The Traitor Queen (Traitor Spy Trilogy, #3)

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The Traitor Queen (Traitor Spy Trilogy #3)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 1,760 ratings · 148 reviews

Discover the magic of Trudi Canavan with her brand new novel in the Traitor Spy trilogy...

Events are building to a climax in Sachaka as Lorkin returns from his exile with the Traitor rebels. The Traitor Queen has given Lorkin the huge task of brokering an alliance between his people and the Traitors. Lorkin has also had to become a feared black magician in order to harness...more

Hardcover, 509 pages

Published August 14th 2012 by Orbit (first published January 2012)

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Sep 22, 2012 Ella rated it 3 of 5 stars

***Spoilers may follow!!***

Hmmm...Hard to rate this book, I REALLY wanted to like it as I loved the magicians guild trilogy, but I have to say this book was pretty unremarkable, the plot struggled along at a snail’s pace, nothing happens in the first half and then ALL the action is crammed into the second making it rushed and awkward, no middle ground or easing into it.

Most of the POV characters are very difficult to get to know, I tried hard to like Lorkin but I find his character cardboard and...more ***Spoilers may follow!!***

Hmmm...Hard to rate this book, I REALLY wanted to like it as I loved the magicians guild trilogy, but I have to say this book was pretty unremarkable, the plot struggled along at a snail’s pace, nothing happens in the first half and then ALL the action is crammed into the second making it rushed and awkward, no middle ground or easing into it.

Most of the POV characters are very difficult to get to know, I tried hard to like Lorkin but I find his character cardboard and bland and Canavan's attempts to give him some character development fall flat, maybe it's a bit of prejudice on my part but the old original characters Dannyl, Sonea and even Regin were far more well-rounded and relatable than the painfully flat, boring and let's face it bafflingly stupid "new generation", namely Lilia, Lorkin, Tyvara and Anyi who in my opinion get way too much attention.

The Tyvara/Lorkin romance appears to be attempting to parallel the Sonea/Akkarin "young love" relationship of the previous series, but the Sonea/Akkarin relationship developed slowly over the course of nearly two entire books and was not without its trials it was more "real" and though it managed to be simultaneously creepy and touching, was more believable. You saw it built slowly, the Lorkin/Tyvara one however seems shallow and superficial. Even those who haven't read the previous trilogy can pick up on this.

Sonea does NOTHING! And for the awesome, strong-willed heroine of the last trilogy to be so crippled and to see her cowed and dominated by the whims of others is painful, especially when her substitute is supposedly the sub-par Lorkin/Lilia POV's.

We are supposed to want to root for the traitors and hope they win against the tyrannical noble class that currently exists. Whilst the current aristocracy is obviously perverse and cruel the Traitors aren't much better, I hate to say this but the "evil" Sachakans got better and more in-depth characterization; we find that they aren't all irrevocably "Bad", like any normal population they run the gauntlet from genuinely good human beings reluctantly trying to do right by their home and country to almost cartoonishly evil, whilst unfortunately the Traitors come across as straw feminists, although its frequently pointed out that their society isn't the gender-equal utopia it first appears to be and men are in fact second-class citizens, the implications that women in positions of power would indeed treat men like this or for women to be strong, confident and kick ass in their own right means they have to belittle men have a lot of unfortunate implications

Also the whole Skellin plot was pointless, less said about that the better.

It ultimately ends feeling unfinished and like a middle-book rather than the final in the trilogy, Canavan in the epilogue actually, (hopefully accidently) introduced THE most interesting aspect of the entire traitor spy series by offhandedly having some of the magicians mention the threat of the anti-magic warriors of Igra and their supposedly magician-killing weapons (sounding suspiciously like guns to me)now THAT would be fascinating, so far we have the magicians who are people of mass destruction and are only threatened by other magicians. To level the playing field would introduce interesting ordinary folk who might be able to do more than hide in holes and run to the big powerful magicians for help, it would also bring up a fascinating magic vs technology aspect...Here's hoping Canavan explores that avenue
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Jan 22, 2013 Ferdy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: boring-crap-hero, boring, decent-heroine, magic-magicians

Spoilers

I wasn't impressed with this. It was slow paced, the majority of the characters were bland and I wasn't interested in the central plot. The conflict/war between Sachaka and the Traitors made for tedious reading. Sonea, Cery, Anyi, Tayend and Regin were the only decent characters. The others were all boring, especially Lorkin, Tyvara, Dannyl and Lillia.
The arc I most enjoyed was Sonea's, probably because she was the only character I really cared about. Her interactions with Regin were in...more Spoilers

