The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng

Villoso brings her Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy to a strong conclusion (following The Ikessar Falcon) as Queen Talyien, newly returned to her splintered kingdom of Jin-Sayeng, is beset by challenges to her rule—and to her realm’s survival. Talyien is held captive in her own castle by her husband, Rayyel, whose family accuses her of bearing an illegitimate child. Though magic proves her son, Thanh, to be trueborn, he is still held hostage in a distant province. Meanwhile, Prince Yuebek of Zarojo, a powerful mage, has landed with an army and seeks Talyien’s hand in marriage—despite the fact that she has already killed him once. Looming over all these problems is a rift in reality that is corrupting the magical force called agan, causing Talyien’s subjects to turn into monsters and her land’s dragons to go mad. Her long-dead father, Yeshin, knew of this threat and set plans in motion to combat it, but enacting his scheme will require Talyien to make a terrible choice. Villoso burdens her protagonist with horrible dilemmas and asks no less of supporting characters, among them the con artist Khine Lamang, who followed Talyien to Jin-Sayeng. Fantasy readers who enjoy well-drawn characters, bloody battles, and noble sacrifices will welcome this. [em]Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (May) [/em]