The Caged Queen

The Caged Queen is a fantasy, companion novel to The Last Namsara. Knowledge of the first book is helpful but not necessary to enjoying The Caged Queen which deals with a slightly different set of characters after the events of The Last Namsara.

Roa, a scrublander, has married Dax, King of Firgaard, to achieve peace between their peoples and better conditions for the scrublanders. Although they were childhood friends, Roa blames Dax for the death of her sister, Essie, whose spirit stays with Roa in the form of a hawk. The longer a spirit stays in this world, the greater chance it will become corrupted and turn into a dangerous monster, and Essie’s time is running out.

Scrublanders plot a rebellion against the king and convince Roa to join them. If Roa kills Dax on the night of the Relinquishing, she can trade Dax’s soul for Essie’s and get her sister back. Roa promises to aid the rebellion and kill Dax. Then she discovers that Dax’s flirting and incompetence were just an act to deal with his enemies: he will enact reforms, and he has always only loved Roa. But the rebel leader imprisons Essie the hawk, and so Roa has no choice but to follow through with their plot, despite her growing feelings for Dax.

Flashbacks in the form of interludes tell the story of Roa and Dax’s childhood friendship, Roa’s love for her sister, and Essie’s death and return as a hawk. Sometimes the back-and-forth of chronology is awkward, or overly obvious, but, in general, the interludes work to develop the twisted coil of Roa, Dax and Essie’s relationship and Roa’s impossible dilemma.

The Caged Queen is a tense story of political machinations, but, at its heart, it is about two friends learning to trust one another again. Roa is a believably flawed heroine who has been hurt too often, and Dax is a cautious, inexperienced king who has too much at stake. Consequently, their inability to be honest with one another is realistic, if frustrating.

Roa is a strong character with clear goals, able to defend herself, and devoted to her people’s cause, but her tragic devotion to her dead sister paralyzes her. Ciccarelli walks a fine line between a heroine who is passive and indecisive and one who is agonizingly torn between two loves. Roa feels more passive at the beginning of the novel, but, as the plot picks up speed in the second half, her choices become more fraught and Roa becomes more engaging.

The writing is solid, more assured than in the first novel. World-building does assume familiarity with the first novel but won’t be confusing to readers beginning here. The only fantasy elements are Essie’s appearance as a ghost/hawk and the dragons that show up at the end; some of the interludes tell folktales that explain enough about ghosts for the plot to make sense. The pacing moves along well enough with some swordplay and fighting and lots of plotting and deception. The Caged Queen is ultimately a character-based story about love and loyalty: Roa’s choice at the end to release her sister’s spirit instead of killing Dax has nation-changing implications but feels highly personal.

The Caged Queen is an enjoyable read for lovers of swords-and-royalty fantasy and independent heroines.