read and I'd recommend it if you enjoy that kind of genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
It's a unique world that Mountebank has created, but it's not too far off into the future of our own. The Cloture have strong mental powers that could be considered far fetched, but are written onto the storyline so seamlessly that they appear like it's natural everyday thing to have telepathic powers.
I love that the secondary characters are more than average people some a little over the top. Their strengths and weaknesses make them more releasable- wicked hacking skills, drug dependency, professional assassin, sociopath, daredevil pilot, and others. The character of Sable is great. Though it can be a little annoying how brash she is sometimes when she has so much power, but she doesn't know how to use it. I thought that's what she had been doing in the convent for so long, but apparently training her for the future and her destiny was not at the top of the list in there.
There's humor and romance, political intrigue and religious zealots, bombs and explosions, virtues and vices, assassins and thugs. Overall, it's a great scifi read and I'd recommend it if you enjoy that kind of genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
April 11, 2016
Loved this book, although it can be difficult to follow the various plot points without tearing at your hair. :) Mountebank does explain them eventually, but in the meantime you wander, like Sister Sable, in the smoky dark. Most reviews I've read indicate this is a cut above the usual dark s/f fantasy. Strong characters, creative situations and a compelling tone...worst thing about this: it is only the first book of the series. Brief synopsis: In a hypothetical corner of Europe, a religious order called the Cloitaire seeks to rule the kingdom of Erentrude by controlling a young sister intended as the Bound Bride of the King. Unwilling to contribute to his demise, the sister, Sable, has run away. Now forces conspire to return her to the kingdom and compel her to harm the king, whom she loves.
August 4, 2016
Best new fantasy
I gave this 5 stars for the story. Its an imaginative action packed tale. I wonder if some of the pace and emotion has been lost in the translation. Nevertheless a vastly enjoyable read for fans of science/fantasy fiction
I gave this 5 stars for the story. Its an imaginative action packed tale. I wonder if some of the pace and emotion has been lost in the translation. Nevertheless a vastly enjoyable read for fans of science/fantasy fiction
November 10, 2015
The book is a magnificent wide ranging tale of politics, war, strategy, tactics, hand-to-hand combat, religion, mind control, drugs, insanity, betrayals..... I could go on and on but in the end it was brilliant fun to read.
November 20, 2015
Original, strong heroine, unexpected. awesome. Worth my very limited time. Loved it.
January 20, 2016
Refreshing
I loved the book. Best part was that I couldn't predict what was coming. It was nice not having to read about insecure relationships. There was angered yet understanding. Guilt and resolve. I found myself agreeing with Remy yet understanding and applauding Sable. At times I was torn within Sable's emotions seeing her struggle to catalog them in order survive. Disappointment towards the end with Aiden I felt he needed to be more yet more of what I couldn't put my finger on. I would have liked a few gaps filled but that is more to settle my own curiosity.
I loved the book. Best part was that I couldn't predict what was coming. It was nice not having to read about insecure relationships. There was angered yet understanding. Guilt and resolve. I found myself agreeing with Remy yet understanding and applauding Sable. At times I was torn within Sable's emotions seeing her struggle to catalog them in order survive. Disappointment towards the end with Aiden I felt he needed to be more yet more of what I couldn't put my finger on. I would have liked a few gaps filled but that is more to settle my own curiosity.
July 7, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It creates it's own world set in the future when the religious group, The Cloistre are seeking to control three countries. King Remy is a good man with a faithful inner circle seeking to protect him. This includes Sister Sable, the Bound Nun. It can be complicated at times (I wish there was a map and a list of characters, especially since it is a foreign future imaginary country and language). There were times that the military strategy lost me, but it quickly returns to being a psychological thriller as characters ' secrets and purposes are unveiled layer by layer. Translated into English, my understanding is that two more novels have been printed in their original language. I can hardly wait for their translation. Some people are offended by the periodic bad language, but for me it fits the action and situation the characters find themselves in - and truthfully it didn't seem to happen that often (or I hang out with the wrong crowd..wink wink). Once I started, I had to keep going, so engrossed in the plot, I was.
