Review by ten_924 -- The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher
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ten_924
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- Latest Review: The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher
Review by ten_924 -- The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Queen of Xana" by Fred Pilcher.]
The Queen of Xana by Fred Pitcher is a fantastic story of a savage queen who transformed her kingdom from a decadent aristocracy to a very rare kind of monarchy where mostly the commoners run the affairs of the nation. The story as told by Traveler has it that Queen Julia is Agatha's mother. Queen Julia runs an Aristocratic form of government which constantly discriminated against the ordinary people of the land. And that her administration is marred by corruption and high-level insincerity. When Agatha became the Queen, despite her education, she was disgruntled at the spate of oppression meted out to the poor by the wealthy class in her kingdom. So she disported to reverse the trend by identifying with the lowly in the community by interacting with them and supporting them both morally and financially, which made Agatha earn their confidence.
Agatha was not alone in her quest to transform Xana land. In fact, when she was born, an old woman visited Queen Julia. She claimed to be Agatha's fairy godmother. She gave the Princess gifts of wisdom, compassion and the ability to read character. The godmother prophesied that the Princess would be the one to rescue her people from the Bad Times. On the occasion of Agatha's 20th birthday, Julia was with some dignitries in the Palace's ballroom, when a violent stranger by name, Magi, strode into the chamber and struck Julia mercilessly with his magical power and she died. However, Agatha was saved by her godmother from the catastrophe that ravaged the land.
Not done with helping Agatha, her godmother told her that she would quell the disaster being wrought by the wicked Magi, but that would be on the condition that Agatha married a Prince from the neighboring kingdom of Wan. But then, the Princess would be able to identify the Prince, Olaf, first. Having identified Olaf, she and the Prince would have sex in public. This coupling would seal the arrangement for her becoming the Queen of Xana, whereby she would rule alongside Prince Olaf. However, this experiment would only succeed if Agatha did not make a mistake in choosing her consort.
Queen Agatha was ambitious, courageous, compassionate and fearless in pursuing her dream of a Xana where the commoners would no longer be oppressed by the ruling class consisted mainly of the Aristocrats. The narrator made it sufficiently clear that Agatha threw herself ferociously at the duty of achieving her dreams. Not only that she set up a Parliament and a Council of Advisers where Artisans held sway, Agatha was able to extend her leadership skill as far as the neighboring Wan. What is more, the Queen was able to improve the economy, enlarge the army, and even engaged in war that saw her defeating their erstwhile enemy, King lbris of Mardon. Also, it would amount to repeating the obvious to say that Agatha achieved all her heart's desire during her reign, guided by her godmother, and of course, by enjoying the cooperation of her subjects.
The Queen of Xana by Fred Pitcher might have succeeded in exploring the excesses of a medieval monarch, Queen Julia, and its attendant shortcomings. And how Queen Agatha was equally able to restore popular government in her domain. However, the inclusion of minors (e.g. four-year old Anya Mendez) in her Council of Advisers might have been a strange decision to make. Furthermore, the fact that the Queen had sex with the Prince in public (even though it was the idea of the godmother), is bizarre. And of course, the beheading of Howell Granby showed that the Queen had unlimited power. Finally, I would have preferred a situation where the description of the public square setting was supported by a sketch or picture, so that the reader will get a bird's eye view of the city center.
Be that as it may, Fred Pitcher has done well. I like the part that his mode of narration is down-to-earth. I could find no typos or grammar errors in the book. Readers of medieval fantasies will love it. I recommend it to those who are 18, and above. I would have rated it 3 out of 4 stars but for the fact that it still has some strong factors in strict upbringing which I consider relevant in contemporary societies. For example, the inclusion of vocation in the school curriculum. I score it 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Queen of Xana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Queen of Xana by Fred Pitcher is a fantastic story of a savage queen who transformed her kingdom from a decadent aristocracy to a very rare kind of monarchy where mostly the commoners run the affairs of the nation. The story as told by Traveler has it that Queen Julia is Agatha's mother. Queen Julia runs an Aristocratic form of government which constantly discriminated against the ordinary people of the land. And that her administration is marred by corruption and high-level insincerity. When Agatha became the Queen, despite her education, she was disgruntled at the spate of oppression meted out to the poor by the wealthy class in her kingdom. So she disported to reverse the trend by identifying with the lowly in the community by interacting with them and supporting them both morally and financially, which made Agatha earn their confidence.
Agatha was not alone in her quest to transform Xana land. In fact, when she was born, an old woman visited Queen Julia. She claimed to be Agatha's fairy godmother. She gave the Princess gifts of wisdom, compassion and the ability to read character. The godmother prophesied that the Princess would be the one to rescue her people from the Bad Times. On the occasion of Agatha's 20th birthday, Julia was with some dignitries in the Palace's ballroom, when a violent stranger by name, Magi, strode into the chamber and struck Julia mercilessly with his magical power and she died. However, Agatha was saved by her godmother from the catastrophe that ravaged the land.
Not done with helping Agatha, her godmother told her that she would quell the disaster being wrought by the wicked Magi, but that would be on the condition that Agatha married a Prince from the neighboring kingdom of Wan. But then, the Princess would be able to identify the Prince, Olaf, first. Having identified Olaf, she and the Prince would have sex in public. This coupling would seal the arrangement for her becoming the Queen of Xana, whereby she would rule alongside Prince Olaf. However, this experiment would only succeed if Agatha did not make a mistake in choosing her consort.
Queen Agatha was ambitious, courageous, compassionate and fearless in pursuing her dream of a Xana where the commoners would no longer be oppressed by the ruling class consisted mainly of the Aristocrats. The narrator made it sufficiently clear that Agatha threw herself ferociously at the duty of achieving her dreams. Not only that she set up a Parliament and a Council of Advisers where Artisans held sway, Agatha was able to extend her leadership skill as far as the neighboring Wan. What is more, the Queen was able to improve the economy, enlarge the army, and even engaged in war that saw her defeating their erstwhile enemy, King lbris of Mardon. Also, it would amount to repeating the obvious to say that Agatha achieved all her heart's desire during her reign, guided by her godmother, and of course, by enjoying the cooperation of her subjects.
The Queen of Xana by Fred Pitcher might have succeeded in exploring the excesses of a medieval monarch, Queen Julia, and its attendant shortcomings. And how Queen Agatha was equally able to restore popular government in her domain. However, the inclusion of minors (e.g. four-year old Anya Mendez) in her Council of Advisers might have been a strange decision to make. Furthermore, the fact that the Queen had sex with the Prince in public (even though it was the idea of the godmother), is bizarre. And of course, the beheading of Howell Granby showed that the Queen had unlimited power. Finally, I would have preferred a situation where the description of the public square setting was supported by a sketch or picture, so that the reader will get a bird's eye view of the city center.
Be that as it may, Fred Pitcher has done well. I like the part that his mode of narration is down-to-earth. I could find no typos or grammar errors in the book. Readers of medieval fantasies will love it. I recommend it to those who are 18, and above. I would have rated it 3 out of 4 stars but for the fact that it still has some strong factors in strict upbringing which I consider relevant in contemporary societies. For example, the inclusion of vocation in the school curriculum. I score it 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Queen of Xana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Queen of Xana by Fred Pilcher
