Monday, April 25, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Dark Queen Rises by Ashok K. Banker

 



Full Disclosure:  This book was read in part as an Audiobook e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

A Dark Queen Rises is the second book in Ashok K. Banker's The Burnt Empire Saga trilogy, which began in 2019 with his Upon a Burning Throne (my review here).  The series is a fantasy adaptation of the Mahābhārata, the Indian/Hindu epic, which I've read a couple of other adaptations of - unlike those other adaptations I've read, Banker's series seems to keep the sprawling nature of the original work, with the story ranging widely between characters and places, rather than focusing on a single direct story.  The first novel in the series was interesting as a setup, as it established the variants of the classic story, but it was very much a setup novel.  

To my surprise, so is A Dark Queen Rises, which takes place largely along the same time period as book 1, but in another part of the world, following Krushita, daughter of Jarsun, who was introduced in book 1's prologue and then never appeared again.  In essence, this is an adaptation of the births of Krishna and Draupadi (as far as I can tell despite having never read the original works) rather than of the Mahābhārata itself, and it works pretty well in that right, with interesting characters and ideas along the way.  On the other hand, it's kind of disappointing as a second novel, as what's going to have to happen in many respects - with one surprise near the end - is apparent for a long while, and the book spending a long long stretch of time with a character who clearly is fated for death and little else (Judging from wikipedia, I suspect this is even more the case if you are familiar with the source material).  I'm excited to move on to the conclusion of this series, but I really wish I'd gotten some of that here instead.  

Note:  As noted above, this was read in part as an audiobook (probably about 40% in audio, 60% in print).  I'd also originally read the first book in print, but then reread it in large part in audio.  The reader is the same between this book and the previous one, and is fairly good, even if a bit slow in his reading style.  He doesn't give various characters particularly distinct voices, so if you're looking for that (like other audio-readers are able to do) you won't find it here, but the audiobook is a totally functional and solid way to enjoy this story.  

--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------
Queen Aqreen of Aquila once seemed to have it all - now she has fled her city and her husband Jarsun along with their daughter Krushita, in an attempt to save them both from Jarsun's plans.  For Jarsun is the magically powerful Krushan outcast whose plans involve setting Krushita upon the Burnt Empire's Burning Throne, a plan that Aqreen knows will not end well for her daughter or herself....as her dead father's fate can attest. 

But when the wagon train Aqreen picks to journey to Reygar is attacked by Jarsun's undead minions, it all seems for naught....until Krushita, still a small child, wields her magical powers to stop the attack.  But Jarsun will not stop after only one attempt, and it will require all of Krushita's growing powers - along with the mentorship of the mysterious sage Vessa - and to, as Vessa prophecizes, defeat Jarsun once and for all. 

Meanwhile, Jarsun continues his plans to grow his own empire to challenge the Burnt Empire, building up his forces and mentoring the sinister Tyrak, a monstrous prince with the powers of an Urrkh, whose cruelties and rage threaten to consume his own people and those of his neighbors.  Yet when the gods and prophecies conspire to birth a boy to defeat Tyrak, it becomes clear that an Avatar of a god is being born into this world for the task, one who with Krushita's assistance could become a savior capable of saving the world from Jarsun himself....
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Upon the Burning Throne started with a prologue featuring three babies who were claimants to the throne: brothers Adri and Shvate, and Krushita, the daughter of the feared evil Krushan Jarsun.  The story began with the Krushan leaders rejecting Krushita unfairly because of her father, and Jarsun vowing revenge.....and then Krushita is never seen again throughout that book, although Jarsun wages multiple wars and attacks on the growing Adri and Shvate's forces and their godlike ancestors.  Instead the story builds up Adri and Shvate until the central characters and conflict of the Mahābhārata is setup - with two sets of claimants to the throne clearly set up for civil war in the Five demigod children of Shvate (this book's version of the Pandavas) and the Hundred and One offspring of Adri. 

A Dark Queen Rises does not pick up the story from there - in fact it never gets to that part of the story at all, instead focusing entirely on Krushita and the story of Tyrak, all far far away from the center of the Burnt Empire where book 1 is taking place alongside it.*  In fact, oddly, Krushita 's story is kind of secondary, as there isn't too much too it other than her growing up along the wagon train, which is increasingly attacked and jeopardized by Jarsun in a few memorable sequences (most notably where they face a wave of undead) and Krushita is forced, along with the help of Vessa - who is scheming throughout this book and the only prominent character from book one aside from Jarsun to act here - to grow her powers and to try to scheme on her own to stop her father....and to save the mother and people she cares about.  Krushita is an easy girl to like - one who is not very childlike at all, but her well-meaningness, as well as increasing power and uncertainty about Vessa's plans and how she can move forward, make it easy to enjoy even if she's not really a child.  

*The book actually starts with a prologue that teases what is to come, and then flashes back to the main story, with the prologue only returning in the final chapter*

And then there's what is almost the real protagonist here, a villain protagonist, in Tyrak, the monstrous murderous prince who is first stopped by his noble enemy neighbor, is mentored by Jarsun to become a demon and cruel leader....then goes awry with rage and cruelty after he finds out about the prophecy of his defeat, gets cut down low....only to be raised up once more through the efforts of a few until he becomes a terror again...only to get cut down.  Tyrak's story is an odd one to talk about - its well done, especially as it goes in pathways up and down that aren't quite as expected, and Banker does a great job showcasing his development into different kinds of monsters, whether that be through rule, fighting, sport, or just evil murdering suppression.  And yet at the same time, it's hard not to feel a bit disappointed that there's all this focus on Tyrak, who we know from the very early prophecy is going to die at the hands of the prophesied one, and is only important for the birth of that being (our Krishna in this story....sort of).  

A Dark Queen Rises don't get me wrong is done very very well, with it describing its story in very epic fashion, from the fights, to the sports, to the character developments, to the magic, to the gods, etc.  There's a lot of really interesting stuff here.  And yet, it can never quite escape from the fact that it feels like the plot is on rails to a destination you can see coming from very early, especially in Tyrak's story.  The one exception is the finale of Krushita's story, and how the tables are turned, but other than that, it just kind of feels like the book is telling backstory that really didn't need a whole book, getting us to where several important characters can now be set into place to fight in the battle setup by the end of book 1, which we will pick up back in book 3.  

Adaptations of classic epics are hard, because well....they're often constrained by a set story, especially if they're very straight adaptations like this one is at times.  And this book only makes that constriction even more felt by not having forward plot momentum.  I'll be back for book 3 - I have an advanced copy of it actually - but I'm really hoping it will payoff all this in interesting ways, as this book did not.  

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