October 10, 2016
Awesome!
Great read! Couldn't put it down! The characters are addicting and the plot is very interesting. Can't wait to read more
Great read! Couldn't put it down! The characters are addicting and the plot is very interesting. Can't wait to read more
February 15, 2019
3,25 stars - English Ebook - review follows later 🍀🍃🌹🦋☘️
February 24, 2017
Originally I wasn't going to give this book any stars because I DNF'd ... then I noticed all the "5-star" reviews written by reviewers whose profiles are set to Private, who've written/reviewed virtually no books & have most of their review 'likes' of this book from others who have no GR friends & almost no reviews themselves. That has rather an odor about it and it doesn't smell good.
Sister Sable is set in an alternate Now in a heavily disguised and rather confused world with echoes of our own reality. As a whole the book struck me as needing another heavy edit before release, by which I mean the work of a serious professional editor. It did have potential.
In the first half of the book when I felt we were making progress on the actual characters and events - the mysterious Cloitare religious sisterhood, how it related to the ruling monarchy of the kingdom and the person of the King himself and his advisors - elements of thinly-disguised actual modern political issues threw me out of the story. Broad hints of Stuxnet, paid/organized internet political activists and the like tossed me right out of an intriguing but Very Slowly Unfolding fictional reality.
As I got past that hurdle on into the second half where more was shown about the character of Sister Sable (Bound Bride & Mad Queen) she became way too much of a dark & deranged Mary Sue. I had a lot of difficulty suspending disbelief enough to embrace that Sable hid her identity from some very clever people just by changing her hair color/style no matter how much she was supposed to be the Chosen One of a psychically gifted and medievally restrictive religious order. Not to mention how she, as a runaway naïf, managed to end up with those clever folk to begin with. Somehow the blank slate of Sable was magically written upon but we never get a whiff as to how, which is more than a bit of a stretch (and would have made an interesting tale).
Except ... Chosen One. Sigh.
This author has an interesting vision but at times the subtle is too close to the surface and at other times the subtlety leads to confusion or outright disbelief. Both too much and too little are attributed to religious mystery, royal nobility of character, and/or unexplained circumstance. It all needed a bit more of a solid foundation before being built upon.
And perhaps the author might rethink his/her nom de plume of Mountebank ("charlatan, fraud, hoaxer"). Combined with the writerly issues it's just a bit too preciously annoying.
Sister Sable is set in an alternate Now in a heavily disguised and rather confused world with echoes of our own reality. As a whole the book struck me as needing another heavy edit before release, by which I mean the work of a serious professional editor. It did have potential.
In the first half of the book when I felt we were making progress on the actual characters and events - the mysterious Cloitare religious sisterhood, how it related to the ruling monarchy of the kingdom and the person of the King himself and his advisors - elements of thinly-disguised actual modern political issues threw me out of the story. Broad hints of Stuxnet, paid/organized internet political activists and the like tossed me right out of an intriguing but Very Slowly Unfolding fictional reality.
As I got past that hurdle on into the second half where more was shown about the character of Sister Sable (Bound Bride & Mad Queen) she became way too much of a dark & deranged Mary Sue. I had a lot of difficulty suspending disbelief enough to embrace that Sable hid her identity from some very clever people just by changing her hair color/style no matter how much she was supposed to be the Chosen One of a psychically gifted and medievally restrictive religious order. Not to mention how she, as a runaway naïf, managed to end up with those clever folk to begin with. Somehow the blank slate of Sable was magically written upon but we never get a whiff as to how, which is more than a bit of a stretch (and would have made an interesting tale).
Except ... Chosen One. Sigh.
