Review by Gathoni1991 -- The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher
Posted: 04 Sep 2019, 03:55
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Queen of Xana" by Fred Pilcher.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher is an adult fantasy novel. Being an adult fairy story, it contains a fairy godmother, kingdoms, a prince, a princess and also an evil sorcerer. The story is a heroine story, as the focal character is a strong and compassionate woman. The story is narrated from the third person's point of view.
A long time ago, there was a land called Xana ruled by Queen Julia. Xana was a land held hostage by an evil sorcerer known as Magi. The queen, had a daughter known as Agatha, whom she trained in the ways of the kingdom and aristocracy. Agatha was very eager to learn about governing a kingdom. Therefore, she attended council meetings when she was still very young. Unlike the princesses we come across in stories, that only learn how to curtsy, Agatha used to contribute to the council meetings and criticize the suggestions of the council members too. One unfortunate day, the evil sorcerer, Magi, attacked the palace and killed the queen among other council members. Agatha had been whisked away to safety. She ascended to the throne, but Magi continued to terrorise the citizens of Xana. He raped people's wives, defiled their daughters, stole their supplies but, was never able to physically harm Princess Agatha. Agatha's fairy godmother protected her from Magi, and gave her strict instructions to follow, in order to save her kingdom from Magi. Will she succeed in her quest to save her kingdom?
I give the book a perfect score of 4 out of 4 stars. This is because, the story was well thought out and well written. The author meticulously articulated his message through the story. One can quickly realise that what the author has written in the book, is the kind of world he would rather be living in. The language was simple with minimal profanities. The story flowed smoothly, and had impeccable continuity. Occasionally, the story was interrupted by passages that explained the part of the story that was to follow. This made the reader understand the ways of the people of Xana. I was very impressed with the book because it had zero mistakes. The focal character was well fleshed out and related well with the other characters. There is no storyline the author left hanging.
I loved the story because it showed that women too can be great leaders. They can be strong, can make tough decisions and still be compassionate. The story unveils another style of governance that we people of today can only dream of. A leadership that detests corruption and prosecute corrupt administrators. Furthermore, the wealth that they obtain by stealing is confiscated. Also, Xana's administration tried and succeeded in bridging the big gap between the aristocrats and the poor people - this is something we can only fantasize about these days. My biggest takeaway from the book was, how important it is to nurture the kids' skills when they are still young. The author, who is a retired College Physics teacher, demonstrates in the book how nurturing the children leads to having productive citizens in the country. The story too tells of the importance of critical thinking. One interesting fact about the novel is that, religion was not integrated into the story. It makes one wonder if the author was trying to show how a land can be very prosperous without religion.
I recommend the book to those who love heroine stories, and also to those who love Cinderella stories. The story may not be appropriate for young adults as it has multiple erotic scenes. The book was impeccably edited. The typesetting and formatting was incredible too.The only thing I disliked about the book was that the focal character had a 'larger than life' attitude.
******
The Queen of Xana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher is an adult fantasy novel. Being an adult fairy story, it contains a fairy godmother, kingdoms, a prince, a princess and also an evil sorcerer. The story is a heroine story, as the focal character is a strong and compassionate woman. The story is narrated from the third person's point of view.
A long time ago, there was a land called Xana ruled by Queen Julia. Xana was a land held hostage by an evil sorcerer known as Magi. The queen, had a daughter known as Agatha, whom she trained in the ways of the kingdom and aristocracy. Agatha was very eager to learn about governing a kingdom. Therefore, she attended council meetings when she was still very young. Unlike the princesses we come across in stories, that only learn how to curtsy, Agatha used to contribute to the council meetings and criticize the suggestions of the council members too. One unfortunate day, the evil sorcerer, Magi, attacked the palace and killed the queen among other council members. Agatha had been whisked away to safety. She ascended to the throne, but Magi continued to terrorise the citizens of Xana. He raped people's wives, defiled their daughters, stole their supplies but, was never able to physically harm Princess Agatha. Agatha's fairy godmother protected her from Magi, and gave her strict instructions to follow, in order to save her kingdom from Magi. Will she succeed in her quest to save her kingdom?
I give the book a perfect score of 4 out of 4 stars. This is because, the story was well thought out and well written. The author meticulously articulated his message through the story. One can quickly realise that what the author has written in the book, is the kind of world he would rather be living in. The language was simple with minimal profanities. The story flowed smoothly, and had impeccable continuity. Occasionally, the story was interrupted by passages that explained the part of the story that was to follow. This made the reader understand the ways of the people of Xana. I was very impressed with the book because it had zero mistakes. The focal character was well fleshed out and related well with the other characters. There is no storyline the author left hanging.
I loved the story because it showed that women too can be great leaders. They can be strong, can make tough decisions and still be compassionate. The story unveils another style of governance that we people of today can only dream of. A leadership that detests corruption and prosecute corrupt administrators. Furthermore, the wealth that they obtain by stealing is confiscated. Also, Xana's administration tried and succeeded in bridging the big gap between the aristocrats and the poor people - this is something we can only fantasize about these days. My biggest takeaway from the book was, how important it is to nurture the kids' skills when they are still young. The author, who is a retired College Physics teacher, demonstrates in the book how nurturing the children leads to having productive citizens in the country. The story too tells of the importance of critical thinking. One interesting fact about the novel is that, religion was not integrated into the story. It makes one wonder if the author was trying to show how a land can be very prosperous without religion.
I recommend the book to those who love heroine stories, and also to those who love Cinderella stories. The story may not be appropriate for young adults as it has multiple erotic scenes. The book was impeccably edited. The typesetting and formatting was incredible too.The only thing I disliked about the book was that the focal character had a 'larger than life' attitude.
******
The Queen of Xana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon