Rating: Summary: "And It's All Because of a Lie..." Review: "Wolf Queen" (or "Queen of the Wolves" in some publications) is the third of four books in the Claidi quartet: a series of books that are told in diary-form by the young heroine Claidi and her travels throughout a fantasy land. In the previous installments "Wolf Tower" and "Wolf Star" she has escaped slavery, destroyed a corrupt system, found her true love, been kept prisoner in a moving castle and escaped once more in a controllable star. Throughout all of these amazing adventures, Claidi has kept a record in her book, and untangled much of the mystery surrounding her birth and destiny.
Now all she wants to do is be reunited with her beloved Argul, and has used the floating star/tower Yinyay to track down the Hulta people, of which Argul is leader. But when she finally finds them, she is met only with mistrust and anger: in her absence Argul was told that she ran off with a former acquaintance Nemian and no longer wants to marry him. Now he has left the Hulta people, and Claidi is not going to get any help from them due to her perceived betrayal. Determined to track him down, Claidi follows his trail northwards, occasionally joined by the elusive and infuriating Jelly.
Finally she reaches the Winterlands, and the fifth exiled tower of the City - the Raven Tower. Here she grasps several more answers to what has befallen her, as well as meeting the spoilt Winter Raven and Twilight Star, the woman she's been told is her mother.
The story is becoming more and more confusing, with Tanith Lee contradicting herself or complicating character motivations or previously established plot-facts. Characters have several aliases, have lied about past deeds and go about in disguise, making it immensely difficult to keep track of who's who and what exactly is going on. Furthermore, the big revelations about Claidi's past and the designs of those calling the shots aren't really all that imaginative - it is simply personal gratitude and family squabbles that drives these characters, nothing particularly deep or important.
As well as this, she has lost the knack of writing the story in diary-form, something that made the previous books so appealing and realistic. For instant, at one stage, when Claidi is giving a fake name, she writes: "'Pattoo,' I uncleverly blurted, picking the name of a friend from my slave-maid days." Now, if you have read the other books, you will already be well aware of who Pattoo is - so why would Claidi repeat this fact? The passage is obviously for the benefit of those that have not read the previous books (or haven't got good memories) and therefore comes across as written by Tanith Lee to the reader, not as Claidi to her journal. It lends a sense of falseness to the words that are meant to be a private and consistent diary-entry.
At other points Tanith Lee slips into writing into present-tense rather than past-tense, such as: "Rushing through the avenue. He is around the next turn before I get there. I mustn't loose him." Such urgency in the writing is lost when we realise Claidi can't possibly be writing and chasing after Argul at the same time - or if she is, she can't be that concerned about catching him when she's stopping every few seconds to write in her book.
Despite all this, readers who have made their way through the previous books won't want to give up now. There are more fascinating and beautiful landscapes, including a snow-covered tower in the shape of a raven head, and small tidbits of intrigue and detail that create a rich world to explore. Lee's writing and language remains clear, descriptive and involving, and her quest is interesting enough to continue with into the forth and final book: "Wolf Wing."
Rating: Summary: So surprising! I was on my toes... Review: After Wolf Tower I had been so excited for Wolf Star--when I purchased it I read it quickly, but something about it was a -little- more drab than the first. Enough to not really get me on my fingertips for Wolf Queen. (I'm not saying it wasn't good, just that it didn't make me say "Okay, where's the next one?" I could have waited and lived) but I'd gotten Wolf Queen before I'd finished Star, so I read it the day after. ...The book, at first, was good but not so enticing I couldn't put it down--but soon into it, I found it hard to stop reading until the end. It has more than enough surprises and answers to keep you engrossed (deeply!) and in the end, I was very satisfied--even if there was going to be no next book, I would have been fine. Though she leaves a little to your imagination (which I tend to like, depending on how MUCH the author will leave you)it still left me with a feeling of nourishment and satisfaction. (Though some small questions are still left.) It was another Tanith Lee triumph, and I was ecstatic in the end--it was wonderfully surprising and I love the characters each in their own way, constructed so entirely well that I could see them, hear them, feel what they felt and see in their eyes. They felt so close to me, especially Claidi. Everything she felt was so familiar to me--she reminds me, (frightningly closely) of ME. The closeness I feel to all of them is so absolute they could be standing beside me. Not all authors can make you feel like this.If I shed tears when I finished the last page, they were surely tears of happiness. :) I am on my toes for Wolf Wing.