I wasn't impressed with this. It was slow paced, the majority of the characters were bland and I wasn't interested in the central plot. The conflict/war between Sachaka and the Traitors made for tedious reading. Sonea, Cery, Anyi, Tayend and Regin were the only decent characters. The others were all boring, especially Lorkin, Tyvara, Dannyl and Lillia.
The arc I most enjoyed was Sonea's, probably because she was the only character I really cared about. Her interactions with Regin were interesting to read about. I never would have expected them to have a romance, since 20 years earlier in the Black Magician trilogy, Regin bullied Sonea. Usually I would hate for a heroine to end up with a bully but their relationship actually worked, since 1. Regin was a teenager when he bullied Sonea 2. Sonea never let Regin get away with his treatment of her 3. Regin showed significant character growth. 4. Regin made up for his behaviour and was genuinely remorseful and 5. For 20 years Regin showed nothing but respect and admiration towards Sonea. I loved Sonea and Akkarin's romance in the first trilogy and even though Regin is no Akkarin, he was still a good love interest and the romance he shared with Sonea was very sweet. Unfortunately, Sonea and Regin's relationship was the only endearing and engrossing aspect of the book.
What let the book down the most was the positively boring main POV character, Lorkin. After three books, Lorkin still hadn't developed a personality. I thought he would gain some depth and complexity after he was imprisoned and tortured but sadly, it didn't add anything to his plank like personality.
Cery was a likeable character but he wasn't given the opportunity to shine, all he did was moan about how old he was and hide from Skellin. Also, after three books of build up between Skellin and him, Cery didn't even get a dramatic confrontation and showdown with him and instead died of a heart attack. It was disappointing.
Dannyl was just as boring as he was in the previous book, he did nothing apart from hem and haw about his love life, moan about his book and generally be useless. It's just sad that he went from one of my most favourite characters to one of my most hated.
Lillia was more tolerable this time around, she wasn't quite as stupid. Her loyalty to Cery and Anyi was the best thing about her, I also liked how she dealt with her bullying. After Regin and Sonea's arc, the bullying story line was probably the most interesting but that was most likely down to the fact that it reminded me of young Sonea and when she was bullied. I still thought Lillia was dull but there were parts of her arc that were somewhat engaging.
All in all, I wasn't pleased with this but I did enjoy reading about Sonea and her life after Akkarin.(less)

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May 07, 2013 Max Masters rated it 2 of 5 stars

** Spoilers and opinions follow.

Not good. I can stomach an anti-drug campaign in a book, but only if it isn't pointlessly thrown in like it is here. The drug 'Roet' had a distinct subplot, but it never amounted to anything or affected the main plot, I was expecting some kind of twist, or meaning. Nor did the addition of Lilia, and her relationship to Anyi and Cery. The whole book could have happened without them, and should have, considering they were completely undeveloped characters (Even Cery...more ** Spoilers and opinions follow.

Not good. I can stomach an anti-drug campaign in a book, but only if it isn't pointlessly thrown in like it is here. The drug 'Roet' had a distinct subplot, but it never amounted to anything or affected the main plot, I was expecting some kind of twist, or meaning. Nor did the addition of Lilia, and her relationship to Anyi and Cery. The whole book could have happened without them, and should have, considering they were completely undeveloped characters (Even Cery, who I loved in the original books, had been watered down) and the only enjoyable event was Cery's death, which was laughable and had absolutely no consequences, except Sonea feeling a bit sad.
The action was pathetic, as there wasn't much. There was no sense of danger because our protagonists were on the conquering, winning side. And the only time I could have felt something for Dannyl, when his lover died, was ruined by Dannyl launching into one of the many poorly placed internal monologues. Why not SHOW me his anger, and his pain, by describing it? I shouldn't have to be told that someone is feeling a certain way. This is a recurring element in all of the characters, who unrealistically have full discussions with themselves at every moment, even when there is magic being flung at them, it also didn't help that everybody spoke in the same, emotionless way. Sonea and Regin's love story felt forced, and went against everything that made the 2nd book in the original story my favorite. Regin and Sonea's rivalry, as well as Dannyl and Tayend's mysterious, controversial (in the world) love story kept me up at night on college days, and ate away my time. This book I severely contemplated throwing out the window at the half way point, just like the 2nd book in this new trilogy. Honestly it was a waste of my time, and it sullied my good opinions of the original trilogy.
I'm rarely frustrated enough to write a review, because I'm sure everything I've just said has been written here before. But the needlessness of this book has motivated me to fuel my irritation into words. Lovely, lovely words. (less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Hanna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let me start off by saying that I read and re-read the "Black Magician" trilogy multiple times and I still love it. When I first read it I was around twelve and I loved it then, and I still like to read it now. I remember that when I finished "The High Lord" I desperately wanted the sequel to come out RIGHT NOW.

I faithfully read "The Magician's Apprentice", although I thought I didn't like it as much as the books of the trilogy. And when the first book of the Traitor Spy trilogy came out I was d...more Let me start off by saying that I read and re-read the "Black Magician" trilogy multiple times and I still love it. When I first read it I was around twelve and I loved it then, and I still like to read it now. I remember that when I finished "The High Lord" I desperately wanted the sequel to come out RIGHT NOW.

I faithfully read "The Magician's Apprentice", although I thought I didn't like it as much as the books of the trilogy. And when the first book of the Traitor Spy trilogy came out I was delighted to finally have my beloved characters back!

Maybe I was just so pleased that the sequel was finally there or maybe I was still too young to know the difference between a truly well written and thought-out book, anyway I enjoyed the first and second book well enough. But when the third book came out, I found myself just not really wanting to buy it even after it had been out for weeks. I think when I finally bought it it had been on the market for a couple of months. But nevertheless, I started reading it and I finished it, but I was disappointed.

A book is called great because of a couple of things, but for me one of the most important things is the depths of the characters. Thinking back a little bit now, I have to admit that even in the first trilogy the characters' elaboration wasn't the best thing about the books. But I didn't mind back then because I just loved the storyline. The thing is - maybe because in the meantime I had read books with superb character development, like "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte - in this book, it felt like all of the characters were the same, just with a different name. I could have taken Cery and placed him in the desert next to Regin, and taken Sonea and exchanged her with Tyvara, it wouldn't have changed the storyline. That was my greatest disappointment in this book. And it wasn't as if the author was simply not able to develop personality traits and individual thoughts and wishes, I knew she could do it! The book just felt rushed, written down half-heartedly, and that's what's so disappointing. I was a true fan of this whole universe and now I don't think I will read the last three books again.

That leads to another subject. The storyline wasn't great, it didn't feel natural . There are stories where every string that was still loose comes together and makes the story complete, without it feeling like the author made things up to force the storyline to an end. But in this book that's what it felt like. The ending was abrupt - (view spoiler) - and the main characters' involvement in the final battle just was not there. They had become passive somewhere in these last books and that's just such a pity.

So if someone asked if I recommend the book, I guess I'd say that maybe you should read the first trilogy and perhaps the prequel as well. But I don't think I'd recommend this trilogy or this book - especially compared to the final installment of the first trilogy - "The High Lord" - it was a big disappointment for me.

(Man, and I thought "Well, let's keep this review short, there's not THAT much to say about this book". Well I guess there was.)

As a final conclusion, I did not enjoy this book, and I would have liked to enjoy it so much! Like I said, I really liked the first trilogy, it's one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. I don't give it one star, because after all I am a huge fan of "Kyralia", but I can't really give it more than two.

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Oct 02, 2012 Crazyjamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

So here we are. After years of patience the Traitor Spy trilogy has come to a close. Was it everything that I hoped it would be? Well, mostly. Like other books in the series, the strong dialogue and character development continues, as does a reduction in the level of action scenes that one would normally expect from a fantasy novel. In other words, it is a trademark Trudi Canavan novel, and one that I did enjoy.

There is one problem, though, and it is a problem that I suspect has resulted in the...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Jonathon Dunstan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Trudi Canavan is one of my favourite authors. She creates worlds that are so well thought out, but logical in their own way. They have a set of rules about how things work, and never breaks your belief in that world. However this novel and as a result, the trilogy felt flat. There were so many threads that looked to lead somewhere and Canavan does a masterful job of making sure all these threads are tied up. However, there seems to be a bit of a tiny ending, instead of the epic ones penned in th...more Trudi Canavan is one of my favourite authors. She creates worlds that are so well thought out, but logical in their own way. They have a set of rules about how things work, and never breaks your belief in that world. However this novel and as a result, the trilogy felt flat. There were so many threads that looked to lead somewhere and Canavan does a masterful job of making sure all these threads are tied up. However, there seems to be a bit of a tiny ending, instead of the epic ones penned in the original Black Magician Trilogy, or even the prequel.

I feel that the story could have done with more compartmentalising the stories. If the second novel had handled the story of Cery and the rogue magician completely, I feel that greater weight could have been given to the villains of each case. As it stands, Skellin is never felt to be a significant threat to the guild. Beyond the fact that he manages to find Cery, wherever he is hiding, we never see him as villainous, nor did I feel him as a significant threat to the guild. I now wish that he had gained knowledge of Black Magic, and the mad scramble of of the guild scrambling to meet this immediate threat.

With the story of the Skellin handled in the first novel, the third novel would be free to expend more energy on showing us more of the evils of Sachakan society, as more than just slave owners. With the threat of Black Magic once again made to the guild. Lorkin's plan to obtain gem-stone knowledge would have much more significance.

Sometimes I feel like the magicians guild is full of idiots. With knowledge that black magicians can take their magic from magically infused stone, or the battle ground shield. Why is there this huge shock that they can create a store stone? What is it other than something that can hold more magic in smaller space?

In the first novel, we are asked to ponder Sonea's decisions on what she would do? Turns out that the answer was not much. It would have been much more satisfying to have Sonea meet up with Dannyl and Tayend at the embassy, and having to fend off a couple of higher magicians with her saved up energy.

Despite all these shortcomings, which while gripes, do not impact the story much. It did not stop my enjoyment of the novels at the time of my reading them. It does however taint my love of the storyline once you have the complete picture. There are no highs and lows that are experienced like in the first series. There is but one truly epic magical battle, and it is not even a struggle. It completely one sided and lacking in excitement. The one true threat, one of betrayal, has a change of heart and chooses not to do anything. Leaving this more like a historical story based on true events than any sort of adventure.(less)

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Aug 02, 2012 Sianin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Good read this one but it this book can not compare to the "High Lord" as an end book of a trilogy. I almost feel a bit disappointed but that has to do with my maybe unrealistically high expectations. It keeps the same level as the previous 2 books but it feels a bit flat( like the other two). The feeling of "questing" and "Learning" from the black magician trilogy never occurs.

We get to see gemstones in action but in my opinion it felt kinda boring. We do not get to "explore" or learn more abo...more Good read this one but it this book can not compare to the "High Lord" as an end book of a trilogy. I almost feel a bit disappointed but that has to do with my maybe unrealistically high expectations. It keeps the same level as the previous 2 books but it feels a bit flat( like the other two). The feeling of "questing" and "Learning" from the black magician trilogy never occurs.

We get to see gemstones in action but in my opinion it felt kinda boring. We do not get to "explore" or learn more about them really. I did not find any plots that did not get addressed in some small manner but some of them felt really unfinished and this has made the entire book and even the trilogy feel like a "middle book", some examples are small historical "ah experiences " by the characters that should lead forward or at least get to Dannyls attention but they just die down.

This book and trilogy suffers in my point of view from trying to achieve a "generation change" within the story were neither the new generation or the old get to really play out in a satisfying way. The main example for me is Sonea who in my opinion was not time to "retire" in the way she was done in this book. I was looking forward for some action from her part in the conflict or even some great discovery's but I got nada, and no other character really steps up. My personal opinion is that this trilogy had been better if the Skellin part had been left out entirely and that the story had focused only on Sachaka, the guilds involvement there with the different fractions and that there had been more "bringing home" knowledge, Sonea, Lorkin and Dannyl would have been my main characters for this. The lack of the Duna peoples in this book is feeling a bit odd and the reason given for them not beeing in the story feels "not good enough".

I'm starting to have a problem with the "lack" of intelligent people and mainly in the guild. There is to much we cant trust anyone scenarios.

Over all the book and Trilogy is a good read and it gives some more insight to the world that Trudi Have created. Even tho the knowledge from Black Magician trilogy and Magicians Apprentice is mainly just managed with a few additions.
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Apr 14, 2013 Magiczna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

I find it quite a trade mark of Mrs Canavan's writing to prolong all possible threads through two volumes and then boom, you get the action in the last book. The problem is, it makes first books very boring and annoying to read. Luckily for the patient readers the third volume is only annoying.

On the plus sides: it's a fast read.
On the bad side... not that's a different story. We have a trilogy based on a different trilogy, which wasn't a great read, but it was fairly enjoyable. This one doesn'...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

**SPOILER ALERT**

I did enjoy reading this book, though possibly not as much as it's predecessor, 'The Rogue'. It was typical Canavan - fast-paced, full of action and a nice splash of romance thrown in, plus a good dollop of tragedy that made me cry, as per usual. Once again, the Black Magician Trilogy will always be my true love out of all of Canavan's work, but I have enjoyed the Traitor Spy Trilogy and liked catching up with the characters. And seeing how like his father Lorkin is :)

But I can...more **SPOILER ALERT**

I did enjoy reading this book, though possibly not as much as it's predecessor, 'The Rogue'. It was typical Canavan - fast-paced, full of action and a nice splash of romance thrown in, plus a good dollop of tragedy that made me cry, as per usual. Once again, the Black Magician Trilogy will always be my true love out of all of Canavan's work, but I have enjoyed the Traitor Spy Trilogy and liked catching up with the characters. And seeing how like his father Lorkin is :)

But I can tell you exactly why I have knocked those two stars off. Here goes:
I knocked one star off for Dannyl and Tayend. They were perfect together (even if I resented it at the time because, yes, I'm still in love with Dannyl)and Dannyl's affair with Achati just didn't seem right to me. I did feel sorry for him when Achati died, but I didn't cry over his death - all I could think was 'Yay, now you can get back with Tayend!'. It just seemed wrong that they were ever separated in the first place, and for Dannyl to find a replacement just seemed...well, more wrong.

I knocked the second star off for the thing that made me feel physically ill and also want to scream - Sonea and Regin!!!! SONEA AND REGIN!!!! Now, I'm a fan of hate to love relationships as much as the next person - my favourite Shakespeare play is Much Ado About Nothing, and love to hate is pretty much the entire plot of said play - but seriously?Regin??? The way Sonea loved Akkarin was so powerful that I don't think she ever would be able to move on, not really, though having thankfully never experienced something like that myself I cannot be sure how it would work out. That's my first problem with this relationship. The second problem -REGIN!!!! I still can't bring myself to like him, although I did pity him a bit. He's so completely different to Akkarin - why would she be attracted to him?? It seems so unlikely! And she hated him for TWENTY YEARS. I mean, yeah, she hated Akkarin for a while, but that was because she misunderstood him. Regin was just an evil brat. I don't understand it. If she had moved on with Dorrien, I might have got it, or even with Cery *sob. Why couldn't he have seen Anyi and Savara just one more time before he died!!!*. But anyone else just seems unthinkable. And that's that.

Final verdict? Really good book, just made me extremely aggressive and angry with the world. But a must for any fan of BMT. Though it did have an annoying ending. In case you hadn't guessed from my fury rambling.(less)

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Nov 21, 2012 Jael rated it 2 of 5 stars

I loved the Black Magician Trilogy but as much as I try to, I can't bring myself to like Traitor Spy. I can't emphasise how annoyed I was with Lorkin. He seems very much like a male-version of Bella who falls for a girl at first sight and all of a sudden, it's I'will-do-anything-for-her. Okay, that's a little over-exaggerating because Lorkin is slightly more sensible but I was seriously annoyed with how stupid he was.

Also, I don't get how we were supposed to root for the Traitors and hate the Sa...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Melaszka rated it 4 of 5 stars

Yes, it's true, it doesn't live up to the Black Magician trilogy or The Age of Five, and, let's be honest, the big, Akkarin-shaped hole was never going to be filled, but there's no point going on about it - one just has to take this trilogy for what it is.

It did feel a bit unplanned (far too many ideas started or hinted at, but then not explored), a bit unstructured and a bit directionless. The duller characters, like Lorkin and Lilia, hogged most of the attention, while (to me) more intriguing...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Jade rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

A good end, though not necessarily one I'd have cried over missing. This book had a lot more going for it than the other two, with some unexpected twists and turns that kept me on my toes. The only problem I had with this series is that I didn't have the emotional connection to it that I have had with better authors. Even when something which should be really sad happened, I found that I didn't really care enough to be upset. I wondered for a while on my own callousness and then realised that I...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Alex Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'd probably give this book 4.5 stars if I could, but as I have to choose I'll give it 5, because its faults aren't really its fault. The good? Well, it is a fitting and exciting conclusion to the Traitor Spy trilogy which wraps everything up while leaving room for subsequent books. The writing, as always, is exceptionally crisp. I think one of my favourite things about Canavan's books is that she only writes what's necessary for the story - either plot or character/world building. If you'd read...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the 6th book of the two series that I've read from Trudi Canavan and I actually like the Traitor Spy Trilogy better than the Black Magician Trilogy. Based on the few reviews I looked at before going into the second trilogy I was surprised this was the case because so many like the first trilogy better. The second trilogy is more subtle and more realistic about the issues we all have to consider in our lives. There isn't black and white there are always exceptions to the rules and how we...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Marcus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay, so long story short. This book was an appalling end to the series.

They started off really well of the character development side, but the first half was really slow and seemed to just build up to the second half.

The second half was good in parts, I enjoyed the major battle scene, but I thought it was too easy for the Traitors and the only drama or good story line was Achati's death.

The very end of the book left me very angry with Trudi. Simply because, they skipped any real romance with...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Sean the Bookonaut rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Traitor Queen concludes the Traitor Spy Trilogy. There are,however, some tantalising ideas dropped in the closing chapter; possible future conflicts, an indication to the reader that the world that might be undergoing technological change.

Whether this is Canavan just rounding out the world or leaving a door open I don’t know. When I interviewed her there were no plans to write any follow on works.

If you have read books one and two, Canavan hasn’t deviated from her uncomplicated prose. It’s...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Raivo Verk rated it 3 of 5 stars

SPOILER WARNING!

This is a bit difficult to review. While I loved the first trilogy and I had high hopes for this one, then I have to say the last book was a bit of a let down.

Firstly, at some parts I got a little annoyed by the fact the characters swapped around too fast. I would have liked to read more in a row as it progressed, not jump to new situations every two pages. But maybe that's just me.

Secondly, the ending was a let down. I mean I understand the Sachakan King to think nothing of the...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Soteris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As many have already said, the Black Magician trilogy is one of the greatest series of fantasy books ever written.
The Traitor Spy trilogy is not. It is good, but to me personally, the fact that all my favourite characters (Sonea, Rothen, and Regin) have such a small part in the story has left me feeling a bit empty.
The constant references to homosexuality is cringey, nothing like the relationship between Danyl and Tayend of old. That was great, and truly believable. In this series, anybody that...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Gavin rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good read, nothing too heavy or boring. Young adult level I guess. The only funny quirk in this book was an above average trowel of gaiety. Two younger teenage girls, a couple of young women and a love triangle of three men. All these rainbow relationships have an edge to them since the individuals all represent different factions. I don’t think it helped the book, it made me wonder why such an abundance? Is there something Trudie is not telling us, this seems more personal agenda than book. A...more A good read, nothing too heavy or boring. Young adult level I guess. The only funny quirk in this book was an above average trowel of gaiety. Two younger teenage girls, a couple of young women and a love triangle of three men. All these rainbow relationships have an edge to them since the individuals all represent different factions. I don’t think it helped the book, it made me wonder why such an abundance? Is there something Trudie is not telling us, this seems more personal agenda than book. Another reason why it is a great light airport/holiday read is the author successfully tailored it so. Nothing was subtle, each point and the reasoning for every decision was laboriously explained by every character. We as readers were happily left sipping our margaritas in the spa without the need of a crease developing between our eyes. We will all wish we had read more books like this when we get older : )

It may sound I disliked the book, I didn’t, it is just an ordinary average read. The book while still readable for the male audience is obviously targeted for the female of our species. I gave it a valiant effort at approx. ¾ of the book before I gave in, due mainly to age and gender appropriateness. Pity since all earlier offerings were not so .. or I read so long ago I had a different bent I liked to read ..

PS .. and I’m still wondering if there was a story involved? There (till I closed the book) were no real baddies, the magicians on whole were very insipid. I wish the story had some grey in it, all very black and white … The most interesting character was one of the (surprise) gay teenagers, she was at least a little evil. True to a lot of female writers the good male leads all seem to be the truly romantic and noble type who have never remained standing to pee, let alone ever left the seat up … scary to note even Ann Rice’s vampires have more manliness genes. Surely a beheading here or there is not too much to ask? … heck, I’ll be happy with a swear word, or even a stern look at a magician who uses the wrong spoon with the soup dish … desperate for discord here!
Cheers Gav x
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Aug 27, 2012 Wai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all, don't let the fact that it appears that it took me almost three weeks to finish this book. I started it and then got interrupted for a couple of weeks of decorating.

Before writing this, I've just read my review for Rogue, the previous book in the Traitor Spy trilogy and noted that that was a hard book to review because it was the middle book. I'm having the same difficulty with this one, too. I think the reason is because whilst the writing was good, the story lacked a certain amou...more First of all, don't let the fact that it appears that it took me almost three weeks to finish this book. I started it and then got interrupted for a couple of weeks of decorating.

Before writing this, I've just read my review for Rogue, the previous book in the Traitor Spy trilogy and noted that that was a hard book to review because it was the middle book. I'm having the same difficulty with this one, too. I think the reason is because whilst the writing was good, the story lacked a certain amount of impetus. Or perhaps that the two main 'threats' of the trilogy, that of the drug lord and the situation in Sachaka were resolved without a great deal of fanfare.

Even during this book, both major plot lines were steadily building towards something and in one case, a potentially explosive resolution but both were resolved within a few pages almost very neatly and without a lot of fuss. They were almost anti-climatic.

Right, that's the negativity out of the way and the main reason why this didn't get five stars and end up as one of my 'favourites'.

On to the good stuff. Trudi Canavan writes characters that makes me care about them and want the good guys to prevail and feel their loss when the don't. I think that because they've come from the first trilogy, Sonea and Regin are my favourite characters and whilst not really part of the main plots but still tied to both through connections, I looked forward to their parts the most. Given their history as novices, their situation did have me smiling.

Whilst Lilia was only introduced in Rogue, her story with Anyi, Cery and Gol was pleasing but also sad in places. In some ways she did remind me of Sonea from the Black Magician trilogy having to deal with the criminal underworld, her studies as a black magician and people making her life difficult in the guild.

Finally, there are the cast still in Sachaka and the conflict between the Traitors and ruling Ashaki with Lorkin, Dannyl and others caught in the middle of the two groups. Whilst the events from the second book were resolved and this turned into the other major plot line, this had more of a feeling of a holding pattern but there were a couple of events where I wished things turned out differently for both Lorkin and Dannyl in what they had to go through.

The Traitor Queen turned out to be a good ending to a good trilogy but lacking a certain amount of pacing to turn it into a true page turner. In comparing the trilogies, the Black Magician trilogy is the better of the two as this Traitor Spy trilogy just does quite reach the same heights set by its predecessor. But it's still worth reading to see the more of the lives of Sonea and company.(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Anele1202 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lasciare questi personaggi che mi hanno accompagnata per tanti mi intristisce davvero tanto, mi sono affezionata ad ognuno di loro, anche se in maniera diversa. Sono felice per Lorkin, scioccata dalla scelta di Sonea (view spoiler) e triste, anzi tristissima per Dannyl, che adoro alla follia e...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Natalie Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Finally got to read this book due to the fact i insisted that i had to read the black magician trilogy, the magicians apprentice and the first two books in this trilogy. What a great book, it did have some grammer faults like most books do but still a great story.

I am sort of annoyed by the fact i didnt find out what happened to dannly and tayend in the end though im sure i can leave that to my imagination but she probably could have finished of that part of the story.

I just realised i should ha...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Diana - FantasySeiten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Handlung und Schauplätze:
Es ist schon etwas her, seit dem ich den zweiten Band der Reihe gelesen habe. Um genau zu sein sogar 2 Jahre. Daher hatte ich zu Beginn etwas Angst das Buch zu lesen, weil ich dachte: ich komme eh nicht so schnell in das Buch wieder hinein. Aber da hatte ich mich geirrt. Es fiel mir erstaunlich leicht alle Charaktere zuzuordnen und auch die Vorgeschichte wieder in Erinnerung zu rufen. Hierbei hat die Autorin sehr gut mitgeholfen, da sie kurz und knapp wichtige Dinge noch...more Handlung und Schauplätze:
Es ist schon etwas her, seit dem ich den zweiten Band der Reihe gelesen habe. Um genau zu sein sogar 2 Jahre. Daher hatte ich zu Beginn etwas Angst das Buch zu lesen, weil ich dachte: ich komme eh nicht so schnell in das Buch wieder hinein. Aber da hatte ich mich geirrt. Es fiel mir erstaunlich leicht alle Charaktere zuzuordnen und auch die Vorgeschichte wieder in Erinnerung zu rufen. Hierbei hat die Autorin sehr gut mitgeholfen, da sie kurz und knapp wichtige Dinge nochmal aus den Vorgängerbüchern wiederholte. Der Leser begleitet Sonea nach Sachaka. Eigentlich ist es Sonea verboten die Stadt Imardin zu verlassen, da sie schwarze Magie beherrscht, die eigentlich verboten ist. Soneas Sohn wurde in Sachaka entführt und sie wird nun hingeschickt um bei seiner Befreiung behilflich zu sein.

Das Buch erzählt auch noch die Geschichte um den Dieb Cery. Cery ist ein Dieb aus dem Untergrund Imardins und ein sehr guter Freund aus Soneas Vergangenheit. Die Diebe sind immer im Kampf um Gebiete unterhalb der Stadt oder um Waren und Dienstleistungen. Hier hat Cery in den letzten Jahren einiges einbüßen müssen, da er nicht mehr der Jüngste ist. Hinzu kommt noch ein neuer Dieb, der auch noch ein wilder Magier ist, welcher gegen Cery arbeitet. Hilfe bekommt Cery von Gol, seinen treuen Leibwächter, seiner Tochter Any und einer Magierschülerin aus der Gilde. Gemeinsam wollen sie den wilden Magier der Gilde ausliefern und Cerys altes Ansehen als Dieb wiederherstellen.

Die Handlung kommt auf den 600 Seiten manchmal nicht so richtig vom Fleck. Das war leider etwas schade. Hier hätte man ein paar Seiten einsparen können. Auch konnte mich das Buch nicht so ganz mitreisen, da die langen Erzählstränge die Spannung etwas drückten. Es gab sehr gute spannende Szenen im Buch, die für meinem Geschmack leider viel zu kurz kamen. So war die finale Schlacht viel zu schnell abgehandelt wurden.

Sonea ist in meinen Augen eine gute Reihe, jedoch nicht mit der Gilde der Schwarzen Magier zu vergleichen. Hier hat die Autorin leider nicht ganz ins Schwarze getroffen.

Charaktere:
Wie schon aus den beiden Vorgängerbänden spielen unsere altbekannten Charaktere mit. Sonea, die schwarze Magierin, ihr Sohn Lorkin, der nach Sachaka aufbricht und sich da verliebt. Cery, Soneas Jugendfreund aus der Zeit vor der Magiergilde und viele mehr.

Das Buch lebt von den bekannten Charakteren, die einem ans Herz gewachsen sind. Es sind wirklich nur die alten Personen, wieso ich das Buch gelesen habe, denn alle neuen Charaktere sind eher flach und wirkten auf mich nicht sympathisch. Ich kann nicht mal genau sagen, warum, aber ich wurde mit denen einfach nicht warm.

Schreibstil:
Der Schreibstil ist typisch Trudi Canavan, sehr komplex und umfassend. Die Beschreibungen sind sehr schön bildhaft und die Autorin versteht es sehr gut Bilder im Kopf des Lesers entstehen zu lassen. Im Buch werden 3 gesonderte Erzählstränge behandelt, die am Ende final zusammen finden.

Cover:
Das Cover ist wirklich sehr gelungen. Es stellt Sonea dar und der Titel ist in Silberschrift erhaben herausgearbeitet. Echt schick sehen alle 3 Bücher nebeneinander im Regal aus.

Fazit:
Ein zufriedenstellender finaler Band mit einer grandiosen finalen Schlacht. Leider war die Schlacht sehr kurz gehalten und auch der Ausblick auf die Zukunft fiel eher knapp aus. Trotzdem war es ein Buch, welches ich gern gelesen habe und für den Abschluss der Reihe sehe ich gern über doch einige Längen im Buch hinweg.(less)

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Sep 08, 2012 Belle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit, I didn't love the Traitor Spy Trilogy as much as I loved The Black Magician Trilogy. BUT that doesn't mean I didn't really like it. I did. I really did. And The Traitor Queen definitely did not disappoint on its own, either. I did not lose my entire study morning (and part of my afternoon) reading in bed for nothing!

All the great things you come to expect of Trudi Canavan and her novels were there - great characters, great - and real - emotions, adventure, mystery and that touch...more I have to admit, I didn't love the Traitor Spy Trilogy as much as I loved The Black Magician Trilogy. BUT that doesn't mean I didn't really like it. I did. I really did. And The Traitor Queen definitely did not disappoint on its own, either. I did not lose my entire study morning (and part of my afternoon) reading in bed for nothing!

All the great things you come to expect of Trudi Canavan and her novels were there - great characters, great - and real - emotions, adventure, mystery and that touch of romance that satisfies the hopeless romantic in me without the whole book revolving around it. Even some surprises - both happy and sad. (view spoiler)

I hate to say it, especially of one of Trudi Canavan's works, but I think some parts of this book were resolved a bit too easily. (view spoiler) Maybe it's just the greedy reader in me, but I feel like some issues may have needed to spread out over more books .....wait, yeah, probably just greedy reader...

(On an editorial note, I had to seriously resist an urge to pull out a writing tool of some sort to mark all the typos and little errors that were in the book but obviously not caught before printing. At one point the wrong name was used! =p Sometimes I wonder why I don't pursue a career of editing awesome novels. Reading for pleasure and work at the same time!)

Overall - it was a great read. It may not have been my favourite book by her, but it's still a level above many other books out there and I will ALWAYS tell anyone who will listen (and/or read) to read books by Trudi Canavan - because she's just that awesome an author.(less)

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Aug 03, 2012 Elan Morin rated it 2 of 5 stars

I Love Canavan as an author, but i've found the whole of the traitor spy trilogy to be a bit dull. With Age of the Five and the first Magicians Guild trilogy she seems to follow a pattern of the first book is good but holds little re-read value, the second is a great read the the third is EPIC, but i didn't find this to be true with the Traitor Spy series.
In my opinion there just wasn't anything to get hyped up over, I also found it annoying that the one twist which i didn't see coming wasn't...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Raimo rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 12, 2013 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This newest book in Trudi Canavan's Magicians' Guild series really failed to capture me. I really liked the first trilogy that was centred around (view spoiler) and I thought the first two books of the Traitor Spy trilogy were promising for a good end, but I ended up disappointed. I didn't really want to root for any of the main characters, I didn't care whether they lived or died. Halfway through the book the ending was...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The conclusion is neat enough (a bit too neat I felt, especially regarding events in Sachaka. You call that a war? Really?) and there are some obvious hints that Canavan isn't done with Imardin and the Magicians' Guild at the end. Is it too cynical to say that this whole Sachaka thing i.e. let's "fix" them so they're like us and make them join the Allied Lands is going to play out again with Igra? AND WATCH OUT, THEY HAVE TUBES THAT FIRE BALLS OF IRON. Lol.

There's a lot of overtones in Canavan'...more The conclusion is neat enough (a bit too neat I felt, especially regarding events in Sachaka. You call that a war? Really?) and there are some obvious hints that Canavan isn't done with Imardin and the Magicians' Guild at the end. Is it too cynical to say that this whole Sachaka thing i.e. let's "fix" them so they're like us and make them join the Allied Lands is going to play out again with Igra? AND WATCH OUT, THEY HAVE TUBES THAT FIRE BALLS OF IRON. Lol.

There's a lot of overtones in Canavan's work that I didn't pick up when I read the original trilogy in high school and bother me now that I'm older. I don't like the simplistic, black and white morality of pretty much all the characters: slavery is BAD, we must TRADE with other lands and form ALLIANCES and LEARN, etc. I also don't like the fact that the Allied Lands feel the need to "correct" Sachakan society - it smacks far too much of imperialist sentiment. The presence of the Traitors rectifies this somewhat, especially as they are the ones to bring about the end of slavery in Sachaka, but even so the whole slavery issue feels too cute and trite. WE HAVE CONVENIENTLY ENDED CENTURIES OF SLAVERY WITH MAGICAL STONES. Hmmm.

It also irritates me IMMENSELY that virtually every character, again, thinks in the same way: Yes, well, this is an issue, but instead of getting angry/frustrated/upset/ I'm going to be sensible and look for a practical solution to present problem. It's all very positive and good (and God knows I could learn from their attitude), but EVERYONE DOES IT ALL THE TIME in every situation - not everyone thinks the same!!!

Speaking of characters, Skellin irritated the hell out of me. Lorandra I preferred as a villain because you have some insight into her character throughout the series, her role as the Thief Hunter makes her formidable and fearsome, and it's easy to sympathise with her to some extent since she would naturally want to be with her son and look out for him. Skellin was somewhat intimidating as an invisible threat, but having black magic as his ultimate goal and the whole luring-Lilia-out-so-I-can-learn-black-magic-from-her thing just felt really lame.

I found Cery's death really pointless too, though I suppose that's to set Anyi up as the new Thief...guy, idk. It was sad, but like the death of his family at the start of the series, it just felt too sudden to really have an impact. It's foreshadowed constantly, yes, but when it finally happens it just didn't resonate with me which was a surprise because I really liked him.

Lorkin is adorable and pretty much the likable character I wanted Akkarin's son to be. I love that he always gets dominated by the female characters, ahahahaha.

The Dannyl/Tayend/Achati thing was done really well throughout, though I found Achati's death a bit...yeah. But I really enjoyed the complexity of the relationships between them, and especially the way Danny and Tayend's fluctuates. It's very believable, and I have to say one of the most readable qualities of Canavan's work is that the relationships are always good fun to read.

I just loved the Regin/Sonea thing, I'm not going to lie - it was great and really kept me reading; especially loved that line near the end where Canavan says something like "to put an end to rumours that she was living with Regin, Sonea moved into his rooms". HAHAHAHAHAHA. I love Sonea. Damn you for making me like you, Regin :p

In all: I didn't like this one as much as the other two, and the ending was too neat for my taste. Enjoyed the trilogy as a whole, perhaps even more than the original, despite my reluctance to get into it again and I look foward to more adventures in Imardin and beyond in the future. (less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Pat rated it 2 of 5 stars

Wanted to like it, liked her first trilogy in the same world, but this one fell flat, and I ended up only finishing it because I'm a completist and didn't want the final part of the trilogy to remain unread. Not much to say without spoilers, but I can say I found the characters becoming progressively less and less dimensional as the book droned on, which meant that by the end I hardly cared about these cardboard cutouts at all. Sadly disappointing, as I really loved her first trilogy (The Black...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Awesome conclusion to the Traitor Spy Trilogy, another story arc set in the same universe as the Black Magician Trilogy.

This final novel included lots of political intrigue with a good dose of adventure and magic and just the right amount of romance.

The strengths in this novel as well as the others are the characters and worldbuilding. You can tell a lot of thought was put into the various cultures, their views on magic, as well as gender and different classes systems.

Canavan's novels are defi...more

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About Trudi Canavan

Trudi Canavan was born in Kew, Melbourne and grew up in Ferntree Gully, a suburb at the foothills of the Dandenongs.

In 1999 she won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story with “Whispers of the Mist Children”. In the same year she was granted a writers residency at Varuna Writers’ Centre in Katoomba, New South Wales.

In November 2001, The Magicians’ Guild was first published in Australia. T...more

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Books by Trudi Canavan

The High Lord (The Black Magician Trilogy, #3)

The Magicians' Guild (The Black Magician Trilogy, #1)

The Novice (The Black Magician Trilogy, #2)

The Magician's Apprentice (The Black Magician Trilogy, #0.5)

Priestess of the White (Age of the Five, #1)

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Quotes from The Traitor Queen

“Extending his senses, Lorkin tried again to hear his mother’s surface thoughts. What he picked up seemed too out of character, however. He must be imagining it. Though…it was also odd that he would imagine his mother thinking such a string of curse words.” — 7 people liked it

“Tayend nodded. “I know it won’t. I admit I was worried about you, but you are still your old self, underneath.”
Dannyl straightened in protest. “Underneath what?”
The Elyne stood up, waving one hand in Dannyl’s direction. “All…that.”
“I’m reeling at your descriptive clarity,” Dannyl told him.” — 6 people liked it

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The Traitor Queen (Traitor Spy Trilogy #3)

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