Ratings14
Average rating3.6
A sparkling magical adventure from a Hugo Award-winning author. In Zen Cho's The True Queen we travel to Regency London, Fairyland and an enchanted island. Sisters are separated, plots thicken and there's a new contender for the throne of Fairy. ‘A sheer delight from beginning to end' – Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season. Fairyland’s future lies in doubt . . . The enchanted island of Janda Baik, in the Malay Archipelago, has long been home to witches. And Muna and her sister Sakti wake on its shores under a curse, which has quite stolen away their memories. Their only hope of salvation lies in distant Britain, where the Sorceress Royal runs a controversial academy for female magicians. But the pair travel via the formidable Fairy Queen’s realm, where Sakti simply disappears. To save her sister, Muna must learn to navigate Regency London’s high society and trick the English into believing she’s a magical prodigy. But when the Sorceress Royal’s friends become accidentally embroiled in a plot – involving the Fairy Queen’s contentious succession – Muna is drawn right in. She must also find Sakti, break their curse and somehow stay out of trouble. But if fairyland’s true queen does finally return, trouble may find her first . . . 'A joyous mash-up of Jane Austen and high fantasy’ – M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts. This standalone adventure is set in the same world as Zen Cho's award-winning novel - The Sorcerer to the Crown.
Featured Series
2 primary booksSorcerer Royal is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Zen Cho.
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Sequels to books I enjoyed make me extremely wary. Too often I find that they just don't seem to capture the same feelings as the original, and I'm left feeling slightly sad and unsatisfied. You just can't always capture lightning twice, I guess.
Not so with this book. Actually, I daresay I enjoyed this one even slightly more than the first. The focus of this book isn't on the cast from the first book (though they do play minor roles and cameos), but instead follows two sisters, Muna and Sakti, who are separated from each other while venturing through the fairy realm to England. Muna makes it to England and Prunella's school, but Sakti does not. The story follows Muna as she tries to reunite with her sister despite overwhelming opposition, and the discovery of why they were separated in the first place.
While I was able to guess the twist relatively early on, I still liked how the author handled it and still manage to make parts unexpected. The story just felt...fun. Like a magical romp with slightly high stakes, like a brighter Harry Potter, maybe. The story is self contained, nothing needs a sequel, and it leaves you feeling glad to have read it at the end.
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