Queenslayer [Sep 19, 2019]

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

This is a Buddy Read for Queenslayer by Sebastien de Castell starting September 19, 2019.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

moved to September 19. :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Downloading Queenslayer now... can't wait to continue :)

[Siobhan]

I'm looking forward to this too! I'd like to try and finish one of my currently reading before I start, but hopefully won't be long.

[Sha]

dammit i could have gotten challenge points for this

[Siobhan]

Aw you just read it?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Looks like she read it last week...

[Siobhan]

Totally still counts for points if you come discuss it with us? XD

[Sha]

I started it in August so I'm waaay off the mark. But I'll stalk this thread yes. :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm near 75% I think... and I'm having the opposite reaction I did to the last book (I don't think Sha's 2-star rating soured me, at all)...

Last book (for Sha, who probably doesn't know), we all went in with low expectations, knowing that Ferius Parfax probably wasn't going to be in the book, then from early on Reichis was gone, too... and we ended up loving it and Kellen having to solve everything himself...

This time, I think I was overhyped, between the blurb and this top reviewer...

So far, I feel like the blurb lied, and if the reviewer is correct, it's a reference to something at the very end of the book...

(view spoiler)[While Kellen is working with/for the Queen, it's so far mostly been to his own ends, and hasn't been particularly to the Queen's benefit... the Queen's trust in him from a few short meetings seems weird... the way Kellen keeps falling into Sharma & Kahayops' plans is a bit annoying... I was really looking forward to Kellen accepting his Shadowblack nature and moving forward with his life... and was hoping his protecting the Queen would give his life some purpose after all there largely aimless, wandering adventures...

Like I said above, tho, I think all those things are where this book is going to end, not where it's at right now... oops (hide spoiler)]

Maybe the last chunk will sway me, but I'll probably rate this one 3-3.5 stars at this point...

[Siobhan]

Aw man. I'm not hopeful for this one now between the two of you!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

75-80%: WHAT THE FUCK!!!

Up until now, the book was just a bit disappointing... this scene was infuriating...

I've also skimmed a couple other reviewers now, and have to agree that Kellen's Argosi training is underutilized in this book (view spoiler)[he's also a bit quicker to anger/kill... which is kinda ironic considering his worries about Reichis...

But then, scenes like this happen, and the killer instinct seems warranted... (hide spoiler)]

[Siobhan]

Oh dear 🙈 so tempted to open your spoilers haha.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Oh dear 🙈 so tempted to open your spoilers haha."

Yea sry... this book has pissed me off in the past 10-30 minutes... if I had a real book and not an audiobook on my phone, I'd probably throw it across the room right now... the things happening are so infuriating and predictable (different things for those 2 words)...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

85%: (view spoiler)[maybe I'm being harsh... I kinda feel like I am, since my emotions have just snowballed since the mind-controlled near-rape...

but it's hard to sympathize with Kellen in this book, when every major conflict boils down to Kellen dithering until someone else dies as a result... THEN he decides to help / take action, sometimes for unrelated reasons... 2 biggest examples are that old coachman that tried to fight Loridas, and Aryx while defending the Queen... but there are plenty of similar examples to draw from...

Maybe a smart, decisive MC would make the story collapse, but it's grown tiresome... the same with offers of a Shadowblack cure being all it takes to sidetrack Kellen into stupid actions (SHARMA)...

I'm fairly sure Colfax is involved in the coup, btw... for actual plot talk... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Apparently, nothing makes me chattier than I book I barely want to read anymore... pausing all the time creates plenty of time to type...

[Anni]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh dear 🙈 so tempted to open your spoilers haha."

Yea sry... this book has pissed me off in the past 10-30 minutes... if I had a real book and not an audiobook on my phone, I'd pro..."

😂 Is it your new phone already? Then better don't throw it!

I'm so tempted to open the spoiler as well... But I'll wait, fingers crossed we'll love it Siobhan ;)

[Sha]

I'm sorry for any biases I may have caused! T_T Would it help if I said that I this is the first Spellslinger book I've read since (most of) Shadowblack? I may be missing context specific stuff and my judgement may be flawed. Or flaweder than usual, rather.

@Iain:
Mhm. You make me wonder if I should try that book. I may be biased because fantasy western is not really a genre I like, but stories of smart solutions ARE something I like.

