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Golgotha #3
The Queen of Swords
1870. Maude Stapleton, late of Golgotha, Nevada, is a respectable widow raising a daughter on her own. Few know that Maude belongs to an ancient order of assassins, the Daughters of Lilith, and is as well the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Anne Bonney, the legendary female pirate.
Leaving Golgotha in search of her daughter Constance, who has been taken from her, Maude travels to Charleston, South Carolina, only to find herself caught in the middle of a secret war between the Daughters of Lilith and their ancestral enemies, the monstrous Sons of Typhon. To save Constance, whose prophetic gifts are sought by both cults, Maude must follow in the footsteps of Anne Bonney as she embarks on a perilous voyage that will ultimately lead her to a lost city of bones in the heart of Africa—and the Father of All Monsters.
One of the most popular characters from The Six-Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcana ventures beyond Golgotha on a boldly imaginative, globe-spanning adventure of her own!
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2017
50 people are currently reading
1502 people want to read
About the author
R.S. Belcher
34 books743 followersR.S. (Rod) Belcher is an award-winning newspaper and magazine editor and reporter.
Rod has been a private investigator, a DJ, a comic book store owner and has degrees in criminal law, psychology and justice and risk administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University. He's done Masters work in Forensic Science at The George Washington University, and worked with the Occult Crime Taskforce for the Virginia General Assembly.
He lives in Roanoke Virginia with his children: Jonathan and Emily .
Rod has been a private investigator, a DJ, a comic book store owner and has degrees in criminal law, psychology and justice and risk administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University. He's done Masters work in Forensic Science at The George Washington University, and worked with the Occult Crime Taskforce for the Virginia General Assembly.
He lives in Roanoke Virginia with his children: Jonathan and Emily .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
April 15, 2020
💀 DNF at 63%.
⚠️ A little while here we should be. For a lot of
Ah, what a delightful little Fantasy romp this could have been.
You got that right, Bobby Dear.
Why was this book such a disastrous debacle, you ask? Firstly first, because the author apparently couldn’t make up his mind and decide if he wanted to write (choose all
1) A fantasy story.
2) A courtroom drama.
3) A pirate story.
4) An exotically exotic
5) A would-be feminist pamphlet.
So he ended up doing the Buy 1 Get 4 Free Thingie (B1G4FT™), threw everything in there and tada! One Big Old Mess (BOM™) coming right up! Yay and stuff!
Secondly second, thirdly third and fourthly fourth, because all of this:
① Good Intention, Inc (aka The Road to Hell We Paved, LLC)
There are two POVs in this book. Each with its own plotline. At the root of each plotline, an intolerant/prejudiced/bigoted/biased/partisan/whatever standpoint that the author obviously intends to invalidate/nullify/repeal/overturn/whatever. Which is quite laudable an initiative indeed. Only that this is what happened here:
Take the first POV, for example. It stands against the objectification, abuse, belittling and all other sort of delightful behaviors women might be submitted to. And aims to portray members of the
The second POV is set in Africa. Which had me clicking my pincers with nefarious glee at first. Eurocentric plotline begone, we’re going down the titillatingly diverse route! Right. Sigh and stuff. This could have been gloriously glorious. Only that it wasn’t. Again, the author’s intent is honourable, as it is based on the idea that racism + slavery = evil, bad, villainous stuff. But. And this is a BIG BUT. If you’re going to write this kind of story, why the fish do you need to have a bloody shrimping WHITE woman save the day?! Are we not done with the white savior narrative crap yet? We’re not in the 20th century anymore, for shrimp’s sake! It’s one thing to watch a 1950s adventure movie set in Africa, and built on the premise that the poor, resourceless, savage natives would be doomed without the help of the (very) civilized bwanas. It’s another thing entirely to read about it in a 2017 book.
You could say that, yes.
② OTT Corp (aka Yeah You Know Me Co.)
Yes, subtly magnifying a character’s traits or deftly intensifying the tension of a particular scene can give depth and complexity to a narrative. But take things too far and:
1) Your story turns into one big grotesque farce.
2) All the gravitas/impact/interest/whatever it might have had goes poof.
3) Your readers might quite possibly end up eyerolling their little selves to death. Maybe.
The characters’ behaviors and actions are so ridiculously over the top that the book, which seemingly intends to be a darkish adventure, ends up reading like a bloody shrimping spoof. Take the men involved in the
And the women. Oh, the women. As I already mentioned up there ↑↑, they are naught but unbelievably cartoonish creatures. First we have Maude, our resident multi-tasking super heroine, aka the Swiss Army knife of female characters. She knows it all! From Matrix-style close combat (she’s a ninja!) to food home deliveries (don’t ask), poisons,
Yeah, pretty sure Maude can do that, too.
Then we have Anne,
③ Bad French PLC (aka Google Translate is My Hero Ultd.)
For fish’ sake, Authors Everywhere, if you’re going to include sentences in a foreign language in your book/story/narrative/whatever, make sure they BLOODY SHRIMPING MAKE SENSE, and are not something STRAIGHT OUT OF BLOODY FISHING GOOGLE TRANSLATE! Some lowly natives might be reading you and might find your sloppy carelessness slightly AGGRAVATING AS FISH, possibly a teensy little bit INSULTING, and probably quite a little very much DISRESPECTFUL. (Sorry, what? I seem to be a teensy little bit pissed off, you say? Now what could make you think that, I wonder? Apart from the BOLD ALL CAPS, I mean?)
Granted, this book isn’t as horrendous a case of Bad French as Phoenix Rising is, but it still has its despicably translated moments:
• “Je cherchais quelque chose d’amusant de me tuer.”
What does this mean, you ask ? How should I know, I’m French! 🙄
• “Mon belle erreur.”
My “beautiful mistake” indeed. This 1) is grammatically wrong—French 101: “belle” is feminine, and therefore should be preceded by “ma” not “mon”—and 2) doesn’t make any bloody shrimping sense in this context.
• “Interlude d’appel d’offres.”
• The Renée vs. René Situation.
Sigh. Do I really have to explain this AGAIN? This is getting old, Authors Everywhere. Oh, and by the way, what the fish is this ridiculous obsession with this silly name anyway?! I mean, it was already outdated, antiquated and ancient (yes, all three) when my great-grandfather was naught but a wee shrimp, so imagine what it sounds like now. Positively mummified, I’d say. But anyhoo and stuff, I digress. So. Renée vs. René, take #24568. (This really is simple as fish, so please do try to get it into your little heads once and for all, Authors Everywhere.) Renée is FEMININE and therefore A WOMAN’S NAME. René (only one “e” at the end) is MASCULINE and therefore A MAN’S NAME. SO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SHRIMPY, DO NOT NAME YOUR MALE CHARACTER RENÉE! (Unless said character is gender fluid in which case you are most welcome to name them whatever the shrimp you please.) Thank thee kindly and stuff.
(I could also point out that “Belrose” as a last name sounds about as French as “Pérez” sounds Swedish, but I’m feeling uncharacteristically charitable today, so I won’t.)
Glad you approve, You Epitome of Utter Frenchness.
Now add to all this ↑↑ manufactured drama, pointless descriptions galore, inconsistencies aplenty, Everything Simplistic™ and as much subtlety as a bunch of frenzied, murderous crustaceans on a homicidal streak, and you get your little self a real winner indeed.
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): This series could have been a wondrously original, lusciously mindblowing fantasy extravaganza. Only that it wasn’t. The end and stuff.
• Book 1: The Six-Gun Tarot ★★★
• Book 2: The Shotgun Arcana ★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
Skim skim skim, eyeroll eyeroll eyeroll, yawn yawn yawn, growl growl growl. Rinse, repeat. Ad infinitum and stuff.
Oh yeah, we sure got ourselves a bloody shrimping champ here.
Review to come and stuff.
November 6, 2021
The Queen of Swords
(Golgotha #3)
by R.S. Belcher
This is book three in the series and I suggest reading them in order. This book is more about Maude and not about the citizens of Golgotha. Maude goes to Charleston to try and get her daughter back from her father. The Sons, the evil nightmare creatures, and the Daughters, who think they are going to save the world, both want to get Mayer's daughter. It's a wild ride!
Through all of this, the book bounces back and forth between Maude and her great grandmother Anne Bonny who taught her the ways to be a Daughter of Lilith. Sometimes time seems to overlap! Awesome! Great adventure, more adventure than horror this book, lots of action and fantastic fantasy!
As great as it was, I can't wait to get back to the characters in Golgotha!
(Golgotha #3)
by R.S. Belcher
This is book three in the series and I suggest reading them in order. This book is more about Maude and not about the citizens of Golgotha. Maude goes to Charleston to try and get her daughter back from her father. The Sons, the evil nightmare creatures, and the Daughters, who think they are going to save the world, both want to get Mayer's daughter. It's a wild ride!
