She Treads Softly: Queen

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Queen

Queen: A Chronicle of the Sibyl's War by Timothy Zahn
Tom Doherty Associates; 4/14/20
eBook review copy; 384 pages
Sibyl's War #3

Queen: A Chronicle of the Sibyl's War by Timothy Zahn is a highly recommended conclusion to the Sibyl's War science fiction three book series.

Nicole Hammond is a Sibyl, a special human that has the ability to communicate with a strange alien ship called the Fyrantha. In previous books the ship teleported Nicole Hammond on board to help repair its machinery. Nicole was a former member of a Philadelphia street gang and now she must use her street smarts to help the ship. The ship has now appointed her the Protector of the ship and its inhabitants. When Queen starts we are right in the middle of a war that started in Pawn and Knight, the two earlier books in the series. Nicole works with a variety of alien races to fight for control of the ship from the Shipmasters who have taken it over and their strong arm enforcers, the Koffren, as they battle for the freedom of everyone living on it.

My first recommendation is that you read Pawn and Knight before starting Queen. Trust me on this as it will make reading it much more enjoyable right from the start. Those who have will not have to work as hard as I did in order to piece together the backstory and keep sorted out the various aliens who help her or who live on the ship. It would also, I imagine, help you to envision the layout of the ship as the battle rages between areas and decks. I truly wish I had read the first two books first before jumping right into the battle for control in Queen.

Once I got the backstory and current situation basically sorted out in my head, I enjoyed the complicated plans, strategy, and tactics Nicole and cohorts used in the conflict. And make no mistake, there is a whole lot going on in this space opera. Complications and set backs are overcome as Nicole works with her wide variety of allies. As the Protector of the ship, she has an inside to help evade trouble and plan her strategic actions. Nicole is a very well developed character. We are privy to her thoughts as she coordinates everything and evades the Shipmasters, so readers can see her growth as a character.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Macmillian

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.