The Queen of Nothing
by Holly Black
He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne. Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril. Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics. And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…
With The Queen of Nothing finished, The Folk of the Air Trilogy has come to a close and I am going to miss it. It’s only a trilogy, but this series seems to have flown by. Maybe that’s because the first book, The Cruel Prince, only came out early last year and The Wicked King came out earlier this year. I’ve enjoyed reading it so much. The Queen of Nothing quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of the year after I finished TWK earlier this year.
One aspect of this series I think is absolute perfection is the balance struck between the whimsical, strange and often cruel ways of Faerie with the modern, real world ways that Jude and her sisters are familiar with and often exhibit. There are modern references and modern attitude but there is this overall unreality to the story, a sense very like that of classic fairytales where it seems anything can happen. Truly anything—the more strange and darkly whimsical, the more likely. It maintains a charm all its own throughout the series that continues in The Queen of Nothing. I could spend this entire review talking about my love for the world Black created. It’s beautiful, lush, and dangerous. In The Queen of Nothing, we get to see a little more about how the world of Faerie operates during tumultuous times when threats and stakes are higher than ever as a war threatens the position of High King and courts are divided.
This book was fast. It was fairly short at just over 300 pages and it felt like it flew by. It was chaotic from the start. This series manages to feel almost like one 900 page book in the best way possible. It feels so continuous. The Queen of Nothing picked up where The Wicked King left off, throwing us right into newly-exiled Jude’s life. It doesn’t take long for her to return to Faerie but even though I was eager for her to get back, I enjoyed what I saw of her life in the mortal world. She’s so opportunistic and daring. However, I think the incident that set off her return to Faerie wasn’t given enough attention. It was shocking and beyond unexpected and deserved more time than it was given. That being said, I still thought it was a gripping place to start the story. From the point of Jude’s return to Faerie, the book is wild. The pacing is great—so much happened but nothing felt too quick. Overall, I wasn’t incredibly surprised by where this book went but the path it took getting there surprised me continuously. Overall, I think this book feels less schemey, which is disappointing. Yes, there’s still deceit and court politics, but I think I enjoyed the weight that rested on Jude’s shoulders as seneschal and Cardan’s puppet master in The Wicked King more than what went on in this book. More was out in the open in The Queen of Nothing, which made it a little less intricate but no less difficult for the characters. I would’ve liked the book to be longer, not because I think anything needed more time, I just loved it so much I could’ve spent a lot more time with these characters.
Despite being familiar with these characters, I was never fully prepared for what they were willing to do. That’s one of my favorite things about this series. Relationships are strange and strained and while it becomes clear over time where certain people’s loyalties lie, it’s not always clear how they’re going to handle a situation. It keeps readers guessing. There is one character in particular I wanted to see in a certain role in this book that didn’t happen and I found it disappointing. There was a lot of potential there and he could’ve added another layer of complexity to the plot (really just expanding on what he did before) but I feel like he was just shoved aside as a convenience. He just didn’t get enough attention.
Jude was amazing in The Queen of Nothing, as she always is. I love her self-awareness. She’s smart and cunning and can play the game at Court with the best of them yet she knows she can tip a little too much into the brutality Madoc raised her with. And Cardan just got better. Their relationship was even more compelling. There was a different dynamic between them in this book that I loved seeing. I’m still not crazy about Taryn. She’s probably my least favorite character in the series. Everyone else–every single Faerie that Jude comes into contact with–is someone she knows she might not be able to trust. Her sister shouldn’t fall into that category. Taryn is being a bit smarter finally but still, she only bothers to come see Jude after betraying her when she desperately needs her help. I kind of hate her for it but I also like the depiction of family in this book. It’s ugly and complicated. At least in this book, Taryn actually starts showing up for her sister the way Jude has always shown up for her. Just thinking about Taryn in The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King makes me mad. I’m still not over it even though the series is finished.
I loved this book. It was atmospheric, wonderfully written, fast paced and exciting. However, I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. I can’t put my finger on it because nearly everything I can pinpoint in this book is something I enjoyed but the feeling that I wanted something more persists. Maybe it’s because there were overall less unexpected twists in this book or because I don’t think the end was very shocking (as it was in the last two books). Still, this was a fantastic book.
4/5
Have you read The Queen of Nothing yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
Madison