THE HIDDEN QUEEN
PETER V BRETT
****
The second book in the Nightfall Saga, the stunning new epic fantasy series set in the world of the Demon Cycle, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett.
Humanity thought the war with demonkind was over. Now, after less than a generation to rebuild, the demon corelings have returned with a vengeance. The Spear of Ala—the fortress that stands at the gates of the demon’s hive—is the last bastion against the horde, and reports say it may already have fallen.
Olive Paper is expected to take the vanguard in the fight. Only an heir of Kaji can wield the artifact that opens the gates of the Spear of Ala, and as Ahmann Jardir’s child, Olive seems destined for a role as leader and savior. But Olive does not wish to follow in her father’s footsteps any more than she did her mother’s.
Darin Bales was born with supernatural senses that he struggles to process, so much that even those who love him believe he can barely take care of himself. Yet to save his mother from the clutches of Alagai Ka, the demon king, Darin will brave anything to mount a rescue.
Darin and Olive each strive to walk their own path but find themselves inextricably tied to the legacies of their parents and to a fated confrontation with the demon king and his new hatchling queen. If they fail, humanity may not survive.
MY REVIEW
****
The Hidden Queen is the follow up to The Desert Prince and is the second book in the Nightfall series – the sequel series to The Demon Cycle. Protagonists Princes Olive and Darin Bales are on a mission to rescue their family members and stop Alagai Ka from creating his new Demon Queen.
I really enjoyed both the previous series and the last book, and I certainly don’t recommend picking this up if you haven’t read The Desert Prince as it is a straight sequel. There is a bit of a recap at the beginning though if, like me, it has been a while since you read the first book. As before, I really enjoyed the characters – both are complex and interesting, with Olive trying to come to terms with gender roles in the palace and Darin struggling with social situations and some strange demonic powers.
Whereas the first book was action-packed throughout, the first 70% of this book focuses more on internal politics and strategy planning. This makes for a very slow-moving pace to start us off, and as the book is 600 pages this equates to quite a lot of pages to wade through for those of us wanting some action. This book felt very much like the middle book in a trilogy – with a lot of filler padding it out. The last 30% was brilliant though, with creepy setting and a lot of action – I just wished we had gotten there sooner!
The book ends on a cliff-hanger, ready for the third book in the series and I’m very excited to see where the plot will go next. I enjoyed that all of the characters had a good amount of development in this book (Darin in particular), and I look forward to the next instalment.
Overall, The Hidden Queen is a great addition to the Nightfall series – it’s a slow moving start but it’s worth it for the action packed finale. Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK – Harper Fiction and Harper Voyager for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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