I Read Books: The Oracle's Queen

The Oracle’s Queen

The third, final and sadly least of the Tamir Triad. Having committed an horrific crime in the first volume, the price comes due. It’s a bit of an anti-climax. The villain gets worse and worse, wizardly controlling everyone around him including Korin, Tamir's cousin, who is claiming the throne. Eventually he dies. It’s a bit of an anti-climax. Tamir has difficulties learning to be a woman, and it turns out what's holding her back are magical reasons. After six or eight attempts to tell her this she accepts help and accepts herself. It’s a bit of an anti-climax. There’s some back-and-forth with the split companions having to decide which of Tamir or Korin to follow, and this is okay. There’s some slightly confused prophecy-inspired strategic manoeuvring following which there is, eventually, a climactic battle.

If I’m a bit dismissive then it’s because the story had a strong, powerful start and as it went on became less interesting and novel. The prophecies and ghosts are still pretty cool, but frankly we’ve already seen the most intriguing bits. The villain of the piece gets to strut for a while, but we know he has enormous arrogance and hubris, and that will bite him. And it does. The heroes threaten to remake the kingdom better but don’t actually make a big start, other than fighting off the Plenimarians, making peace with the hill people and opening up trade with the Aurenfaie.

The meandering, slice of life style of the first two, as Tamir grew up and learned about the world, loses some of its charm. Secrets have been revealed and there are two claimants for the throne. Building cities for refugees, giving people titles, wandering off to the oracle to find out what’s up, this is all very well but the crisis is upon us! It’s time to get moving!

Well, it’s an ending, and I guess I shall have to be satisfied with it.

Read This: To finish the story so well begun in the first two volumes
Don’t Read This: It takes a long time to get to a point we’ve seen before