Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Having just finished The Witch Queen, I have to say that while it was good--better than The Dragon Charmer--it wasn't nearly as good as Prospero's Children. In the final installment to the trilogy, Fernanda Capel is once again tormented by Morgus, who, having bathed herself in the River of the Underworld, is invincible to harm, and Azmordis, the Old Spirit. In this book, Fern's true power grows and shines, and with the help of her friends--who are more important than she would have thought--she once again proves that neither witch nor spirit can harm her, While the book was good, the writing beautiful, the ending was a disappointment. While it was suitable, I really would have prefered if Fern had chosen some other path, but whatever. Another disappointing aspect, though appropriate, but sad, is the possible return of her lost love, though it didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped. All in all, it was a satisfying read, and though I didn't particularly like the ending, I know most people will.
Rating: 
Summary: Passion vs. Desire
Review: I read novels and trilogies as a hobbies. I found the first two books from this author to be sufferable, if that's a word. I thought they were very entertaining and not too risque. None of the main characters were killed. Put in peril maybe, but not banished. I found that refreshing. However this last book had most of the suspense removed about 3/4 of completion. It was as if the author was writing a paper and came up about 75 to 100 pages short. My opinion (and I probably mistaken), it appeared that the last quarter of the book was a fillibuster to complete the novel with little or no effort to build the continuing storyline.
The author has excellent skills and imagination. Somehow she was allow to end a story with what basically amounted to "THE END". I was disappointed with the ending and the book as a whole. The story left too many questions unanswered. Several points refer to substance with out conclusion. THE GOBLIN CAT. THE DIG SITE. THE TWIN. These are the ones that stick out most to me. I am not a really great fan of the 800-900 page novel. However, time has to be taken to create and develop a storyline properly before it ends. Maybe the author's next offering will be planned better.
Rating:
Summary: Passion vs. Desire
Review: I read novels and trilogies as a hobbies. I found the first two books from this author to be sufferable, if that's a word. I thought they were very entertaining and not too risque. None of the main characters were killed. Put in peril maybe, but not banished. I found that refreshing. However this last book had most of the suspense removed about 3/4 of completion. It was as if the author was writing a paper and came up about 75 to 100 pages short. My opinion (and I probably mistaken), it appeared that the last quarter of the book was a fillibuster to complete the novel with little or no effort to build the continuing storyline.
The author has excellent skills and imagination. Somehow she was allow to end a story with what basically amounted to "THE END". I was disappointed with the ending and the book as a whole. The story left too many questions unanswered. Several points refer to substance with out conclusion. THE GOBLIN CAT. THE DIG SITE. THE TWIN. These are the ones that stick out most to me. I am not a really great fan of the 800-900 page novel. However, time has to be taken to create and develop a storyline properly before it ends. Maybe the author's next offering will be planned better.
Rating: 
Summary: maybe ok, if you haven't read Prospero's Children
Review: I'm afraid that this book was very disappointing to me. I absoulutely loved Prospero's Children, and I enjoyed Dragon Charmer, but I thought the author kind of gave up on this one. I really enjoyed Fern's strong character in the other books, but she seemed a little weak in the Witch Queen. The author had a good idea, but didn't follow through. The ending especially was not only a let-down, but also violated my idea of fair-play in books. It was almost as if the author just got bored and couldn't think of ANY other way to end it.Just a warning, Witch Queen is not of the same calibre as Ms. Siegal's other books.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, but I'm not sure that it met its own goals
Review: Jan Siegel did wonders with Prospero's Children (it was one of the better fantasy novels that I've read in years). Dragon Charmer was not quite as interesting, but the writing was beautiful. In Witch Queen, the interest in the plot is there, the writing is gorgeous, but I'm not sure that I feel satisified with the book. As any who read this series know, it is a blend of Arthurian legend, Atlantis mythology, and Shakespeare's Tempest. In this final installment, it feels as if the roots have been left behind (Arthur, Atlantis, Tempest) only to return to them with a vengance. In some ways, I feel like this could have been a great series (5 stars) but was held back by the fact that Ms. Siegel was so consciously reinterpreting old tales. It almost feels as if her tale was forced to fit the framework.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, but I'm not sure that it met its own goals
Review: Jan Siegel did wonders with Prospero's Children (it was one of the better fantasy novels that I've read in years). Dragon Charmer was not quite as interesting, but the writing was beautiful. In Witch Queen, the interest in the plot is there, the writing is gorgeous, but I'm not sure that I feel satisified with the book. As any who read this series know, it is a blend of Arthurian legend, Atlantis mythology, and Shakespeare's Tempest. In this final installment, it feels as if the roots have been left behind (Arthur, Atlantis, Tempest) only to return to them with a vengance. In some ways, I feel like this could have been a great series (5 stars) but was held back by the fact that Ms. Siegel was so consciously reinterpreting old tales. It almost feels as if her tale was forced to fit the framework.
