Some readers (at least those who remember Highlander) might sum up Kendare Blake’s series opener Three Dark Crowns with “there can be only one.” While I do remember Highlander, all I can say to summarize this book is “Oooh, you done fucked up.” In the world Blake created, three queens are born in every generation and, to rule, one has to kill the other two. The queens are born with special abilities—immunity to poison, power of nature, ability to manipulate the elements, etc.—to help them in their battles, along with advisors who are absolutely invested in holding or taking power. The problem is that his particular generation of queens and their advisors seem cursed. No one’s plans turn out right. Bad luck and misunderstandings just make everything worse. It’ll be a wonder if anyone manages to be queen after this not-so-comic series of errors.
Each chapter of Three Dark Crowns centers on a different potential queen. We meet Katherine, a poisoner who gets sick every time she takes poison. She and her guardians/advisors are desperate to keep this quiet. The previous three queens were poisoners and Katherine et al. don’t want to let down the side. Then there’s Arsinoe, who is supposed to be able to make things grow and bond with animals but can’t manage it. Her guardians and advisors seem to be already mourning her, knowing that she won’t be able to match her sisters. When we meet Mirabella, who can summon and control the elements, we get to see the queens’ magic. She is so talented that the contest is a forgone conclusion. The problem is that Mirabella does not want to kill her sisters.
Katherine and Arsinoe’s allies scheme to try and keep their queens alive. There are all kinds of underhanded plots, trickery, and dastardly deeds. Mirabella’s advisors, meanwhile, are trying to find a way to eliminate her competition since Mirabella is not willing to do so on her own. In spite of all this plotting, nothing goes right. There’s too much to explain (and too many twists to reveal), but everything gets incredibly complicated incredibly quickly. (Petyr Baelish would consider them very much amateur hour.) The only explanation for all the going awry is that whatever power behind the scenes (probably divine) is not happy with the way things are being done.
I was hugely entertained by Three Dark Queens but I hated the cliffhanger ending. The cliffhanger could be interpreted as a last bundle of twists. I, however, could only see it as a plot to make me by the next book in the series. I’m hugely tempted, but the third book in the series isn’t out and I’m worried that book two will end with more cliffhangers. I don’t want to be stuck wondering until it gets published; it would really hate that. This is such a fast paced series that having to wait is awful. This is definitely a series I should’ve waited until it was finished before I started.
I really want to know how everything turns out. Nuts.