(view spoiler)[ I picked up Queenslayer precisely because I disliked the wander aimlessly plot in Shadowblack and I thought this would finally give the plot some purpose? But I'm uncertain about how much purpose it actually gave Kellen, and everything else about the series seems very similar to what I remember from before.

Also (and I can't stress enough that this is a personal preference) I don't have that much patience for all the Western tropes shoehorned into a coming of age narrative? Idk, all the frontiersman and high noon showdowns haven't quite clicked for me, and it's especially jarring with whatever it is Kellen's internal narrative is.

The politics surrounding the queen are actually Interesting, but Kellen's methods of dealing with it are again just run at stuff and poke it with a stick to see what pops out? I mean, I shouldn't have a problem with that in itself (I like dumbass protags as much as I like smart ones it is a sad fact) but somehow it's not working for me here.

Misc Points From My Notes - please feel free to set me straight if I've missed anything by skipping over the last few books. Spoilers for the whole book.

1. I am skeptical of any narrative that belittles people for the sin of choosing to be a servant. I was prepared to just shrug it off as Reichis being Reichis but then there was this and I honestly couldn't make any sense of what it was supposed to imply;

Had Koresh and Arrasia promised him money? Threatened his life? Then I remembered what Reichis had said about people choosing to be servants. “If you’re waiting for me to shed a tear, it might take a while,”

2. Then there was this little gem.

Mariadne or the queen. Love or duty.

Idk Kellen I don't know where this love nonsense comes from and you have been perfectly willing to throw the queen to the wolves and run away since the beginning of the book. I mean, be a selfish bastard that's fine (really!) but pick a side goddammit. And I don't mean the one with the shady damsel in distress you just had sex with.

3. All my favorite characters drop dead like flies, often unceremoniously and for plot-advancing reasons. This distresses me. (For the curious, my faves would be Tasia, Erras and Arex. RIP, all.)

4. Heyyy Kellen here's an idea why don't you just tell the queen from behind your locked door that you could be mind controlled into murdering her and so you need to keep away from her? Instead of letting her stand in the open vulnerable and pleading while giving her no answers? Is there something here I missed. (Also, Arex died at this point. I am now doubly incensed.)

5. Not gonna lie. Crazy ass psycho countess was one of the best parts of the book so far. I would have liked her to have more screentime.

6. Just... The whole rape thing. Oh my god where do I even start there is just so much to unpack. First off, the narrative choice to use that scene for drama? Questionable. Secondly, the whole "it was staged" thing?- I'm not sure what even to make of that. I mean, what was the purpose of that twist? Did it change anything? Kellen can still be puppeteered. His belief that the girl was innocent when he was puppeteered at her means that knowledge in hindsight about her complicity has nothing to do with his "evil soul" or whatever.

It would be a relevant plot point if the girl ever appeared on screen after that, but as it is it just reads like "look it wasn't REALLY an attempted rape it was consensual" and seriously you're pulling that bullshit on me after making me sit through that scene? ARGH.

(It's possible I was just frustrated enough by this point to nitpick on everything please feel free to ignore my bitching.) (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Apparently, nothing makes me chattier than I book I barely want to read anymore... pausing all the time creates plenty of time to type..."

Yes this is true it happens to me too.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "I'm sorry for any biases I may have caused! T_T Would it help if I said that I this is the first Spellslinger book I've read since (most of) Shadowblack? I may be missing context specific stuff and..."

There's always been an element of wandering to the series... we commented during book 3 how the wandering and scope makes the world feel like just a backdrop to the stories... there's never much time to learn/explore the countries Kellen and Company go to...

This book just felt like a large backslide to me (still not done, paused and watched some TV/slept and haven't restarted yet)... I feel like the longer he spends without his mentor/allies, the less the things he learned are sticking in his head, or something...

I agree with what you said in your long spoiler... (view spoiler)[the indecisiveness is what really started to irk me towards the end, altho I was just in an irking mood, after the mind control rape scene...

I definitely agree the love comments came a bit out of the blue... but that seems common in books... unless it's a long series they never get time to build naturally...

Back to the indecisiveness... my best example is when Kellen locks himself in his room after the rape scene... Reichis spends all this time trying to convince Kellen to fight... the Queen gets kidnapped, and Kellen blows the door off and runs to fight... then Reichis is telling him to give up 5 pages later... then Kellen decides to do that... then Kellen is captured/tortured for information and remembers a card clue... then decides to use it to trick Colfax... on an on he's changing his mind... pick a path and follow it...

He's proving to be a pretty shitty Argosi... it's a good thing his Argosi name doesn't come up much in this book, since he doesn't seem to really be following the Argosi ideals much... I miss Ferius Parfax... her ghost voice is a pale substitute for the real deal... cause Kellen needs a good slap upside the head... cause his indecisiveness caused all of those character deaths you mentioned... (hide spoiler)]

EDIT: finished reading your comment...

#6: (view spoiler)[I completely agree on this point... and it's hard to tell if it really WAS staged or not... Shayla pops up all throughout the series telling Kellen things, but it's hard to tell which are true, and which are just manipulations to get Kellen to do what Shayla wants...

Certain aspects of the scene were staged for sure... I couldn't decide if Colfax believed the BS he was spewing, or was just trying to muddle Kellen's mind... to me, that white binder sect seems worse, enjoying getting the Shadowblacks to do things... the White Binders seem like they could BE shadowblack with their markings in non-visible locations... you learn alot about Shadowblack abilities in Soulbinder... basically every Shadowblack has a different ability... this guy ran a monastary made out of shadow... another kid could travel long distances using a shortcut, etc... Kellen was made Shadowblack by his grandmother to be a power battery for her own machinations, and his locked ability allows him to learn secrets with the right questions (not that it helped him much in this book, if you remember)... (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Explanations of powers and more worldbuilding? Soulbinder is sounding more and more like the book I should have picked up.

[Sha]

I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more invested but honestly few things turn me off faster than a pointless romance. Does anyone else feel this way?
(view spoiler)[
Well maybe not all of the deaths. I figure at least the former two would have died one way or another. But Arex definitely.

And while we're at it, Shalla. I don't know what to make of this character. It's like someone tried to make a version of Azula, except less emotional stability. (Which is to say Azula was a mess, but a mess who made sense. Idek what Shallas character arc IS. A bouncy ball?) (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "Explanations of powers and more worldbuilding? Soulbinder is sounding more and more like the book I should have picked up."

Depending on how Crownbreaker turns out, Soulbinder might end up being the best book in the series...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more invested but honestly few things turn ..."

I think it comes down to how Romance novels make up like 50% of all book sales/read per year (because the formulaic nature of romances make them such quick reads), so publishers/etc want to put romances in as many books as possible to try and increase appeal... or something... my 50% stat might be a bit high, but it's not too far off the mark from everything I've heard...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more invested but honestly few things turn ..."

I don't know what's going on with (view spoiler)[ Shalla either... this whole adult name / sultry mannerisms thing was all new in this book... it's not like much time has passed since the last book, either, where she was still considered a child... (hide spoiler)]

[Sha]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sha wrote: "I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more invested but honestly few ..."

Last I heard it was 56%? But Google tells me it's 34. Or 24. Or a bunch of other numbers. I may have to stalk romancelamdia Twitter again for proper numbers.

Regardless, it's still a pretty flimsy excuse- romance is like any other genre wrt the 90% of everything is crap law. A lot of it is formulaic, but a lot of it is also really groundbreaking especially in terms of characters and relationships between them? Which I may point out was something Queenslayer really lacked. Taking away the development makes most of what's appealing about romance defunct in the first place.

Heh I just assumed (view spoiler)[Shallas had taken Vamp classes between books 2 and 5. Sad to know this is a new development. Again, I'm confused as to why. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Sha wrote: "I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more inve..."

the stats I see are Romance $1.4 billion, Crime/Mystery $730 million, Religion/Inspirational $720 million, SFF $590 million, Horror $80 million... so Romance is like 38%, Crime is 19%, Religion is 19%, SFF is 17%, Horror is 2%, and the rest are 5% combined... or something

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

That ending... (view spoiler)[the whole thing where Kellen gave his soul to the Queen to defeat the White Binder just felt like a cheesy saturday morning cartoon...

The aftermath played out about how I expected... clearly I misread something somewhere that made me thing Kellen would grow to accept his Shadowblack in the book...

The stuff with Shalla played about how I expected as well... that's generally how it plays out in every book... (hide spoiler)]

[Siobhan]

Sha, you should definitely read Soulbinder! And Charmcaster for that matter! You can't just be skipping books in a series! 🙈😭 This upsets my brain hahaha. 😂😂 But Soulbinder was great.

[Sha]

@Iain;
I did like the (view spoiler)[reveal of the queen having Shadowblack (hide spoiler)] because it put some of her actions in context. But that could just be because I lack the Shadowblack-based context of the earlier books?

@Siobhan;
It's a bad habit I know. But I grew up with limited access to books so reading series out of order (a byproduct of picking up everything available in the paid Library at any given point of time what's this series sequence you speak of what do those numbers on spines mean) is ingrained in my psyche. It has ceased to bother me. Other people do give me anguished wails when I mention this though so I get where you're coming from. :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sha wrote: "@Iain;
I did like the [spoilers removed] because it put some of her actions in context. But that could just be because I lack the Shadowblack-based context of the earlier books?

@Siobhan;
It's a b..."

Queenslayer: (view spoiler)[I liked it as an explanation for the Queen's motivation, but disliked it as another band-aid to explain Kellen's motivations... I never really thought they'd find a cure for the Shadowblack... it's been a looming spectre for the entire series... and while Soulbinder showed how it can go bad, I thought Kellen's locks and such had the possibility of protecting him... now it's a tossup whether the final book will lead to a cure or Kellen's FINAL acceptance of his situation... (hide spoiler)]

Reading in order: to be fair, I think book order was less of an issue with older books, where many were episodic and could be read in any order, really... it's with the advent of streaming TV shows and other ease-of-access improvements, that stories have become more connected, I think... depends what you were reading I guess...

[Anni]

Sha wrote: "I never understood why you would want to put romance in a story if you can't afford the time to make it believable? I'm told it's supposed to make people more invested but honestly few things turn ..."

Yeah! Boooh, stupid and unnecessary romance subplot!

[Siobhan]

Through chapter 9 and I'm enjoying it so far. It's nice to see (view spoiler)[Kellan still out on his own with Reichis and having to save themselves. I like the Daroman guys who were arresting him, when they were feeding Reichis and he was their best mate haha. I liked the card game with the queen. She definitely seems smarter than Kellen expected. No idea where this is going but interesting enough so far! (hide spoiler)]

[Siobhan]

Timelord Iain wrote: " So far, I feel like the blurb lied, and if the reviewer is correct, it's a reference to something at the very end of the book...

The blurb for the edition I can see literally happened in the first 8 chapters:
(view spoiler)[
Kellen and Reichis have just finished fighting a duel in the desert when Kellen inadvertently smears blood on the Daroman flag - an act of treason for which the Marshals have no choice but to arrest him. Just before he's put before the Queen to be executed, Kellen is given a strange piece of advice from one of his fellow prisoners: kill the Queen and he'll be given clemency by those who take power. But when Kellen comes face-to-face with the eleven year-old monarch, he realises she's vastly smarter than he expected - and in a great deal more danger. (hide spoiler)] (spoiler just in case anyone doesn't like reading blurbs).

What does your blurb say?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: " So far, I feel like the blurb lied, and if the reviewer is correct, it's a reference to something at the very end of the book...

The blurb for the edition I can see literall..."

Similar... I think it was actually the fact that I read the blurb for all the books, including the final book, before rejoining you guys to finish out the series... so I blurred the plots together into Kellen being gungho for the Queen more... my fault there... everything else holds up, tho, especially my plot opinions towards the end...

[Siobhan]

Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a series through the rough patches, tho...

[Siobhan]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a series through the rough patches, tho..."

Each to their own on spoilers definitely. I know a lot of people love an idea of what's coming. I love going in totally blind. Rarely read a blurb.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a series through the rough patches, ..."

I usually don't read all the blurbs before starting a series... but if I've already taken a long break, or am on the fence, I'll skim blurbs to see if a series is heading in interesting directions...

For example, Mark of the Demon starts off as a typical UF mystery series, but around Touch of the Demon, transitions into a full-on Demonic Apocalypse... and that fact is the only reason I stuck out a series that regularly annoyed me with how much dithering goes on through the middle of each book... still waiting on the finale, tho...

[Anni]

Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a series through the rough patches, ..."

Yeah me too, I hate how much many blurbs give a way, so I tend to not read them at all...

