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Spellslinger #5
Queenslayer
The fifth book in the page-turning SPELLSLINGER fantasy series.
Kellen and Reichis have just finished fighting a duel in the desert when Kellen inadvertently smears blood on the Daroman flag - an act of treason for which the Marshals have no choice but to arrest him. Just before he's put before the Queen to be executed, Kellen is given a strange piece of advice from one of his fellow prisoners: kill the Queen and he'll be given clemency by those who take power. But when Kellen comes face-to-face with the eleven year-old monarch, he realises she's vastly smarter than he expected - and in a great deal more danger.
Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.
Kellen and Reichis have just finished fighting a duel in the desert when Kellen inadvertently smears blood on the Daroman flag - an act of treason for which the Marshals have no choice but to arrest him. Just before he's put before the Queen to be executed, Kellen is given a strange piece of advice from one of his fellow prisoners: kill the Queen and he'll be given clemency by those who take power. But when Kellen comes face-to-face with the eleven year-old monarch, he realises she's vastly smarter than he expected - and in a great deal more danger.
Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2019
414 people are currently reading
5983 people want to read
About the author
Sebastien de Castell
58 books4,967 followersHi Folks!
My eighteenth novel, MALEVOLENT EIGHT is now available. Cade Ombra and his misfit band of mercenary war mages are determined to prevent a cataclysmic war between supernatural beings. But peace at any price might mean killing an awful lot of people. The Malevolent Seven might be heroes, but they'll be the good guys . . .
My seventeenth novel is titled PLAY OF SHADOWS. A swashbuckling fantasy set in the world of mystical theatre where exalted actors can channel the spirits of the historical figures they portray on stage. But Damelas Chademantaigne seems to be summoning the spirit of a notorious villain whose secrets could unleash a civil war!
My sixteenth novel is CRUCIBLE OF CHAOS. Estevar Borros is my favourite swashbuckling investigator of the supernatural, so come investigate alongside him and his dauntless mule, Imperious inside a mysterious abbey where the gods seem to be driving the monks mad!
My fifteenth novel is FATE OF THE ARGOSI. The Argosi series is one of my favourites and I hope you'll come along for Ferius Parfax's adventures!
You can get a pair of free stories here.
The best way to stay up to date is at www.decastell.com, but I'm also on that Facebook thing. Also that Twitter thing. One day I'll even remember to get on that Instagram thing.
As to who I am? Well . . .
Sebastien de Castell had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist. His only defence against the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doing these things and that, in one way or another, each of these fields plays a role in his writing. He sternly resists the accusation of being a Renaissance Man in the hopes that more people will label him that way.
Sebastien's acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats. was shortlisted for both the 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut, the Prix Imaginales for Best Foreign Work, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and is published in more than a dozen languages.
Sebastien lives in Vancouver, Canada with his lovely wife and two belligerent cats. You can reach him at www.decastell.com
My eighteenth novel, MALEVOLENT EIGHT is now available. Cade Ombra and his misfit band of mercenary war mages are determined to prevent a cataclysmic war between supernatural beings. But peace at any price might mean killing an awful lot of people. The Malevolent Seven might be heroes, but they'll be the good guys . . .
My seventeenth novel is titled PLAY OF SHADOWS. A swashbuckling fantasy set in the world of mystical theatre where exalted actors can channel the spirits of the historical figures they portray on stage. But Damelas Chademantaigne seems to be summoning the spirit of a notorious villain whose secrets could unleash a civil war!
My sixteenth novel is CRUCIBLE OF CHAOS. Estevar Borros is my favourite swashbuckling investigator of the supernatural, so come investigate alongside him and his dauntless mule, Imperious inside a mysterious abbey where the gods seem to be driving the monks mad!
My fifteenth novel is FATE OF THE ARGOSI. The Argosi series is one of my favourites and I hope you'll come along for Ferius Parfax's adventures!
You can get a pair of free stories here.
The best way to stay up to date is at www.decastell.com, but I'm also on that Facebook thing. Also that Twitter thing. One day I'll even remember to get on that Instagram thing.
As to who I am? Well . . .
Sebastien de Castell had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist. His only defence against the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doing these things and that, in one way or another, each of these fields plays a role in his writing. He sternly resists the accusation of being a Renaissance Man in the hopes that more people will label him that way.
Sebastien's acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats. was shortlisted for both the 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut, the Prix Imaginales for Best Foreign Work, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and is published in more than a dozen languages.
Sebastien lives in Vancouver, Canada with his lovely wife and two belligerent cats. You can reach him at www.decastell.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 478 reviews
December 28, 2020
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Expectations prior to reading this:
– Same powder magic with the Carnath incantation
– The Squirrel cat wanting to eat someone’s eye
– Kellen making contact with his sister through wind magic
– A new girl with some romantic aspect
– Danger and cliffhangers that are not genuine!
Reality after finishing the book:
– Same powder magic with the Carnath incantation
– The Squirrel cat wanting to eat someone’s eye
– Kellen making contact with his sister through wind magic
– A new girl with some romantic aspect
– Danger and cliffhangers that are not genuine!
My least favorite entry in the series so far! If I knew it would become this predictable and boring then I would have not read the whole series! I am going to finish it though because I already finished 5 out of 6 books!
Expectations prior to reading this:
– Same powder magic with the Carnath incantation
– The Squirrel cat wanting to eat someone’s eye
– Kellen making contact with his sister through wind magic
– A new girl with some romantic aspect
– Danger and cliffhangers that are not genuine!
Reality after finishing the book:
– Same powder magic with the Carnath incantation
– The Squirrel cat wanting to eat someone’s eye
– Kellen making contact with his sister through wind magic
– A new girl with some romantic aspect
– Danger and cliffhangers that are not genuine!
My least favorite entry in the series so far! If I knew it would become this predictable and boring then I would have not read the whole series! I am going to finish it though because I already finished 5 out of 6 books!
May 29, 2019
QUEENSLAYER
- Episode 5
On this episode of Spellslinger, Kellen STILL doesn't level up.
This book series has been like an anime for me. Each book feels like it's own episode where the MC continues to make a name for themselves by being the reluctant hero. The problem is, Kellen is suppose to be extremely clever, but he's still just getting lead around by the nose. This is the 5th book and he's still asking himself the "who am I" and "am I good or evil" questions.
He STILL only has ONE MOVE. It's like when I was at my sisters for Christmas and she wanted to play Mortal Kombat on super nintendo.... hell yeah, I remember the moves..... so we start playing and she proceeds to kick my ass by just crouching and using one move over and over.
