The True Queen

THE TRUE QUEEN by Zen Cho introduces Muna, a young woman venturing to foreign Britain to obtain magical help in rescuing her vanished sister. 

Where SORCERER TO THE CROWN dealt specifically with racism and misogyny, THE TRUE QUEEN is more about misogyny and the particular combination of racism and xenophobia that is exoticism. I love the book's overall tone, it has relentlessly upbeat feeling, a kind of optimism borne out of either not understanding how grave the danger might be or from understanding the risks and persevering anyway. Which one is happening shifts throughout the story and from narrator to narrator as characters other than Muna briefly lend their points of view. Even though it was several chapters in before I came across characters I recognized from the first book, this upbeat style was recognizable and immediately make it clear that the books were connected. It didn't retread much ground from the first book in terms of worldbuilding, only re-explaining as much as was immediately necessary, preferring instead to focus on Muna's perspective and the parts of the setting which affected her directly. It's the same way that the worldbuilding was handled the first time around, but seeing the effect centered around a different character made it more noticeable. 

As a sequel this was very self-contained. THE TRUE QUEEN is unmistakably part of the same world as SORCERER TO THE CROWN due to the tone, characters, and magic system, but as a story it didn't need the first book at all to be understood. It doesn't really wrap up anything left hanging from the first book, but it does involve characters from there in ways that advance their personal storylines. In particular I appreciate seeing a lot more of Henrietta, and some updates on Zacharias and Prunella. The main storyline follows a new character, Muna, and her story is introduced and resolved here. How this was handled as a sequel makes me think that there's room to cover a lot of kinds of characters who have been marginalized from magical society in this version of England. I also need to see more of Muna, given how the book ends. The main character, Muna, is newly introduced here. Some characters like Prunella briefly reprise their role as narrators, and everyone has distinct narrative voices while keeping an overall tone to the book that works well. Someone could absolutely read this without having read the first book, as relevant information is briefly explained. I had a gap of over a year between reading each book and while there could be more reference I'd catch if I'd read them closer together, that helps me be more sure that someone who enjoys historical fantasy could pick this up at random and have a good time. 

Sequels to books I enjoyed make me extremely wary. Too often I find that they just don't seem to capture the same feelings as the original, and I'm left feeling slightly sad and unsatisfied. You just can't always capture lightning twice, I guess.

Not so with this book. Actually, I daresay I enjoyed this one even slightly more than the first. The focus of this book isn't on the cast from the first book (though they do play minor roles and cameos), but instead follows two sisters, Muna and Sakti, who are separated from each other while venturing through the fairy realm to England. Muna makes it to England and Prunella's school, but Sakti does not. The story follows Muna as she tries to reunite with her sister despite overwhelming opposition, and the discovery of why they were separated in the first place.

While I was able to guess the twist relatively early on, I still liked how the author handled it and still manage to make parts unexpected. The story just felt...fun. Like a magical romp with slightly high stakes, like a brighter Harry Potter, maybe. The story is self contained, nothing needs a sequel, and it leaves you feeling glad to have read it at the end.

In the Malaysian village of Janda Baik, two girls awake with no memories of who they were, just their names; Muna and Sakti. Sakti possesses magic but Muna does, yet the witch Mak Genggang takes them both in. When they become desperate to learn the truth, the girls go against their mentor's wishes and are sent off to England to make amends at the Sorceress Royale's academy for female magicians.

It's been a long wait since we last saw Prunella and Zacharias I loved the different direction The Last Queen took, whilst still revisiting beloved characters from the first book. I instantly warmed to Muna, her love for her sister and her willingness to march into danger to save her.

The English magiciennes are still battling with the prejudice of the patriarchy. Among the upper class, ladies doing magic is pure scandal. Harriet plays a bigger part in this story, resigned to marriage in order to help her family, she can go on one last adventure. When the Queen of Fairy accuses England of stealing a powerful artefact, someone needs to venture into the Fairy Court to sort things out.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable sequel and Zen Cho's storytelling has only got better. I did work it all out well before the characters but it was still a delight. I hope there won't be too long until the next one!