The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Following on from The Queen of the Tearling, The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen continues with the endeavours of Queen Kelsea as she deals with the consequences of the actions she took during book one. The kingdom of Mort is invading, and things are not looking good for the kingdom of Tearling. To make matters worse Kelsea is at a loss as to what she can do to stem this tide that threatens to swallow her land whole. The Mort are remorseless, spurred on by their queen who covets the magical sapphires that Kelsea possesses. In addition, Kelsea is plagued by visions from Earth's past, where she relives the experiences of a woman named Lily, whose dystopian world is just as nightmarish as Kelsea's current predicament.

The Invasion of the Tearling, in my mind, suffers a little from what I term as 'middle book syndrome' – there are a bunch of threads that begin here that clearly receive further development later. In terms of character development, there isn't so much focus on Kelsea's journey as there is on Lily's development – which is fine, but I did feel that the pace lagged a bit during the first half of the novel. But things do pick up, so persevere.

It was always apparent from the first book that this was some sort of portal fantasy, however the mechanics of this discovery of a new world was unclear – so without giving spoilers, you'll discover a bit more of the history here. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this now that I'm done, because it does feel as if the world has been robbed of some of is mystery. But perhaps that is merely personal taste on my part. Also, the sapphires as a McGuffin is almost too powerful, in my opinion. Or perhaps the cost of using the stones hasn't been made explicit yet.

Themes prevalent in these books remain that of power – of women in power and women suffering at the hands of those who wield power over their bodies. Kelsea must come to terms with the power gifted to her by the sapphires, and with the knowledge she gains comes a price that must be paid. Many questions are still unanswered by the end of book two, but we are given closure where it matters. This is a solid read for fantasy fans looking for a novel filled with intrigue, mystery and a side order of cruel villains.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen #review

Title: The Queen of the Tearling
Author: Erika Johansen
Publisher: Transworld Publishers, 2014
Reviewer: Nerine Dorman

The Queen of the Tearling did not turn out quite how I expected it to. The premise seems almost fairytale: Kelsea Glynn has been raised in isolation by her guardians, educated but with vital gaps in her knowledge. She’s always known that she is to queen of the Tearling realm, but is woefully unprepared for the realities when soldiers fetch her so she can take her inheritance.

The Tearling kingdom is far from ideal. Her uncle, who’s been ruling in her stead until now, is corrupt, as are many of the officials. An annual tithe to the neighbouring kingdom of Demesne and its Red Queen means that hundreds of Tearlings are essentially sold into slavery to keep the Red Queen at bay.

When Kelsea’s first act as queen puts a stop to this barbaric practice, she sets in motion consequences that will see her overturning years of custom. Supported her cabal of loyal guards, Kelsea has pretty much only a week to find her feet in a hostile environment.

Even once I was done with The Queen of Tearling, I couldn’t quite figure out whether this was straight-up fantasy, or SF bleeding fantasy at its edges, which resulted in a pleasant ambiguity. There is mention of ships in a perilous crossing, but whether this was an actual ocean in a post-apocalyptic setting or reference to a distant past where space travel took place – we don’t know.

Certainly, there are some magical elements that hint towards fantasy, but what we do know is that the setting is very much post-technological, similar to Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire. Much like Lawrence, Erika Johansen also does not shy away from darker, grittier occurrences, and Kelsea Glynn’s honesty and earnest need to do the right thing, no matter how challenging, makes for a fascinating journey as she overcomes ever-increasing odds that pile up against her survival.

This is not an easy read, and for those in need of a breakneck pace, The Queen of Tearling might not be for you. What we do have, is a slowly unfurling saga of epic proportions, as a young queen grows into her powers. Kelsea often has to often make difficult decisions that bear surprising results, and I’m watching her career with great interest.