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Queen of the Conquered

(Islands of Blood and Storm #1)

Kacen Callender

3.53 · Rating details · 1,308 ratings · 389 reviews

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 massac ...more

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Paperback, 400 pages

Published November 12th 2019 by Orbit

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2019 Fantasy and Science Fiction Books by Black Authors

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Start your review of Queen of the Conquered (Islands of Blood and Storm, #1)

Apr 27, 2020 Samantha rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

TW: slavery; suicidal imagery and ideation; mentions of rape; lynching

This book is a brutal exploration of slavery, privilege, and revenge. Although slow to start (which is what bumped it down a half star), this turned into political intrigue, mixed with the rage against colonialism, and a Clue-like murder mystery set in Caribbean inspired island setting. If you want your characters to be likable or have strict morals, you aren’t going to find that here. This wasn’t like anything I’ve ...more

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Dec 15, 2019 Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nenia-recommends, poc-interracial, best-scifi-fantasy, magic-and-sparkles-and-shit

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Hey, my friends! It's 6/17 and it's on sale today for $1.99! Make like a rabbit and get hopping!

I'm doing a project for Black History Month where I'm trying to read as many books by black and biracial authors as possible. Most of the ones I've done so far have been realistic fiction, but QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED is fantasy. I'd read some of Kacen Callender's work before, but their style is much, much different here than it was in KING AND ...more

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Dec 05, 2019 ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ rated it it was ok

Shelves: adult, fiction

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇
TLDR? Here's the short version of this increadibly stupid dialogue:

Me: I don't like racism. I think people who are racists are stupid idiots. I think the book has the following weak points, though. Nevertheless, I will rate the book higher than I should for making a go at addressing the problem of racism.
POC1: No! How come you're saying that? You insensitive tone-deaf shit!
Me: Whoa? Well, I just have no idea how people can think racist stuff: it's so obv ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 chan ☆ added it

Shelves: 2020, on-pause

on pause for now, definitely interested in the story and will revisit. just not a fan of the audiobook and don't have a physical copy of this rn. ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: from-publisher-or-author, bea-2019-wishlist

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

i showed up early to a book reading/signing last week, and once i had settled comfortably into my seat, i took this book out of my bag and started reading. the woman next to me noticed the cover and exclaimed that she had just finished it herself and loved it, enthusiastically praising its merits.

this is that kind of book. the people who love it are going to gush about it; chatting up strangers, recommending it to friends, gift-wrapping it for family members. me, i’m the jerk who ...more

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Sep 13, 2019 Chelsea Humphrey marked it as dnf-lost-interest

Shelves: from-publisher

I feel like this particular snake is making an appearance on all my highly anticipated SFF novels of 2019, and I'm not mad about it.

description

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy. ...more

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Nov 24, 2019 K.J. Charles added it

Shelves: fantasy, colonialism

The premise of this book is incredible. It's set in an alt-Euro-colonised Caribbean island archipelago, where the white colonisers have enslaved the black islanders and the worst vilenesses of slavery go on. The various islands are ruled by white families. Our POV character is Sigourney, the mixed race inheritor of a white family who were murdered by the other top families and who is now scheming her way to becoming the next regent of the islands, in order to wreak revenge for her bereavement an The premise of this book is incredible. It's set in an alt-Euro-colonised Caribbean island archipelago, where the white colonisers have enslaved the black islanders and the worst vilenesses of slavery go on. The various islands are ruled by white families. Our POV character is Sigourney, the mixed race inheritor of a white family who were murdered by the other top families and who is now scheming her way to becoming the next regent of the islands, in order to wreak revenge for her bereavement and gain power.

Not, you note, in order to free her people. This is not YA, and Sigourney is a magnificent depiction of the oppressed becoming the oppressor. She talks about wanting to free the islanders, wanting their love--but she's still a slave owner, she sexually exploits slaves and has them whipped or killed when it suits her, and there is a superbly chilling moment when, asked if she will free her people when she's regent, she reflects that, after all, will the islands be economically viable without slave labour? This is one of the best depictions of the corruption of colonialism I've ever seen--she's outraged at racist wrongs to herself but the sorry sordid truth is she doesn't want to change the system so much as she wants to be on top of it. It reminds me powerfully of Wizard of the Crow in the way it shows the cascade of evils that flow from colonialism.

This aspect of the book is just so good. Sigourney isn't evil or sociopathic: she's not even abnormally selfish, and that's the most monstrous thing of all. The author's note comments that everyone now assumes they'd have been part of the resistance or the revolution or the Underground Railway, whereas, in fact, an awful lot of people and especially those who aren't being oppressed will stay complicit in oppression rather than risking their own privilege. And when it's a choice between Sigourney's own wellbeing or that of a slave...well, she debates it internally, but she always makes the same choice. The awful thing is, we're fairly sure she would have been a perfectly adequate human if she hadn't been born into a society of grotesque inequality and racial cruelty and violence, but she was, and we see how warped it makes her. (Let me state here that anyone going 'oh but the heroine was so unlikeable!' about this book has missed the point so hard they're going backwards.)

