TRICKSTER’S QUEEN

A mix of best and worst in this exciting but oddly paced conclusion to the Trickster duet. Several months have passed since the conclusion of Trickster’s Choice (2003) and Alanna’s daughter Aly has been training her network of raka rebels against their colonial luarin overlords. Now the Balitang family—Aly’s former owners, current unwitting hosts to the rebellion’s leaders, and home of two half-raka daughters prophesied to rule post-rebellion—has returned to the capital city. Aly must hold her simmering rebels in readiness, keep her identity secret, succeed at romance, and prevent an all-out bloodbath. Along the way, she plays nursemaid to Balitang daughters Dove and Sarai and a tense and dangerous city. Aly’s cleverness and a god’s help bring an idealized conclusion to the realistically complex colonial setting—if only it were so easy in the real world. Too rushed for satisfying depth (another volume would have helped develop the fascinating but shallow web of secondary characters), but Aly is easily among the most interesting of Pierce’s heroines. Thrilling fun, despite its flaws. (Fantasy. 12-16)