Queenscage

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2021

Author

incarnadine

• 73. Fall IV
  Apr 2, 2022
• 72. Fall III
  Mar 4, 2022
• 71. Fall II
  Feb 25, 2022
• 70. Fall I
  Feb 9, 2022
• 69. Wings III
  Jan 30, 2022
• 68. Wings II
  Jan 19, 2022
• 67. Wings I
  Jan 7, 2022
• 66. Root III
  Dec 23, 2021
• 65. Root II
  Dec 19, 2021
• 64. Root I
  Dec 1, 2021
• 63. Interlude: Mortal
  Nov 18, 2021
• 62. Blood III
  Nov 11, 2021
• 61. Blood II
  Nov 4, 2021
• 60. Blood I
  Oct 29, 2021
• 59. Interlude: Star (Part II)
  Oct 22, 2021
• 58. Interlude: Star (Part I)
  Oct 21, 2021
• 57. Empire III
  Oct 14, 2021
• 56. Empire II
  Oct 7, 2021
• 55. Empire I
  Sep 30, 2021
• 54. Interlude: Sky
  Sep 23, 2021

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• Chaos JesterRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  There's something to say about the atmosphere of this story. The themes and plot and characters find an amazing way to completely pull you into it and leave you wanting more and more.
  The style itself is amazing. I always love jumping perspectives, and even though there is a set main character, we are given the oppurtunity to see relevant events and discussions happening elsewhere. The descriptions are amazingly vivid and the overall structure of the magic of the world (even though it is semi-borrowed from mythology) is well thought out and executed.
  I saw absolutely nothing wrong with grammar, typos, spelling, syntax, repitition, or anything else of that nature.
  The story itself brings you in with a Battle Royale-esque premise, but after the events. From there the audience is following characters split between what had happened and what happens next. I love the idea of the victors being a united team that is seemingly a slower paced round two. I may be off on that development, but the MC is definitely Wiser than to play it safe. And the mystery and intrigue on what happened in the cage is a driving point for the story itself at this point.
  While the main character is both wise and stragegic, we are also gifted with a view of her peers, the world at large, and those she had to step on to get where she is. The entirety of this cast is rounded out well, each playing their part to perfection and making for intriguing characters.
  Overall, this is an astoundingly interesting and intriguing story that I've already linked to other people. I cannot wait to see where this blend of mortals and gods takes us.
• SophoclesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Has all the political intrigue and cloak and dagger of game of thrones mixed with the presence powers provided by Olympian gods along with heroes. Every imperial character has more depth to them than most main characters in other novels, they each have their own motivation and their power reflects their personality as well making it fitting.
  The grammer is basically perfect with no obvious spelling mistakes and the world building is great.
• TMarkosRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I am a bit of a sucker for stories that begin with an unapologetic in medias res.  Queenscage opens with a juicy morsel of worldbuilding quickly followed by wheels within wheels intrigue that continues unabated thereafter.  The characters are enjoyable to listen to, both in dialogue and narration - to the extent that I didn't notice that it was first person initially, which is an achievement because I usually carry a strong dislike of first person.
  Further details about the worldbuilding and broader plot are laid out piecemeal in ways that dovetail nicely with the action at hand, and the PoV switches provide pleasing contrast and a welcome additional perspective rather than being jarring or disorienting.
  I don't normally tend to notice the style and formatting of a story unless it is detracting from my experience, so it was welcome to see a story that has had clear thought and effort put into its presentation.  The epigraphs, introductions and various breaks are composed carefully and in a tasteful manner.  It's very nice to see a story with such a rapid output that takes the trouble.
  All told, I'm very pleased with what I've read so far and look forward to seeing more developments from this story.  Well done, author!
• BullerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Oh boy, is this story something. I will straight out say that I will be giving this story a five out of five since it deserves it so dang much. Whats so good about it, you might ask. Well, first off, the characters in this story are more than just a name on a paper. They have more than just depth. They had striking personalities that make them stick out. I have read the first five chapters of this story. How many have been shown off? Over twenty. And I can remember details about almost all of them.
  The style is very heavily oriented on building up the world. Everything shown has a porupose, and we slowly get to see it all unravel, as we get further and further into the story. I have not yet ventured too deep myself, but I make several assurances that I will do so in the future.
  10 out of 10. Would read again.
• Derin_EdalaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Queenscage is a battle royale story that takes place after the battle royale. If you choose your kingdom's heirs based on a last-person-standing deathmatch between chosen heroes of the gods every half-decade, you end up with a bunch selfish, manipulative heirs with a lot of blood on their hands, severe PTSD, and a proven willingness to do pretty much anything to get their way. So when the world changes and opportunities arise for advancement or war...
  If you're a fan of epic fantasies with in-depth worldbuilding and a lot of political intrigue, you will absolutely love this story. If not, I still recommend giving it a go, because it's a fun time all round, but it does throw a *lot* of names, relationships, and complicated backstory at you and expect you to keep up. It took me longer to get through than the word count would suggest because I'm not much of an epic fantasy reader and had trouble remembering who everyone was, but it was still a fun time. The main critique I'll give it in terms of style and structure is that it does have a tendency to reveal information a little bit after the reader needs it, rather than before. This makes it impossible to properly engage and 'play along' with the story, instead leaving the reader to passively watch the protagonist figure out something complicated using information we don't have, and then explain to us what happened after the fact. It leaves the reader feeling constantly wrong-footed, but it's still very entertaining to follow along.
  Not much to say about the grammar. It's fine. No glaring faults.
  The story, specifically the story concept, is where this book really shines. Yes, there are ten million battle royale stories, but most of them focus on the exciting fight and don't care too much for the world outside (even the Hunger Games was far more interesting inside the arena than outside). The battle royale here is background, glimpsed in occasional flashbacks -- the story is a complicated political intrigue between the
• VMJaskierniaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  If you want the quick pitch, this is Game of Thrones with Greek Mythology, crossed with Hunger Games / Battle Royale.
  And it's bloody (pun intended) AMAZING!
  The worldbuilding and depth of the story hit you right from the get go. You may have to go back and reread parts, but that's hardly a chore. The story is fast paced and just drag you along for an amazing ride.
  The style is good- it's polished, clean, if I picked this up in a bookstore I would be buying it and checking the author site to see when the inevitable 3 sequels come out. This feels to me like a huge franchise even within the first few chapters.
  Grammar - saw nothing wrong, everything's well done.
  The story takes a lot of other things you *think* you've read before, mixes them together, and gives you something new and better. Again, GoT + Hunger Games, plus Percy Jackson, but it's so much more than that.
  Characters- I  love Sera. I love how she thinks, I love hearing her thoughts, I want to know more about what she went through. It's first person, which I usually don't like, but I like being in Sera's head.
  Just go read this.
• K.M. KeaneRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Oh, Queenscage, what can I say. I was first meant to read only some of it, but I ended up reading it all.
  If I had to describe this story with only one word, it would be intriguing. The author has created such an immense world of politics, plotting, and interesting characters that it's admirable.
  The strongest points in the story for me are definitely the world-building and the author's style. I really like the style of writing. The grammar is really good and the writing flows with ease. There is a lot of information, backstory, characters, history, culture and you name it. Sometimes the amount of information seems a bit exhausting, but the story is so intriguing that I looked past it. The author has created a lot, and I'm in awe of that.
  I'm not a fan of multi-POV, but it didn't bother me much in this book. It was because of the author's style of writing that let me enjoy the book nonetheless. The chapters have length, but I think they need to be so that the reader has a chance to fully get into the world. The story isn't progressing too fast for my taste either.
  The characters are interesting, and even though there are lots of them, they seem complex and distinct from each other. Time will tell what characters will make it to the end. The MC, Seraphina, is strong and cunning, and I'm interested to read what will happen to her.
  There is a lot going on in the story, and at first, it felt a bit heavy since the reader is pretty much shoved in the middle of everything. I wished that the story would have started with a chapter that let me first get to know the MC better (maybe the first interlude etc.), before being thrown in the middle of it all. I had trouble remembering who was who and if I had encountered some name before etc. but when I got further into the story, I was fine with it.
