The hiatus of Book Club continues. And I know I said I was looking forward to doing some non-required reading... but this is honestly the first book I have picked up and read in the last three months. When I take a break, boy do I take a break apparently.
We read the first book in Signe Pike's trilogy, The Lost Queen, for book club back in 2019. So its been a while since these characters have been in my mind. Even more so, The Forgotten Kingdom came out in 2020, making it some time before I was able to get to it.
While I liked the first book, I thoroughly enjoyed this second one more. The pacing was better because it covered a shorter period of time with only one time jump. And the time jump was well placed. It made a lot of sense with what was going with the characters and in forwarding the plot of the book. It also helps set things up for the third book. (Which I cannot wait for now. September 2023, where are you?)
The first book mainly followed Langoureth's story and point of view with little bits of diving into her brother, Lailoken. The second book uses the perspectives of three main characters: Langoureth, Lailoken and Angharad, Langoureth's daughter. Angharad was sent off to train with Lailoken as a Wisdom Keeper at the end of the first book, and boy does her journey unfold in many unforeseen ways. I was drawn to the chapters that followed Angharad's journey and the trials she endures. There is a particular twist after the time jump that I was surprised by and it made me angry for her.
The events at the end of the first book (Langoureth's husband leads an army to attack Lailoken and the Dragon Warriors) bleed into the second and inextricably change the lives of everyone involved. Characters die, others are captured, and some become lost. Pike does a great job of showing Lailoken's descent into madness. His chapters become more and more disjointed and harder to follow but you're drawn in because there is so much symbolism and foreshadowing. As the reader you're trying to piece things together and understand the metaphors and prophecies at play.
I felt like Langoureth's story was more in the background this time, but I still rooted for her every time she was on the page. She really grows into the queen she is meant to be. She takes things with stride and connives with the best of them, knowing that she cannot upturn the apple cart if she hopes to save those she loves. She must play the game of power in order to survive and I think she did it really well throughout this installment.
Much like the first book, the Notes from the Author was some of the best stuff. Pike notes that she did a lot of research on some of the key battles that appear on the page. Something that interested me was that in history it is unclear what actually happened to Angharad. However, Pike decided that she was alive in the story and so most of her journey is pure fiction but in a way that still ties into the time, the beliefs, the peoples and the legend. I really liked that. She made Angharad a character that I enjoyed to read but also contributed to the overall story.
I'm not sure what else I'll get to reading this summer - it's already July! I start grad classes again in September, and Book Club, so it'll be back to required reading. But that can always be fun too. Maybe I'll get another one in before end of August. Fingers crossed.