I'm also a little over halfway through this one and so far I don't love this book, but I don't hate it either. I somehow still really like the fluffy writing style and the humor, but I could do with a little more... well, new and exciting goin on? Thinking about it, it's not like there's nothing going on, but there's nothing really standing out. (view spoiler)[ And I miss Ferius pretty badly :( (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sir Anni wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a series through the..."

I see you finished... and weren't as annoyed by the end as I was :)

[Anni]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sir Anni wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only reason I stick with a s..."

Nope 😂 Maybe (view spoiler)[ I'm just a bad person and when a relationship ends in flames, death and tragedy I'm happy 🙃

I only now went through all you comments and I totally see where you're coming from.
I definitely liked the last one a lot more, and maybe it mainly was a mood thing and that I don't expect too much from this series besides being entertaining...

Is Kellen a smart Character or does it even seem like he learned anything in the last couple of books? Hell no! Do I miss Ferius? Yes dearly! But I still really like Kellen and Reichis relation businesspartner-ship.

Does everything make sense? Not at all, but somehow I really enjoy that I can't really predict anything, even if it's because Kellens actions doesn't really make sense. You made a great example here:

Sha wrote: "4. Heyyy Kellen here's an idea why don't you just tell the queen from behind your locked door that you could be mind controlled into murdering her and so you need to keep away from her? Instead of letting her stand in the open vulnerable and pleading while giving her no answers? Is there something here I missed."

Because that was literally what I thought! Why Kellen, why?

I think I still hope that the story is here to show us that Kellen still isn't ready to wander off on his own and that's why he's reunited with Ferius in the next book. If that's not the case, I guess I'll get angry with the book then. You heard me Crownbreaker? You better not disappoint me!

I also actually liked the twist with Kellen blowing up the woman, he a few chapters ago thought was the "love of his life". I didn't really liked her anyway...

I'm also not really sure what to think of the queen being Shadowblack as well... It does make some of her actions way more sensible, true, but it's a little too much of a coincidence for my taste.

Another thing I don't really understand is why the book is called Queenslayer... Doesn't seem that big of a part of the story... (hide spoiler)]

Urgh, now it's nearly 1am over here, I really shouldn't be online writing rambling reviews 😂 Good night!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sir Anni wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Sir Anni wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometimes it's the only r..."

Yea you should... get back here...

From what I read of the blurb, I don't really expect Ferius back in the final book... sounds like Kellen is being sent into enemy territory on a deadly mission... which just sounds like he'll have to finally go home and deal with his family once and for all...

But when I write this, it makes the statement that Kellen isn't the Chosen One seem weird, since he basically ends up being the key piece in every story...

[Anni]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sir Anni wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Sir Anni wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "Oh right, reading blurbs for later books is dangerous spoiler territory!! XD"

Sometime..."

Fine...
Maybe he just horribly die in the final book and transfer his shadowblack-battery power to Reichis who turns out to be the choosen one?

[Anni]

And don't tell me things I don't want to hear :D She will be there, I will be really disappointed if the last thing we saw of her was the letter...

You also stood me up... I stayed to discuss the book and now I feel like reposting Elinors All-by-myself GIF

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I get lost and lose track of all the threads I'm supposed to be following, if they're not in my notification feed, or it's been a week... I try to remember, but days pass and I need to catch up...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

With this book in particular, I felt like most of my feelings about it were trapped behind the WTF moment when I freaked out and became very vocal about my dislike... it colored my feelings so much that I didn't feel like I could say much about the book until you reached that point, anymore... and once you did, you didn't really say anything...

It's like trying to talk about book predictions when you've already finished the book too quickly...

[Anni]

That's fine, I was just sleep-deprived which makes me light headed and melodramatic 😂

Actually I don't think I have much to add eigher... It wasn't as good as the last book, but I didn't hate it because for all it flaws I still think it has potential. I'm a little scared that I will be really disappointed by the end of the series tho... I don't know what I expect, but somehow for everything to come together there and to make sense.

[Siobhan]

Up to chapter 38 / 64%. I feel like (view spoiler)[Kellen is killing a lot more people in this book. He's just kill, kill, kill. He almost never killed anyone when he was with Ferius. There was always a better way or something. Not that it's not cool seeing him blast people to death with his powders, just seems like a different direction. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Up to chapter 38 / 64%. I feel like [spoilers removed]"

Yea... that's something a lot of reviewers commented on, too...