Through all of this, the book bounces back and forth between Maude and her great grandmother Anne Bonny who taught her the ways to be a Daughter of Lilith. Sometimes time seems to overlap! Awesome! Great adventure, more adventure than horror this book, lots of action and fantastic fantasy!
As great as it was, I can't wait to get back to the characters in Golgotha!
August 26, 2018
My reviews of the first two books in the series: The Six-Gun Tarot & The Shotgun Arcana.
“To our brave captain,” he said and tipped the bottle toward Anne, who took it and drank. “She who pisses on gods and kings with equal contempt. Bravo!”
Third helpings of a seven layer cake. I’m fat on amazing writing at this point. I have no intentions to stop eating.
This is a full dive into Maude Stapleton’s background and the origins of the Daughters of Lilith and I couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling tale. This is feminine power and wily women at it’s best.
Constance, Maude’s daughter, has been kidnapped by the Daughters of Lilith to be used as a sacrifice to prevent a great evil from escaping onto Earth. That evil has been working shenanigans for years in the shadows, tricking the Daughters into believing that this is the only option. But when Maude is your mother, she’ll use every nasty trick in the book and risk her own life to save her only child.
Maude was raised by Anne Bonny, the pirate queen. Anne was her many great-grandmother and a Daughter of Lilith. Maude trained with her on the beaches of Charleston since she was a child. Anne instilled in her a great sense of right and wrong and the training to back up any decisions Maude might make to bring justice forth.
The story flips back and forth between the present of Maude and Constance’s situation and the origins of the pirate queen in the 1700s and how she became such a force of a woman. Anne was a rebel, a thief and a leader. I won’t call her fearless as she definitely had moments of fear, but, she spit in the face of anything worth fearing and charged ahead. Stubborn and resilient, with a burning hatred of slavery. A pioneer of human rights. If the entire story had only been about Anne, I wouldn’t have even missed Maude. But, that’s unfair to Maude as she’s a great character as well.
While I missed Golgotha, the adventure was so fun and interesting that I wasn’t all that disappointed to not see my favorite paranormal frontier town. (A few characters from there did make short appearances.) Instead, for much of this book we’re in the depths of Africa, treasure hunting and chasing ancient evils. Finding the origins of the Daughters and the dark truths that lie in a city of monsters in the middle of the Sahara. A solid third installment in one of my all time favorite series.
“To our brave captain,” he said and tipped the bottle toward Anne, who took it and drank. “She who pisses on gods and kings with equal contempt. Bravo!”
Third helpings of a seven layer cake. I’m fat on amazing writing at this point. I have no intentions to stop eating.
This is a full dive into Maude Stapleton’s background and the origins of the Daughters of Lilith and I couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling tale. This is feminine power and wily women at it’s best.
Constance, Maude’s daughter, has been kidnapped by the Daughters of Lilith to be used as a sacrifice to prevent a great evil from escaping onto Earth. That evil has been working shenanigans for years in the shadows, tricking the Daughters into believing that this is the only option. But when Maude is your mother, she’ll use every nasty trick in the book and risk her own life to save her only child.
Maude was raised by Anne Bonny, the pirate queen. Anne was her many great-grandmother and a Daughter of Lilith. Maude trained with her on the beaches of Charleston since she was a child. Anne instilled in her a great sense of right and wrong and the training to back up any decisions Maude might make to bring justice forth.
The story flips back and forth between the present of Maude and Constance’s situation and the origins of the pirate queen in the 1700s and how she became such a force of a woman. Anne was a rebel, a thief and a leader. I won’t call her fearless as she definitely had moments of fear, but, she spit in the face of anything worth fearing and charged ahead. Stubborn and resilient, with a burning hatred of slavery. A pioneer of human rights. If the entire story had only been about Anne, I wouldn’t have even missed Maude. But, that’s unfair to Maude as she’s a great character as well.
While I missed Golgotha, the adventure was so fun and interesting that I wasn’t all that disappointed to not see my favorite paranormal frontier town. (A few characters from there did make short appearances.) Instead, for much of this book we’re in the depths of Africa, treasure hunting and chasing ancient evils. Finding the origins of the Daughters and the dark truths that lie in a city of monsters in the middle of the Sahara. A solid third installment in one of my all time favorite series.
July 27, 2017
The nitty-gritty: Belcher is in high form with this epic adventure tale that spans generations, a story that puts its female characters front and center. Stand back, men!
It’s always a pleasure to read a new R.S. Belcher story, and it’s even more exciting when that story is set in one of my favorite universes, Belcher’s weird western world of Golgotha. Technically, this is book three in the series, and you could start here if you wanted to, as Belcher does a great job of filling in some of the blanks, and the story is self-contained. However, I would advise you to read the first two books first: The Six Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcan a. The story starts soon after the end of The Shotgun Arcana , and lots of references are made to those explosive events. Even I struggled a bit trying to remember what had happened, so new readers may feel lost in places. But folks, this story is just too good to send you away if you’re behind with this series. Belcher’s books get better and better the more he writes, and this is my favorite Golgotha book by a landslide.
I have to admit it did take me a bit to figure out what Belcher was doing with this story, but once everything clicked, his grand scheme quickly fell into place. The story moves back and forth between two time periods and two main characters: Maude Stapleton in 1871, a young woman who has already had her share of adventures but is about to be thrust right back into the action; and Anne Bonny in 1721, the pirate queen of the title who has just come to shore after months at sea, given birth to a baby boy, and promptly left him with her father in order to go on a treasure hunt (and who is based on a real person!). Both women are part of a secret group called the Daughters of Lilith, specially trained female assassins who pass their skills down through the generations.
Maude was trained and indoctrinated into the Daughters when she was a young girl, by none other than her great-great-great-great-Gran Anne Bonny (And right here, I know you're doing some math in your head, but trust me, it's not going to work out. Just go with it), and now she is training her own daughter Constance, who is already a force to be reckoned with. But someone is after Constance, another group of Daughters who believe that Constance is the very last one, and in order for the line to continue, her blood must be drained and used to fill up the sacred flask.
Despite Maude’s fierce fighting abilities, Constance is kidnapped and taken away on a ship to a mysterious village in Africa called Carcosa, a sacred place where the blood-letting ritual will be performed. Maude will do anything to save her, and so she takes off after the ship, hoping to stop the ritual before it can start.
In alternating chapters, we get to see Anne’s similarly dangerous journey as she also sets out for Carcosa one hundred and fifty years earlier, hoping to find treasure. Anne’s “take no shit” attitude gets her in lots of trouble, but she certainly ends up getting what she wants. As each woman gets closer and closer to their goals, their paths begin to converge, despite the separation of time. But an evil being named Typhon is waiting in the shadows, eager to destroy the Daughters of Lilith and end their line forever.
The Queen of Swords , despite being a Golgotha novel, does not actually take place in Golgotha (although the characters talk about it quite a bit, especially Maude who considers it her home). And if you’re hoping for a true pirate-centric story, you may be a little disappointed (but not for long because there are SO MANY OTHER GREAT THINGS!). Our pirate queen, Anne Bonny, starts the story off on board a ship, but she soon arrives on land and stays there for the rest of the story. One of my favorite parts is near the end, when Maude and her traveling companions uncover the lost ship the Hecate and sail to Africa to intercept the women who have kidnapped Constance. And that’s when we get our memorable pirate moments. Not only is the Hecate a magical ship, but Maude digs up her grandmother’s old pirate garb from the past and wears it on the journey. It was a great touch that shows just how connected Maude and Anne are.
I’m always amazed when male writers can create such multilayered, kick-ass women characters, and Belcher is one of best at this. I wasn’t kidding in the beginning of my review when I said “Stand back, men!” The ladies have taken over the show, and I couldn’t be happier. In this story, the women are in charge of everything, and the men are relegated to side-kicks, assistants and “bearers” (literally, pack mules!). It’s the men who get left behind when it’s time to trek into the dangerous forest (from which no one ever returns). And what’s even better, the men take all this in stride. In other words, they’re smart enough to realize when the woman is in control, and they graciously allow her to be. What a refreshing change of pace!
Of course I loved Maude and Anne, but every other character is just as well drawn. One of my favorite side characters is a statuesque and terrifying woman named Nourbese, the queen of the Amazons, who Anne must fight to the death. I won’t give away the results of their fight, but let’s just say the twist in their relationship was wonderful. I also enjoyed the male characters, and even though this is a female-centric story, I couldn’t end this review without mentioning two of them. Belrose is a French mercenary who Anne hires to accompany her on her dangerous journey. I also loved the journalist Alter Cline who joins Maude on her journey, and definitely gets more than he bargained for. Even though there is a spark of attraction between them, Maude has already given her heart to another man: Mutt, a fantastic character from the last two books who is waiting for Maude back in Golgotha (and who I do hope makes an appearance in the next book!)
Belcher also adds an interesting and heart-felt side story about Maude's determination to get back custody of Constance, and to wrest control of her rightful inheritance from the tenacious grip of her father. Because this story takes place during a time period when women had little or no rights, especially when they were married, I loved Maude's courage—as well as her attempt to work with a female attorney (unheard of!).
I loved the first two Golgotha novels, but they weren’t as tightly and carefully plotted as this one. Everything about this story snaps together like a well made puzzle, and it’s clear that Belcher has taken his writing craft to new levels. The satisfying ending resolves many things, but there are clearly more stories to come. Personally, I’m hoping for a return to the dusty streets of Golgotha in the next installment. The evil isn’t gone for good, and Maude and her fellow Daughters have plenty of work ahead of them.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
My review of The Six-Gun Tarot .
My review of The Shotgun Arcana .This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
It’s always a pleasure to read a new R.S. Belcher story, and it’s even more exciting when that story is set in one of my favorite universes, Belcher’s weird western world of Golgotha. Technically, this is book three in the series, and you could start here if you wanted to, as Belcher does a great job of filling in some of the blanks, and the story is self-contained. However, I would advise you to read the first two books first: The Six Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcan a. The story starts soon after the end of The Shotgun Arcana , and lots of references are made to those explosive events. Even I struggled a bit trying to remember what had happened, so new readers may feel lost in places. But folks, this story is just too good to send you away if you’re behind with this series. Belcher’s books get better and better the more he writes, and this is my favorite Golgotha book by a landslide.
I have to admit it did take me a bit to figure out what Belcher was doing with this story, but once everything clicked, his grand scheme quickly fell into place. The story moves back and forth between two time periods and two main characters: Maude Stapleton in 1871, a young woman who has already had her share of adventures but is about to be thrust right back into the action; and Anne Bonny in 1721, the pirate queen of the title who has just come to shore after months at sea, given birth to a baby boy, and promptly left him with her father in order to go on a treasure hunt (and who is based on a real person!). Both women are part of a secret group called the Daughters of Lilith, specially trained female assassins who pass their skills down through the generations.
Maude was trained and indoctrinated into the Daughters when she was a young girl, by none other than her great-great-great-great-Gran Anne Bonny (And right here, I know you're doing some math in your head, but trust me, it's not going to work out. Just go with it), and now she is training her own daughter Constance, who is already a force to be reckoned with. But someone is after Constance, another group of Daughters who believe that Constance is the very last one, and in order for the line to continue, her blood must be drained and used to fill up the sacred flask.
Despite Maude’s fierce fighting abilities, Constance is kidnapped and taken away on a ship to a mysterious village in Africa called Carcosa, a sacred place where the blood-letting ritual will be performed. Maude will do anything to save her, and so she takes off after the ship, hoping to stop the ritual before it can start.
In alternating chapters, we get to see Anne’s similarly dangerous journey as she also sets out for Carcosa one hundred and fifty years earlier, hoping to find treasure. Anne’s “take no shit” attitude gets her in lots of trouble, but she certainly ends up getting what she wants. As each woman gets closer and closer to their goals, their paths begin to converge, despite the separation of time. But an evil being named Typhon is waiting in the shadows, eager to destroy the Daughters of Lilith and end their line forever.
The Queen of Swords , despite being a Golgotha novel, does not actually take place in Golgotha (although the characters talk about it quite a bit, especially Maude who considers it her home). And if you’re hoping for a true pirate-centric story, you may be a little disappointed (but not for long because there are SO MANY OTHER GREAT THINGS!). Our pirate queen, Anne Bonny, starts the story off on board a ship, but she soon arrives on land and stays there for the rest of the story. One of my favorite parts is near the end, when Maude and her traveling companions uncover the lost ship the Hecate and sail to Africa to intercept the women who have kidnapped Constance. And that’s when we get our memorable pirate moments. Not only is the Hecate a magical ship, but Maude digs up her grandmother’s old pirate garb from the past and wears it on the journey. It was a great touch that shows just how connected Maude and Anne are.
I’m always amazed when male writers can create such multilayered, kick-ass women characters, and Belcher is one of best at this. I wasn’t kidding in the beginning of my review when I said “Stand back, men!” The ladies have taken over the show, and I couldn’t be happier. In this story, the women are in charge of everything, and the men are relegated to side-kicks, assistants and “bearers” (literally, pack mules!). It’s the men who get left behind when it’s time to trek into the dangerous forest (from which no one ever returns). And what’s even better, the men take all this in stride. In other words, they’re smart enough to realize when the woman is in control, and they graciously allow her to be. What a refreshing change of pace!
Of course I loved Maude and Anne, but every other character is just as well drawn. One of my favorite side characters is a statuesque and terrifying woman named Nourbese, the queen of the Amazons, who Anne must fight to the death. I won’t give away the results of their fight, but let’s just say the twist in their relationship was wonderful. I also enjoyed the male characters, and even though this is a female-centric story, I couldn’t end this review without mentioning two of them. Belrose is a French mercenary who Anne hires to accompany her on her dangerous journey. I also loved the journalist Alter Cline who joins Maude on her journey, and definitely gets more than he bargained for. Even though there is a spark of attraction between them, Maude has already given her heart to another man: Mutt, a fantastic character from the last two books who is waiting for Maude back in Golgotha (and who I do hope makes an appearance in the next book!)
Belcher also adds an interesting and heart-felt side story about Maude's determination to get back custody of Constance, and to wrest control of her rightful inheritance from the tenacious grip of her father. Because this story takes place during a time period when women had little or no rights, especially when they were married, I loved Maude's courage—as well as her attempt to work with a female attorney (unheard of!).
I loved the first two Golgotha novels, but they weren’t as tightly and carefully plotted as this one. Everything about this story snaps together like a well made puzzle, and it’s clear that Belcher has taken his writing craft to new levels. The satisfying ending resolves many things, but there are clearly more stories to come. Personally, I’m hoping for a return to the dusty streets of Golgotha in the next installment. The evil isn’t gone for good, and Maude and her fellow Daughters have plenty of work ahead of them.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
My review of The Six-Gun Tarot .
My review of The Shotgun Arcana .This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
November 15, 2018
Good but a diversion that made me miss the main series.
World: The world building is good, it’s a departure from the main series and gives a large world building chunk of lore and history to the readers of the magical powers both good and bad at work. I liked that it as a Maud story as I love her in the series and her powers and where it’s from is interesting. The world building is solid.
Story: The story is good. It starts of slow just like the first book and builds characters and the stakes until all shit breaks loose at the third act of the book. The history and the lore of the world with the Father and Mother and all the powers and machinations is fascinating and gives the world and the story a lot more weight. The drama with Maud and her dad was also interesting and the giggled at the melodrama in the court and also the end of that storyline, it was highly entertaining. I did not really care for the Pirate Queen story though as I am not partial to Pirate stories and I find their adventures mostly tedious and full of cliches. Then there is the departure from Golgotha. I thought we would be getting both a story of Maud in South Caroline, and also a Golgotha story but that’s not the case and all the threads that was there in the second book left hanging are left hanging and I want to know about those more than all the other stories, I want my western.
Characters: Maud is an interesting character and my favourite in the series so far so having a story that’s focused on her is great. Her journey in this book from her youth and also from what she is doing with her Dad in the court room is great, it gives her depth and weight and I love that. Constance is also well done with her development over three books. The Pirate Queen storyline is also amusing with her personal voice distinct and filthy as all pirates should be. The rest of the cast with the villains and the villagers and all in between are alright and fill in the book as need but nothing really stands out. Last books villain was way better defined and developed and when the confrontation came last book it was amazing, this book, not so much.
It was a good book, but it was missing the main reason I read this book in the first place.
Onward to the next book!
World: The world building is good, it’s a departure from the main series and gives a large world building chunk of lore and history to the readers of the magical powers both good and bad at work. I liked that it as a Maud story as I love her in the series and her powers and where it’s from is interesting. The world building is solid.
Story: The story is good. It starts of slow just like the first book and builds characters and the stakes until all shit breaks loose at the third act of the book. The history and the lore of the world with the Father and Mother and all the powers and machinations is fascinating and gives the world and the story a lot more weight. The drama with Maud and her dad was also interesting and the giggled at the melodrama in the court and also the end of that storyline, it was highly entertaining. I did not really care for the Pirate Queen story though as I am not partial to Pirate stories and I find their adventures mostly tedious and full of cliches. Then there is the departure from Golgotha. I thought we would be getting both a story of Maud in South Caroline, and also a Golgotha story but that’s not the case and all the threads that was there in the second book left hanging are left hanging and I want to know about those more than all the other stories, I want my western.