This author has an interesting vision but at times the subtle is too close to the surface and at other times the subtlety leads to confusion or outright disbelief. Both too much and too little are attributed to religious mystery, royal nobility of character, and/or unexplained circumstance. It all needed a bit more of a solid foundation before being built upon.
And perhaps the author might rethink his/her nom de plume of Mountebank ("charlatan, fraud, hoaxer"). Combined with the writerly issues it's just a bit too preciously annoying.
July 15, 2016
Interesting but convoluted
I'm not sure if I liked this book or not. I had to get to about a third into the book before I started to understand what might be happening. I actually think it deserves a 3.5* but I do want to know what happens next. If the sequel is better, I would upgrade my rating.
I'm not sure if I liked this book or not. I had to get to about a third into the book before I started to understand what might be happening. I actually think it deserves a 3.5* but I do want to know what happens next. If the sequel is better, I would upgrade my rating.
August 7, 2017
Hits the ground running.
If 3.5 stars was an option, I would have chosen that. This story hits the ground at breakneck speed. You'll have to use a lot of your own imagination to build character exposition. I feel strongly that maybe 5 chapters of backstory would eliminate a lot of confusion about what the hell is happening here.
If you get to the end of the book you'll learn the gist about how sable was chosen, trained in combat and trained in her powers, all to change the future of the cloitare and protect the king.
You get a little mental whiplash paging between Sable the junkie, Sable the assassin, Sable the nun, Sable with magic powers to manipulate the mind and time. Almost like the timeline is just too obscure.
You don't get the feeling that she loves the king, but has this inherent duty to protect him.
All that being said, it was entertaining. Even if the sole reason was because I always had so many questions about what was happening.
I'm sad I paid over $10 for this book, but grateful that it had a good editor and there were no grammatical errors.
I'm vascilating between the desire to not spend more money on the confusion that is this story and the desire to find out what happens next.
This book is on the cusp of something great, but also so puzzling.
If 3.5 stars was an option, I would have chosen that. This story hits the ground at breakneck speed. You'll have to use a lot of your own imagination to build character exposition. I feel strongly that maybe 5 chapters of backstory would eliminate a lot of confusion about what the hell is happening here.
If you get to the end of the book you'll learn the gist about how sable was chosen, trained in combat and trained in her powers, all to change the future of the cloitare and protect the king.
You get a little mental whiplash paging between Sable the junkie, Sable the assassin, Sable the nun, Sable with magic powers to manipulate the mind and time. Almost like the timeline is just too obscure.
You don't get the feeling that she loves the king, but has this inherent duty to protect him.
All that being said, it was entertaining. Even if the sole reason was because I always had so many questions about what was happening.
I'm sad I paid over $10 for this book, but grateful that it had a good editor and there were no grammatical errors.
I'm vascilating between the desire to not spend more money on the confusion that is this story and the desire to find out what happens next.
This book is on the cusp of something great, but also so puzzling.
July 11, 2016
This book was amazing and I can't wait for the next installment! I love strong heroines with vulnerabilities, and Sister Sable is such a character. The writing style is slightly more formal and dramatic than I'm used to. I was reading slower but I didn't mind because the writing was really pleasant and I was trying to savor Sable's journey more, especially knowing that there is no news yet of the second book.
I also loved the secondary characters. They were all very likable and I must say, General Berringer could have passed off as the leading man here. He was more of an equal to Sable than the King, actually.
I'm always looking for an element of romance in the books I read. In here, it's lightly touched and I was a bit puzzled where Sable's undying loyalty and love originated from. I hope there will be more of the King and Sable in the sequel.
Love this. I didn't hesitate to give this a 5-star rating!
I also loved the secondary characters. They were all very likable and I must say, General Berringer could have passed off as the leading man here. He was more of an equal to Sable than the King, actually.
I'm always looking for an element of romance in the books I read. In here, it's lightly touched and I was a bit puzzled where Sable's undying loyalty and love originated from. I hope there will be more of the King and Sable in the sequel.
Love this. I didn't hesitate to give this a 5-star rating!
January 31, 2016
1/3 of the book: Reads like a shattered mind with changing characters, scenes and information and with the reader only having a small clue about what is going on. But as the master and mentor said "Here and now" stay in the moment and read through.
Last parts of the book: Now we get some information and the beginning of the book starts to make sense and the plots start to make sense. As a reader you still don't quite understand the King but the hope is Book 2 will shed more light on his person.
Overall: Very interesting style of writing and interesting story. It evoke feelings I never had, so I think that is the highest praise :)
Last parts of the book: Now we get some information and the beginning of the book starts to make sense and the plots start to make sense. As a reader you still don't quite understand the King but the hope is Book 2 will shed more light on his person.
Overall: Very interesting style of writing and interesting story. It evoke feelings I never had, so I think that is the highest praise :)
February 12, 2016
I loved this story. Was utterly distraught to not have a book 2 to immediately lose myself in.
April 23, 2017
My favorite quote: And the General regrets the night. So it's not so spine tingling out of context maybe, but this very simple sentence at the end of chapter 1 plays heavily throughout the book. The General regrets both that night and every lost opportunity since that night, all the while balancing loyalties to the king and also the sister he wants to kill. His character is entirely honorable. He makes the book every bit as memorable as Sable.
January 20, 2019
I loved the cover so that us what drew me in. In the first couple of pages I understood what was going on. After Sable was capture somewhere I got lost and had no clue what this book was about. Chapters jumps from one person to another, from one spot to another without any set up. Characters pop up in settings that u have no clue they are there until they say something. My biggest issue was the evil cloitare I',m still trying to understand how they were evil and why I should Hate them. I guess because there was never a true evil cloitare to despise. Now I'm just wondering how in the world this book with a chaotic plot plus characters that have no distant voice could get an average ratings of 4
October 27, 2016
It took me a while to get used to the way this book was written. I'm not sure why, but eventually I adjusted to it and fell quickly in love. And I really do love the character Sable. She is far from perfect though and this book is pretty gloomy. Drugs, cursing, murder most foul. It's "real" and raw, and I loved it. Hoping for the sequel soon since it does end in a total cliffhanger.
November 14, 2015
This book again? How did we let you off the ice shelf? Get back where you belong, you dark, violent thing before you scare the children. Back to Iceland with you! Back fiend back!
(Framúrskarandi bók, btw.)
(Framúrskarandi bók, btw.)
March 29, 2016
Terrible writing. Almost unintelligible until several chapters in.
Not worth reading even for free. A muddy mess of characters without introduction and a jumbled plot line in general
Not worth reading even for free. A muddy mess of characters without introduction and a jumbled plot line in general
September 11, 2016
Great read.
Really great story. Loved the characters.
Fantastic Story. Could not put it down.
Really great story. Loved the characters.
Fantastic Story. Could not put it down.
January 28, 2016
Whaaaaaat the hell was going on for most of this book??
The settings and characters were hardly described, making things verry confusing. Even the relationships amongst the characters was off kilter. For instance, the pinnacle relationship, focusing on Sable and the King, made very little sense... never explained why the hell Sable was obsessed with the boy. And where the hell did Aiden go? He there one point, then suddenly, he gooone. Gone with the wind.
After seeing so many rave reviews I am very confused.
But oh well.
The settings and characters were hardly described, making things verry confusing. Even the relationships amongst the characters was off kilter. For instance, the pinnacle relationship, focusing on Sable and the King, made very little sense... never explained why the hell Sable was obsessed with the boy. And where the hell did Aiden go? He there one point, then suddenly, he gooone. Gone with the wind.
After seeing so many rave reviews I am very confused.
But oh well.
August 3, 2016
Good world building but ...
I found this book hard to read. Sable is not an easy person to like as she behaves like a spoiled brat far too often. I wanted to give her a good shake. The story is clever but I didn't feel that it flowed. The only person I liked was Remy, the king.
