The Queen of the Tearling

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Call it The Hunger Games of Thrones. Erika Johansen's debut novel is a genre mashup: medieval fantasy meets dystopian future. . . . The setting, combined with Johansen's deft hand with character and plotting, really does work. . . . An addictive and enjoyable adventure. . . . The Tear is just as easy to get sucked into as Westeros or Hogwarts or Panem." --USA Today

Magic, adventure, mystery, and romance combine in this epic debut in which a young princess must reclaim her dead mother's throne, learn to be a ruler--and defeat the Red Queen, a powerful and malevolent sorceress determined to destroy her.

On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen's Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon--from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic--to prevent her from wearing the crown.

Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingdom about which she knows almost nothing. But what she discovers in the capital will change everything, confronting her with horrors she never imagined. An act of singular daring will throw Kelsea's kingdom into tumult, unleashing the vengeance of the tyrannical ruler of neighboring Mortmesne: the Red Queen, a sorceress possessed of the darkest magic. Now Kelsea will begin to discover whom among the servants, aristocracy, and her own guard she can trust.

But the quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun--a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend . . . if she can survive.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Starred Review. In this promising series opener from debut author Johansen, Princess Kelsea was raised in hiding after her mother, Queen Elyssa, died prematurely. Now, on her 19th birthday, it's time for Kelsea to take up the mantle of leadership. The Tearling, originally founded as a low-tech utopian society after the "Crossing" from modern Europe, is a struggling kingdom with few resources. With the assistance of the Queen's Guard and her knowledge of Tear history, Kelsea must evade assassination to claim her crown and begin to right the wrongs of the previous decades. In the distance looms the kingdom of Mortmesne and the threat of the seemingly ageless Red Queen, to whom the Tearling has been paying a terrible price. Katherine Kellgren expertly narrates this broad fantasy, the first in a projected trilogy. VERDICT An essential audiobook for libraries, poised to become the next big thing. ["Johansen's debut is a solid fantasy that doesn't stray very far from the traditional playbook," read the review of the Harper hc, LJ 6/15/14.]-Anna Mickelsen, Springfield City Lib., MA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Johansen makes an impressive debut with this ambitious fantasy adventure, which takes place several centuries from now following the collapse of civilization and mass migration to a newly discovered continent. The resultant society resembles medieval Europe, with modern technology all but forgotten, and magic is subtly present. Finally come of age, 19-year-old Kelsea Glynn must evade assassins and her uncle's nefarious plans in order to take her place as rightful queen of the nation known as the Tearling. Her first acts as ruler break a treaty with neighboring Mortmense and anger the unaging sorceress called the Red Queen; Kelsea rallies her allies and prepares for war. Johansen starts strongly, with a forceful, memorable heroine immediately thrust into a series of intense situations and forced to make dynamic, if overly idealistic, decisions. While the setting and backstory could stand further explanation and exploration, and many elements fall apart under closer scrutiny, this trilogy launch is still an engaging page-turner. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, William Morris Endeavor. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Although the setting resembles medieval times, this story takes place far in the future. Following a mysterious cataclysmic event referred to as the Crossing, humans now exist without modern technology and have reverted back to feudalism. At the story's opening, Kelsea, the rightful Queen of the Tearling, turns 19 (the age of ascension) and is escorted by the Queen's Guard from her forest home to claim her throne. Raised, educated, and protected by an elderly couple since birth, Kelsea possesses much book intelligence but lacks practical political knowledge. Nevertheless, she is everything one desires in a leader she is strong, decisive, just, and possesses an inner strength that allows her to face any challenge placed in front of her. However, her challenges seem insurmountable and include the need to abolish the slave lottery that plagues her people. In an impressive start to a series, Johansen expertly incorporates magic necklaces, political intrigue, questions of honor, well-drawn characters, and a bit of mystery into a compelling and empowering story. As much is (understandably) left unexplained, it will be interesting to see where future installments take this series.--Price, Kerri Copyright 2014 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Chick lit meets swords and sorcery in the perfect commodity for a hot demographic.But is it art? Debut novelist Johansen turns in a fantasy novel thats derivative of Tolkien, as so many books in the genre areits got its merry band of warriors, its struggle for a throne that has a long and tangled history, its battle for good and evil. That this novel just happens to have commanded a huge advance and a movie deal, with Emma Watson attached at this writing to play the heroine, Kelsea, is incidental to the tale, which, schematized, would be pretty by-the-numbers. As a worldbuilding exercise, it has many deficiencies: While the story is set in the not-too-distant future, its trappings are medieval and not, as inA Canticle for Leibowitz, because of an intervening apocalypse; its a churchy and mystical sort of place, but the heroine has a command of Mendelian genetics (Red hair was a recessive gene, and in the three centuries since the Crossing, it had bred slowly and steadily out of the population). But, continuity errors and improbabilities asidewhen hiding from a deadly enemy, for instance, a troop of royal guards isnt really likely to get drunk, sing loud songs and keep the orcs awake all nightJohansen adds value to the tale with well-crafted sentences that sometimes build into exuberant paragraphs: The queenship shed inherited, problematic enough in the abstract, now appeared insurmountable. But of course, she had already known the road would be difficult. Carlin had told her so obliquely, through years spent studying the troubled nations and kingdoms of the past. On the plus side, too, is Johansens wise choice to make the heroine a plain-ish Jane who learns on the go, discovering her inner resources as she emerges from adolescence into adulthood. And applause, too, for some nicely gory closing moments.A middling Middle Earthian yarn, then, that seems destined to be the next big thing among theGame of Thronesset. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.