Characters: Maud is an interesting character and my favourite in the series so far so having a story that’s focused on her is great. Her journey in this book from her youth and also from what she is doing with her Dad in the court room is great, it gives her depth and weight and I love that. Constance is also well done with her development over three books. The Pirate Queen storyline is also amusing with her personal voice distinct and filthy as all pirates should be. The rest of the cast with the villains and the villagers and all in between are alright and fill in the book as need but nothing really stands out. Last books villain was way better defined and developed and when the confrontation came last book it was amazing, this book, not so much.
It was a good book, but it was missing the main reason I read this book in the first place.
Onward to the next book!
July 3, 2021
https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2...
I am a huge fan of the Golgotha series by R.S. Belcher. I enjoyed both THE SIX-GUN TAROT and THE SHOTGUN ARCANA as I am a fan of Weird Westerns as well as genre mashups. A mixture of the Cthulhu Mythos, angels, demons, mad science and the Wild West made it into a unique book that I very much enjoyed. So, I was very excited about this latest book.
THE QUEEN OF SWORDS is a very different book from the others since it centers primarily around Maud Stapleton and her daughter Constance as well as their ancestor, Anne Bonnie. It gives the history of the Order of Lilith as well as their relationship with the evil god Typhon. There's a lot going on in this book with many of the events following The Shotgun Arcana, which was a book I very much enjoyed. Sadly, most of it takes place outside of the town of Golgotha that is the true star of the series.
The story is about how Maud's child Constance was taken from her by her well-meaning but foolish father, Martin, who now has the South Carolina legal system protecting him as her legal guardian. Maud wants to get her daughter back the "right" way and that means fighting the misogynist court system that will almost certainly rule against her. Even worse, she is being hunted by the Order of Lilith that maintains that Constance must be sacrificed to restore their waning powers. Oh and there's yet another horrifying demonic creature out to destroy the world.
I enjoyed this book a great deal but miss the Western theme and other characters. The book barely has many of the characters that made the previous book so awesome like Mutt, Sheriff Highfather, and Biq the angel. While Maud is a great character and so is her ancestor, Anne Bonnie, there's a lot of the series' signature feel missing from the story since the majority of it takes place away from Golgotha.
Indeed, this story can't be said to be a Western at all since the majority it takes place in either South Carolina or Africa. The Anne Bonnie sections have her escape her historical execution and seek out a vast treasure that she is only semi-convinced is real. I enjoyed this but much of it seemed to be based around overcoming the poor first impression she made in the first book of being a slave-owner who was obsessed with freedom for women. Here, it's retconned that she never owned slaves and just pretended to while actually being an abolitionist. I feel like that removed some of the character's believability even if it certainly makes her more redeemable.
The villains are slightly less over the top this time around with Typhon having a bit more personality than the Darkling or even Raziel. He's still another baddie obsessed with unmaking the world but he's able to hold more coherent conversations with the heroes. I do think the series suffers from "all or nothing" baddies where there's not much room for nuance. Ironically, my favorite character in the book is Martin because he's an antagonist that thinks he's doing the right thing trying to keep Constance from Golgotha.
The Order of Lilith is a good group as well because they manage to be completely wrong in their actions, planning a human sacrifice of a young woman, but are motivated by fear for their order dying as well as the end of their family legacies. It is a multicultural and interesting group that rejects gods as well as traditional structures while keeping heavily to their own rules. I actually would have appreciated seeing them as continuing antagonists but this just isn't that kind of series.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this novel and am heading on over to the latest book in the series. It's a return to Golgotha and the Wild West with the characters that I felt were missing this time around. I enjoyed this book but it does feel a bit more like a spin-off than an actual continuation.
I am a huge fan of the Golgotha series by R.S. Belcher. I enjoyed both THE SIX-GUN TAROT and THE SHOTGUN ARCANA as I am a fan of Weird Westerns as well as genre mashups. A mixture of the Cthulhu Mythos, angels, demons, mad science and the Wild West made it into a unique book that I very much enjoyed. So, I was very excited about this latest book.
THE QUEEN OF SWORDS is a very different book from the others since it centers primarily around Maud Stapleton and her daughter Constance as well as their ancestor, Anne Bonnie. It gives the history of the Order of Lilith as well as their relationship with the evil god Typhon. There's a lot going on in this book with many of the events following The Shotgun Arcana, which was a book I very much enjoyed. Sadly, most of it takes place outside of the town of Golgotha that is the true star of the series.
The story is about how Maud's child Constance was taken from her by her well-meaning but foolish father, Martin, who now has the South Carolina legal system protecting him as her legal guardian. Maud wants to get her daughter back the "right" way and that means fighting the misogynist court system that will almost certainly rule against her. Even worse, she is being hunted by the Order of Lilith that maintains that Constance must be sacrificed to restore their waning powers. Oh and there's yet another horrifying demonic creature out to destroy the world.
I enjoyed this book a great deal but miss the Western theme and other characters. The book barely has many of the characters that made the previous book so awesome like Mutt, Sheriff Highfather, and Biq the angel. While Maud is a great character and so is her ancestor, Anne Bonnie, there's a lot of the series' signature feel missing from the story since the majority of it takes place away from Golgotha.
Indeed, this story can't be said to be a Western at all since the majority it takes place in either South Carolina or Africa. The Anne Bonnie sections have her escape her historical execution and seek out a vast treasure that she is only semi-convinced is real. I enjoyed this but much of it seemed to be based around overcoming the poor first impression she made in the first book of being a slave-owner who was obsessed with freedom for women. Here, it's retconned that she never owned slaves and just pretended to while actually being an abolitionist. I feel like that removed some of the character's believability even if it certainly makes her more redeemable.
The villains are slightly less over the top this time around with Typhon having a bit more personality than the Darkling or even Raziel. He's still another baddie obsessed with unmaking the world but he's able to hold more coherent conversations with the heroes. I do think the series suffers from "all or nothing" baddies where there's not much room for nuance. Ironically, my favorite character in the book is Martin because he's an antagonist that thinks he's doing the right thing trying to keep Constance from Golgotha.
The Order of Lilith is a good group as well because they manage to be completely wrong in their actions, planning a human sacrifice of a young woman, but are motivated by fear for their order dying as well as the end of their family legacies. It is a multicultural and interesting group that rejects gods as well as traditional structures while keeping heavily to their own rules. I actually would have appreciated seeing them as continuing antagonists but this just isn't that kind of series.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this novel and am heading on over to the latest book in the series. It's a return to Golgotha and the Wild West with the characters that I felt were missing this time around. I enjoyed this book but it does feel a bit more like a spin-off than an actual continuation.
July 6, 2017
This book was so very good.
Maude is my favorite character in this series, so I guess this was bound to be a favorite of mine. Given the ending of this, there should at least be one more book, but the ending is open enough to allow for many more, and I will be reading them all as soon as they come out.
I can't recommend this series enough, but if you can't find it in yourself to read all of it's entires, you'll be fine to read just this book. Maude and Constance are great role models for younger women, and the themes of this book are, sadly, still relevant, and honestly can apply to women, men, and anyone in-between.
Maude is my favorite character in this series, so I guess this was bound to be a favorite of mine. Given the ending of this, there should at least be one more book, but the ending is open enough to allow for many more, and I will be reading them all as soon as they come out.
I can't recommend this series enough, but if you can't find it in yourself to read all of it's entires, you'll be fine to read just this book. Maude and Constance are great role models for younger women, and the themes of this book are, sadly, still relevant, and honestly can apply to women, men, and anyone in-between.
May 18, 2017
My review will appear in the July issue of RT Book Reviews
September 18, 2018
The latest Golgotha book has a rocky start, but it quickly stabilizes and becomes an amazing adventure that delves into some fairly complex issues with, if not the most unique view, a still refreshing one for weird fiction. The he majority of this cast is female, and all (including the returning characters Maude and Constance) are portrayed with a depth and complexity of character that is all too rare in novels written by men, especially in genre fiction.
April 11, 2019
This is a really good book and also a rather problematic book.
You've got two white saviors that travel into Africa to save the world and magically have the right skills, personality, and drive that is somehow missing from every other woman trained in the arts they learned all over the world.
The book does a decent job talking a bit about how brutal and disgusting the slave trade was and how Europe and America pillaged and abused people in all of Africa. It does a really good job talking about women's rights and how much women were controlled property in the United States and some European law.
This is also a really interesting book intertwining the travels and lives of two characters at different times and how their decisions and experiences relate. Its a good book. Its worth reading. It's also important to be aware of some of the issues with it and maybe search out books by Nnedi Okarafor and N.K. Jemisin too.
You've got two white saviors that travel into Africa to save the world and magically have the right skills, personality, and drive that is somehow missing from every other woman trained in the arts they learned all over the world.
The book does a decent job talking a bit about how brutal and disgusting the slave trade was and how Europe and America pillaged and abused people in all of Africa. It does a really good job talking about women's rights and how much women were controlled property in the United States and some European law.
This is also a really interesting book intertwining the travels and lives of two characters at different times and how their decisions and experiences relate. Its a good book. Its worth reading. It's also important to be aware of some of the issues with it and maybe search out books by Nnedi Okarafor and N.K. Jemisin too.
August 30, 2019
Best of the series yet! I just hope this isn't the last of them!
September 7, 2019
I couldn’t find the earlier books in this series on my library shelves, so felt sometimes I was missing out on past history of the characters.
However, I really enjoyed this book. The creativeness , the fantasy and humor.
I will continue to look for this authors other novels
However, I really enjoyed this book. The creativeness , the fantasy and humor.
I will continue to look for this authors other novels
July 31, 2017
I had a rough time rating this book. Parts of it I liked, and parts of it I didn't care for. That may be because it's the third book in the series and I haven't read the other two. Copious references are made to previous events, but the author does a nice job of summing them up, so I don't think that's the problem. This book has two main characters and two timelines, and it seems to me what I'm having trouble with is the fact that one character and timeline resonated for me, and the other simply did not.
Well, let's start with the character/timeline that absolutely worked: Anne Bonney. I would LOVE more books about her. She was a real person, a female pirate in the 18th century, and as far as I can tell, the author pretty much stuck to the facts of her early life. The branch point into the author's alternate history and universe begins in 1721, when Anne goes on a quest for her last great treasure, and falls into a world of gods, magic and vaguely Lovecraftian monsters. This quest takes her into the heart of Africa, where she meets a priestess of an ancient society of women called the Daughters of Lilith, who are fighting another ancient society of monsters called the Sons of Typhon. This priestess, Raashida, convinces Anne she is destined to take on what is called Lilith's Load, and protect the world from the Sons of Typhon. Anne does this, and her bloodline now belongs to the Daughters.
(A lot of Anne's story takes place in Africa. Since the author is a white male, this is a rather sensitive and potentially problematic storyline. He seems to have done his research and handles the various tribal cultures and customs with respect, and also tackles the racism and colonialism of the era. But I don't know enough about the real history to comment.)
Cue a hundred and fifty years later, with Anne's multiple-greats granddaughter, Maude Stapleton. In one of the previous books, Maude released Typhon from his prison, and this comes back to bite her, big-time. As far as I was concerned, Maude's storyline bogged the book down, because it felt like the author was losing control of his world. As just one example, Anne Bonney is still around when Maude is a child, specifically nine years old and several years after that, since Anne is mentioned as having given Maude her initial training. Which would have made Anne Bonney about 140-150 years old? Of course this is a fantasy, and there's several hints given as to how this might have happened (ingesting the Blood of Lilith), but all the people who have no idea this underworld of gods and monsters exists go around ignoring the fact that they're talking about Maude's great-great-great-great-grandmother? Who was still alive till 20-odd years ago? Come on, people.
Also, Maude is damn near as invulnerable as Superman (at least until she meets the Sons of Typhon), and there's no kryptonite to be found. Now, I like a badass female fighter as much as anyone, but the Daughters of Lilith take this rather over the top (their fighting techniques supposedly inspired all the martial arts in existence). There's also a convenient metaphysical place known as the Record which Maude discovers she can tap into (fifty years earlier than any other Daughter being able to do it), where she can converse with the spirits of the previous Daughters (and her own mother, apparently), and solve all her problems. I could go on, but you get the idea--it felt to me like the worldbuilding was coming apart, and my suspension of belief stretched to the breaking point.
Which is sad, because Anne Bonney was wonderful. I would love reading the story of how she rescued the tree people and acquired her sentient warship, the Hecate. She was a realistic, flawed, human character. Unfortunately, at the end of the book we're left with Maude Stapleton teaching and nurturing the next generation of the Daughters of Lilith, and after her disappointing story in this book, I'm not inclined to go any further.
Well, let's start with the character/timeline that absolutely worked: Anne Bonney. I would LOVE more books about her. She was a real person, a female pirate in the 18th century, and as far as I can tell, the author pretty much stuck to the facts of her early life. The branch point into the author's alternate history and universe begins in 1721, when Anne goes on a quest for her last great treasure, and falls into a world of gods, magic and vaguely Lovecraftian monsters. This quest takes her into the heart of Africa, where she meets a priestess of an ancient society of women called the Daughters of Lilith, who are fighting another ancient society of monsters called the Sons of Typhon. This priestess, Raashida, convinces Anne she is destined to take on what is called Lilith's Load, and protect the world from the Sons of Typhon. Anne does this, and her bloodline now belongs to the Daughters.
(A lot of Anne's story takes place in Africa. Since the author is a white male, this is a rather sensitive and potentially problematic storyline. He seems to have done his research and handles the various tribal cultures and customs with respect, and also tackles the racism and colonialism of the era. But I don't know enough about the real history to comment.)
Cue a hundred and fifty years later, with Anne's multiple-greats granddaughter, Maude Stapleton. In one of the previous books, Maude released Typhon from his prison, and this comes back to bite her, big-time. As far as I was concerned, Maude's storyline bogged the book down, because it felt like the author was losing control of his world. As just one example, Anne Bonney is still around when Maude is a child, specifically nine years old and several years after that, since Anne is mentioned as having given Maude her initial training. Which would have made Anne Bonney about 140-150 years old? Of course this is a fantasy, and there's several hints given as to how this might have happened (ingesting the Blood of Lilith), but all the people who have no idea this underworld of gods and monsters exists go around ignoring the fact that they're talking about Maude's great-great-great-great-grandmother? Who was still alive till 20-odd years ago? Come on, people.
Also, Maude is damn near as invulnerable as Superman (at least until she meets the Sons of Typhon), and there's no kryptonite to be found. Now, I like a badass female fighter as much as anyone, but the Daughters of Lilith take this rather over the top (their fighting techniques supposedly inspired all the martial arts in existence). There's also a convenient metaphysical place known as the Record which Maude discovers she can tap into (fifty years earlier than any other Daughter being able to do it), where she can converse with the spirits of the previous Daughters (and her own mother, apparently), and solve all her problems. I could go on, but you get the idea--it felt to me like the worldbuilding was coming apart, and my suspension of belief stretched to the breaking point.
Which is sad, because Anne Bonney was wonderful. I would love reading the story of how she rescued the tree people and acquired her sentient warship, the Hecate. She was a realistic, flawed, human character. Unfortunately, at the end of the book we're left with Maude Stapleton teaching and nurturing the next generation of the Daughters of Lilith, and after her disappointing story in this book, I'm not inclined to go any further.
December 11, 2021
The Queen of Swords by R.S. Belcher
Tor Books
2018
When my children were much younger, we would make a trip to the library every single Saturday. On one such outing, in the new arrivals area, there was a book with a striking Raymond Swanland cover titled The Six-Gun Tarot. It simply blew me away. I had never read another book quite like this, and I was hungry for more. Luckily for me the library also had The Shotgun Arcana. Needless to say, I became a fan and couldn't wait for another installment.
Well in 2017 I got my wish. Wanting to read this and discover what had transpired after the events in the second book I ordered a paperback copy from Amazon. That was in 2018, I just recently got around to reading The Queen of Swords...whoops! What had happened was, that the book was shuffled into my collection and forgotten about. The horror! It wasn't until my friend, Montzalee Wittmann reviewed the book, and I had an oh yeah moment, which prompted to me to unearth my copy and begin reading. Not only that but I discovered that a fourth book had been published last year. I have some catching up to do.
After the abysmal events culminating in The Shotgun Arcana, Maude Stapleton leaves Golgotha to search for her daughter. Returning home to Charleston, Maude becomes entangled in a life and death struggle between two factions, each with their own intentions toward her daughter Constance. Constance has become something much more than just an ordinary teenage girl. Ancient powers vie for control of her, with the fate of humanity teetering in the balance.
The story alternates between events past and present. Anne Bonny journeys to the heart of Africa searching for fabled treasure and Maude's search for Constance leads her to the very same place 150 years later.
Blending historical fact and mythology Belcher has crafted a wonderful and intriguing female centric story. While book three can be read independently, this isn't really the place to start.
Tor Books
2018
When my children were much younger, we would make a trip to the library every single Saturday. On one such outing, in the new arrivals area, there was a book with a striking Raymond Swanland cover titled The Six-Gun Tarot. It simply blew me away. I had never read another book quite like this, and I was hungry for more. Luckily for me the library also had The Shotgun Arcana. Needless to say, I became a fan and couldn't wait for another installment.
Well in 2017 I got my wish. Wanting to read this and discover what had transpired after the events in the second book I ordered a paperback copy from Amazon. That was in 2018, I just recently got around to reading The Queen of Swords...whoops! What had happened was, that the book was shuffled into my collection and forgotten about. The horror! It wasn't until my friend, Montzalee Wittmann reviewed the book, and I had an oh yeah moment, which prompted to me to unearth my copy and begin reading. Not only that but I discovered that a fourth book had been published last year. I have some catching up to do.
After the abysmal events culminating in The Shotgun Arcana, Maude Stapleton leaves Golgotha to search for her daughter. Returning home to Charleston, Maude becomes entangled in a life and death struggle between two factions, each with their own intentions toward her daughter Constance. Constance has become something much more than just an ordinary teenage girl. Ancient powers vie for control of her, with the fate of humanity teetering in the balance.
The story alternates between events past and present. Anne Bonny journeys to the heart of Africa searching for fabled treasure and Maude's search for Constance leads her to the very same place 150 years later.
Blending historical fact and mythology Belcher has crafted a wonderful and intriguing female centric story. While book three can be read independently, this isn't really the place to start.
December 28, 2021
Still love this series! This novel focuses on 1 of the guardians of Golgotha, Maude Stapleton. Due to the events of “The Shotgun Arcana” caused Maude to come back to South Carolina to fight for her daughter & inheritance in a world where women are treated as little more than emotional children. Concurrently we learn the history of Maude’s great great great great great grandma pirate Queen Anne Bonney & her journey to become a Daughter of Lilith.
Graphic Audio does an amazing job bring R.S. Belcher’s book to life with “a movie in your mind”. The story just keeps getting better in development of the world & myths that go in Belcher’s world.
Graphic Audio does an amazing job bring R.S. Belcher’s book to life with “a movie in your mind”. The story just keeps getting better in development of the world & myths that go in Belcher’s world.
July 27, 2022
Did not finish.
Some caveats about me: When picking this up--which I did for the beautiful cover art because I can be shallow sometimes--I didn't realize it was the third book in a series. When I read the first book of the series, The Six-Gun Tarot, in 2016, I gave it a two-star rating and didn't feel compelled to look for sequels so didn't read book #2, The Shotgun Arcana.
The opening of The Queen of Swords really gripped me but turned out to be what I saw as the high point of the book. I found the parts of The Queen of Swords about pirate Anne Bonney much more interesting than the parts about her descendant Maude Stapleton, though as I read on the Anne Bonney parts started to get on my nerves too. Maude and the Daughters of Lilith just about have superpowers, to the point of being ridiculous, being nearly invulnerable to regular human attackers and constantly pulling new abilities of their asses, while Anne is mostly human and gets through things with pure will, boldness, and stubbornness. When Anne gets seriously injured in a fight, she has to deal with the physical consequences for a while. Fortunately for a reader who isn't interested in the non-drama of various Daughters of Lilith curbstomping ordinary people, the Daughters start to run up against supernatural opponents who present more difficulty.
When the book doesn't show Maude facing off with people or supernaturals trying to kill her, it's mostly concerned with her expositioning to a reporter about some of the history and abilities of the Daughters and her legal battle to get her daughter and inheritance back from her well-meaning but sexist and pigheaded father, a lot of which bored me.
When Anne creates an expedition into Africa to find a lost city and take its treasures for herself, my initial reaction was "Oh, no." How would the author present this? Answer:
I put the book down for good after a point where several plot pieces had me rolling my eyes too hard. (If you're curious about which, they're )
Some caveats about me: When picking this up--which I did for the beautiful cover art because I can be shallow sometimes--I didn't realize it was the third book in a series. When I read the first book of the series, The Six-Gun Tarot, in 2016, I gave it a two-star rating and didn't feel compelled to look for sequels so didn't read book #2, The Shotgun Arcana.
The opening of The Queen of Swords really gripped me but turned out to be what I saw as the high point of the book. I found the parts of The Queen of Swords about pirate Anne Bonney much more interesting than the parts about her descendant Maude Stapleton, though as I read on the Anne Bonney parts started to get on my nerves too. Maude and the Daughters of Lilith just about have superpowers, to the point of being ridiculous, being nearly invulnerable to regular human attackers and constantly pulling new abilities of their asses, while Anne is mostly human and gets through things with pure will, boldness, and stubbornness. When Anne gets seriously injured in a fight, she has to deal with the physical consequences for a while. Fortunately for a reader who isn't interested in the non-drama of various Daughters of Lilith curbstomping ordinary people, the Daughters start to run up against supernatural opponents who present more difficulty.
When the book doesn't show Maude facing off with people or supernaturals trying to kill her, it's mostly concerned with her expositioning to a reporter about some of the history and abilities of the Daughters and her legal battle to get her daughter and inheritance back from her well-meaning but sexist and pigheaded father, a lot of which bored me.
When Anne creates an expedition into Africa to find a lost city and take its treasures for herself, my initial reaction was "Oh, no." How would the author present this? Answer:
I put the book down for good after a point where several plot pieces had me rolling my eyes too hard. (If you're curious about which, they're )
September 7, 2020
I'm going to start actually by saying you should check out the cover artist, Raymond Swanland, because his artwork is gorgeous.
Anyway this was a 4 star read for me because I think the positives massively outweigh the negatives.
I'll start with the negatives.
I had a slight issue with the Maude chapters taking quite a long time in actually getting to the point and spending a lot of times on the court case she was battling through.
I also felt I had a slight issue with the representation of Anne Bonny. It wasn't a huge problem, to be honest, I just couldn't quite separate my own thoughts on the woman.
I despised Ya with a passion. (More a personal preference than a negative)
Positives
Action packed, although at times it maybe felt slow going it still had a lot going on pretty much at all times.
It's a female led book and most of the characters were supports and all were strong in their own rights. The Daughters of Lilth were all strong, powerful independent women in their own rights
I was also very welcome with the fact that
This might be controversial but also the fact that it was unashamedly 'in it's time', meaning when both sets of chapters were set. They are unashamedly racist and sexist instead of trying to cover up the politics of the time. It was, honestly, unexpected but very welcome.
I really enjoyed this one, to be honest, even if it felt like it took forever to read. Glad I picked this one up on a whim, even if historical fiction/fantasy isn't really my cup of tea.
Anyway this was a 4 star read for me because I think the positives massively outweigh the negatives.
I'll start with the negatives.
I had a slight issue with the Maude chapters taking quite a long time in actually getting to the point and spending a lot of times on the court case she was battling through.
I also felt I had a slight issue with the representation of Anne Bonny. It wasn't a huge problem, to be honest, I just couldn't quite separate my own thoughts on the woman.
I despised Ya with a passion. (More a personal preference than a negative)
Positives
Action packed, although at times it maybe felt slow going it still had a lot going on pretty much at all times.
It's a female led book and most of the characters were supports and all were strong in their own rights. The Daughters of Lilth were all strong, powerful independent women in their own rights
I was also very welcome with the fact that
This might be controversial but also the fact that it was unashamedly 'in it's time', meaning when both sets of chapters were set. They are unashamedly racist and sexist instead of trying to cover up the politics of the time. It was, honestly, unexpected but very welcome.
I really enjoyed this one, to be honest, even if it felt like it took forever to read. Glad I picked this one up on a whim, even if historical fiction/fantasy isn't really my cup of tea.
August 16, 2017
My issues with this book are the same I have had with Belcher's other works - he jams in so much that it ends up being overload. While this book is formally the third book in the Golgotha series, this is almost a spin-off as it follows Maude Stapleton in her adventures as a Daughter of Lilith as well as the adventures of her grandmother, notorious pirate Anne Bonney. The adventures of the two are told in dual timelines that of course join at the book's finale in a sensible, albeit, drawn out way. The book does tie into the events taking place in Golgotha and while you do miss the characters based in that fateful Nevada town, Maude being one of the most compelling characters in the series keeps you invested in her exploits that start in Charleston, but lead her to London and then the heart of Africa. Having watched Black Sails recently, I'm suffering from a bit of overexposure to the fictional adventures of Anne Bonney, so the timing of reading this when I did was a definite factor in how much I was able to enjoy the book. The mythical backstory of Typhus and Lilith and just about everything that takes place in Africa was pretty much lost on me because of how long it felt to get to that point. Meeting other Daughters and the threat of the Sons, as well as the eventual realization of yet another villain we will see in the next book in the series were welcomed developments although the number of beatings Maude takes yet still persevering became eye-rollingly repetitive. Considering how deep I am into the series, I will be sticking with it and while I hope the author can curb his penchant for crowbarring in so much into each book, I know from reading him that isn't going to happen. In the end, it's his creativity that wins out and is why I'll keep coming back for more.
April 25, 2024
Like all of Belcher's Golgotha books, this was exceptionally well-written and engaging. I found it to be addicting and creative, especially with the visual imagery and the attention to detail (for example a ship suddenly transitions from seawater to fresh water and dips in the water because seawater makes the craft more buoyant).