Rating: Summary: Lee Should Have Stopped With Book One Review: Although the first book in the Claidi Journals, Wolf Tower, is one of my favorites, I was deeply dissapointed in the rest of the series. Especially Wolf Queen. I can't imagine why Tanithe Lee chose to continue on with two more books after Wolf Tower. It's one of the best books I've ever read, it's well written, and had a conclusion after chapters of suspense. There was absolutely no point in digging up the story and completely twisting it around. The second book was bad enough, but the third was horrible. While well written, Wolf Queen completely clashed with the first two books. It reworked all the characters and seemed to make changes in the plot merely for the sake of change rather then the story. I strongly suggest you stop after book one.
Rating: Summary: Amazing Book Review: Although Wolf Queen proves almost everything Claidi has previously learned to be lies, it's almost a relief. To learn the truth about Claidi's past life was a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the whole series more after learning so much about her family. I was very dissapointed after briefly reading about a quarter of the book, but as I continued, I was pleased. As the story progressed, things fit into their proper place. Tanith Lee provides an addictive series with an attractive ending. The Claidi Journals series aren't books to be missed.
Rating: Summary: Wolf Queen Review: I had read Wolf Tower and Wolf Star and wanted to read Wolf Queen to complete the series. I read a bad review of the book and almost didn't buy it. I am so glad I did! It is a wonderful conclusion to the series. In this book it appears that all the characters have changed from the first two but in the end it all makes sense. This fantasy book is a quick read and leaves the reader delighted with the series.
Rating: Summary: The other books were better Review: I have to say I was really excited when I finally got the book. But when I finished reading it, I thought that this book didn't fit with the ones before it. Too me it wasn't as creative or unique. Sure it has more people added to it, but it didn't really add what Claidi was suppose to do; she just needed to find Argul and possibly find out about her heritage. Now we know shes just a plain old jane whose parents were house workers. I bet the next book will talk about how Claidi parent's are important and stuff......it seems like the next typical thing that could happen.
Rating: Summary: Wolf Queen Review: I like this book even less than Wolf Star. Wolf Tower was okay, I guess. In both books, Wolf Star and Wolf Queen, it got a little tiring that Claidi just had to keep searching for Argul, On and on and on, throughout most of the book. And when she finally DOES find him, why can't she just marry him, so they can just stop getting separated from each other. And the ending was pretty bad too. I really, really, really don't reccommend this book.
Rating: Summary: Wolf Queen Review: I like this book even less than Wolf Star. Wolf Tower was okay, I guess. In both books, Wolf Star and Wolf Queen, it got a little tiring that Claidi just had to keep searching for Argul, On and on and on, throughout most of the book. And when she finally DOES find him, why can't she just marry him, so they can just stop getting separated from each other. And the ending was pretty bad too. I really, really, really don't reccommend this book.
Rating: Summary: After all that...! Review: I loved 'Wolf Tower.' I didn't like 'Wolf Star.' I REALLY didn't like 'Wolf Queen.' After slogging through the second book in the Claidi Journals series ('Wolf Star'), I thought that perhaps the story would get back on track. I missed the interaction between Claidi and her true love, Argul. But when I started to read 'Wolf Queen,' I quickly discovered that this would be yet another "Claidi-searching-for-her-boyfriend" book. It was more interesting than 'Wolf Star,' however, with the constantly changing locales and the mysterious Jelly character. But I felt very disappointed by the ending. After all the tantalizing hints that Claidi might be royal blood, and then... I won't spoil it if you haven't read it yet, but I felt the conclusion sort of made Claidi's whole search for her identity rather meaningless. And the flying... how utterly convenient. I see that Tanith Lee has now written a fourth book in the series. I haven't decided if I will read it yet. I'm a little tired of the pattern of overly contrived twists and turns that this series has fallen into.
Rating: Summary: ...and a thrilling conclusion Review: I loved this book the best out of all three, because it contained the most surprise and sarcasm, my favorites. Claidi is back with all her spunk and determination, this time on a quest to find Argul. Only its not going to be as easy as it sounds. Not that it sounds easy. The conclusion to a great trilogy.
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