There's a sort of mystery element to the book where the top families come together to be considered for the regency in a wild Game of Thrones thing as they set about murdering each other. The revelation of the killer at the end is spectacular (view spoiler)

The book is let down by some editing issues, mostly repetition. The narrative tells us the same things repeatedly, giving us the motives or attributes of characters over and over again, sometimes within just a couple of pages. This slows the book badly and really should have been dealt with by a line editor, especially with a book this long--I think you could lose 10% by cutting the repetition. I'm cross it wasn't, because the book is original, powerful, engaging, and necessary. ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Holly (Holly Hearts Books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-copies

"Focus on yourself and your ambitions and soon you'll find that you care not what a single person thinks." ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Charlotte rated it really liked it

Shelves: women-and-nb-of-speculative-fiction, poc-author, down-with-cis

"They would rather burn the throne to the ground than let you sit on it.”
“Then I’ll sit on its ashes.”

Spoilers follow, as well as trigger warnings for sexual violence. The entirely of this review will be on the subject of slavery and colonialism as well.

So What's It About? (From Goodreads)

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 generat ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Tomoe Hotaru rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, own-voices, mystery, adult, twas-good

09 Jan. '20
Read my review for King of the Uprising

“Your own people hate you. You’ve betrayed them. Abandoned them, for coin and comfort, while they’re enslaved and raped and tortured and murdered around you. No one has any love for you, even if you pretend they do. Even if you force them to. You have no true allies or friends. Those closest to you want you dead.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

And at the end of the day, that is exactly what Sigourney Rose is. You may be spending ...more

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Jun 03, 2019 Angelica marked it as to-read

At this point, I'm just gonna add every book with this snake on the cover. It's the exact same snake and all the books sound oh so good! ...more

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Nov 01, 2019 Yanique Gillana rated it did not like it

Shelves: owned-books, 2019-october

So disappointing...

1.2 stars

Characters: 1
Setting: 1
World Building: 0
Plot: 2
Language: 2

I am grateful to Orbit for sending me an advanced copy of this book, because I specifically requested it with high hopes and confidence in their publishing selections. With that said, I was thoroughly shocked and disappointed. This is another one of those instances where I have to say that I believe a book is objectively bad. Even when I dislike a book, I can usually find the good aspects of it in order to high ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 halfirishgrin marked it as owned-tbr

Shelves: poc-mc, sci-fi-fantasy, 2019-release

Not only is this a gorgeous but this book is about the colonisation of the Caribbean????! I am here for any book where colonisers are the villains!

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Oct 23, 2020 Maëlys rated it really liked it

Shelves: aoc, audiobook

☆ 4 / 5 ☆

Sigourney is the last surviving member of the Rose family of Hans Lollik and is seeking revenge for the murder of her family. Her goal is to make it on the throne of the country and beat the colonisers to it through careful planning and the use of her craft, an ability to read and control minds. However, contenders for the throne seem to be dying one by one and suspicion is cast on Sigourney as an outsider. She has to carefully make her way through the colonial politics of the island, t ☆ 4 / 5 ☆

Sigourney is the last surviving member of the Rose family of Hans Lollik and is seeking revenge for the murder of her family. Her goal is to make it on the throne of the country and beat the colonisers to it through careful planning and the use of her craft, an ability to read and control minds. However, contenders for the throne seem to be dying one by one and suspicion is cast on Sigourney as an outsider. She has to carefully make her way through the colonial politics of the island, trying to stay out of reach of the fatal accusations thrown her way and stay out of the murderer’s way.

Sigourney walks the line between the coloniser and the colonised with her noble father and her mother who used to be his slave. She sees herself as her people’s saviour, a queen who will finally be able to free them from the colonisers and reclaim the islands for them. However, her motives keep getting questioned and this might be more of a personal vendetta and thirst for revenge than for a noble cause. Sigourney’s character is very complex and flawed, and the ideal version she wants for herself constantly battles with her personal goals. She is not above using other people for her own gain and to achieve what she came here to do.

This internal battle she has with herself is reflected in how everyone else around her treats her. While the colonisers still see her as lesser and as a threat to the hierarchy they have established on this island, the slaves distrust her greatly. Sigourney tries to grapple for the respect of both parties trying to navigate a life stuck between the privilege of being born free and the racism of the colonisers.

This book does not hail Sigourney as a hero because she isn’t one. While she justifies certain actions with plans for a takeover, she does still revel in the complacency her position has afforded her. Her character is not a stark contrast to the colonisers because she finds using their means and methods for her own agenda. Nothing has a straightforward answer because it’s not a straightforward situation. Sigourney is a mix of wanting to better the life of her people and still being blindsided by vengeance and the consequences this holds.

The author explores many different facets of colonisation and the enslavement of a people with this book and shows all of the twisted ways violence is imposed on these slaves. It doesn’t stop at the casual lack of compassion or dehumanisation of these people in the eyes of the colonisers but it can also be imposed violence on other slaves. We see many examples of guards having to kill others and have to pretend it was justifiable for their own survival. The author also doesn’t shy away from the sexual violence surfered by slaves and the spectrum of this power inbalance. On an island where escape is impossible, the setting only enhances this violence.

The plot itself also held a lot of promise as Sigourney has to do her best to survive the royal island and take power when it is denied to her. I loved the concept of craft and how she used it to plot and move forward with her plans. While she’s able to read people’s minds and even take over them to control their actions, other people know she possesses this ability which helps making her character not feel so overpowered. Others also hold other powers but they’re not shown in great details but I truly enjoyed that aspect and how it played in the politics of this world. I did have some issues with the pacing after a while and things were getting a little repetitive. The ending was very much a set up for the second book and it was a bit rushed in my opinion but I liked the resolution of the mystery itself.

Overall this was a thought provoking book with a very unique main character and some high quality intrigue. I’ll definitely be interested in picking up the rest of this series and see how the story will play out on a bigger scale.

Youtube ☆ Twitter

Buddy read with Melanie ♡ ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 Lady H rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020

Well, this was absolutely intense. It definitely took a turn I wasn't expecting, with a pretty superb twist coming in at the end.

Some thoughts:

★ Initially, when I read that Sigourney could read and control minds, I was a bit apprehensive, as I thought this would make her an all-powerful agent of chaos. I thought of Kilgrave, from Jessica Jones, who terrifies most people who meet him. But Sigourney isn't that powerful; her power requires focus and exertion and she can only control one person at Well, this was absolutely intense. It definitely took a turn I wasn't expecting, with a pretty superb twist coming in at the end.

Some thoughts:

★ Initially, when I read that Sigourney could read and control minds, I was a bit apprehensive, as I thought this would make her an all-powerful agent of chaos. I thought of Kilgrave, from Jessica Jones, who terrifies most people who meet him. But Sigourney isn't that powerful; her power requires focus and exertion and she can only control one person at a time. This was more believable, and I liked that, but I wasn't clear what the extent of her mind reading powers were. There are instances when she says people can trick her or hide their thoughts from her, so in the end I wondered what the point was at all of giving her mind reading abilities if they're so useless? Was it just to get us in to the heads of all these other characters?

★ That gets to my major issue with this book, which is the narrative style. The book is told entirely in first person present, my least favorite tense ever, but because Sigourney reads minds, we are often presented with huuuuuuuge chunks of exposition explaining other characters' histories, thoughts, and feelings, resulting in something like third-person omniscient (my second least favorite tense). It's tedious and feels a bit like a cop-out. It even happens with the big reveal at the end, when the twist is presented very nonchalantly as a summary of one character's thoughts. Like, shit goes down midway through the book, when Sigourney's plans fall apart around her, and yet there's no gut punch to it, since it's all delivered in a very boring, stilted way.

★ More on the writing: it was just...weirdly clunky a lot of the time. This read a bit more like a YA novel than I would have liked, and perhaps the first person present had a lot to do with that, but there was also a lot of heavy-handedness and repetition here. I felt like I was being spoon-fed everything, being beaten over the head with the same themes over and over and over again, and over time it became really, really tedious. There's a lot of nuanced ideas presented in this book, and a really well-done presentation of the layers and complexities of oppression, but the actual way they were written down was so awkward.

★ Sigourney Rose is such a fascinating character. Though a member of the oppressed class herself, she's free, and a slave-owner who kills and sexually exploits her slaves. It's...ugly. Though I sympathized with her at times and even understood her justifications, that she was doing the best she could with what she had to try to attain power and slowly begin to help her people, being in her head means that you see her doubts and how disingenuous she was. She wanted revenge and power and respect for herself, sure, but she wasn't doing everything she was doing out of some altruistic kindness for her people; if anything, their freedom felt more like an afterthought.

