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The Golden Queen #1
The Golden Queen
When Semarritte, the beloved ruler of ten thousand planets is killed by the invading insectoid dronons, Lord Veriasse clones Everynne, a daughter of the deceased ruler, to challenge the queen of the dronons and restore peace
318 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1994
53 people are currently reading
623 people want to read
About the author
Dave Wolverton
66 books152 followersDave Wolverton (born 1957) is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.
(Wikipedia entry: Dave Wolverton)
(Wikipedia entry: Dave Wolverton)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
December 19, 2012
I grabbed a copy of The Golden Queen from Amazon Kindle because the blog, "Pixel of Ink" told me that it was free. I gave it a two star rating because "it was ok" (which is the tool text for two stars).
This is the story of a small band of adventurers who accidentally end up having a science fiction adventure in what originally appears to be a tale about slightly-not-normal ancient, rustic Ireland. It follows Gallen O’Day, Maggie Flynn, and a talking bear named Orick as they team up with two human-like aliens, one of whom has a name that I cannot help but mentally pronounce as "everyone", even though I'm sure that is not how it is supposed to be pronounced.
Those, of course, are the protagonists. And what are protagonists without antagonists? Enter the Dronon: a race of hive-mind alien bugs who are bent on forcing the hive-mind on humans as well. Kind of like the Borg, only without the hot cybernetics.
If you enjoy a good-but-not-great science fiction adventure because you need a palette cleanser in between other, more awesome books (don't judge me!), this book is for you. But it comes with a warning: slog through the initial chapters; the writing style improves. I can tell that the author was out of his comfort zone for the initial few chapters because the sentences seemed rather clipped/too succinct, the prose jumped around, and there was a lot of telling and very little showing. As soon as we leave the rustic Irish countryside, everything improves tremendously: there are more than five words in a sentence, things are more coherent, and there is a lot more experiential learning in the exposition.
This is the story of a small band of adventurers who accidentally end up having a science fiction adventure in what originally appears to be a tale about slightly-not-normal ancient, rustic Ireland. It follows Gallen O’Day, Maggie Flynn, and a talking bear named Orick as they team up with two human-like aliens, one of whom has a name that I cannot help but mentally pronounce as "everyone", even though I'm sure that is not how it is supposed to be pronounced.
Those, of course, are the protagonists. And what are protagonists without antagonists? Enter the Dronon: a race of hive-mind alien bugs who are bent on forcing the hive-mind on humans as well. Kind of like the Borg, only without the hot cybernetics.
If you enjoy a good-but-not-great science fiction adventure because you need a palette cleanser in between other, more awesome books (don't judge me!), this book is for you. But it comes with a warning: slog through the initial chapters; the writing style improves. I can tell that the author was out of his comfort zone for the initial few chapters because the sentences seemed rather clipped/too succinct, the prose jumped around, and there was a lot of telling and very little showing. As soon as we leave the rustic Irish countryside, everything improves tremendously: there are more than five words in a sentence, things are more coherent, and there is a lot more experiential learning in the exposition.
January 16, 2023
Dave Wolverton (David Farland as he's also known as) really understood genre storytelling. I am a big fan of his "Runelords" series, which is still endlessly entertaining to me. I picked up this book because I thought it would be a fun read, and I was right, because this book is like a themepark ride of fun genre entertainment!
First of all, this book slowly becomes more and more Sci-Fi as you go along, but you'd believe it was a fantasy novel based on the first two chapters. It blends the genres much like Star Wars did, and in fact there are several sequences that are obviously influenced by Star Wars. It also has an element of cheesy Sci-fi/Fantasy storytelling that was prominent in the 70s and 80s. There is nothing wrong with that, because its quite entertaining, but in some ways this book reminded me of the Science Fiction version of Willow.
The characters here are most interesting. Orick the Bear was a fascinating talking-animal companion, and Maggie, Everynne, and Gallen had a nice love triangle. The Gallen was obviously an analogue for a standard hero, ala Luke Skywalker, although at times I think Wolverton wanted him to also fill the role of Han Solo, so his morality was not very defined in the book. There were a few things that happened with him that frustrated me.
