The Queen of Sorrow: Book Three of The Queens of Renthia (Queens of Renthia, 3)
The Queen of Sorrow: Book Three of The Queens of Renthia (Queens of Renthia, 3) book cover

The Queen of Sorrow: Book Three of The Queens of Renthia (Queens of Renthia, 3)

Hardcover – May 15, 2018

by
Price
$18.54
Format
Hardcover
Pages
432
Publisher
Harper Voyager
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062413383
Dimensions
6 x 1.33 x 9 inches
Weight
3 pounds

Description

“Durst brings her lavish saga to an emotional and breathtaking end, as this eic tale continues to thrill and enchant until the very last page.” — RT Book Reviews “The thrilling and sometimes melancholy finale of Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy...The well-crafted denouement wraps up the entire adventure perfectly.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “The Queens of Renthia seriesxa0[...] concludes with an earth-shattering conflict between three determined queens, two countries, and a multitude of bloodthirsty spirits.” — Booklist (starred review) “Ms. Durst has given us a refeshing, provocative and ultimately convincing remake of modern fantasy conventions. The wonder is that we ever saw things the other way around.” — Wall Street Journal “ The Queen of Sorrow is [...] filled with intricate battles, a lot of action, intriguing strategies, and an entertaining story. The amazing fantasy characters remain true to themselves.” — Washington Book Review “I will gladly read any and all books she chooses to write about this wonderful, imaginative world. Highly recommended.” — Fantasy Literature, 4-1/2 stars “With a story focused on powerful women and worldbuilding worthy of Guy Gavriel Kay, this series has been a dark delight.” — B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog “ The Queen of Sorrow is an excellent finale to the trilogy [...] The Queens of Renthiaxa0is a must-read of the genre. Highly Recommended.” — SFFWorld “If you’re looking for a high-fantasy series that has a very character-driven plot and will keep you interested and engaged, pick up these books! They’re full of magic, mayhem, and emotion.” — Kid’s BookBuzz Sarah Beth Durst is the award-winning author of over twenty fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids, including The Queens of Renthia series, Drink Slay Love , and The Stone Girl’s Story . She won an ALA Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and has been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat. For more information, visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.

Features & Highlights

  • The battle between vicious spirits and strong-willed queens that started in the award-winning
  • The Queen of Blood
  • and continued in the powerful
  • The Reluctant Queen
  • comes to a stunning conclusion in
  • The Queen of Sorrow
  • , the final volume of Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy.
  • Queen Daleina has yearned to bring peace and prosperity to her beloved forest home—a hope that seemed doomed when neighboring forces invaded Aratay. Now, with the powerful Queen Naelin ruling by her side, Daleina believes that her dream of ushering in a new era can be realized, even in a land plagued by malevolent nature spirits who thirst for the end of human life.
  • And then Naelin’s children are kidnapped by spirits.
  • Nothing is more important to her than her family, and Naelin would rather watch the world burn than see her children harmed. Blaming the defeated Queen Merecot of Semo for the kidnapping, Naelin is ready to start a war—and has the power to do it.
  • But Merecot has grander plans than a bloody battle with her southern neighbors. Taking the children is merely one step in a plot to change the future of all Renthia, either by ending the threat of spirits once and for all . . . or plunging the world into chaos.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(77)
★★★★
25%
(64)
★★★
15%
(38)
★★
7%
(18)
★
23%
(59)

Most Helpful Reviews

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a good resolution for this fantasy series

A lot of loose ends were tied together at the end of this third volume of this fantasy series. It was an entertaining book, that held my interest. Events got arranged for a possible sequel someday. It is the case, however, that much has been resolved, so on balance, there is little need for a sequel. The “spirits” of creation and destruction, showed themselves to be necessary parts of the world. This knowledge was obtained as a result of attempting to eliminate the spirits. They remain a strange and intriguing part of this world. They are, to a certain extent, symbolic of nature in its wild exuberance, bringing both the necessary world of possibility, of beauty, and of the potential of our survival, but also an insane angry fury of destruction toward us humans. The queens possess some very limited power to command this fury and tame it: There is an intelligence behind the spirits that occasionally leads them to voluntarily submit to the queens, as the citizens of a realm submit to the leadership of a queen. While there are some fairly strong male characters, the women dominate in this world. In this sense, the story told is utopian, based within a hierarchy of female domination. On the other hand, the ambitions and desires of the queens and other strong women in the story lend a dark aspect to this utopia, but not so much that we would characterize the tale as dystopian. At the end of the book, we see that the resolution is somewhat positive, but tinged with sadness. I recommend this story, overall, for its entertainment appeal for people who like good fantasy writing.
1 people found this helpful
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Queen

Loved this series ! Hated when it ended !
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Great ending

Wow, so much happens in book three! Lots of action and characters really come to life in this one! They seemed to get better and better through the series, written wise. The author did really well with bringing out her characters with the action and trying to find solutions. Great trilogy.

Interesting ending to the Queens of Renthia trilogy. I dont hate it. It was unique and creative. But I feel like it wasn't quite the end. The author states at the end that there will be a stand alone novel in the same world, but a different area of Renthia. So I'm hoping that will answer some questions. While she was wrapping this book up I felt she left a few open strings on purpose.
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Good ending to a good series

it was a little drawn out but stick with it..
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Expands this fascinating world and raises the stakes for an extremely satisfying conclusion (though hopefully not the end?)

Durst changes the stakes yet again as the fractures in having two queens (one untrained and nigh-uncontrollable) in one kingdom begin to dramatically show. If you've ever wondered what's in Semo and beyond...and who rules those lands...this IS the book for you. You get just a peek (and I hope Durst continues the series to give us more) but it really elevates the stakes for Daleina and Naelin, as well as for Merecot. Interesting relationship develops between Hamon and his birth mother: resident psychopath extraordinaire. This narcissist gets a lot more to do in this book - continuing her habit from the second in series of sounding similar to a murderous Lwaxana Troi from TNG. But, her character gets just enough punchy lines and development that it never gets boring.
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Fabulous end to a fabulous series!

WOW! What a wonderful end to this fabulous trilogy. The Queen of Sorrow is everything I expect in a Sarah Beth Durst novel - incredible world-building, complex characters, and a heart-pounding story. I highly recommend this fantasy - and the entire series!!!
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Five Stars

GREAT BOOK !!
✓ Verified Purchase

if you like --strong heroines

So basically, if you like
--strong heroines, including one who is no longer a lithesome teenager
--wild magic, not of an alchemical spell-casting sort, but a natural phenomena
--lots of great supporting characters with their own concerns, skillsets, and romances (including an unexpected and charming queer romance)
--a lovely world of treetop ziplines, places where wild spirits are creating elemental chaos, structures of all sorts called out of the spirits by the power of imagination and strength of will
--a main character (Daleina) whose primary characteristic is to calmly, trustingly, and good-heartedly make the best of what she has
--political machinations complicated by bloodthirsty spirit agendas
--bloodthirsty spirits who turn out to more complex than expected, who are more than just murder trees, murder ice, murder dirt, etc, though they are that too.

You will love this book!

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