  But all in all, this is one intriguing story! Heavy world-building and intriguing premise and plot with politics included. It is a book you have to fully focus on, but if you do it, yo
• D.C.VeilingRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Phew, that's a hard one to review. Queenscage has a fast-paced story that is told in ever-shifting scenarios of different viewpoints. With every scene you get more information about the bigger picture, things are starting to make sense and you realise how big and thought-through the world-building of this novel is!
  That is quite a unique and fitting way to write a fantasy novel that lives mostly from intrigue. My problem here is that it should maybe not start the exact same way. This works awesome after you know the characters, environment and basic plotline.
  But in the first few chapters, reading a complex intrigue about characters I didn't know yet, felt a bit like trying to solve a difficult puzzle of a picture that I don't want to see as I have no investment into it yet. That made it a bit of a chore to read at the start.
  Still - all in all it was a very unique and entertaining way of telling a complex story and if the beginning left us a bit more time to get immersed and invested into plot and characters, this would be awesome!
  Style Score: as said, the style is working great in the middle but is hard to get into at the start. I'd say 3* at the beginning and easily 5* after a few chapters with the same style so I will settle for 4*.
  Story Score: Nothing to complain. As soon as you manage to get the puzzle together, this is a great story, worth of 5 stars.
  Character Score:
  Wasn't easy either for me. The Characters all have depth and are believable. Personally, I might have the problem that the only characters I like would die off as they are not cold or ruthless enough to survive in this setting. Still, as the writing is really good, I would go for 4,5 stars here.
  Grammar: excellent.
  Overall I would recommend the story to readers who like complex intrigue and unique styles in general - this is where the fiction shines!
• SiiRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Overall:
  Fraught is the word that came to mind as I read through this politically charged, intriguing story. I don't even know how to use fraught properly in a sentence, but I think it would be something like "this story is fraught with political machinations." With little fanfare, we are thrown into the world of Queenscage and the author expects you to take your time and figure out who is who and what the hell is going on. I, personally, like the approach of letting the readers meander as they try to get their bearings and figure out which way is up. The author does an excellent job of introducing the characters with an air of mystery. Our MC, Seraphina, immediately comes off as cunning and mistrusting. There are a good amount of POV changes and I think this works in the story's favor since it is quite obvious there's much to learn about the world. The worldbuilding just might be my favorite aspect of the story, what with the author's plentiful use of in-world terms that make things feel foreign yet recognizable. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding tends to get in the way of the character building, at least this is the case early on. I will come back and amend this statement as I find time to read more if I feel things change.
  Also, the chapters are meaty! And I think that's a good thing. They read like traditionally published chapters. This definitely gives up more time with each POV character.
  Story & Grammar:
  The two strongest points for me. The hints of story that we get and the intrigue surrounding the MC and the rest of the cast. We learn, right off the bat really, that sometimes being the winner might not be the best thing to happen. As a Victor, Seraphina joins a family. That family seems to be filled with homicidal superpower wielding folks who do as they please, even as far as killing and maiming with little to no repercussions. Seraphina herself is just as homicidal, within the first few chapters she causes an incident that involves the blowing up of buildi
• BedwigRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  The grammar is very good, the story is good, the pacing is slightly slow, but fine. The characters were also pretty good.
  The characters all have a reason and drive to do something, and unlike quit a bit of other novels I've read on this site, the characters don't make stupid decisions just for the plot.
  The world building is good, it creates a complex, magical world where the gods exist.
  The only thing that puts me off slightly is that there's way too much politicking involved. But that's ust my opinion. The politicking, in my opinion, is vital to the story itself.
  Overall this is a very good story.