I was initially slightly off-put by the fact that the book didn't appear to intersect with many of the characters or the even the location from the previous books (despite having that location as the series name). However, while I think this book would've worked really well as a spinoff I came to enjoy it a lot despite my initial trepidation.
This book is technically fantasy, but when several folks asked me what it was about I had a difficult time describing it because the scope is vast. It included a sort of magic certainly, but it also included a wide variety of mystical theologies and philosophies. I think that this lent to the richness of the world as historical concepts and historical figures are brought into the scenes. It added a real sense of authenticity to the world that I feel is very difficult to capture in this genre due to how fantastical some of the events and characters can be (no exception here, there are gods & goddesses and primordial, ancient beings who are more concept than individual).
I recommend this book to folks who enjoy excellent world-building, fantastical plotlines, adventure, and just a hint of philosophical depth. I'll definitely follow the author into the next book because I'm along for this ride.
The Queen of Swords
I was initially slightly off-put by the fact that the book didn't appear to intersect with many of the characters or the even the location from the previous books (despite having that location as the series name). However, while I think this book would've worked really well as a spinoff I came to enjoy it a lot despite my initial trepidation.
This book is technically fantasy, but when several folks asked me what it was about I had a difficult time describing it because the scope is vast. It included a sort of magic certainly, but it also included a wide variety of mystical theologies and philosophies. I think that this lent to the richness of the world as historical concepts and historical figures are brought into the scenes. It added a real sense of authenticity to the world that I feel is very difficult to capture in this genre due to how fantastical some of the events and characters can be (no exception here, there are gods & goddesses and primordial, ancient beings who are more concept than individual).
I recommend this book to folks who enjoy excellent world-building, fantastical plotlines, adventure, and just a hint of philosophical depth. I'll definitely follow the author into the next book because I'm along for this ride.
The Queen of Swords
July 31, 2017
I haven't read the first two in the series and judging by the book I thought it was an offshoot series. It is not, but firmly a part of a series. I was not lost as I think Anne Bonney and her descendants take center stage in this one but not center in the other books. I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would but it made me crave more of Anne Bonney's story and I think I'll get some of it when I go back to read the other books in the series.
This story flits back and forth between timelines. The time is stamped on each chapter but even if you didn't pay attention to it, you would not be lost. In this instance Anne's story is more of a supportive role to tell Maude's story but she doesn't take the back seat. In fact, I think she may have stole the show... but it fits her character well.
The weakest parts were with the Sons of Typhon and with Typhon himself. He doesn't quite make my most feared villains but perhaps that is because I haven't read the other stories. He lacked depth but I'm not real sure that bothers me. He was a good backdrop and a reason for the tale we got and I really wanted more of Anne and the sisters of Lilith and that background story.
I give this book 4 stars. While I think you could dive into this one as I did and not be lost, be prepared to want more of Anne's story. I have a feeling you'll be wanting either her own book all to herself or at least the other books in this series. I want both. I recommend it to those that enjoy fantasy and pirates you would sail with around the world.
This story flits back and forth between timelines. The time is stamped on each chapter but even if you didn't pay attention to it, you would not be lost. In this instance Anne's story is more of a supportive role to tell Maude's story but she doesn't take the back seat. In fact, I think she may have stole the show... but it fits her character well.
The weakest parts were with the Sons of Typhon and with Typhon himself. He doesn't quite make my most feared villains but perhaps that is because I haven't read the other stories. He lacked depth but I'm not real sure that bothers me. He was a good backdrop and a reason for the tale we got and I really wanted more of Anne and the sisters of Lilith and that background story.
I give this book 4 stars. While I think you could dive into this one as I did and not be lost, be prepared to want more of Anne's story. I have a feeling you'll be wanting either her own book all to herself or at least the other books in this series. I want both. I recommend it to those that enjoy fantasy and pirates you would sail with around the world.
August 2, 2017
I usually don't like to jump into a series in the middle, but "The Queen of Swords" (Tor, $25.99,364 pages) looked fun, and reasonably intriguing, and the roll of the reading dice turned out pretty well.
R.S. Belcher's series involves a battle between the Daughters of Lilith and the Sons of Typhon, with the latter out to destroy the world, and the former out to save it. (As usual, the motivation for wanting to destroy the world is a little shaky, but a writer's got to do what a writer's got to do.)
The scene shifts from 18th century Africa (for the most part) to 19th century South Carolina (for the most part) and there are the requisite battle scenes between the incredibly deadly Daughters, who use speed and precision and enhanced senses from years of training, and the incredibly abhorrent Sons, who are deformed and enhanced mentally and physically. Adding spice to the stew is an internecine battle between the Daughters, and it's clear "The Queen of Swords" is far from the final volume.
Oh, and the title also refers to the tarot card in question, and all the chapter titles are tarot cards as well. Keep that tattered tarot reference book at hand to make a book that is basically intended to be fun even more so.
R.S. Belcher's series involves a battle between the Daughters of Lilith and the Sons of Typhon, with the latter out to destroy the world, and the former out to save it. (As usual, the motivation for wanting to destroy the world is a little shaky, but a writer's got to do what a writer's got to do.)
The scene shifts from 18th century Africa (for the most part) to 19th century South Carolina (for the most part) and there are the requisite battle scenes between the incredibly deadly Daughters, who use speed and precision and enhanced senses from years of training, and the incredibly abhorrent Sons, who are deformed and enhanced mentally and physically. Adding spice to the stew is an internecine battle between the Daughters, and it's clear "The Queen of Swords" is far from the final volume.
Oh, and the title also refers to the tarot card in question, and all the chapter titles are tarot cards as well. Keep that tattered tarot reference book at hand to make a book that is basically intended to be fun even more so.
August 25, 2022
These books are stand-alone in a series, but I strongly urge you to read Six Tun Tarot (Book 1) first. Then you can read the books in any order. Six Gun Tarot gives the foundation on which this series is written. Since book 3 came at the same time as book one, I read it next.
This story is told in two separate timelines. The earlier one, in the 1720s tells us about the infamous pirate queen, Anne Bonney. Miss Bonney is a force to be reckoned with as the escapes the gallows, delivers a son, and searches for the lost city of bones somewhere in northern Africa.
One hundred fifty years later, in 1870 Anne’s great-great-great-granddaughter, Maude Stapleton, is a widow who is raising her daughter alone, until Maude’s father interferes, and takes the daughter from Maude and from Golgotha to raise her as a proper young lady and marry her off to the landed gentry of South Carolina. Alas, Maude’s dander is up. She needs to get her daughter back, her inheritance back, and deal with the Sons of Typhon all at the same time.
Her father obviously never understood, perhaps never heard, the adage about Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned, let alone the advice to never get between a mama bear and her cub. Especially when that woman, that bear, is named Maude Stapleton!
This story is told in two separate timelines. The earlier one, in the 1720s tells us about the infamous pirate queen, Anne Bonney. Miss Bonney is a force to be reckoned with as the escapes the gallows, delivers a son, and searches for the lost city of bones somewhere in northern Africa.
One hundred fifty years later, in 1870 Anne’s great-great-great-granddaughter, Maude Stapleton, is a widow who is raising her daughter alone, until Maude’s father interferes, and takes the daughter from Maude and from Golgotha to raise her as a proper young lady and marry her off to the landed gentry of South Carolina. Alas, Maude’s dander is up. She needs to get her daughter back, her inheritance back, and deal with the Sons of Typhon all at the same time.
Her father obviously never understood, perhaps never heard, the adage about Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned, let alone the advice to never get between a mama bear and her cub. Especially when that woman, that bear, is named Maude Stapleton!
September 1, 2021
This book has more in it about what it means to be a Daughter of Lilith.
Anne Bonney had a hard life as a young girl. She suffered abuse and sexual assault at the hand of elders.
How she deals with that and her reaction when she witnesses the African slave market is what sets her on her path to being the Anne Bonney of fame and it portrays why she is able to handle "The load" of Lilith.
Maude Stapleton is fighting a war on many fronts. There is a new threat to mankind and the daughters of Lilith. She must also fight to gain control of her financial legacy and her daughter Constance.
She must use all of her training as a daughter to handle these issues and stay focused because she is learning what it means to achieve one's will. What it takes to remove the obstacles and hurdles that history and her gender place in her way.
Maude must also dig more into the past of messages, prophecies and additional training because the new threat involves her daughter, power struggles regarding this new threat as well as the other daughters of Lilith.
Over time, both time lines will intersect to deal with this new threat.
Anne Bonney had a hard life as a young girl. She suffered abuse and sexual assault at the hand of elders.
How she deals with that and her reaction when she witnesses the African slave market is what sets her on her path to being the Anne Bonney of fame and it portrays why she is able to handle "The load" of Lilith.
Maude Stapleton is fighting a war on many fronts. There is a new threat to mankind and the daughters of Lilith. She must also fight to gain control of her financial legacy and her daughter Constance.
