The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all.
The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.
After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.
Series: The Red Queen’s War #1
Narrator: Sean Endorsement
My Rating: 3.25/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.05
Storygraph Rating: 3.86
Length: 13hrs 0mins / 355pgs
Fiction | High Fantasy | Dark
Pacing: Medium
Spice: None
Gore: Medium
I feel a bit conflicted about this one. I was really looking forward to reading it as I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Mark Lawrence so far – the Broken Empire trilogy (5 star series) and the Book of the Ancestor trilogy (4.5 star series). However, I found the characters here lacking.
This story follows an unlikely duo of pampered Prince Jarlan who cares only for women, gambling, and the finer things in life and a heroic Norseman Snorri ver Snagason on a path of rescue and revenge for the wrongs done to his family and clan. They are linked together by the magic of the Silent Sister and must stay together to complete the task of the spell or they will perish.
I found Jarlan to be a pretty weak character. He’s definitely written to be a selfish and cowardly individual so I was not expecting to ‘like’ him. However, I didn’t find him particularly funny, endearing, or really adding that much to the story other than a body to hold half of the spell work. Snorri was a very stereotypical heroic Norseman and again, I probably should have liked him but he just didn’t wow me. I also missed some of the interesting side characters that I’ve found in other Lawrence novels.
I have seen this described as an ‘entry-level grimdark’, which I can’t say I agree with. There just was not enough tension, grimness, gore, or general morally grey lead characters to give it the grimdark feel. Pacing was okay, felt pretty typical sword and sorcery and it didn’t lag but I also rarely felt caught up in the excitement of the moment.
I suspect had I read this trilogy BEFORE Broken Empire I might have enjoyed it more. I think part of the problem was its concurrent with the Broken Empire storyline and I loved, loved, LOVED Jorg so much that this one felt almost ‘bland’ (sorry Mark) in comparison. So maybe more a me problem as opposed to the story itself. As a result, I personally recommend for those wanting to read Lawrence’s work that they read Red Queen’s War before Broken Empire.
I will be continuing the trilogy as in typical Lawrence fashion the ending left me with just enough questions that I need to read the next book to have some closure. I’m hoping this will be a trilogy which gets better with each book (and I’m committed to reading all of Mark Lawrence’s catalogue).
Julia Kitvaria Sarene