★ But, though Sigourney is interesting, being in her head is exhausting. In fact, being in this entire world, in this book, was so exhausting. Everything is so relentlessly bleak and everyone is terrible. Everyone is racist and evil. Sigourney is morally ambiguous at best, and she's the only somewhat sympathetic character aside from the enslaved folks, who we don't really get to know too well. There's so much death and needless cruelty. I know this is the point, to show the horrors of slavery (where all this needless cruelty was a fact of life!), but at some point it just got to be too much, at least for me, without any kind of uplifting anchor point. I need something to root for if I'm going to truly enjoy a book. On the other hand, I get that because of the nature of this story and how dark it is, perhaps readers aren't meant to come away from it having enjoyed it at all. Perhaps I am meant to come away feeling a little bit hopeless and defeated.

★ I hadn't realized how much I rely on books to showcase positive relationships. There are no loving, positive relationships in this book. Sigourney has no real friends, no real support. There's zero romance subplot of any kind (which, good, as it would have been bizarrely out of place). Even relationships between the other elites are fraught with tension and hatred. I know I've said that I like morally gray characters in fantasy, but it would have been nice to at least have one character that was truly likable.

★ The pacing is kind of disjointed. The book takes a while to get going, and there's just so much exposition to wade through before it begins. I didn't think this was too much of an issue, though, since I basically read the book in a day; it managed to be compelling despite being slow. I think part of that has to do with the heavy politicking and intrigue and murder mystery at the heart of the book.

★ The twist is pretty damn brilliant. Genius, actually, because it hammers in the book's ultimate critique of colonialism so well, and it kind of pulls the rug out from under the reader and then hits us over the head with our expectations. It's such a well-done subversion; I hated the anti-climactic way it was all revealed, but it was still really, really clever. Saves the book, really.

So, this is probably kind of a 3.5 star book, or even 3.25 because I did have a lot of issues with it, but ultimately it was a pretty engaging read with a really good twist. ...more

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Apr 29, 2020 Katie.dorny rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020

A beautiful cover and intriguing premise that held only lacklustre results within its pages.

This Caribbean inspired fantasy was on my radar for a while and I was so interested in reading this book. However, our protagonist falls flat from what I imagine the author wants us to view her as, whilst the plot and intrigue don’t really exist for the majority of the book. She comes across incompetent and helpless, not the heroine I imagined.

The secondary characters were better written and far more int ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Holly (The Grimdragon) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, the-infinite-library

“I’m afraid to die before I’ve experienced my reason for life.”

Queen of the Conquered is the beginning of a new series by Kacen Callender. It’s also their adult fiction debut.

This took me far too long to read after Orbit had sent a copy my way. For that, I’m kicking myself for not prioritizing this sooner. A wonderful readathon came to my attention, which was organized during Pride Month to honor Black queer books. Black lives are being erased in queer conversations and the #QueerBlackathon was ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Kiki rated it really liked it

Shelves: caribbean, fantasy

Last year, after reading White is for Witching, I wondered why there weren't more--or any--Caribbean authors setting gothic horror type fare in plantation houses. I had a need for a fantastical haunted take on these sites that strewn brochure pages, refashioned into luxury leisure venues, treasured for their local mahogany furniture and Georgian architecture--these sites on which our ancestors were enslaved, raped, tortured and slaughtered.

Enter Queen of the Conquered.

I am as eager as any other Last year, after reading White is for Witching, I wondered why there weren't more--or any--Caribbean authors setting gothic horror type fare in plantation houses. I had a need for a fantastical haunted take on these sites that strewn brochure pages, refashioned into luxury leisure venues, treasured for their local mahogany furniture and Georgian architecture--these sites on which our ancestors were enslaved, raped, tortured and slaughtered.

Enter Queen of the Conquered.

I am as eager as any other black reader for shining heroes and heroines who can be complicated but are, ultimately, admirable; for propulsive, heart pumping action plots; for hard won triumphs. But nothing captures my heart like an ambitious author who chooses a riskier narrative and trusts us (for the most part) to follow them 'till the end.

Sigourney is not a shining heroine. It was a risk to tell her story as a first person narrative and give her a magical power in which her ability to tell other stories to us is in itself often an act of abuse. She makes unforgivable mistakes and yet one can understand exactly how and why she did. Indeed, living in a black majority country it is easy to find those like her: the privileged, for whom the hot coal dance to seek acceptance from (whom they see as) their high coloured betters is more real than any notion of solidarity with those left behind.

Despite whatever impression the synopsis creates, or assumptions one may carry into the book (like I did), this is not primarily a pump fist tale of rebellion. It is the focused spiral of a wanna be heroine, addicted to power, sustained by self-delusion, who fights against herself to see her earnest desire to avenge her family and do right by her people realised.

My one major issue in the story is that this is yet another POC writer that does not do right by indigenous peoples. As this alternate historical fantasy that is obviously set in a colonised Caribbean tells it, the people of African descent existed in the islands from they rose out of the water. I tried my best to fit some indigenous identity into the islanders' culture as it is presented here but had to give up. It makes no sense to complain when white authors erase us from imagined pasts, presents, and futures if we are going to do the same to the indigenous peoples who did and continue to exist on these islands.