She must use all of her training as a daughter to handle these issues and stay focused because she is learning what it means to achieve one's will. What it takes to remove the obstacles and hurdles that history and her gender place in her way.
Maude must also dig more into the past of messages, prophecies and additional training because the new threat involves her daughter, power struggles regarding this new threat as well as the other daughters of Lilith.
Over time, both time lines will intersect to deal with this new threat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2018
Maude, trying to recover her daughter from her well-meaning if overbearing rich merchant father, is forced to come from Golgotha, the town in the west where she has settled, to North Carolina. Although trained in the many secrets of the Daughter of Lilith, a secret society her umpteen-great grandmother belonged to, Maude is determined to fight this battle legally, with the aid of the suffragette movement that is beginning to swell in the US.
But the Sons of Typhon are also stirring; a similarly ancient society opposed to the Daughters of Lilith, they have been swung into action by the reappearance of Typhon himself -- inadvertently freed by Maude previously in Golgotha. They have an interest of their own in Maude's daughter, even as internal politics of the Daughters of Lilith mean there's a third, preternaturally talented group hunting her.
This reveals new sides of Maude's family and the relationship between Typhon and Lilith. The A-plot is exciting and action-packed. I really enjoyed the book and the series to date.
But the Sons of Typhon are also stirring; a similarly ancient society opposed to the Daughters of Lilith, they have been swung into action by the reappearance of Typhon himself -- inadvertently freed by Maude previously in Golgotha. They have an interest of their own in Maude's daughter, even as internal politics of the Daughters of Lilith mean there's a third, preternaturally talented group hunting her.
This reveals new sides of Maude's family and the relationship between Typhon and Lilith. The A-plot is exciting and action-packed. I really enjoyed the book and the series to date.
January 18, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, just like the rest of the series. The humor and horror aspects of the book are spot on. I liked so much of the book that it is far easier to list the few things I disliked, but this is still a positive review!
For a long stretch, the story goes back and forth between two times and two characters. Having read the book all the way through, I completely understand why R.S. Belcher chose to do that and I couldn't have suggested a better way to tell the two stories, but it gets annoying at times.
Several of the action descriptions are hindered by Belcher's apparent knowledge of martial arts. A character will use a specific move and, rather than describe the move for us plebeians, Belcher refers to it by its name.
There was one aspect of the rap up that was unsatisfying. It was the kind of unsatisfying that makes you anxious for the next book. While I may not like that tactic, and I was already anxious for the next book before even reading that part, I have to assume that Belcher did that on purpose, in which case, it was well done.
For a long stretch, the story goes back and forth between two times and two characters. Having read the book all the way through, I completely understand why R.S. Belcher chose to do that and I couldn't have suggested a better way to tell the two stories, but it gets annoying at times.
Several of the action descriptions are hindered by Belcher's apparent knowledge of martial arts. A character will use a specific move and, rather than describe the move for us plebeians, Belcher refers to it by its name.
There was one aspect of the rap up that was unsatisfying. It was the kind of unsatisfying that makes you anxious for the next book. While I may not like that tactic, and I was already anxious for the next book before even reading that part, I have to assume that Belcher did that on purpose, in which case, it was well done.
November 28, 2020
I’ll admit that I mainly picked this book up for the cover art, but the blurb sold me on it. The story behind that awesome cover didn’t let me down.
Though it’s the third book in a series, it’s readable as a standalone without hindering the stories of Maude Stapleton and Anne Bonny. Two points of view in two time periods doesn’t create a mess, instead boosting the story showing the parallels between Maude and her Gran as they’re inexorably drawn to the same fabled lost city.
The cast of side characters is equally interesting, and helped keep me interested during a section with courtroom drama (something that usually works as a sleep aid for me).
While OT at work and progress on my own writing slowed my reading pace, I still made time most nights to get in a chapter or two, and it held my interest enough not to forget anything between reading sessions when I wasn’t able to get to it for a couple days.
It’s not a world-changing book, but not every book needs to be. Sometimes the beat book is one that keeps you interested and entertained.
Though it’s the third book in a series, it’s readable as a standalone without hindering the stories of Maude Stapleton and Anne Bonny. Two points of view in two time periods doesn’t create a mess, instead boosting the story showing the parallels between Maude and her Gran as they’re inexorably drawn to the same fabled lost city.
The cast of side characters is equally interesting, and helped keep me interested during a section with courtroom drama (something that usually works as a sleep aid for me).
While OT at work and progress on my own writing slowed my reading pace, I still made time most nights to get in a chapter or two, and it held my interest enough not to forget anything between reading sessions when I wasn’t able to get to it for a couple days.
It’s not a world-changing book, but not every book needs to be. Sometimes the beat book is one that keeps you interested and entertained.
October 7, 2017
3.5 stars — this is good, but I definitely like Belcher's weirdness in Golgotha better than spread out across the world. The occasional problems I have with his language seem worse here — Maude's father at one point gives a speech about his inner torment that feels way too twentieth century (and I'm sorry "the Load" is just a lame name for the burden of the Daughters of Lilith). And Typhon is one of those villains who likes to make sinister observations about the meaningless and illusion of life, and those never work for me. And Maude's borderline metahuman fighting skills were easier to take in Golgotha where pretty much nobody's normal (seriously, disarming someone with a letter?).
All that said, this is full of action, with a capable heroine, lots of other capable women and a good storyline (though the big bad reminds me of Hellboy's Oghdru Jahad too much). Definitely worth the reading.
All that said, this is full of action, with a capable heroine, lots of other capable women and a good storyline (though the big bad reminds me of Hellboy's Oghdru Jahad too much). Definitely worth the reading.
September 19, 2018
Oh, wow. Seriously, this series just keeps getting better.
This is a significant departure from the previous Golgotha books in some ways - it's not a Weird West story, there's a lot less body horror, and it's a lot more streamlined. Instead of throwing a non-stop parade of oddities at the reader, it focuses on one storyline.
This could have been a problem; I love weird west and I love overfull, complex worlds. But the prose and the storytelling and the character building are beautiful and well-crafted and the world is still rich and I loved everything about it.
I loved having a story where almost every character is female, but it didn't read like a "girl's book." I loved the interconnected timelines. I loved the way characters grew and changed through the story. And always, always, I love Belcher's prose.
I want more of this world; I want more of both Golgotha and Maude; I just want these stories to continue forever.
This is a significant departure from the previous Golgotha books in some ways - it's not a Weird West story, there's a lot less body horror, and it's a lot more streamlined. Instead of throwing a non-stop parade of oddities at the reader, it focuses on one storyline.
This could have been a problem; I love weird west and I love overfull, complex worlds. But the prose and the storytelling and the character building are beautiful and well-crafted and the world is still rich and I loved everything about it.
I loved having a story where almost every character is female, but it didn't read like a "girl's book." I loved the interconnected timelines. I loved the way characters grew and changed through the story. And always, always, I love Belcher's prose.
I want more of this world; I want more of both Golgotha and Maude; I just want these stories to continue forever.
February 26, 2020
We're three for three at this point. True, this book takes a different direction from the other two, focusing primarily on the Daughters of Lilith, but that makes for quite an epic story. One thing I continue to love is the way Belcher throws everything into his stories—including the kitchen sink! We've got Western, pirates, Lovecraftian monsters, visions, quests, courtroom drama, ancient magic ... to say nothing of intriguing characters, intertwining backstories, fast pacing ... and I know I'm leaving things out. On top of all that, over the course of these three books, Golgatha has become a place as real in the heart of this reader as any place in physical reality. I took a long time to read this book because to my knowledge, the next book hasn't been announced yet, and I wanted to make it last as long as possible. As much as I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I do hope the next one, whenever it comes, takes us back to the town. I miss my friends there.
January 29, 2018
This book returns to the setting of the Golgotha books. Maude Stapleton (a supporting character in the earlier volumes) takes center stage here. Maude is a Daughter of Lilith, a member of an ancient order of female warriors, sworn to defend all life against antediluvian horrors. Maude's daughter Constance is thought to be key to some ancient prophecy, so other Daughters seek to kidnap her. Maude's actions from the last book have caused the ancient monster Typhon to stir from his slumber, and he seeks the destruction of all.
Between chapters set in the present are others detailing the adventures of Maude's grandmother, the pirate Anne Bonny, who journeyed to the forbidden city of Carcosa, and became a Daughter herself.
As ever, I can't wait to see what the author does next, though I'm given to understand that new books in Belcher's other series are due later this year.
Between chapters set in the present are others detailing the adventures of Maude's grandmother, the pirate Anne Bonny, who journeyed to the forbidden city of Carcosa, and became a Daughter herself.
As ever, I can't wait to see what the author does next, though I'm given to understand that new books in Belcher's other series are due later this year.
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