I spent a lot of time mentally comparing this book to "The Unbroken," by C.L. Clark, which I read this year and is also an epic fantasy about colonialism, slavery, privilege, power, and complicity. Both are difficult reads with complex, flawed protagonists, but I will give Callender an extra point for making Sigourney a bit more sympathetic than Clark's protags, at least for me.

Overall, I liked that the book made me think about difficult concepts, and it had some fun ideas, but the execution and characters fell a bit flat. Maybe I just don't like unlikable main characters!

I was originally going to give this 3 stars, as some parts are slow and hard to get through, but I loved the twist at the end so much that I had to give it 4 stars!

Queen of the Conquered starts a new Caribbean-inspired fantasy series that deals with colonialism, oppression, and race. I loved the setting and the types of magic here; it felt rich and layered, and I also loved that our main character is so complicated. She is far from all good, and sacrifices her own people and their freedom for her end goal. The author said she wanted to dive into a lot of that grey area of history, and I am super interested to see where the second book goes.

3.5 stars rounded up

This novel tapped into absolutely every internal struggle I have with modern discussions of liberation and revolution, namely: what exactly would either look like? When the only framework we've known and understood for centuries is one that had once enslaved us and continues to beat us down post-aboliton, can we conceptualize what it means to free ourselves without falling into the trap of replicating that structure against our own people? When we fight for our place at the table, are we fighting to destroy it, or are we fighting merely to be acknowledged by those already seated? All of these questions complicate Sigourney Rose's quest for revenge and redemption (question mark on the redemption there) in this novel set on a Caribbean-inspired island chain where the natives have been enslaved by white invaders from the North. Sigourney, a native woman whose family had managed to buy their freedom a few generations before her birth, is the sole survivor of a massacre against her family enacted by nobles threatened by her family's rising status. Sigourney's revenge centers around seizing the regency for herself, an enticing narrative that unfortunately gets pushed aside for a who-dunnit murder mystery that circles around itself for the vast majority of the novel. However, the ending more than makes up for this minor drag in what was a truly compelling read.

This is one was tough, as the subject and messaging should have been strong. The writing was just rough. I’m perfectly fine with morally grey characters, but being thrust into it in first person with awkward writing wasn’t great.

Will write more when I have a computer. That was a read.

tws: death, violent and graphic murders, rape, colonizers

so excited for king of the rising now, this ended AWESOME. very rarely does a book jump out at me like that, but i guess that's a sign i need to decolonize my mind further. some issues with language, pacing, and story telling that i didn't have with callender's other books popped up here, but otherwise fantastic