That's what this book felt like for me, everyone knows more magic and is stronger than Kellen, but in the end his single move is stronger than them all. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't BAD, the writing and dialogue was still amazing. The book's intrigue and pacing had me hooked and blowing through the book. It all fell flat at the end for me though, the plot twists I saw coming, the deaths weren't emotional, and the entire ending felt unexciting. I needed more out of the second to last book in the series.
If you're new to the series don't judge it based off of my review of this single book, the series has been great. If you've read the series you'll still enjoy this one but might run into some of the same problems I did. I'll 100% still be buying the final book when it comes out. This one felt like a huge set up strictly for the last book.
On this episode of Spellslinger, Kellen STILL doesn't level up.
This book series has been like an anime for me. Each book feels like it's own episode where the MC continues to make a name for themselves by being the reluctant hero. The problem is, Kellen is suppose to be extremely clever, but he's still just getting lead around by the nose. This is the 5th book and he's still asking himself the "who am I" and "am I good or evil" questions.
He STILL only has ONE MOVE. It's like when I was at my sisters for Christmas and she wanted to play Mortal Kombat on super nintendo.... hell yeah, I remember the moves..... so we start playing and she proceeds to kick my ass by just crouching and using one move over and over.
That's what this book felt like for me, everyone knows more magic and is stronger than Kellen, but in the end his single move is stronger than them all. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't BAD, the writing and dialogue was still amazing. The book's intrigue and pacing had me hooked and blowing through the book. It all fell flat at the end for me though, the plot twists I saw coming, the deaths weren't emotional, and the entire ending felt unexciting. I needed more out of the second to last book in the series.
If you're new to the series don't judge it based off of my review of this single book, the series has been great. If you've read the series you'll still enjoy this one but might run into some of the same problems I did. I'll 100% still be buying the final book when it comes out. This one felt like a huge set up strictly for the last book.
December 24, 2019
I think this is the weakest installment in the series so far. There’s no character development, nothing continues the plot line. Its definitely a thing when you realize if you skip this 5th book, you don’t miss out on anything. (Don’t do that, I’m sure the thing that did sorta happen continues 😂) Also some character decisions were made toward the end I really hated the direction of. I’m still going into the finale with excitement though!
June 17, 2019
By this point, I CANNOT put this series down. It has the light adventure feel with all the darker currents of modern fantasy while being a YA with a lovable trickster with a nasty penchant for destroying everything he grows to love.
*Sigh*
But you know what? It' impossible not to love it. It's like a YA version of Brust's Vlad series with the hardcore coolness of applied magic a-la Sanderson's Law. (Magic must make sense, have rules, be awesome.) :)
Most of all, however, what drives this is the charm. :) Being an outlaw is cool and all, but politics is politics and the machinations of nations can be a very, very dirty business. It's a shame that he has to follow his heart. ; ;
This one was somewhat rough. Not like we couldn't figure that out by the title, of course. But my heart breaks. For several reasons. ; ;
*Sigh*
But you know what? It' impossible not to love it. It's like a YA version of Brust's Vlad series with the hardcore coolness of applied magic a-la Sanderson's Law. (Magic must make sense, have rules, be awesome.) :)
Most of all, however, what drives this is the charm. :) Being an outlaw is cool and all, but politics is politics and the machinations of nations can be a very, very dirty business. It's a shame that he has to follow his heart. ; ;
This one was somewhat rough. Not like we couldn't figure that out by the title, of course. But my heart breaks. For several reasons. ; ;
June 21, 2019
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2019/06/20/...
In this penultimate installment of the Spellslinger series, our hapless protagonist Kellen Argos has once again traveled to a new place and embroiled himself in yet another sticky political situation in which he really can’t afford to make a single mistake. Fortunately, by his side is Reichis, his trusty sidekick (sorry, business partner) who is a cantankerous squirrel cat with the heart of a lion and the mouth of a sailor. Like all the previous volumes, this one also features a very memorable and vibrant supporting cast as characters new and old make an appearance, while certain absences can also be felt strongly.
In Queenslayer, Kellen has traveled to Darome, a nation with some peculiar customs and beliefs. After accidentally smearing blood on a Daroman flag, our protagonist finds himself hauled in front of the royal court to face justice for his crime. Presiding over his trial is Queen , an 11-year-old girl wise beyond her years. Devising a challenge in the form of a card game, she manages to get the court to spare Kellen and place him under her protection.
But pretty soon, Kellen realizes that being in the queen’s service is not all it’s cracked up to be. Most of the others mistrust him, fearful of his Shadowblack. And some also want to use him to their advantage, putting Kellen in a delicate spot. As a greater conspiracy is revealed to him, Kellen is finding it more and more difficult to keep his head above water, painfully aware that the queen probably trusts and relies on him more than she should.
Five books in, it is fascinating for me to watch the evolution of this series. In my review of the previous book, Soulbinder, I noted how I thought we had reached a turning point, where Kellen’s journey may have started taking steps towards a darker and more mature direction. Queenslayer has certainly not swayed me from that impression. While this book still has plenty of action and humor, I definitely feel that it is more understated compared to the first three in the series. For one thing, the story is heavily focused on courtly politics, putting Kellen’s wits to the test. Having reached his eighteenth birthday, our boy is growing up, and it’s obvious from certain themes in the plot as well as some of the situations in which he finds himself. That said, I was pleased to see that if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed much, it’s that he is still completely hopeless when it comes to women.
With one more book to go, Sebastien de Castell is also preparing to tie everything together, though of course there are still plenty of secrets he keeps close to the vest. There’s more about the Shadowblack, building upon what we learned from the previous book in which we saw Kellen start to come around to what the markings might mean for his future. However, new information about his affliction—including the possibility of a cure—has once more gotten him rethinking all his plans. The author has also teased a greater role for Kellen’s sister, and Shalla makes an appearance in Queenslayer, bringing with her all kinds of questions about her endgame. I’m still not really sure about her, whether her love for Kellen is sincere or if she is merely a tool of their father; all I know is that I’m excited to find out more. And finally, I would also love to see more of Ferius. I’ve been missing her, and of course I’m still holding out hope that there will be a bigger part for the Argosi, but at the same time I can’t deny that a part of me is tremendously proud to watch Kellen come into his own without anyone holding his hand. It feels like his has been the goal of the last two novels.
Needless to say, if you’ve been enjoying the series, Queenslayer is not to be missed. I always feel a nervous energy whenever we approach a finale, and this is pretty much where I am now, waiting on pins and needles for Crownbreaker. I’m going to be sad when Kellen and Reichis’ journey comes to a close, but knowing that I’ll have all the fond memories of their past adventures to keep me smiling, it’s hard to feel too upset. As far as memorable moments go, there are plenty in this one, and I can’t wait to read the final book.
In this penultimate installment of the Spellslinger series, our hapless protagonist Kellen Argos has once again traveled to a new place and embroiled himself in yet another sticky political situation in which he really can’t afford to make a single mistake. Fortunately, by his side is Reichis, his trusty sidekick (sorry, business partner) who is a cantankerous squirrel cat with the heart of a lion and the mouth of a sailor. Like all the previous volumes, this one also features a very memorable and vibrant supporting cast as characters new and old make an appearance, while certain absences can also be felt strongly.
In Queenslayer, Kellen has traveled to Darome, a nation with some peculiar customs and beliefs. After accidentally smearing blood on a Daroman flag, our protagonist finds himself hauled in front of the royal court to face justice for his crime. Presiding over his trial is Queen , an 11-year-old girl wise beyond her years. Devising a challenge in the form of a card game, she manages to get the court to spare Kellen and place him under her protection.
But pretty soon, Kellen realizes that being in the queen’s service is not all it’s cracked up to be. Most of the others mistrust him, fearful of his Shadowblack. And some also want to use him to their advantage, putting Kellen in a delicate spot. As a greater conspiracy is revealed to him, Kellen is finding it more and more difficult to keep his head above water, painfully aware that the queen probably trusts and relies on him more than she should.
Five books in, it is fascinating for me to watch the evolution of this series. In my review of the previous book, Soulbinder, I noted how I thought we had reached a turning point, where Kellen’s journey may have started taking steps towards a darker and more mature direction. Queenslayer has certainly not swayed me from that impression. While this book still has plenty of action and humor, I definitely feel that it is more understated compared to the first three in the series. For one thing, the story is heavily focused on courtly politics, putting Kellen’s wits to the test. Having reached his eighteenth birthday, our boy is growing up, and it’s obvious from certain themes in the plot as well as some of the situations in which he finds himself. That said, I was pleased to see that if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed much, it’s that he is still completely hopeless when it comes to women.
With one more book to go, Sebastien de Castell is also preparing to tie everything together, though of course there are still plenty of secrets he keeps close to the vest. There’s more about the Shadowblack, building upon what we learned from the previous book in which we saw Kellen start to come around to what the markings might mean for his future. However, new information about his affliction—including the possibility of a cure—has once more gotten him rethinking all his plans. The author has also teased a greater role for Kellen’s sister, and Shalla makes an appearance in Queenslayer, bringing with her all kinds of questions about her endgame. I’m still not really sure about her, whether her love for Kellen is sincere or if she is merely a tool of their father; all I know is that I’m excited to find out more. And finally, I would also love to see more of Ferius. I’ve been missing her, and of course I’m still holding out hope that there will be a bigger part for the Argosi, but at the same time I can’t deny that a part of me is tremendously proud to watch Kellen come into his own without anyone holding his hand. It feels like his has been the goal of the last two novels.
Needless to say, if you’ve been enjoying the series, Queenslayer is not to be missed. I always feel a nervous energy whenever we approach a finale, and this is pretty much where I am now, waiting on pins and needles for Crownbreaker. I’m going to be sad when Kellen and Reichis’ journey comes to a close, but knowing that I’ll have all the fond memories of their past adventures to keep me smiling, it’s hard to feel too upset. As far as memorable moments go, there are plenty in this one, and I can’t wait to read the final book.
April 18, 2025
“These Daroman, these barbarians … their lives are governed not by power, but by the perception of power. The queen, … , the army, the nobles. All of them.”
Outlaw spellslinger and wannabe but neverbe mage, Kellen Argos, and his short-tempered squirrel cat, lead a life on the edge. The world would happily see him and his shadowblack curse dead and gone. His reputation is non-existent. His magic is as restricted and limited as ever! His luck? Well, forget about that! When he inadvertently wipes blood from a wound on the Daroman flag, he finds himself hauled before the 11-year-old queen on trial for his life. Then things get seriously difficult and complicated, LOL!
Predictable as hell and, notwithstanding the fact that QUEENSLAYER is, after all, young adult fantasy, it’s rather lacking in what one might call “fantasy credibility”. That said, the dialogue is sharp and witty, the romance is warm and drippy, and the humour, particularly in reference to Reichis, the feisty eyeball-munching and definitely carnivorous squirrel cat, is definitely of the laugh-out-loud variety.
A fine addition to a Canadian fantasy series and definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
Outlaw spellslinger and wannabe but neverbe mage, Kellen Argos, and his short-tempered squirrel cat, lead a life on the edge. The world would happily see him and his shadowblack curse dead and gone. His reputation is non-existent. His magic is as restricted and limited as ever! His luck? Well, forget about that! When he inadvertently wipes blood from a wound on the Daroman flag, he finds himself hauled before the 11-year-old queen on trial for his life. Then things get seriously difficult and complicated, LOL!
Predictable as hell and, notwithstanding the fact that QUEENSLAYER is, after all, young adult fantasy, it’s rather lacking in what one might call “fantasy credibility”. That said, the dialogue is sharp and witty, the romance is warm and drippy, and the humour, particularly in reference to Reichis, the feisty eyeball-munching and definitely carnivorous squirrel cat, is definitely of the laugh-out-loud variety.
A fine addition to a Canadian fantasy series and definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
May 28, 2019
I hate to say this but feel like I'm reading the same book over and over. The characters never seem to do anything that changes my opinion about them. Kellen and his sister have the same conversation three times every book. Kellen and Reichis have the same conversation five times every book. Kellen and whatever person he has just met that now hates him with a passion have the same interaction with the same result three times a book and finally, as always, Kellen arrives at a strange place with strange people and instantly becomes the absolute centre of attention emotionally and politically with everything revolving around him. As someone who counts The Greatcoats series as one of his all time favourites I'm a bit devastated to reach this point and could only recommend this to the younger readers, who admittedly it is actually aimed at.
July 29, 2019
Vid review will be available here https://youtu.be/QHLk549f5Pw on August, 12th, 2019
June 15, 2021
This book took us to a darker place than others in the series, reminding me of The Greatcoats. I reeealllyyy like the direction the series is going, and I’m pretty excited to see how it will end.
July 16, 2024
✅ Gorgeous cover
✅ World-building
🆗✅ Characters
🆗 Plot and pace
🆗 Magic
2.5 stars
I enjoyed this series so far, but every book feels like an episode of its own, a micro-story inside the bigger story.
The problem is that this is the 5th book of the series. What is Kellen doing? He is supposed to be clever and full of wits and he is still getting around almost being killed two or three times in every book. He gets out of tricky situations by luck (and sometimes wits), but I feel that often he could have avoided the situation altogether. Then there is his trick; after five books, he still has only one trick that he can perform. One trick to defend himself... I would have expected him to find something else, a plan B and a plan C since he is always getting in trouble. Somehow he is lucky enough to manage to beat everyone with his one trick (even if his opponents are stronger).
I feel that the story is (slowly) moving on, but Kellen is not. He is still wondering about whether he's good or bad, what is his place in the world, who he really is... It's getting a little repetitive.
This book is still good and enjoyable, the writing and the dialogues are very nice to read, but I'm eager for some major change regarding Kellen and his shitty attitude. I also hope that the last book will not be as predictable and repetitive.
1. Spellslinger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1.1 The Dowager Magus ⭐⭐
2. Shadowblack ⭐⭐⭐.5
2.1 Firewood ⭐⭐
3. Charmcaster ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Soulbinder ⭐⭐⭐.5
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✅ World-building
🆗✅ Characters
🆗 Plot and pace
🆗 Magic
2.5 stars
I enjoyed this series so far, but every book feels like an episode of its own, a micro-story inside the bigger story.
The problem is that this is the 5th book of the series. What is Kellen doing? He is supposed to be clever and full of wits and he is still getting around almost being killed two or three times in every book. He gets out of tricky situations by luck (and sometimes wits), but I feel that often he could have avoided the situation altogether. Then there is his trick; after five books, he still has only one trick that he can perform. One trick to defend himself... I would have expected him to find something else, a plan B and a plan C since he is always getting in trouble. Somehow he is lucky enough to manage to beat everyone with his one trick (even if his opponents are stronger).
I feel that the story is (slowly) moving on, but Kellen is not. He is still wondering about whether he's good or bad, what is his place in the world, who he really is... It's getting a little repetitive.
This book is still good and enjoyable, the writing and the dialogues are very nice to read, but I'm eager for some major change regarding Kellen and his shitty attitude. I also hope that the last book will not be as predictable and repetitive.
1. Spellslinger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1.1 The Dowager Magus ⭐⭐
2. Shadowblack ⭐⭐⭐.5
2.1 Firewood ⭐⭐
3. Charmcaster ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Soulbinder ⭐⭐⭐.5
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May 31, 2019
I think my favorite thing about this series was always the character-building. Kellen probably is my favorite character ever: he is a real smart-ass, clever and quick-minded, also one-part clumsy, one-part genius and one-part idiot. But what I always loved about him that he is kind of sensitive and was never really able to restrain his feelings. We could see him complain, we could see him cry, being bratty or even heart-broken. Like a normal teenage boy whose life turned upside down.
Well, that's the Kellen I remembered and loved: full of feelings and heart, full of depth. But in Queenslayer something changed in his character and I couldn't even recognize him anymore in some parts: he became meaner, darker and so much colder... but somehow also became more "flat" and lacking complexity. Well, you can say that being an outlaw can change your personality completely but it was not like that. For me, this transformation was not quite believable and was not at all consistent with the previous books. For example, Kellen almost totally forgot what he learned from Ferius (!!), he didn't use the Argosi ways anymore which were kind of the essence of his development in the previous books. I also missed him concentrating on the details, I missed his way of thinking and cunning - in this installment he was not as resourceful and observant as earlier and that was kind of unsettling. And most of all I just missed him being himself and not a cold-blooded murderer. (Seriously, when murdering became so okay for him?? He killed people earlier but not it was like nothing?? It was so sad to read.) Sometimes it felt like I was reading about a complete stranger.
The story also felt off... maybe because it was originally written in 2011 (I have no idea) but the whole book's vibe was much more like Greatcoats and not Spellslinger. The Daroman Empire, the marshals, the 11 years old queen and the whole setting reminded me too much of Traitor's Blade and unfortunately that didn't quite work for me. (I believe it was the opposite for some readers but I always preferred Spellslinger over Greatcoats.)
At this point in the story, I expected to read more about the shadowblack, Kellen's being an enigmatist or just about Kellen's family, the past of his grandmother. Like hells, the writer should have started to prepare the story for the last book, started to build the story's climax. But this whole book felt like a filler episode - you know the one episode which is kind of a stand-alone, don't really add too much to the whole and not as detailed and professional as the main ones.
Despite my obvious discontent with Kellen and the story's direction, there were parts of the book I really liked. (Don't get me wrong, the book was still enjoyable and a fast read but it just couldn't fulfill my main expectations). I especially loved Shalla's parts. At least she was totally herself and acted in a way she always does. I always love when she has an interaction with Kellen - you know that she is a calculating manipulator but she loves her brother more than anything and that's more than touching. At least for me. :) I missed Ke'heops in this one but what he "did" in the end for Kellen was everything I had hoped for (and it was so perfect!!).
The interactions between Kellen and Reichis were also great and I loved that the little squirrel cat had more screen time in this book than in the previous ones. He is the heart of the series and I hope that he is going to have the same amount of spotlight in the last book as well.
Now I am really curious how the story is going to end. Although Queenslayer was obviously not my favorite part, I'm in love with the first four books (I read every book twice) and I hope with all my heart that my feelings are going to be the same for Crownbreaker. I need my Kellen (my TRUE Kellen), I need the real Spellslinger. Please.
I am so excited and I can't wait to find out the true story behind the shadowblack and Kellen's grandmother. I also hope that Kellen can meet his family again and they can settle their hm... disagreements.
I could never really hate Ke'heops and Shalla is kind of my girl crush, so... can the Jan'Teps have a reunion? :3
Oh. And Ferius. Don't forget Ferius!
Well, still so much to wait for. Until October I'll definitely read some parts again of the story! Even if my review was not quite positive for this book but the series definitely worth the read and my love is still the same.
Well, that's the Kellen I remembered and loved: full of feelings and heart, full of depth. But in Queenslayer something changed in his character and I couldn't even recognize him anymore in some parts: he became meaner, darker and so much colder... but somehow also became more "flat" and lacking complexity. Well, you can say that being an outlaw can change your personality completely but it was not like that. For me, this transformation was not quite believable and was not at all consistent with the previous books. For example, Kellen almost totally forgot what he learned from Ferius (!!), he didn't use the Argosi ways anymore which were kind of the essence of his development in the previous books. I also missed him concentrating on the details, I missed his way of thinking and cunning - in this installment he was not as resourceful and observant as earlier and that was kind of unsettling. And most of all I just missed him being himself and not a cold-blooded murderer. (Seriously, when murdering became so okay for him?? He killed people earlier but not it was like nothing?? It was so sad to read.) Sometimes it felt like I was reading about a complete stranger.
The story also felt off... maybe because it was originally written in 2011 (I have no idea) but the whole book's vibe was much more like Greatcoats and not Spellslinger. The Daroman Empire, the marshals, the 11 years old queen and the whole setting reminded me too much of Traitor's Blade and unfortunately that didn't quite work for me. (I believe it was the opposite for some readers but I always preferred Spellslinger over Greatcoats.)
At this point in the story, I expected to read more about the shadowblack, Kellen's being an enigmatist or just about Kellen's family, the past of his grandmother. Like hells, the writer should have started to prepare the story for the last book, started to build the story's climax. But this whole book felt like a filler episode - you know the one episode which is kind of a stand-alone, don't really add too much to the whole and not as detailed and professional as the main ones.
Despite my obvious discontent with Kellen and the story's direction, there were parts of the book I really liked. (Don't get me wrong, the book was still enjoyable and a fast read but it just couldn't fulfill my main expectations). I especially loved Shalla's parts. At least she was totally herself and acted in a way she always does. I always love when she has an interaction with Kellen - you know that she is a calculating manipulator but she loves her brother more than anything and that's more than touching. At least for me. :) I missed Ke'heops in this one but what he "did" in the end for Kellen was everything I had hoped for (and it was so perfect!!).
The interactions between Kellen and Reichis were also great and I loved that the little squirrel cat had more screen time in this book than in the previous ones. He is the heart of the series and I hope that he is going to have the same amount of spotlight in the last book as well.
Now I am really curious how the story is going to end. Although Queenslayer was obviously not my favorite part, I'm in love with the first four books (I read every book twice) and I hope with all my heart that my feelings are going to be the same for Crownbreaker. I need my Kellen (my TRUE Kellen), I need the real Spellslinger. Please.
I am so excited and I can't wait to find out the true story behind the shadowblack and Kellen's grandmother. I also hope that Kellen can meet his family again and they can settle their hm... disagreements.
I could never really hate Ke'heops and Shalla is kind of my girl crush, so... can the Jan'Teps have a reunion? :3
Oh. And Ferius. Don't forget Ferius!
Well, still so much to wait for. Until October I'll definitely read some parts again of the story! Even if my review was not quite positive for this book but the series definitely worth the read and my love is still the same.
July 18, 2019
I LOVE THIS SERIES! It seriously brings me so much joy. Kellen is growing so much and it's lovely to see. This book had way more political intrigue than I expected but I was engrossed. I really liked all the court machinations as well as the new characters we were introduced too. Shalla continues to be a pain in the arse for Kellen and Reichis continues to steal the show (as well as the butter biscuits).
5 stars, naturally!
5 stars, naturally!
September 12, 2019
I considered DNFing this at 75% because it took a turn I absolutely hated. I had loved the direction it was heading and then it did something unforgivable in my opinion. I want to finish the series which is why I continued but I could not get past it the moment and enjoy the last quarter of the book.
Trigger Warning
Trigger Warning
May 29, 2019
Read this series, it's good.
January 18, 2023
Trigger warnings are at the end of this review.
Okay, so I didn't love Queenslayer quite as much as the other books in the Spellslinger series, but I still enjoyed it.
The plot focuses a lot on the political machinations of the Daroman Empire and it is clear very early on that no one can be trusted. This was one of the downfalls for me personally, because I find it really difficult to feel for characters when I doubt their every word. I also just couldn't get with the romantic side plot. I didn't feel any chemistry and it all felt a bit forced to me.
That being said, I love Kellen and Reichis. Their dynamic is the glue that holds this series together and I love how much they have grown asa team business partners. While Kellen's character development frustrated me to no end, I completely understood where the backwards momentum was coming from. Then there's Reichis! That squirrel cat has grown so much without ever compromising who he is. I love that.
With all the fun and banter, I also appreciate how dark this story got. Sebastien de Castell really knows how to show the worst of what humans can do to one another.
Much like the other books, Queenslayer delivers on fast-paced fun, engaging main characters, an intriguing story, and the occasional emotional gut punch. Suffice it to say, I can't wait to see what the final installment has in store for us, 4.5⭐!
Trigger warnings for:
violence; child abuse; mentions of child rape; suicide; attempted rape; animal cruelty
Okay, so I didn't love Queenslayer quite as much as the other books in the Spellslinger series, but I still enjoyed it.
The plot focuses a lot on the political machinations of the Daroman Empire and it is clear very early on that no one can be trusted. This was one of the downfalls for me personally, because I find it really difficult to feel for characters when I doubt their every word. I also just couldn't get with the romantic side plot. I didn't feel any chemistry and it all felt a bit forced to me.
That being said, I love Kellen and Reichis. Their dynamic is the glue that holds this series together and I love how much they have grown as
With all the fun and banter, I also appreciate how dark this story got. Sebastien de Castell really knows how to show the worst of what humans can do to one another.
Much like the other books, Queenslayer delivers on fast-paced fun, engaging main characters, an intriguing story, and the occasional emotional gut punch. Suffice it to say, I can't wait to see what the final installment has in store for us, 4.5⭐!
Trigger warnings for:
violence; child abuse; mentions of child rape; suicide; attempted rape; animal cruelty
March 3, 2020
I can't recall if it was book 4 alone, or book 3 and 4 that felt like a bump in the road. A big enough bump that I didn't even mean to read more. But for some reason I did and I am glad I did. Book 5 was good again, good that it felt like being back with the beginning of the series. It was Kellen at his best.
Kellen and the best sidekick ever, Reichis, the foulmouthed best, are in trouble again. And then he gets embroiled in plot upon plots. He is the joker in the deck and he might help an empire, or bring it down.
Kellen is great and it does show that he has become older. Reichis on the other hand is still a monster.
The Daroman Empire, oh the plots upon plots. Everyone wants to kill someone, but who wants to kill X and why? And then there are neighboring states that are plotting too.
A fun ride! I wish I had the last book now
Kellen and the best sidekick ever, Reichis, the foulmouthed best, are in trouble again. And then he gets embroiled in plot upon plots. He is the joker in the deck and he might help an empire, or bring it down.
Kellen is great and it does show that he has become older. Reichis on the other hand is still a monster.
The Daroman Empire, oh the plots upon plots. Everyone wants to kill someone, but who wants to kill X and why? And then there are neighboring states that are plotting too.
A fun ride! I wish I had the last book now
Want to read
October 21, 2018Check out the official covers of 'Queenslayer' (Spellsinger #5) by Sebastien de Castell.
US Edition
UK Edition
US Edition
UK Edition
July 13, 2020
Tenhle díl byl jiný než předchozí. Nečím byl stejný,ale zároveň mám pocit že tady bylo nejvíc vidět, jak moc se Kellen od prvního dílu změnil a vyvinul. Všechno tu bylo drsnější,dospělejší. Zároveň si ale zachoval to, díky čemu mám tuhle sérii tak moc ráda. Postavy, slovní přestřelky, zvraty... Miluju to vsechno. ❤❤
October 7, 2019
3.5 Stars 🌟
October 9, 2019
Consistently brilliant! De Castell never fails to keep you reading. Highly recommend this series they're thoroughly entertaining reads and exceptional listens with the combined power of master narrator Joe Jameson.
February 26, 2022
I love this series so much!
This one also made me cry multiple times and I am not ready for Crownbreaker or saying goodbye to Kellen and Reichis. 😭😭😭
5/5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one also made me cry multiple times and I am not ready for Crownbreaker or saying goodbye to Kellen and Reichis. 😭😭😭
5/5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 24, 2019
"Kellen, maybe there is something inside you that you can't change. Perhaps the shadowblack truly is evil. But maybe it takes more than that. Maybe evil is only evil when it's what we can't change combined with that we choose not to."
*4.5*
Just going to blurb a few thought about Queenslayer. Another fun adventure in the Spellslinger series. Like my review of Soulbind, this one is not as great as the first 3 in the series for many of the same reasons. In this book, Kellen finds himself in a Daroman court accused of an outlandish law that was a big misunderstanding. There he meets a young queen that is much more cleaver than he ever imagined an 11 year old to be. In this story, we are thrown around a political battlefield where everyone is trying to wiggle more political power and social prestige. The story is full of twist and turns and involves many gray characters. A big off putting part of the book were some inconsistencies I found in Kellens character. I think it wrapped up at the end but it was hard when Kellen himself is a walking contradiction throughout the book. I kinda drove me nuts a little bit when engrossing myself in the story. This is the book before the last so I am hoping it is setting itself up for a grand finale where Kellen grows into the person we have all been waiting for him to become.
*4.5*
Just going to blurb a few thought about Queenslayer. Another fun adventure in the Spellslinger series. Like my review of Soulbind, this one is not as great as the first 3 in the series for many of the same reasons. In this book, Kellen finds himself in a Daroman court accused of an outlandish law that was a big misunderstanding. There he meets a young queen that is much more cleaver than he ever imagined an 11 year old to be. In this story, we are thrown around a political battlefield where everyone is trying to wiggle more political power and social prestige. The story is full of twist and turns and involves many gray characters. A big off putting part of the book were some inconsistencies I found in Kellens character. I think it wrapped up at the end but it was hard when Kellen himself is a walking contradiction throughout the book. I kinda drove me nuts a little bit when engrossing myself in the story. This is the book before the last so I am hoping it is setting itself up for a grand finale where Kellen grows into the person we have all been waiting for him to become.
September 24, 2019
I settled back into this one with joyous expectation as Kellen was every bit as sneakily desperate and Reichis as snarkily bloodthirsty as before. Kellen is now confronted with court politics and to be honest – he’s way outside his comfort zone. As he tries to keep himself, his squirrel cat and a number of other random folks alive, he finds himself up against all sorts of foes. Including his sister… By now, there is a hefty backstory that has built up and my firm advice is not to jump into this series midway, but go back to the beginning and savour all the magical madness and mayhem from the first book, Spellslinger.
Kellen now has a major mission – he is trying to find a cure for the magical affliction that is dogging his steps and will leave him dying horribly. So he views all the court politics with a certain amount of detachment, until he’s forced to get involved or watch an innocent be killed… I followed the twisting plot with great enjoyment, until about two-thirds of the way through the book there was a certain incident involving a mage, poor old Kellen and a serving girl. I found it very shocking – as did he, so I expected it to be a major gamechanger. It wasn’t – not really, given that while he was shaken and talked about it changing everything, that was as far as it got. The trouble was, this was just such a major issue that all the ongoing problems Kellen was facing shrank in the face of it and when yet the next round of survival shenanigans kicked off, I found I was a lot less involved.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether it’s me, or if the pacing and narrative arc is really compromised, but while I didn’t dislike what came next, I found I was a lot more emotionally detached from the rest of the story. It was wound up with de Castell’s usual flourish and I definitely want to the read the final instalment, but I think this book is the weakest of the series so far. It says a lot for the overall quality of the Spellslinger series that this book still earns a reasonable score. The series is recommended for fans of adventure fantasy featuring an accident-prone protagonist and regular dollops of humour.
7/10
Kellen now has a major mission – he is trying to find a cure for the magical affliction that is dogging his steps and will leave him dying horribly. So he views all the court politics with a certain amount of detachment, until he’s forced to get involved or watch an innocent be killed… I followed the twisting plot with great enjoyment, until about two-thirds of the way through the book there was a certain incident involving a mage, poor old Kellen and a serving girl. I found it very shocking – as did he, so I expected it to be a major gamechanger. It wasn’t – not really, given that while he was shaken and talked about it changing everything, that was as far as it got. The trouble was, this was just such a major issue that all the ongoing problems Kellen was facing shrank in the face of it and when yet the next round of survival shenanigans kicked off, I found I was a lot less involved.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether it’s me, or if the pacing and narrative arc is really compromised, but while I didn’t dislike what came next, I found I was a lot more emotionally detached from the rest of the story. It was wound up with de Castell’s usual flourish and I definitely want to the read the final instalment, but I think this book is the weakest of the series so far. It says a lot for the overall quality of the Spellslinger series that this book still earns a reasonable score. The series is recommended for fans of adventure fantasy featuring an accident-prone protagonist and regular dollops of humour.
7/10
September 14, 2023
3.5 ☆
after unintentionally committing treason, Kellen and Reichis are thrown into another situation where everyone wants to kill them. one of the new characters is an 11 year old queen, who despite being so young is actually a capable leader and forms a unconventional friendship with Kellen. this book was heavy on the political side and cause of that the tone felt a lot different. Kellen made some decisions that had me rolling my eyes and I missed the author’s witty writing that we usually get. it seemed like this book was just filler.. but even though Queenslayer is my least favorite in the series, I’m still looking forward to the conclusion and I’m not ready to say bye to these characters. 🥲
after unintentionally committing treason, Kellen and Reichis are thrown into another situation where everyone wants to kill them. one of the new characters is an 11 year old queen, who despite being so young is actually a capable leader and forms a unconventional friendship with Kellen. this book was heavy on the political side and cause of that the tone felt a lot different. Kellen made some decisions that had me rolling my eyes and I missed the author’s witty writing that we usually get. it seemed like this book was just filler.. but even though Queenslayer is my least favorite in the series, I’m still looking forward to the conclusion and I’m not ready to say bye to these characters. 🥲
February 5, 2021
Pasirodo, pirminis šitos knygos variantas buvo parašytas anksčiau, nei visas ciklas. Bet paskui sumanymas pasikeitė. Ir gimė visas šešių tomų ciklas, o šį teko pakoreguot. Gal todėl ir nesistebiu, kad penktoji dalis pasirodė stipriausia. Ne tik stipriausia, bet dar ir labai smarkiai balansuojanti tarp vis dar Young Adult ir nebe. Tiesa, šiek tiek skiriasi dinamika. Ne, veiksmo netrūksta, tačiau bendras įspūdis toks, kad įsilinguoja viskas kiek lėčiau. Bet kai jau įsilinguoja, pasiekia tokį emocinį piką, kokio ankstesnėse knygose nebuvo.
Kellenas, kaip visada klysta. Ir viena nedidelė klaidelė lemia tai, kad Daromo teismas nuteisia jį myriop. Ir tik karalienė – vienuolikmetė mergaitė – gali jį išgelbėti. Ką, žinoma, ir padaro, paskirdama jį savo kortų žaidimų mokytoju.
Bet ramaus gyvenimo Kellenui, savaime suprantama, nebus. Sąmokslai, išdavystės ir pasikėsinimai susipins į nepaliaujamą įvykių grandinę, kuri nuvilks Kelleną į pačias gelmes.
Gal net skystokus penkis iš penkių šitai daliai atseikėsiu. Ir, žinoma, imu paskutinę dalį – reikia gi sužinot, kuo visa tai baigsis.
Kellenas, kaip visada klysta. Ir viena nedidelė klaidelė lemia tai, kad Daromo teismas nuteisia jį myriop. Ir tik karalienė – vienuolikmetė mergaitė – gali jį išgelbėti. Ką, žinoma, ir padaro, paskirdama jį savo kortų žaidimų mokytoju.
Bet ramaus gyvenimo Kellenui, savaime suprantama, nebus. Sąmokslai, išdavystės ir pasikėsinimai susipins į nepaliaujamą įvykių grandinę, kuri nuvilks Kelleną į pačias gelmes.
Gal net skystokus penkis iš penkių šitai daliai atseikėsiu. Ir, žinoma, imu paskutinę dalį – reikia gi sužinot, kuo visa tai baigsis.
June 10, 2021
This is the penultimate book in the series, so a lot of the plot is building toward the climax. On the plus side, I have no idea what that climax will be, but a slight downside here was that Queenslayer was slower moving and lacked the pace and flow of the earlier volumes. The trademark page-turner of de Castell was noticeably absent, although the storyline and action matures with protagonist Kellen. There is considerably more menace and serious danger here and it definitely paves the way to what should be a stand out climax to what has been an excellent series.
January 1, 2020
Oh wow a new book!
Oh wow a new female character who is conspicuously single!
Oh wow Kellen has managed to fall for her!
Gee golly gee who could have predicted this turn of events?
I am baffled by the author’s insistence that no book is complete without Kellen finally being “loved” and accepted for who he is only to have to leave/break-up/kill or have his love interest die. I also don’t even I understand why he ALWAYS needs a love interest, it’s ridiculous.
This book is easily the worst in the series, I managed to predict the bad guy and the love interest dying but I also didn’t understand some of the events like why Tasia killed herself??? She had already done as much harm to the Queen as possible, she didn’t really prevent anything from happening? It just didn’t feel well explained and even worse she knew that it was Martius the whole time but didn’t bother alerting the marshals or Ginerva??! I really feel like I must have missed an explanation for that.
Shalla also takes a turn for the worse here by becoming a femme fatale???? Or at least Kellen thinks she is???
This whole book really took the idea of “mature” in the wrong direction. Most notably, the damsel in distress situation. It shows terrible writing and a lack of awareness that so far everyone who has ever been in trouble that Kellen needs to save thus far has been a girl. Could Ginerva not have been a guy? Nothing would have changed, but there is actually some subtle sexism going on where Kellen always needs to be saving girls from these situations. A good example of this is when he’s controlled to “defile” a waitress: could the bad guys not have thought up of any other way to make Kellen depressi like spaghetti? Like I don’t know, killing an old man, robbing from the poor, just anything another than attempted rape?? It gets even worse because multiple characters tell Kellen later on it’s all okay because she was a paid actor. Like what the fuck? The whole point of it was to show off how terrible the light binder was because he could force Kellen to do things he couldn’t control or were secretly inside him because of the shadow black but now it’s all ok because the girl was paid for it?? They didn’t even imply that she wanted it. I’ll cut this a bit of slack because maybe the viewer wasn’t meant to feel reassured but I don’t know why else it was ever mentioned.
I feel like we’re five books in and Kellen is still the useless wimp he was at the start of this. Especially with the bullshit he pulled when the Queen was being kidnapped, he promised to protect her and never asked for a cure to the shadow black in exchange(that was a previous deal) and then suddenly he thinks “oh no, maybe there is no cure” and he’s fucking cool with chilling in the room. That shows zero character growth it’s like he resets every book and just reverts to being a dumb fuck.
This book gets a 2.5 because I enjoyed it but it has terribly glaring flaws that I know the author should have fixed and is capable of fixing. It’s probably not even that bad on it’s own but just the fact that it’s the fifth in the series and all these things keep happening is appalling.
Oh wow a new female character who is conspicuously single!
Oh wow Kellen has managed to fall for her!
Gee golly gee who could have predicted this turn of events?
I am baffled by the author’s insistence that no book is complete without Kellen finally being “loved” and accepted for who he is only to have to leave/break-up/kill or have his love interest die. I also don’t even I understand why he ALWAYS needs a love interest, it’s ridiculous.
This book is easily the worst in the series, I managed to predict the bad guy and the love interest dying but I also didn’t understand some of the events like why Tasia killed herself??? She had already done as much harm to the Queen as possible, she didn’t really prevent anything from happening? It just didn’t feel well explained and even worse she knew that it was Martius the whole time but didn’t bother alerting the marshals or Ginerva??! I really feel like I must have missed an explanation for that.
Shalla also takes a turn for the worse here by becoming a femme fatale???? Or at least Kellen thinks she is???
This whole book really took the idea of “mature” in the wrong direction. Most notably, the damsel in distress situation. It shows terrible writing and a lack of awareness that so far everyone who has ever been in trouble that Kellen needs to save thus far has been a girl. Could Ginerva not have been a guy? Nothing would have changed, but there is actually some subtle sexism going on where Kellen always needs to be saving girls from these situations. A good example of this is when he’s controlled to “defile” a waitress: could the bad guys not have thought up of any other way to make Kellen depressi like spaghetti? Like I don’t know, killing an old man, robbing from the poor, just anything another than attempted rape?? It gets even worse because multiple characters tell Kellen later on it’s all okay because she was a paid actor. Like what the fuck? The whole point of it was to show off how terrible the light binder was because he could force Kellen to do things he couldn’t control or were secretly inside him because of the shadow black but now it’s all ok because the girl was paid for it?? They didn’t even imply that she wanted it. I’ll cut this a bit of slack because maybe the viewer wasn’t meant to feel reassured but I don’t know why else it was ever mentioned.
I feel like we’re five books in and Kellen is still the useless wimp he was at the start of this. Especially with the bullshit he pulled when the Queen was being kidnapped, he promised to protect her and never asked for a cure to the shadow black in exchange(that was a previous deal) and then suddenly he thinks “oh no, maybe there is no cure” and he’s fucking cool with chilling in the room. That shows zero character growth it’s like he resets every book and just reverts to being a dumb fuck.
This book gets a 2.5 because I enjoyed it but it has terribly glaring flaws that I know the author should have fixed and is capable of fixing. It’s probably not even that bad on it’s own but just the fact that it’s the fifth in the series and all these things keep happening is appalling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2022
'I've discovered that a death sentence can be somewhat liberating for someone who's spent their life curtsying.'
I've always enjoyed this series and still do, for the obvious reasons: Good worldbuilding, interesting characters, good writing style, nice plot and you never know what to expect - also: no one ever says what they actual mean. You need to think in this one. Concerning the characters in this book, it's especially Tasia that came to the forefront for me, and it's a shame she doesn't have a bigger role.
Overall, though, this book just doesn't hold that much appeal as the four previous ones. Queenslayer is clearly bleaker, darker and more negative than its predecessors, and even though there's still enough sarcastic humour and quips in it, it's not as strong as usual. There's some kind of dark presence looming over the book. It may be part of the development of the story and the characters, but it's a bit disturbing anyhow. Especially the second half of the book is just... yes, bleak. It makes you feel depressed at times. Kellen is not acting very nice anymore, I'm still missing Ferius and Nephenia here. Shalla is up to her tricks once again...
5.8/10
I've always enjoyed this series and still do, for the obvious reasons: Good worldbuilding, interesting characters, good writing style, nice plot and you never know what to expect - also: no one ever says what they actual mean. You need to think in this one. Concerning the characters in this book, it's especially Tasia that came to the forefront for me, and it's a shame she doesn't have a bigger role.
Overall, though, this book just doesn't hold that much appeal as the four previous ones. Queenslayer is clearly bleaker, darker and more negative than its predecessors, and even though there's still enough sarcastic humour and quips in it, it's not as strong as usual. There's some kind of dark presence looming over the book. It may be part of the development of the story and the characters, but it's a bit disturbing anyhow. Especially the second half of the book is just... yes, bleak. It makes you feel depressed at times. Kellen is not acting very nice anymore, I'm still missing Ferius and Nephenia here. Shalla is up to her tricks once again...
5.8/10
January 7, 2021
4.5
Queenslayer was dark, twisted, and so driven. Kellen finds himself in a kingdom on the verge of a coup (which is a little to close to home with everything that transpired yesterday here in the US). I love a story the has this kind of plot scheme because you never really quite know who to trust.
Out of all the books thus far I think I struggled the most liking characters or getting attached to them. I can't fault the book for that because you are pretty much forced to be skeptical of everyone. Now once again the story picks up several months after the events of Soulbinder. Kellen and Reichis have found themselves in the country of Daroman. As soon as they arrive they find themselves tangled up in a conspiracy for the crown. Like I said earlier, I really enjoy these kinds of plots. Queenslayer did amp up the tone. I found this novel to be much darker.
Kellen has turned a new leaf for me. I didn't think he was as insufferable this time around. He did make some decisions that were again but due to the situation he was thrust into I can see why. I believe after everything Kellen has been through he would start to see through some of the trickery and deception. However he is that character, he shows weakness when it come to friends and family. Once again when are introduced to a slew of new characters. The side characters of Queenslayer are questionable at best. I didn't necessarily attach to any of them. Ginevra and Essra were probably the ones I gravitated to the most.
It looks like we are heating up for a big conclusion and I for one am excited!
Queenslayer was dark, twisted, and so driven. Kellen finds himself in a kingdom on the verge of a coup (which is a little to close to home with everything that transpired yesterday here in the US). I love a story the has this kind of plot scheme because you never really quite know who to trust.
Out of all the books thus far I think I struggled the most liking characters or getting attached to them. I can't fault the book for that because you are pretty much forced to be skeptical of everyone. Now once again the story picks up several months after the events of Soulbinder. Kellen and Reichis have found themselves in the country of Daroman. As soon as they arrive they find themselves tangled up in a conspiracy for the crown. Like I said earlier, I really enjoy these kinds of plots. Queenslayer did amp up the tone. I found this novel to be much darker.
Kellen has turned a new leaf for me. I didn't think he was as insufferable this time around. He did make some decisions that were again but due to the situation he was thrust into I can see why. I believe after everything Kellen has been through he would start to see through some of the trickery and deception. However he is that character, he shows weakness when it come to friends and family. Once again when are introduced to a slew of new characters. The side characters of Queenslayer are questionable at best. I didn't necessarily attach to any of them. Ginevra and Essra were probably the ones I gravitated to the most.
It looks like we are heating up for a big conclusion and I for one am excited!
June 7, 2019
I have no idea what’s coming in the last... I’m not ready 🤯😱😭
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