Rating:
Summary: Feels Like a Retread to Me
Review: Jan Siegel is a wonderful, very poetic and visual author, and her technical skills in this book are at their usual level. However, I was very disappointed in the story. In the first two books of this trilogy, Siegel showed the reader something new each time. I will agree that Prospero's Children is the best of these novels and The Dragon Charmer wasn't as good, but at least in The Dragon Charmer we got new, interesting characters such as Moonspittle and Kel, and fascinating pictures of different worlds--the Tree and Hades. In the Witch Queen, however, the only major new character is Luc, and he is not very interesting--at least, he didn't seem that way to me. Compared to his Atlantean counterpart, he's downright dull, and I didn't feel any sexual tension between him and Fern. We also didn't get to see anything new in this book. Essentially, it was just Fern in London and Morgus in Kent, both trying to figure out what the other was up to. I kept thinking, Why don't you just get over there and find out and get this plot moving somewhere interesting? The magic--the circle casting, the Tree, etc.--is basically what we've seen before. Even more vexing, the characters from previous books that I liked weren't around that much, and when they did make an appearance, they didn't seem to do anything; it was as if they were present merely for decoration. Finally, I did not like the ending. It seemed more of a cop-out--on the part of the author AND Fern--than a closure. Essentially, I feel this books lacks the level of creativity and thought that was found in such abundance in Prospero's Children, and less so in The Dragon Charmer. Even if you do love Jan Siegel, I would recommend that you wait until it comes out in paperback, or get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Feels Like a Retread to Me
Review: Jan Siegel is a wonderful, very poetic and visual author, and her technical skills in this book are at their usual level. However, I was very disappointed in the story. In the first two books of this trilogy, Siegel showed the reader something new each time. I will agree that Prospero's Children is the best of these novels and The Dragon Charmer wasn't as good, but at least in The Dragon Charmer we got new, interesting characters such as Moonspittle and Kel, and fascinating pictures of different worlds--the Tree and Hades. In the Witch Queen, however, the only major new character is Luc, and he is not very interesting--at least, he didn't seem that way to me. Compared to his Atlantean counterpart, he's downright dull, and I didn't feel any sexual tension between him and Fern. We also didn't get to see anything new in this book. Essentially, it was just Fern in London and Morgus in Kent, both trying to figure out what the other was up to. I kept thinking, Why don't you just get over there and find out and get this plot moving somewhere interesting? The magic--the circle casting, the Tree, etc.--is basically what we've seen before. Even more vexing, the characters from previous books that I liked weren't around that much, and when they did make an appearance, they didn't seem to do anything; it was as if they were present merely for decoration. Finally, I did not like the ending. It seemed more of a cop-out--on the part of the author AND Fern--than a closure. Essentially, I feel this books lacks the level of creativity and thought that was found in such abundance in Prospero's Children, and less so in The Dragon Charmer. Even if you do love Jan Siegel, I would recommend that you wait until it comes out in paperback, or get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: She once dreamed of ruling Logrez through her son, a product of having sex with her brother the great king Arthur but failed in her deadly scheme. Morgus hates mankind and intends to rule modern day England but she is not wise in the ways of the present. She plans to use the spirit of a modern day witch, separated from her body by Morgus, to learn how to get around in the twentieth century. Fern Capel, unwilling to be an apprentice to such a malevolent being, fights her and eventually thinks she kills her dangerous "guest". Unfortunately, Morgus is a survivor and after a time of recuperation is back intending to destroy Fern once and for all. When it comes to Fern's attention that she will have to fight her enemy once again, she gathers her allies for the coming battle, never dreaming what she will have to sacrifice for the ultimate victory. This is the third installment in the Fern Capel Saga and it is by far the most creative and fascinating to date. The antagonist is almost as interesting as the heroine as Morgus is a malevolent being so consumed by hatred that it is not at all easy to predict how she will attack only that her assault is pending. The heroine is a being of pure goodness so easy to predict but remains likable and engages the empathy of the audience early on. The climax is truly a shocker that solves the problems that plague Fern, but not quite in the way the audience will anticipate. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Superb fantasy
Review: She once dreamed of ruling Logrez through her son, a product of having sex with her brother the great king Arthur but failed in her deadly scheme. Morgus hates mankind and intends to rule modern day England but she is not wise in the ways of the present. She plans to use the spirit of a modern day witch, separated from her body by Morgus, to learn how to get around in the twentieth century. Fern Capel, unwilling to be an apprentice to such a malevolent being, fights her and eventually thinks she kills her dangerous "guest". Unfortunately, Morgus is a survivor and after a time of recuperation is back intending to destroy Fern once and for all. When it comes to Fern's attention that she will have to fight her enemy once again, she gathers her allies for the coming battle, never dreaming what she will have to sacrifice for the ultimate victory. This is the third installment in the Fern Capel Saga and it is by far the most creative and fascinating to date. The antagonist is almost as interesting as the heroine as Morgus is a malevolent being so consumed by hatred that it is not at all easy to predict how she will attack only that her assault is pending. The heroine is a being of pure goodness so easy to predict but remains likable and engages the empathy of the audience early on. The climax is truly a shocker that solves the problems that plague Fern, but not quite in the way the audience will anticipate. Harriet Klausner
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