"To the slaves before me- to all the islanders -- I'm the traitor to her own people. My skin might be brown, and my blood might belong to these islands, but I'm no better than the Fjern."

Queen of the Conquered sets before the reader a hard question. Do the means of the mission justify the end? Sigourney Rose has convinced herself that in her search for vengeance she also will be helping the islanders. However, throughout her thought process, it's clear she has no plans for what comes next after she enacts her revenge. Even how she perceives the other islanders shows that she believes herself to be in a class above them. Sigourney is an anti-hero, (I do enjoy a good anti-hero story) but I could not like her,couldn't do it. Sigourney did a lot of theorizing and thinking but not a whole lot of action or movement unless it came to oppressing her own people. She tried to convince herself she's good while soften her own horrible actions to her people in her mind, and I cannot with her.

Writing-wise I kept waiting for something to happen. I was waiting for Sigourney to make a move or enact her plot but nothing ever sparked. The plot dragged for me while also becoming a who-done-it type of plot it reminded me of And Then There Were None (probably because of the island setting and murders.)

I did start to wonder whether she was had stronger magic than she realized and if she was tricking herself with her visions etc.

Overall the whole was a lot of saying and not showing. It was slow for two-thirds of it but the last third really sealed the deal for me. I was thrown for a loop but I enjoyed the twist. I did not like how the most powerful of people though was revealed and died within twenty pages.

The fact that Sigourney began to "trust" some of the nobles with her theories really threw me; she basically began to align herself with them. I do wonder why she didn't ask any of the other islanders if they had seen or hear anything suspicious (because those who are unseen know a lot more than we usually think they do.) I supposed it trickles into the fact that she did not see herself as a part of the other islanders either. Also for someone who can sense other people's feelings, she definitely can't read the flipping room. Each thought I have keeps coming back to the point that Sigourney while wanting revenge for herself and (supposedly) better for islanders, did not see the islanders as her equals or even as human as her. Callender does a great job of exploring how brutal slavery was and how rage can build and build in people until it explodes.

Queen of the Conquered had political intrigue, power-infused people, murder mystery, and characters with questionable morals. It has its issues but I enjoyed it! A great book for book club.