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| − | |title=A Queen In Hiding
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| − | |sort=Queen In Hiding
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| − | |author=Sarah Kozloff
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| − | |reviewer=Stephen Leach
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| − | |genre=Fantasy
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| − | |summary=A weighty series opener that lays the groundwork for more while not quite hitting every mark.
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| − | |rating=3
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| − | |buy=Yes
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| − | |borrow=Maybe
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| − | |pages=496
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| − | |publisher=Tor
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| − | |date=February 2020
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| − | |isbn= 978-1250168542
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| − | |website= https://sarahkozloff.com/
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| − | |cover=1250168546
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| − | |aznuk=1250168546
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| − | |aznus=1250168546
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| − | }}
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| − | World-building is the backbone by which fantasy novels live and die. And what a pleasure, then, to get a novel with world-building you actually want to delve into. Sarah Kozloff's debut novel presents a startlingly rich and layered world, with a complex history of connecting nations that seems certain to have more to tap, and the characters are interesting – if a little underdeveloped. But it's a world I could – and did – eagerly buy into, and the struggle of each Queen to discover and hone her magical talent felt very real and very apt.
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| − | For all its length it's a little breathless, rapidly establishing the backstory and what's at stake, which is refreshing. But the brisk narration pretty quickly became somewhat meandering; lots of characters are introduced in rapid succession and it all gets a little overwhelming – I got quite irritated and wanted the novel to stick to one thread and properly establish one storyline before introducing more.
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| − | One thing that unfortunately does hold the novel back from being exceptional are the very obvious signs that it's a debut: there are some pitfalls that I would expect a fantasy author to know to avoid by this point. Having lots of capitalised words such as the Talent, the Chosen, and so on really grates – it's a cliché I can't be the only person to be sick of, and one I personally extremely dislike.
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| − | Of note is the unusual release schedule planned out by the publisher – there are three planned sequels, with each subsequent book due to be published over consecutive months. It's a clever strategy that short-cuts the usual pitfall of long fantasy epics: namely, no need to wait years for the next volume. While I question the wisdom of releasing four books in four months – a slightly longer break between volumes might have been more appropriate, while still allowing for all four books to be out within the same year – it's an innovative approach that feels exciting and fresh (and it's just so nice to have a fantasy series actually be finished for once – remember when authors used to do that? Remember how cool and exciting that was?).
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| − | While A Queen In Hiding wasn't everything I hoped it would be, I still want to know what happens next. But so many of my quibbles feel like things that the sequel could/should address it feels churlish to judge it too harshly; given that this is just one quarter of the story, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and stick with it. A Queen In Hiding is full of promise and has a few moments which deliver – the question is whether the later books can do better. We'll find out soon.
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| − | I've been delving back into the works of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell recently. If fantasy's your bag, you'll like their stuff – why not start with [[Wyrmeweald: Returner's Wealth by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell|Wyrmeweald: Returner's Wealth?]]
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| − | {{amazontextAud|amazon=B082WHZ6R9}}
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| − | {{amazontext|amazon=1250168546}}
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| − | {{amazonUStext|amazon=1250168546}}
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| − | [[Category:Reviewer Centre]]
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