This is only a preliminary review. I could not let the day end without adding my voice to urge others to read this novel. It deserves more readers. It deserves to be praised, panned, fought over, critiqued, pulled apart and put together again, cried over, thrown on the bed, held close, and take that position on the shelf. Paola Crespo at Orbits Books gifted me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll be getting the finished copy. ...more

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Apr 15, 2019 Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard added it

Shelves: releases-2019, did-not-finish

DNF at page 50. This hurts my heart. I wanted to love this so much.

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Nov 04, 2019 Sabreena - Books and Prosecco rated it it was ok

Shelves: owned-read-books, read-in-2019, arcs

Stars: ⭐️⭐️

Disclaimer: The amazing humans at Hachette Book Group Canada were kind enough to send me an arc of Queen of the Conquered in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions below are my own.

“Burning fields, charred houses, slaughtered people. This is my legacy.”

I am so sad. I wanted to love this book so much! But alas, I did not. I think the writing style was just not for me. It might be for you though!

Queen of the Conquered is about Sigourney Rose, a woman whose family w ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 Para (wanderer) marked it as dnf

Shelves: read-in-english, fantasy, non-western, historical-fiction

DNF 30%

I was excited to read a fantasy book that touches on colonialism and slavery, but it just didn't work out in the end. I found it interesting enough on an intellectual level, the commentary on racism was excellent...but the plot failed to grab me. I didn't care. I understood very quickly that Sigourney is meant to be an intentionally unsympathetic villain protagonist, but currently, I need emotional attachment if I want to read on and here I had none. Her constant complaining about how nob ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 CF Dracarys rated it really liked it

His writing is so beautiful!

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Dec 01, 2020 Kathryn Speckels (Metaphors and Miscellanea) rated it really liked it

This dark, brutal fantasy explores the pains of colonialism through a deeply flawed protagonist, caught between the aristocracy she is permitted to be a part of and the colonized people she is related to. Caught in this liminal space, Sigourney Rose's identity is largely based on self-hatred, feelings she has adopted from those around her: the nobles, who hate her because of the color of her skin, and the islanders, who hate her because they feel she has abandoned them and will do nothing to hel This dark, brutal fantasy explores the pains of colonialism through a deeply flawed protagonist, caught between the aristocracy she is permitted to be a part of and the colonized people she is related to. Caught in this liminal space, Sigourney Rose's identity is largely based on self-hatred, feelings she has adopted from those around her: the nobles, who hate her because of the color of her skin, and the islanders, who hate her because they feel she has abandoned them and will do nothing to help them. With her ability to read minds (and, on occasion, exert actual mind control), Sigourney is strong--but also very out of her depth, even with her skills and cunning, when she is surrounded by proverbial vipers...who believe that she, herself, is a snake in the grass, out to overthrow them all. In other words, she is imperfect, but she is largely a product of the imperfect (VERY imperfect) society she lives in, and her conflicted sense of morals makes her point of view particularly compelling, even if she is not in the least likable.

This is not a light read, beautiful though the cover may be. It does not pull any punches. Characters make awful decisions. There is violence and slavery and a whole lot of death. Torture and injustice abound, perpetrated by characters who largely believe themselves justified, and still permitted by those who object, out of fear of retribution. But the brutality is artful in its own way; Sigourney's oft-detached tone in her narration lets the story unfold so that the horrors appear even more starkly, without emotion coloring their intensity. It is a scathing criticism of the colonial machine that perpetuates racism and inequality, told through a fantasy lens that further heightens the stakes and intrigue.

I truly loved this book--the only reason I am docking a star is for the ending, which was incredibly abrupt and inconclusive. It felt like it cut the story off right before the big payoff moment, which is painful as a reader. Fortunately, the sequel is already available, so readers can jump back in and continue the story immediately. But taken on its own, the so-called "conclusion" of this tale is more like a big reveal, a whirlwind of action, and then no time to really see the fallout of those actions.

(As a final note, I can't believe this book is by Kacen Callender, the same author of the queer contemporary Felix Ever After--which, by the way, was one of my favorites of 2020. The two are so different in genre, subject matter, tone, and age range, it's hard to believe the same person was able to execute both of them so well! Huge props to Kacen--they're doing a great job and are quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.) ...more

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Dec 28, 2019 laurel [the suspected bibliophile] rated it really liked it

Shelves: poc-mc, fantasy, 2019-read, ownvoices

Trigger Warning: Slavery, Murder, Graphic Torture, Rape

As a child, Sigourney Rose's family was brutally murdered by the colonizers of her home islands. Now an adult, and as the only islander member of the ruling classes, Sigourney has vowed revenge on all who wronged her family. She's going to kill them all, and take the crown for herself. But on the island of Hans Lollik Helle, she becomes the target of a strange, mysterious magic—and the nobles start dying around her.

This was such a hard book ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Allison Thwaites rated it really liked it

Big thanks to Paola Crespo at Orbit Books for sending me a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Earlier this year I said wasn't going to read anymore slavery books because I am tired of the sufferation. Lies, all lies. I will read slavery books if they are written like this. The colonisers are the villains and I'm not being asked to feel sorry for them or try and understand them? Yes please.

This was such a compelling story, one where I was absorbed right from the beginning whic Big thanks to Paola Crespo at Orbit Books for sending me a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Earlier this year I said wasn't going to read anymore slavery books because I am tired of the sufferation. Lies, all lies. I will read slavery books if they are written like this. The colonisers are the villains and I'm not being asked to feel sorry for them or try and understand them? Yes please.

This was such a compelling story, one where I was absorbed right from the beginning which I would describe as a good, slow burn. This was like historical fiction meets fantasy meets murder mystery. When the murder mystery kicked in, I found it damn near impossible to put it down. The backstory, the reveal,the author had me right to the end. They laid out the plot perfectly. I'm still marveling at the ending, like damn, it was right there.

What I Liked

Just have to say I am happy there was no sappy love story. Amen. That's another thing I dislike in slavery books, the unrealistic, sappy love stories. No.

The world that Kacen created was so familiar and foreign at the same time. Being from the Caribbean, they could have easily been writing about my island. From the names of the different islands, I was getting Dutch Caribbean vibes which was different. I usually read about former English Colonies. They took colonial island life and added magic.

One thing I was hesitant about when I heard about this book was that it falls under Adult Fantasy, not a genre I usually pickup because I really don't do well with blood and gore. I thought to myself, how can that be avoided if the setting is the slavery era Caribbean? Well, it can't but I appreciated that the author didn't hide away from the violence and the atrocities of slavery, it was a realistic depiction but I never once felt uncomfortable or like gagging.

Sigourney, bwoy. I truly don't know how to feel about her. She can't be classified as good or bad. She exists in this gray area as a heroine. I disagree with her actions but I understand them. She is for lack of a better word, a victim of her circumstances. Her guilt and self loathing coupled with her ambition and her being convinced that she is doing the right thing in the long run, for the greater good, all of this combined makes her a rather complex and dynamic character. I'm really looking forward to seeing her growth. Also, I thought her power/kraft was great medium through which to observe and learn about the other characters. Being able to really know their thoughts, their racism, their own abuse added to their story and in a sense meant that none of the characters in the book existed at a surface level.

While I really enjoyed this book, I did have one critique. There were parts and passages that felt slightly redundant. The mention of Sigourney's skin and hair and the way she was treated as a result was mentioned a lot, like, a lot a lot. I'm not sure if the author realised that they were being repetitive of if they just really wanted to drive the point home.

What a great start to a series, I'm excited for the next one and this one isn't even out yet. I saw on Twitter that Kacen was contemplating who they were going to kill off in the next one. Beg you Kacen, do, tek time wid mi nerves.

...more

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Dec 12, 2019 Bob/Sally rated it liked it

Shelves: female-fronted-fantasy, fantasy-epic

I actually finished Queen of the Conquered over a week ago, but it’s taken me some time to wrap my head around it and find my entry point into a review.

The first half of the book is an absolutely amazing work of colonial-inspired epic fantasy that hooked me in the first chapter and absolutely refused to let me go until I read just one more page. The setting was so original and so vivid, the characters so complex, and the culture-building exquisite. Unlike some reviewers, I would hesitate to say I actually finished Queen of the Conquered over a week ago, but it’s taken me some time to wrap my head around it and find my entry point into a review.

The first half of the book is an absolutely amazing work of colonial-inspired epic fantasy that hooked me in the first chapter and absolutely refused to let me go until I read just one more page. The setting was so original and so vivid, the characters so complex, and the culture-building exquisite. Unlike some reviewers, I would hesitate to say this is an epic fantasy about racism, but it is one where racism – not religion, not nationalism, not class – is the driving factor. Kacen Callender not only made me appreciate that issue in a way, perhaps, I had not previously, but they also made me feel it, to empathize with the treatment of the plantation slaves (or rebels, as the case may be).

My problem is that, once we get to the island and the novelty wears off, the book’s flaws begin to show. It’s an awkwardly paced book, one with long lulls between any significant developments, and one that never delivers on its early promise of revenge. It’s also a book that is marred by far too much exposition, much of which is the fault of Sigourney’s ability to read and influence minds. Time and time again the story is halted so that she can digress for pages at a time about an issue or a backstory that, while relevant and even of interest, is just poorly presented.

The second half of the book is also where the uneven nature of the world-building begins to show. While issues of race and class are well-developed, we know very little of the geography, the system of magic, or the gods who keep being mentioned. What started as an intimate island fantasy becomes a claustrophobic sort of locked-room mystery. I took far too long to read through the second half, and put it down in frustration more than once. My biggest issue with the book, however, is that I didn’t care for Sigourney at all. I understood – or thought I understood – her motivations, but her methods left a lot to be desired, and her inability/unwillingness to act on her desire for revenge left the book feeling sort of hollow.

In the end, I guess I admired Queen of the Conquered more for what it represents than I enjoyed it for what it was. I have no regrets for having invested the time to read it, and I would recommend it to anybody interested in an epic fantasy with a diverse setting and themes, but with the caveat that not all stories end the way we wish.

https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2019/... ...more

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Nov 06, 2020 maritareads rated it it was ok

Shelves: black-feminist-fridays, physical-tbr

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was between 2.5 and 3 throughout but now it’s a 2 because I’m annoyed after completing this.

If I had known this was going to be a book in the same vein as Marlon James work I would have stayed clear of it. Slavery is not an easy thing to read about but I am lowkey glad that Callendar writes of the stark brutality of it. I am also glad they don’t subject readers to the especially violent parts of slavery and colonialism (but there’s something that bothered me which I’ll get to). They are absolu I was between 2.5 and 3 throughout but now it’s a 2 because I’m annoyed after completing this.

If I had known this was going to be a book in the same vein as Marlon James work I would have stayed clear of it. Slavery is not an easy thing to read about but I am lowkey glad that Callendar writes of the stark brutality of it. I am also glad they don’t subject readers to the especially violent parts of slavery and colonialism (but there’s something that bothered me which I’ll get to). They are absolutely right when they say slavery in fantasy books is generally glossed over and ignores the real holocaust that primarily black people were subjected to and still are [paraphrased], so narratives like this must exist so that the next time you read about slavery in a fantasy, especially written by a white author, then it better be written with more respect and research other than being framed as an “unfortunate situation to make the protagonist look better”.

Sigourney Rose is a terrible character who does despicable things. She is irredeemable and is the antagonist. To make it worse it is written in first person so we are in her head for the entire book. I think my problem is that I expected her to be redeemed because she has a reason to get her revenge but I since I went in knowing (or having read somewhere once) that black people owned slaves, I probably should have known better, but I am not a cynic. Callendar asks a question to those black people who say “we are not our ancestors” by writing a book that says, “Really? What would you do in that situation? Do you really think you’d be able to stand on moral ground, now that you are (somewhat) enjoying the benefit of what was hard fought?” They expose the hypocrisy of black folk in high places and those who think they can dismantle the system from inside. They pose the question of whether the system should be infiltrated or just simply destroyed. They even question the motive of a self proclaimed leader of a movement, whether they hate oppression or just hate oppression when it’s applied to them, and not to others that look like them. Or whether, they are in it for narcissistic purposes, to be lauded as an icon.

Now, all that said, I mainly read this because the plot intrigued me and came away disappointed. If I had known this was a character study, again I wouldn’t have read it (not saying I wouldn’t read an antagonist character study but that’s not what I came here for). I expected a revenge plot in which we saw a smart and powerful character destroy her enemies one by one. The only time she makes any moves towards her revenge is before the events of the book, so I’m not convinced of her cleverness. She refers to slaves as “my people” yet does nothing to use the strength that could be at her disposal if she worked with them (then again, this isn’t the fault of the book but a result of narcissism and privilege). She is a stagnant character whose function is to be present everywhere so that we may know how other characters are moving and thinking, since her power is to read people’s thoughts. I also thought it was a dumb decision not to read the slaves thoughts just because she did not want to see the hatred they have for her. I mean if you make the decision to act on your own, don’t be surprised you have enemies on both sides and also don’t be surprised that they would also plot against you. I thought this was stupid and not something a narcissist would do. What was more believable was her doing nothing to earn the love of “her people” but expecting it, even worse, not even pretending to act like a kongelig (noble) to achieve her goal e.g. doing “necessary evil”, but actively doing it on her own accord (almost delighting in it) and acting surprised when the slaves hate her. She keeps flailing helplessly, internalising self hatred, whines and terrorises her slaves instead of working on her plan. Being an antagonist is one thing, but an incompetent one? Now you are subjecting me to read about a terrible person in this 2020 AD who also whines like a child and expects everything to fall into place magically? Please, don’t raise my blood pressure, I’m only 24.

Kraft (power) and how it works is not really explained very well in the book, it only serves a function so that Sigourney is present everywhere. Other characters have kraft but theirs is not explored. The dream scape scenes especially did not make sense. I couldn’t tell when it was a dream and when we were back to the present. This doesn’t bother me very much because world building is not *that* important to me when reading a fantasy but if it is to you just read another book. The other function kraft serves is so that we see how white supremacy functions through each if the kongelig, whether it is eugenics, woke neoliberalism, class privilege, misogynoir and so on, every terrible thing you can think of. I saw someone recently point out that we don’t even know the extent of racism and slavery. Every day I learn a new despicable thing.

Finally, this needed much more editing. Because Sigourney is a character who reads thoughts, the same information we’ve seen in the mind of another character is repeated in a new one, in almost a copy paste fashion. So many flashbacks are input as well, and each time she describes travelling in the North and facing racism or about her family, it’s like, we know this already. Why is there an unnecessary traumatising scene about racism if it was already been described, that has nothing to do with the plot? You have driven the point home, black people are hated everywhere, this character is hated by “her people”. The black people reading this already know this, so was this written to browbeat white people who are unaware racism exists? I had never really grasped the concept of info dumping till I read this book. So much time spent on every single irrelevant side character’s back story repeatedly could have been spent in the present, making actual moves forward and not rushing the plot at the end.

Mostly, I’m mad that I committed to reading the sequel because I need a break from this world.

CW: slavery, sexual assault, racism ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 2TReads rated it really liked it

I have so many thoughts on Sigourney Rose. Callender definitely gave us a new take on a familiar narrative; yes her main character can be the villain for all intents and purposes: willing to do whatever it takes to get the vengeance she has sought, while also harbouring thoughts of eventual freedom for her people, while selfishly thinking that her people will rejoice when she is queen, while also not giving more reflection to the fact that she has had quite a world of difference in her upbringin I have so many thoughts on Sigourney Rose. Callender definitely gave us a new take on a familiar narrative; yes her main character can be the villain for all intents and purposes: willing to do whatever it takes to get the vengeance she has sought, while also harbouring thoughts of eventual freedom for her people, while selfishly thinking that her people will rejoice when she is queen, while also not giving more reflection to the fact that she has had quite a world of difference in her upbringing and experience than those who look like her, even as she is loathed and merely tolerated (if so much) by the colonizers.

One aspect of the prose that frustrated me was the repetition. Repetition of Sigourney's feelings, plans, experiences and all without expanding her process or the context of the aforementioned.

Callender has taken the slave narrative that we are familiar with and given it a different perspective. Instead of a heroine that is working towards freeing her people, we get one that is bent on a vengeance that will take lives of both the colonizers and the enslaved and she is doing so by any means necessary, even if that means keeping her mother's people, her people in a subservient, brutal, violative existence.

After her family was mercilessly slaughtered, because of the position and riches they held, as well as being of both islander and Fjern blood–read white–Sigourney has plotted and planned her route to revenge and she does not care who has to die for her to accomplish what she has set out to do.

Sigourney is a complicated and layered character, she knows the status that she has, she is aware of the way that she could help her people, and she is also aware that the only way to do that is from the inside, by consolidating the power she needs to remove the Fjern from the board; she also knows that the only way she can succeed may mean being as ruthless, if not more, than the oppressors, and if the bodies of her people must litter the islands and the sea, then so be it.

I really appreciated the twist that Callender employed in this book: a twist that is, in my opinion, very telling and very reflective of the perceptions of colonizers the world over. ...more

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Dec 26, 2019 shri (sunandchai) rated it it was amazing

Full review on my blog!

Queen of the Conquered was one of my highly anticipated reads since the beginning of 2019. A book about getting revenge on colonizers? Oh, count me in!

However, while I loved it like I hoped I would, it turned out to be a very different story than what I was expecting. Yes, this is a revenge story, but it isn’t until the very end of the book that we find out it is not Sigourney’s revenge story at all.

Admittedly, I did start to resent the narrative halfway throu ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Becky rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-becky-awards-longlist

This book starts out slow and at times repetitive, but all the world and character building are worth it when the action at last swells towards the book's riveting conclusion, an ending that wraps up much but left me tantalize for the sequel. ⁣
⁣
Queen of the Conquered takes on a story of colonization and slavery in a Caribbean inspired world, complete with an intriguing magic concept called kraft. Sigourney is the only free islander, the lone survivor of the massacre of her entire family by the j ...more

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About Kacen Callender

Kacen Callender

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Kacen Callender is a Saint Thomian author of children's fiction and fantasy, best known for their Stonewall Book Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning middle grade debut Hurricane Child. Their fantasy novel, Queen of the Conquered, is the 2020 winner of the World Fantasy Award and King and the Dragonflies won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Callender is Black, queer, t ...more