For a science fiction book, there is a lot of discussion, particularly at the beginning of the book about religion and religious duties. I thought it was fascinating, particularly given Wolverton's religious beliefs in real life.
As the book goes on, it becomes more and more science fiction and less Fantasy. I think it works, but the original cover doesn't do it enough justice. It was still a blast to read though.
Overall, I had such a fun time with this book. It's not as well crafted as some Sci-Fi books I've read, nor is it as dense thematically, but it was still a blast and thoroughly entertaining, exactly what it needed to be. I look forward to reading more in this trilogy. 8.0 out of 10!
First of all, this book slowly becomes more and more Sci-Fi as you go along, but you'd believe it was a fantasy novel based on the first two chapters. It blends the genres much like Star Wars did, and in fact there are several sequences that are obviously influenced by Star Wars. It also has an element of cheesy Sci-fi/Fantasy storytelling that was prominent in the 70s and 80s. There is nothing wrong with that, because its quite entertaining, but in some ways this book reminded me of the Science Fiction version of Willow.
The characters here are most interesting. Orick the Bear was a fascinating talking-animal companion, and Maggie, Everynne, and Gallen had a nice love triangle. The Gallen was obviously an analogue for a standard hero, ala Luke Skywalker, although at times I think Wolverton wanted him to also fill the role of Han Solo, so his morality was not very defined in the book. There were a few things that happened with him that frustrated me.
For a science fiction book, there is a lot of discussion, particularly at the beginning of the book about religion and religious duties. I thought it was fascinating, particularly given Wolverton's religious beliefs in real life.
As the book goes on, it becomes more and more science fiction and less Fantasy. I think it works, but the original cover doesn't do it enough justice. It was still a blast to read though.
Overall, I had such a fun time with this book. It's not as well crafted as some Sci-Fi books I've read, nor is it as dense thematically, but it was still a blast and thoroughly entertaining, exactly what it needed to be. I look forward to reading more in this trilogy. 8.0 out of 10!
March 23, 2014
Now this is the good old fashioned flavor of science fiction the way it used to be before the genre took itself too seriously as Literature. One part Tolkien, three parts Edmund Hamilton and a dash Star Wars give this entertaining romp an almost retro 1970s feel. Of course since I mostly read older books any way, and this one was published in the mid 1990s, it stands to reason it should have a retro feel.
I'll probably read the other books in the series though this one could be considered self contained.
I'll probably read the other books in the series though this one could be considered self contained.
July 26, 2013
The book starts off with two residents of a small village, Gallen and Maggie (oh, and intelligent talking bears, lots of those), who come across a very foreign looking man and woman, being followed by weird ogre-bug things, and end up getting swept up into the story of the couple, who travel to other worlds.
The worlds are being threatened by a massive colony of bugs, with a hive mentality, and are trying to make all other sentient life become part of the hive.
According to the rules, a "golden" or perfect bug queen can challenge the residing Golden for the thrown. No human, or humanesque individual has yet to do so, and that's Everine's plan to win back her people, and the planets.
I just really couldn't get into the characters that much. I didn't find myself rooting for anyone. When some of the other characters were in trouble, or seemed like that would/had/might have died, it didn't pull any emotions out of me for them.
I feel like it was a valiant attempt to have a world traveling, alien bug plot, it just didn't grab me.
The worlds are being threatened by a massive colony of bugs, with a hive mentality, and are trying to make all other sentient life become part of the hive.
According to the rules, a "golden" or perfect bug queen can challenge the residing Golden for the thrown. No human, or humanesque individual has yet to do so, and that's Everine's plan to win back her people, and the planets.
I just really couldn't get into the characters that much. I didn't find myself rooting for anyone. When some of the other characters were in trouble, or seemed like that would/had/might have died, it didn't pull any emotions out of me for them.
I feel like it was a valiant attempt to have a world traveling, alien bug plot, it just didn't grab me.
May 20, 2010
More space bugs.. predictable too. Amusing in places but another one I will not recommend. The alien bugs are a lot like the bug horde on Rifts Earth. And the description of the hive city walkers was amusing like something out of Phyrexia. It had potential but falls kind of flat.
May 18, 2025
Our protagonists, from a medievalesque colony planet, get caught up in a worlds-spanning war against the bug aliens when the lost princess of the human civilization comes through their world.
The worlds here are connected by worldgates people walk through on foot; spaceships are barely mentioned. Everything is explained with scientific technobabble, but it very much feels like fantasy. When our protagonists (with a medievalesque background) initially think of it as magic, I'm nodding right along with them.
The setting and characters are sketched in broad strokes - nothing spectacular, but decently done. The character development is less artful, though - a couple characters do change over the course of the book, but I wish it'd been shown better.
Even more so, though, I wish it'd been better shown why the bugs are willing to surrender to anyone - even a human - who survives their ritual claiming of Queenship. They've been shown as having strong biological drives toward hierarchy, but could they really be redirected to a human that easily? I do like the twist we're shown when it happens onscreen, but I'm still left scratching my head about its plausibility.
This's a flawed book, but a fun enough one. I'm still glad I read it, but I wish it'd been done better.
The worlds here are connected by worldgates people walk through on foot; spaceships are barely mentioned. Everything is explained with scientific technobabble, but it very much feels like fantasy. When our protagonists (with a medievalesque background) initially think of it as magic, I'm nodding right along with them.
The setting and characters are sketched in broad strokes - nothing spectacular, but decently done. The character development is less artful, though - a couple characters do change over the course of the book, but I wish it'd been shown better.
Even more so, though, I wish it'd been better shown why the bugs are willing to surrender to anyone - even a human - who survives their ritual claiming of Queenship. They've been shown as having strong biological drives toward hierarchy, but could they really be redirected to a human that easily? I do like the twist we're shown when it happens onscreen, but I'm still left scratching my head about its plausibility.
This's a flawed book, but a fun enough one. I'm still glad I read it, but I wish it'd been done better.
August 7, 2021
This was almost good, but for all of the work describing a society of talking bears, multiple alien planets, etc., it leaves very little behind. I did appreciate how the Dronon were much more of an antagonistic force than an evil one, it gives what is otherwise a highly clichéd story a little bit of complexity. It was probably a mistake for the book to go so quickly into the upper echelons of its world, a couple of hundred pages is hardly enough to give a 'fate of the universe' story any kind of proper scope.
July 20, 2020
Good story, but it never really caught my attention for long. I would read a little and then switch to another book. I would come back to this one later because I wanted to see how it ended. Then I would do the same thing. All in all, it has taken me almost a year to finish. I'm glad I did. Not sure why I kept losing interest.
May 30, 2020
When I'm reading this book, I'm engrossed. When I put it down, I forget it exists. Kind of strange. I think I'm done reading, though. I got to where Galen bangs the princess, then tells Maggie he's not sorry he did it. Uh. So. Yeah, sorry Galen, I'm done with you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2023
Sci-fi or fantasy?
This is an entertaining science-fiction/fantasy type of book so if that’s what you enjoy, you’ll like this. The hero is heroic, and many of the characters are kind and caring to offset the cruel Dronons.
This is an entertaining science-fiction/fantasy type of book so if that’s what you enjoy, you’ll like this. The hero is heroic, and many of the characters are kind and caring to offset the cruel Dronons.
July 27, 2018
Such a classic of a book. I haven't read this one in years but it continues to a great read even now.
November 26, 2018
One of my favorite books. My mom read it to me as a child, and I have read it multiple times as an adult. It is a wonderful blend of sci-fi and fantasy that never gets old.
July 28, 2019
Poor editing.
Many errors in this book. It almost looked as if it was scanned in with OCR i's flipped to L's, etc. Otherwise the story fairly good.
Many errors in this book. It almost looked as if it was scanned in with OCR i's flipped to L's, etc. Otherwise the story fairly good.
February 18, 2022
Jack Vancesque, though never soo imaginative and breathtaking but stil worth some reading time.
September 19, 2024
Good adventure book. Nothing else to say.
October 12, 2024
The talking bear bumps it up from a 3
November 7, 2025
Absolutely a page turner!
January 12, 2013
David Wolverton (better known by his pseudonym, David Farland) is a master of utilizing resonance in writing, a fact that is starkly evident in the Golden Queen. The book resonates strongly with the Star Wars mythos, which makes sense as Wolverton has written a number of Star Wars expanded universe novels during his long career as an author.
The Golden Queen, begins like a typical fantasy story, with a young warrior (Gallen O'day) seeking his next adventure in a tavern. The setting seems to be an alternate Ireland, complete with talking bears, ogres and Sidhe haunting the forest. But that illusion is soon cast aside with the entrance of old warrior and his alluring charge. The newcomers are actually genetically engineered aliens from another world. Gallen takes a commission from the old warrior to help protect his charge, the last of a people known as the Tharrin, genetically made to be perfect and a natural leader, to a gateway between worlds (kind of like a Stargate) activated by a portal key technology. Unwittingly, Gallen and his companions, a young bar maid called Maggie and his bear friend, Orick (Wookie anyone?)follow the aliens through the gateway and discover that there is a bigger universe beyond their own existence. The universe however has fallen sway to a race of insectoid empire-buildings, with a heirarchy based on the beauty of a tribal/clan "golden queen" and the strength of her "lord protector".
What follows is a rather intelligent science-fiction novel, blended with romance and sword-play (you could call it a space opera) that reaches for the epic scale of Frank Herbert's Dune but falls short. There are some original concepts in here that have appeared in later Hugo winning short-stories, which show Wolverton's pedigree as a writer of Sf.
The book is extremely well-written, the characters interesting and provocative. The plot and concepts challenge social norms like any good sf/fantasy book, and as well as the carefully constructed resonances with other narratives, there are original concepts that leave your mind spinning in wonderment.
This is a masterclass for any writer wanting to study the use of resonance in writing and a rather epic tale of sword and science fiction that will delight readers of Frank Herbert and Robert Jordan.
The Golden Queen, begins like a typical fantasy story, with a young warrior (Gallen O'day) seeking his next adventure in a tavern. The setting seems to be an alternate Ireland, complete with talking bears, ogres and Sidhe haunting the forest. But that illusion is soon cast aside with the entrance of old warrior and his alluring charge. The newcomers are actually genetically engineered aliens from another world. Gallen takes a commission from the old warrior to help protect his charge, the last of a people known as the Tharrin, genetically made to be perfect and a natural leader, to a gateway between worlds (kind of like a Stargate) activated by a portal key technology. Unwittingly, Gallen and his companions, a young bar maid called Maggie and his bear friend, Orick (Wookie anyone?)follow the aliens through the gateway and discover that there is a bigger universe beyond their own existence. The universe however has fallen sway to a race of insectoid empire-buildings, with a heirarchy based on the beauty of a tribal/clan "golden queen" and the strength of her "lord protector".
What follows is a rather intelligent science-fiction novel, blended with romance and sword-play (you could call it a space opera) that reaches for the epic scale of Frank Herbert's Dune but falls short. There are some original concepts in here that have appeared in later Hugo winning short-stories, which show Wolverton's pedigree as a writer of Sf.
The book is extremely well-written, the characters interesting and provocative. The plot and concepts challenge social norms like any good sf/fantasy book, and as well as the carefully constructed resonances with other narratives, there are original concepts that leave your mind spinning in wonderment.
This is a masterclass for any writer wanting to study the use of resonance in writing and a rather epic tale of sword and science fiction that will delight readers of Frank Herbert and Robert Jordan.
November 29, 2010
http://www.saltmanz.com/blog/2006/08/...
Saturday night (8/27/06) I finished The Golden Queen by Dave Wolverton. It's actually the first book of the Golden Queen trilogy, and though I put off reading it for a while because I don't own the next books yet, I eventually figured it would stand alone well enough by itself, so I read it.
It was decent. I won't describe the plot really, since most of it is slowly revealed as you read. I will say that it starts out in a rustic Irish setting on a backwater planet. That's where you first meet the main protagonists: Gallen O'Day, a swaggering but kindhearted bodyguard; his friend, Orick, an intelligent, talking bear; and Maggie Flynn, the girl who works at the inn and has a thing for Gallen.
It isn't long before some strangers arrive, danger breaks out, and the trio are whisked off on an adventure. Which is kind of too bad, because I think that first section of the book is my favorite part. After that, it gets pretty sci-fi-y, and though it's competently plotted and written, it just doesn't stand out as much as the initial chapters. The characters, though, are good -- especially those main three. The aforementioned strangers, Everynne and her bodyguard Veriasse, drive the plot, but never seem as fully fleshed out as Gallen and his friends. Now that I think about it, though, that's probably because (a) they're strangers to the rest of the cast for a good chunk of the story, and (b) it's really Gallen's story anyway.
Last year I read the more-recent epic fantasy series The Runelords by "David Farland", which is just Dave Wolverton's pen name. Knowing that, I could see definite similarities between the two, especially in the alien creatures: the Dronon (from Golden Queen) and Reavers (from Runelords). So far, Runelords is the better series; not surprising, as it's the more recent.
There was a slight twist at the end of Golden Queen that I kept waiting and waiting for, and when it finally popped up in the last two pages, it kind of fell flat for me. Other than that, I enjoyed the book. I'll definitely need to keep an eye out for the next two books.
Saturday night (8/27/06) I finished The Golden Queen by Dave Wolverton. It's actually the first book of the Golden Queen trilogy, and though I put off reading it for a while because I don't own the next books yet, I eventually figured it would stand alone well enough by itself, so I read it.
It was decent. I won't describe the plot really, since most of it is slowly revealed as you read. I will say that it starts out in a rustic Irish setting on a backwater planet. That's where you first meet the main protagonists: Gallen O'Day, a swaggering but kindhearted bodyguard; his friend, Orick, an intelligent, talking bear; and Maggie Flynn, the girl who works at the inn and has a thing for Gallen.
It isn't long before some strangers arrive, danger breaks out, and the trio are whisked off on an adventure. Which is kind of too bad, because I think that first section of the book is my favorite part. After that, it gets pretty sci-fi-y, and though it's competently plotted and written, it just doesn't stand out as much as the initial chapters. The characters, though, are good -- especially those main three. The aforementioned strangers, Everynne and her bodyguard Veriasse, drive the plot, but never seem as fully fleshed out as Gallen and his friends. Now that I think about it, though, that's probably because (a) they're strangers to the rest of the cast for a good chunk of the story, and (b) it's really Gallen's story anyway.
Last year I read the more-recent epic fantasy series The Runelords by "David Farland", which is just Dave Wolverton's pen name. Knowing that, I could see definite similarities between the two, especially in the alien creatures: the Dronon (from Golden Queen) and Reavers (from Runelords). So far, Runelords is the better series; not surprising, as it's the more recent.
There was a slight twist at the end of Golden Queen that I kept waiting and waiting for, and when it finally popped up in the last two pages, it kind of fell flat for me. Other than that, I enjoyed the book. I'll definitely need to keep an eye out for the next two books.
January 7, 2013
Fantasy – This isn’t a genre I normally like to read, but this story was fascinating and drew me into its plot with thick tentacles that didn’t let me go until I was through. Gates to other worlds, talking bears, golden hive queens, and brain mantels that teach years’ worth of knowledge within hours were some of the fantastic creatures and inventions that took this fantasy to a whole new level. The characters were well-developed. I liked them and felt for them in their struggles and weaknesses. The tempo of the story never slowed down and bored me. Farland did a great job of casting the web of his plot over me and drawing me into the conclusion. I will definitely read more from him in the future.
November 15, 2007
A frustrating novel in which aliens come to medieval earth. All of humanity's fate will be determined by a combination of a beauty pageant and a wrestling match. The most beautiful woman in the world and her bodyguard go to meet the aliens, with a peasant wench and her boyfriend in tow, and have various adventures along the way. Lessons are learned, hard personal truths discovered, love blossoms, etc. In the end, the wench wins the beauty pageant.
The weirdest part? This book is not humorous in any way. It was not intended to be comical, and it is not funny. It's just frustratingly bad.
The weirdest part? This book is not humorous in any way. It was not intended to be comical, and it is not funny. It's just frustratingly bad.
April 15, 2013
The storyline starts a little slow...but never slows down. It has great features, an unwilling hero, and stubborn girl, a mystery man and woman and the best part...a talking bear. The story line is believable and fast moving. I read this on the recommendation from a friend and then found out the authors son has had an accident and all proceeds from the book are going to the medical. I did not download the free version, I went to Amazon and bought it. There are three books and if the next two are is good as this, I will be spending more money for a great, but sad cause. Good Luck to the Authors son!
October 28, 2015
A refreshing read. While the author could have played for a more elaborate and fleshed out love triangle (actually it was a rectangle in this case) I found it refreshing not to have to deal with every emotion every character experienced. The end was a little childish, however. I feel the antagonists were not developed as well as they could have been and their defeat was very rushed and unexpectedly easy, especially as the result of the final battle, quite frankly, the probable enslavement of their entire race.
I take my beginning back. This book wasn't baked enough. If I ever get to reading the sequel, I'd very much like a bit more history and more fleshy characters.
I take my beginning back. This book wasn't baked enough. If I ever get to reading the sequel, I'd very much like a bit more history and more fleshy characters.
April 26, 2013
Excellent book. It satisfied my various loves: fantasy, SF, action, romance. Plenty of blood and battles most gruesome, but with plenty of beautiful description and thoughtful writing to balance it out. Can't wait to see what happens next in this trilogy. (And if you're one of those that worries whether the first book of a trilogy doesn't really end - don't worry. This is a fully encapsulated novel.)
But like all really long and thoughtful books, I need to read something else between installments. Good thing I have the next two loaded on the Kindle for when I'm ready to read them. =o)
But like all really long and thoughtful books, I need to read something else between installments. Good thing I have the next two loaded on the Kindle for when I'm ready to read them. =o)
June 6, 2013
Meh, it was ok. Got it as a free ebook and the description seemed interesting. Found that once I started reading the story semed jumbled and a mix of futuristic and midevil. The main plot while a decent idea never developed to what I expected. The book seemed to rush along, the characters developing and advancing at rates that were too unbelievable. It made the story seem forced along like the author had a deadline and was dragging me and the plot to the finish as fast as possible. An overall ok read but not something I will pick up again or really recommend.
January 17, 2016
A great science fiction story
This is a classic science fiction story. It starts out a SIM p length story that is more fantasy then it gets into a very good romp through the universe. Jumping across world and people's all towards the final battle. You start rooting for all the characters as they develop during the story. In the end everyone wins and it is happily ever after. The story stands on its own and you are not left with any loose ends. But it is open for a continuation. I would recommend this to friends.
This is a classic science fiction story. It starts out a SIM p length story that is more fantasy then it gets into a very good romp through the universe. Jumping across world and people's all towards the final battle. You start rooting for all the characters as they develop during the story. In the end everyone wins and it is happily ever after. The story stands on its own and you are not left with any loose ends. But it is open for a continuation. I would recommend this to friends.
March 27, 2015
I first read this years ago; it's a space opera adventure featuring a party of two warriors, a cleric wanna-be, an innkeeper, and a princess. Of course, the would-be cleric is a genetically enhanced bear, the princess is travelling with her bodyguard through the worlds, and the monsters they fight are bug-eyed aliens who are conquering the human race.
This sets up a fun little space adventure; it doesn't try to be super-ambitious. And yet it was good enough to pop into my head when I recently watched _Jupiter Ascending_.
This sets up a fun little space adventure; it doesn't try to be super-ambitious. And yet it was good enough to pop into my head when I recently watched _Jupiter Ascending_.
June 12, 2013
This was an interesting read with somewhat loose character development. The characters managed to get themselves into and out of trouble with wild abandon. The concept of battling insectoid aliens to regain control of "human" worlds is fairly well developed early in the book. The conflicts seem a bit scattered at first, but resolve into a central mission. I'm not decided as to reading the next book in the series.
June 17, 2012
I might have rated this higher, but the writer's style was very offsetting. He jumped from one thing to another with no segue or indication the scene had changed. Also, near the end the proofreading was all but absent. While the plot was interesting, the book failed to hold page-turning interest due to the aforementioned problems and way too much explanation of history and functions of beings.
November 19, 2013
The Golden Queen is a likeable mix of fantasy and sci-fi. It's a bit meandering at times, which is to be expected when you roam from planet to planet in the manner that the main characters do in this book. I found a couple of parts uncomfortably like a Mormon temple ceremony, but that's just me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews