Upon the Flight of the Queen by Howard Andrew Jones

I received a free copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way impacts my opinions.

I read For the Killing of Kings way back in February 2019, and I remember my air of trepidation going into it, as I had read a couple of ho-hum books from Netgalley prior. However, in spite of my concerns (or because of them), FTKOK turned out to be an absolute blast, starting fast and never letting up the pace. Book two of a series is often the dip between two hills, so I was hoping this would not be the case here. Guess what? The author just charged straight into the plot, not stopping for any bouts of exposition along the way. Of course, if you haven’t read the first book, I recommend it, otherwise you may be a tad lost, but this was like a meeting of old friends – no “catching up” or ice-breaking questions – just back to how it’s always been. Here are my thoughts on the book (p.s. I liked it):

Worldbuilding

The author had already created an interesting world, although one we are generally familiar with. In this book we get to see some more of the outlying lands (fragments) and learn quite a lot about them too. We also learn more about the Naor, and what makes them tick, the ko’aye, who are far more than winged horses, and also Ortok’s people, whose social structure is interesting and hilarious. Finally, the magic certainly needs a mention, and it is a limited and believable system. Most of the characters, Kyrkenhall, for example, seem to have innate magic skills that we just take for granted, but Rylin can maintain limited “actual” magic such as illusions for a short period. Then there is Varama, who is powerful, but all the Altenerai seem to pale in comparison to Elenai, who can do almost anything she wants, although she does pay for it at times. However, in this book, it is hinted that her link to the soul stones may be problematic down the road.  

Score – 4.5/5

Characters 

The characters were my favourite thing in the first book, and that hasn’t changed at all. I like how the author has all these living legends, but leans mostly on novices Rylin and Elenai as his main characters, and also Sansyra, who plays a role as Varama’s assistant. I (probably in error) already mentioned some of Elenai’s plot arc, but she develops nicely as she continues to accompany the oft-peevish Kyrkenhall and Ortok to find the ko-aye. Elenai’s character grows from squire to one who is comfortable with her power, and Kyrkenhall’s equal. Ortok plays a bigger role as he overcomes his differences with humans. Rylin downplays his “hot or not” mentality from the FTKOK, and amps up his bravery instead, as he takes on many dangerous missions into the Naor camp. Sansyra struggles with whether she wants to join the Altenerai or return to civilian life, but has the small matter of a siege and 40.000 Naor to worry about first.

Score – 5/5

Plot

We spent much of the first part of book one believing the plot was about finding some sword, and it turns out this weren’t even scratching the tip of the iceberg, In fact, it was more like we scratching the tip of an ice cube under the false belief that it was the tip of an iceberg. We get far more information about what’s going on in this one, but as we are more guarded this time around, we are less trusting that what we see is what we get. We do learn what is going on with the Queen and the soul stones, and also learn about the flight of the ko-aye, but there are also other little plot lines, making us which number three would hurry up. 

Score – 5/5

Writing

The second best part of the book, the words just roll off the page as you progress through the story, like a glimmer man has hooked you in. As mentioned, the characters are great, and the descriptions of people, places and things are just crisp and relatable. Despite being epicfantasy/Arthuresque (the king, not the loveable rogue), the writing is very accessible.

Score – 4.5/5

Personal Enjoyment

Loved it. I generally go for darker stuff, but this is just terrific. 

Score – 5/5

Verdict

No book two blues here, this is just as good and quite different to it’s older brother. Character, plot and worldbuilding are all expanded, and the action and dialogue still hit the spot. 

Total Score – 24/25