The Oracle's Queen (Tamír Triad #3) by Lynn Flewelling
Under the rule of a usurper king, the realm of Skala has suffered famine, plague, and invasion. But now the time for the rightful heir has come, a return to the tradition of warrior queens. And the Lightbearer's prophecy is to be upheld at last: so long as a daughter of the royal line defends and rules, Skala will never be subjugated.
Now a mystical fire has burned away the male body known as Prince Tobin, revealing Princess Tamír, a girl on the verge of womanhood-and a queen ready to claim her birthright after a life in disguise under the protection of wizards and witches. But will her people, her army-and the friends she was forced to deceive-accept her? Worse, will the crown's rival heir, friend to Tobin, turn foe to Tamír, igniting civil war in a fierce battle for Skala?
The third book in the trilogy has a few slow spots as Tamir tries to discover her true self as a girl and where she fits into the future of Skala. But I thought it odd that Tamir is left to discover her girlhood without any girls around. The few female characters in the book don’t have large parts, are more just stock figures, especially when it came to Tamir working out her feelings for Ki. Does Tamir not want to bond with other females?
Because of that, II felt that there was a bit too much focus on the Tamir/Ki relationship, to the detriment of some of the other characters. When the other characters are allowed some time in the spotlight, things pick up and becomes more exciting. It definitely lifts the book.
So, it was an interesting book, and most of the plot points were nicely tied up. Brother’s fate was rather anticlimactic, but the novel was still highly readable, and brings the trilogy to a respectable close.
Mount TBR 2022 Book Links
Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.
1. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
2. The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
3. The Autumn Throne (Eleanor of Aquitaine #3) by Elizabeth Chadwick
4. Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year by Charles Bracelen Flood
5. Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2) by Stephen King
6. The High House by Jessie Greengrass
7. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
8. Nightmare Country by Marlys Millhiser
9. The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde, Diane Oatley (translator)
10. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
11. The Bear (The Grizzly King: A Romance of the Wild) by James Oliver Curwood
12. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
13. The Wrong End of Time by John Brunner
14. The Hidden Child by Louise Fein
15. The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
16. The Virtues of War by Stephen Pressfield
17. Our Oldest Companions: The Story of the First Dogs by Pat Shipman
18. The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman
19. The Redemption of Wolf 302 by Rick McIntyre
20. John of Gloucester by Wendy Miall
21. Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez
22. The Cold Calling (The Cold Calling #1) by Phil Rickman
23. The Keep (Adversary Cycle #1) by F. Paul Wilson
24. Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
25. The Speed of Souls: A Novel for Dog Lovers by Nick Pirog
26. The Yorkists: The History of a Dynasty by Anne Crawford
27. With Face Aflame by A.E. Walnofer
28. The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks
29. Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
30. Wardenclyffe (The Secret History of the World) by F. Paul Wilson
31. Goblin by Josh Malerman
32. The Queen Who Never Was by Maureen Peters
33. The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984 by Dorian Lynskey
34. Richard III’s Books by Anne F. Sutton & Livia Visser-Fuchs
35. Gwendy's Final Task (The Button Box #3) by Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
36. Malorie (Bird Box #2) by Josh Malerman
37. Where We Come From by Oscar Cásares
38. The Unconquered Sun by Ralph Dulin
39. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
40. The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
41. The X Factor by Andre Norton
42. The Last Wild Horses (Climate Quartet #3) by Maja Lunde, Diane Oatley (Translator)
43. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
44. Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson
45. Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
46. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
47. Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
48. Mean Spirit (The Cold Calling #2) by Phil Rickman
49. The Killing of Richard the Third (Henry Morane #1) by Robert Farrington
50. The Curious Case of H. P. Lovecraft by Paul Roland
51. Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood
52. The Great God Pan and Other Classic Horror Stories by Arthur Machen
53. He Who Types Between the Rows: A Decade of Horror Drive-In by Mark Sieber
54. Night After Night (The Cold Calling #03) by Phil Rickman
55. The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird
56. Biloxi by Mary Miller
57. Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System by Ian Angus
58. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel (Translator)
59. The Visitant by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
60. Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide by Michele Schindler
61. Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters by Serhii Plokhy
62. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
63. Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
64. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
65. Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy
66. The Killing Star by Charles Pellegrino, George Zebrowski
67. The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour by Andrei Cherny
68. The Oracle's Queen (Tamír Triad #3) by Lynn Flewelling