I found this book hard to read. Sable is not an easy person to like as she behaves like a spoiled brat far too often. I wanted to give her a good shake. The story is clever but I didn't feel that it flowed. The only person I liked was Remy, the king.
November 30, 2015
To call this novel entertaining is an understatement. It is addictive and enthralling reading.
Beautiful and dark, it is haunting and will remain with the reader for years.
Beautiful and dark, it is haunting and will remain with the reader for years.
September 3, 2016
Took a while to get into this one but I'm glad I stuck with it.
November 25, 2016
I really enjoyed the flavor of this novel, and I am waiting on baited breathe for a second installment.
The madness forced on Sable is layers deep, as is the mystery.
The madness forced on Sable is layers deep, as is the mystery.
August 10, 2018
Excellently written. Extremely engaging.
June 18, 2017
Certainly will require rereading--I'm not sure if it was simply my misunderstanding, but this book was not very clearly written. That being said, it was an interesting premise with strong characters.
July 17, 2022
4,5 stars - English Ebook
THE FIRST TENET OF THE WIND: Do not get caught.
Sister Sable has lived by the first tenet for seven years, but when an unexpected accident reveals the runaway nun to the clergy, she is forced to embrace the remaining four.
¹THE SECOND TENET OF THE WIND: Win by any means.
With the King’s spymaster committed to killing her, and his general regretting he didn’t, Sable enters a deadly game.
THE THIRD TENET OF THE WIND: The purpose of picking up a blade is to cut the enemy.
Scaring them is discretionary.
THE FOURTH TENET OF THE WIND: Have no preferred weapon.
Even so, she likes the axe.
THE FIFTH TENET OF THE WIND: Know the way of all professions.
Prophet, pilot, assassin, spy, Sable will need
to call upon all she has learned to protect the King’s future from the past.
It is a book for a more intelligent reader in my opinion. I don’t mean to condescend but I am going to offend regardless.
There’s a lot more than just multiple characters in which the light readers of boy-wants-girl girl-wants-boy will get lost.
There’s politics, religion, strategy, and the occult. The complexity of this book extends well beyond the complications of its multiple characters.
The book is smart; the plot is tight. This was no fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants achievement. It’s obvious the plot was planned in advance and then strictly adhered to.
Events and characters are foreshadowed from the start and they come together in an elegant way by the end.
This is an engaging and complex book, and it is well worth reading if you’re looking for more than mind fluff.
THE FIRST TENET OF THE WIND: Do not get caught.
Sister Sable has lived by the first tenet for seven years, but when an unexpected accident reveals the runaway nun to the clergy, she is forced to embrace the remaining four.
¹THE SECOND TENET OF THE WIND: Win by any means.
With the King’s spymaster committed to killing her, and his general regretting he didn’t, Sable enters a deadly game.
THE THIRD TENET OF THE WIND: The purpose of picking up a blade is to cut the enemy.
Scaring them is discretionary.
THE FOURTH TENET OF THE WIND: Have no preferred weapon.
Even so, she likes the axe.
THE FIFTH TENET OF THE WIND: Know the way of all professions.
Prophet, pilot, assassin, spy, Sable will need
to call upon all she has learned to protect the King’s future from the past.
It is a book for a more intelligent reader in my opinion. I don’t mean to condescend but I am going to offend regardless.
There’s a lot more than just multiple characters in which the light readers of boy-wants-girl girl-wants-boy will get lost.
There’s politics, religion, strategy, and the occult. The complexity of this book extends well beyond the complications of its multiple characters.
The book is smart; the plot is tight. This was no fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants achievement. It’s obvious the plot was planned in advance and then strictly adhered to.
Events and characters are foreshadowed from the start and they come together in an elegant way by the end.
This is an engaging and complex book, and it is well worth reading if you’re looking for more than mind fluff.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews