Ratings8
Average rating3.5
An ambitious young woman with the power to control minds seeks vengeance against the royals who murdered her family, in a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world embattled by colonial oppression.
Sigourney Rose is the only surviving daughter of a noble lineage on the islands of Hans Lollik. When she was a child, her family was murdered by the islands’ colonizers, who have massacred and enslaved generations of her people—and now, Sigourney is ready to exact her revenge.
When the childless king of the islands declares that he will choose his successor from amongst eligible noble families, Sigourney uses her ability to read and control minds to manipulate her way onto the royal island and into the ranks of the ruling colonizers. But when she arrives, prepared to fight for control of all the islands, Sigourney finds herself the target of a dangerous, unknown magic.
Someone is killing off the ruling families to clear a path to the throne. As the bodies pile up and all eyes regard her with suspicion, Sigourney must find allies among her prey and the murderer among her peers... lest she become the next victim.
Queen of the Conquered reckons with the many layers of power and privilege in a lush fantasy world—perfect for readers of V. E. Schwab, Kiersten White, and Marlon James.
Featured Series
2 primary booksIslands of Blood and Storm is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Kacen Callender.
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Queen of the Conquered is a fascinating study of an (intentionally) unlikable character with a really interesting overall story arc, and I really appreciated the thoughtfulness and courage that went into developing the main protagonist. But I did find earlier parts of the novel more compelling than later parts, and the main character's ability to sink into minds slowed it down (since it was used to tell a lot about the other characters, and these sections were dry and dull).
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tws: death, violent and graphic murders, rape, colonizers
so excited for king of the rising now, this ended AWESOME. very rarely does a book jump out at me like that, but i guess that's a sign i need to decolonize my mind further. some issues with language, pacing, and story telling that i didn't have with callender's other books popped up here, but otherwise fantastic