Tuesday, June 05, 2007

The Thief Queen's Daughter by Elizabeth Haydon

Title: The Thief Queen's Daughter

Author: Elizabeth Haydon

Genre: Fantasy, second in series

Summary: A young Nain explorer, Ven Polypheme, begins his second quest at the king's request -- What is the history of an artifact inherited from the previous king? Ven's search starts in the Gated City, on Market Day. Will the mystery be solved before the day ends and Ven is trapped inside?

The Take-Away: As stated, this is a second in the series, but Haydon doesn't spend unnecessary time with the previous story. I didn't feel like I was missing out by not starting at the beginning. Ven's circle of friends must have been established in the first book, however, and it's a vast circle. The variety leads me to believe that this will be a longer series with good adventures.

The target audience is young adult, however, it has the feel to the book as the first Harry Potter titles did. Fun, adventurous, but easily developed into something more. This is a series I would keep my eye on, depending on how the stakes are raised in the next book.

One of my favorite characters was McLean, a StorySinger who knows the histories, songs and stories of various people of the land. His role is minor, but he is interesting. McLean is completely trustworthy; StorySinger take an oath to never lie. I'm hoping that this is a set-up for a future book.

Recommendation: Keep an eye out. This could have the same cross over effect that Harry Potter did, depending on how the series continues.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this series! The Floating Island was refreshingly different and familiar in good ways at the same time. There is so much to Haydon's world, and I can't wait to read each installment. Thanks for the review.

Stacie Penney said...

You're welcome! I picked-up Floating Island too. I hear that she has another series. Have you read that one?

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I met the author on her book tour in California, and she was terrific! I bought both Ven P. books and the first trilogy of the Symphony of Ages, her adult series that takes place in a later part of the history of Ven's world. What an amazing writer. There is so much depth here, and the books can be read at many levels. I am especially impressed with Haydon's knowledge of the details that make up her world, like music, herbalism, anthropology and language. The Ven books are more innocent, and I tend to prefer them because I can share them with my kids, but the older books are a pleasure to read alone.

Anonymous said...

i didnt read the tqd but i read the floating island, 1 book. i really liked it. my fave character =king.i like how hes soooooooo not like a king. should i read the second book?