The Queen's Necklace - Teresa Edgerton

[Mark Robson]

If you like your fantasies to be complex and rich in detail, then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend 'The Queen's Necklace'. This book has a timeline that would make Robert Jordan blanch, and detail to match Robin Hobb - but without all the tragedy, thank goodness!

Take flamboyant, colourful human characters, stir them gently in with several breeds of goblin, a spectacularly diverse landscape, and a rich history that spans millenia. Spice up the above with a sinister series of thefts that could ultimately destroy the world, a wonderfully tantalising romance between a couple who are already married, secret societies of magicians quietly monitoring the populace for signs of an Imperial line of Goblins long thought to be extinct, and liberally sprinkle in magical artifacts - you have the beginnings of the recipe that makes 'The Queen's Necklace'.

This is not your typical epic fantasy. Far from it. However, I defy anyone who enjoys a fantasy with depth to read this and not enjoy the richness of Teresa's creation. Everything is described in fantastic technicolour detail, right down to the last feather in the dandy's cap. If you've never heard of this book, it's because it didn't get the advertising it deserved.

The Queen's Necklace gets a big thumbs up from me.

[The Master™]

How spooky, I'm just in the middle of reading this book...

I have to say that trying to keep track of the characters was a little difficult to begin with, but it soon flowed very well...

I'll reserve full judgement on it once I've finished it...

[Lacedaemonian]

I look forward to reading this once I have completed Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series. My copy is signed by the great lady herself.

[dwndrgn]

I'll be looking for a copy myself soon...thanks for the review Mark, sounds just up my alley!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since interest in Steampunk seems to be reviving, it looks like I gave birth to this book a little too soon -- ironic, really, considering how far past the deadline I delivered the manuscript. Late, and yet not late enough. Bad timing seems to be the story of my life.

[Brown Rat]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

If you like your fantasies to be complex and rich in detail, then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend 'The Queen's Necklace'. . . . The Queen's Necklace gets a big thumbs up from me.

Me, too!

And I must mention a character I truly love: the mysterious, tortured, anti-demonist known as Raith, whom Teresa describes in delicious shades of gray and darkness. "Raith would tell you the truth, no matter how bitter a thing it was. He is not in the habit of telling people comforting falsehoods" (554).

Yummy ouch!

[Rix]

I am writing this to express my delight after having read "The Queen's Necklace". It might sound shocking, but I had no idea about the novel's name till I reached this forum - since what I have is a copy of a translation (a brilliant one, admittedly) into Russian! I wonder if the author even knows she's being translated into Russian, not to speak of royalties.

Anyways, I was most impressed - sufficiently impressed, actually, to locate this forum and share my extraordinarily positive opinion about the book in a language which is nowhere on par with my native ones, Hebrew and Russian. There is, obviously, no point going into great details, as anyone who reaches the forum has supposedly read it, and thus is as surely bewitched as I am.

There are a few young Russian authors who are plowing the same field of low-tech, low-magic fantasy worlds yielding equally magnificent novels with similar (amazingly similar, I should say) characters and plot details; Vera Kamsha and Alexei Pekhov come to mind foremost. It is quite unfortunate that those novels are beyond Edgerton's fans' grasp, as I doubt that English translations of passable quality exist. Perhaps I should dare someday...

PS: Got to read TQN in English... and, of course, preoder the sequel!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Welcome, Rix -- and thank you for the kind words.

I knew about the Russian translation -- no royalties, but they did pay me an advance -- although it was only fairly recently that I was able to track the book down online and see what the (attractive but oddly science-fictional) cover art looked like. It's exciting to hear from someone who has read the Russian version (a feat that would be utterly beyond me even if I had a copy).

Unfortunately, there is no sequel. I was game, but my publishers weren't.

[aarti]

Teresa, just wanted to let you know that I started a buddy read of Queen's Necklace with one of my online book group friends, and I think I've converted her to a huge fan of yours :-) She is now eagerly awaiting receipt of your books that she's missing, and she likes your descriptive turn.

On another note, I really like this buddy read system we have in place. Basically, we just read at our own pace (she's far ahead of me), and then send each other sporadic emails with the chapter numbers we're commenting on in the subject heading. That way we can share thoughts as we read, but not spoil anything for the other person. It's working well so far, though I'm only at chapter 4 and she's around chapter 20 now!

[Teresa Edgerton]

I wonder if something along those lines would have worked for our (defunct) Book Club. If people had forever to read and comment on a book, instead of a month or so ...

[aarti]

Well, I should say that my friend and I both finished the book yesterday- but she had more reading time at the start and I had more nearer to the end. We are now sharing thoughts on the book overall. I think it depends also on who you do a book club/buddy read with. Some books are ripe for discussion on any number of topics, and some are not. And sometimes discussion leaders can be a boon or a bust. It depends, I think. But I love book club discussions!

Overall, though, I really liked The Queen's Necklace. It seems like it was written with the idea of a sequel very much in the works, though, which I guess we won't be seeing, unfortunately.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by aarti

It seems like it was written with the idea of a sequel very much in the works

Actually, I intended it as a stand-alone when I was writing it. Afterwards, so many people said that they expected a sequel, I started thinking about that, came up with some ideas that interested me very much, and began work on it.

It is unfortunate that I never had a chance to write it, because I still think it would have been a fabulous story. It featured a large role for everyone's favorite Anti-demonist.

[aarti]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

Actually, I intended it as a stand-alone when I was writing it. Afterwards, so many people said that they expected a sequel, I started thinking about that, came up with some ideas that interested me very much, and began work on it.

It is unfortunate that I never had a chance to write it, because I still think it would have been a fabulous story. It featured a large role for everyone's favorite Anti-demonist.

Oh, I do love Raith :-) Though I'm surprised there wasn't a sequel in the works while you were writing it- I thought there were some open-ended items that would have been resolved in the next book.

One question that both my friend and I had was about this: Will goes to Brakeburn and meet's Lili's aunt and tells her that he will find a way to keep her from interfering in his marriage. Then he goes and writes a letter and seals it with his father-in-law's seal and his signet. WHAT is this letter? Is this his way of keeping Lili's aunt out? I was so confused ...

[Teresa Edgerton]

The letter is to his grandmother, Lady Krogan.

[aarti]

Ah, that's what I thought- thanks, Teresa!