Name: Que (Irdesi Empire, #3)
Rating: 2.7 (11 reviews)

808 reviews616 followers

probably-not

September 8, 2021

2nd Update: I found a youtube interview with Ms.Cain. She was asked how many books would be in her series, and Ms. Cain shrugged and she said she didn't know how many books would be in her series: "it could be 5 or 30."At this point these series are starting to remind me of never ending serials. Honestly, It reminds me of Radish, where you have to pay coins for the next chapter. With the multiple new releases from random series....then the to be expected release dates that have been passed, the guerrilla marketing strategies for the books, the lack of honest/straightforward communication about the status of her series with her readers....I'm out. I'm going to pretend this series doesn't exist, come back to it in 50 years hoping a series might be complete and priced reasonably by then. With these price increases by the time a series is finished readers would have handed over a ton of money. Tbh I'm a bit irritated because it's looking like the series are structured in such a way to get the most money from readers instead of delivering a well told story with a complete arc.

Underneath this irritation is ultimately just disappointment.

When I first read Sigil I was amazed because I had never read anything like it before. I put off reading it, because I (wrongly) assumed this would be a trilogy and saw that Que would be coming out in Spring of 2019 (if you look at my shelves you'll see I read Sigil and Sovereign in early spring of 2019). The lack of respect that's been shown to readers honestly concerned about the status of the series, (them being referred to as "very special people with very special demands") is just disappointing.

****

A disclaimer for Goodread's legal department, for when this review is inevitably reported by Tynia Watson or the next attorney the author hires: This review is my opinion & commentary, not facts. I point to where and how I came to my conclusions, which sources I found facts from, and how I interpreted them. People are free to come to their own conclusions :)) If someone at Goodreads legal is reading this review because they've received a strongly worded letter from an attorney, and they're unaware of the full situation I suggest reading the Electronic Frontier Foundation's statement with links to the kind of letters Tynia Watson has a history of writing for her client: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/10...

I have gone out of my way to focus on the book and marketing of the book. Any mention of the author is relevant because it's in context to the book or marketing of the book.

****

_____

Original review

Update: In AC's most recent newsletter, she said "Some very special people have been making some very special demands that I give release dates. Well, even though I love you, I'm not going to do that. When Que hits, it will be a surprise." Here's a screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/7DrmhAq

This is news to me, because a release date was previously set for Que. (Spring of 2019), which was passed. I would have preferred for there to have been no release date set, because I was waiting for this book spring of 2019. Factually, this book has had a release date, and it has been passed, with no updates until today 12/2019. Que is a prime example of a release date being set and passed.

Edit: lol a goodreads friend just told me the original release date was April 2018.

AC also set a release for The Relic (October 2020) as well as A Night by my Fire, I truly don't understand the statement: "AC never sets release dates." Factually, the statement is incorrect.

I do support the recent decision to stop setting release dates for this book (since they're habitually passed). With that said, I don't think it's necessarily demanding for fans to ask about release dates, considering almost all other authors provide release dates.

I am amused how I (as well as other readers expressing their wonderment with this series on this page) might have been indirectly referenced in the newsletter as "very special people." Although, I think it needs to be made clear that I don't demand release dates, and I'm ok waiting for books. It's straightforward, honest communication about the status of a series or the next installment of a series that matters to me.

Personally, I'd rather know how many books will be in a series (or if the author even knows), and if a release date is set (like it was with Que), I'd like to have some update on why that release date was passed when it's passed. Something vague, but to the point. I don't need a lot of detail. This is an important nuance that I don't believe has been recognized.

I understand the author loving anticipation for her books, but this strategy for anticipation seems off. There's a balance between anticipation and frustration. A scale of sorts. I think the strategy that's being used is tipping towards the side of frustration vs anticipation.

Also, the cost of this series so far if you've read all three books will be over $15 and there's no end in sight.

Concerns about closure to this series have been expressed by fans since 2016: https://www.fictionpress.com/r/324912...

"Guest chapter 1 . Sep 14, 2016
(reference to Reborn) disappointed in Book 3, no HEA or closure. :-/ makes me doubt if Sigil is worth following when/if it comes out."

From a fan, Angel, dated Oct. 1 2016: I know and understand like most, I'm disappointed.. Sad even, and I still wait for the closure, the beacon of hope that the series didn't end just like that. I feel that you should have made it into a conclusive ending from the start. And that if you wanted that part of the world to end, if you intended for that universe, that world to end, in a not happily ever after, that you should have concluded it in some way that made more sense in that way to the readers.
Instead you let it end to the reader's open conclusive imagination and judgment. But what I really wanted to know and feel from you, was for you to tell us, the readers, to conclude for us, that is this really the end for Claire and Shepherd?

We needed answers. What happened to the other characters who were shown constantly in the story? Did Jules save Shepherd? Is Jules even alive? Who donated to help Claire when she was ounces away from death? What about the virus? Who saved Shepherd if he really is
still alive? There are a ton of questions, readers like myself still are wondering about. That's why we feel incomplete the way we do.

Personally I'm ok with dark non-hea endings. It's having closure to a series that's meaningful to me. Vince Gilligan, the writer of Breaking Bad, when discussing how he wanted to end his series said he liked 'satisfying reading experiences' that had meaningful endings with closure. He wanted to translate that to the show. Questions were answered in the last season of Breaking Bad. There was still room for a spinoff too. I'd love to see a series like this one end with that satisfying, meaningful feeling of closure, even if it's dark with no hea.
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Irdesi Empire #3

Que

Addison Cain

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Addison Cain

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