David Farland Worlds of the Golden Queen

Worlds of the Golden Queen

David Farland

Tor, Jul 2005, $14.95, 556 pp.

ISBN: 0765313154

"The Golden Queen". The insectoid Dronons defeat the human Tharrin, killing Queen Semarritte. Chaos reigns over the 10,000 worlds with the Dronons beginning to take control. Semarritte's consort Lord Versace clones a new queen from the deceased. While the Dronons want both dead to secure their position, Veriasse and Queen Everynne hop from planet to planet buying time and allies.

"Beyond the Gate". Allies of the Queen that she met while leaping from planet to planet with Veriasse, Gallen and Maggie hide from the Dronons. While Gallen and Maggie also face local trouble from humans as well, they finally marry. However, they have a royal assignment to go off world to rescue a female Tharrin, Cerravanne, a former leader who the Dronons converted into an Inhuman infecting and converting everyone she meets.

These two well received science fiction thrillers are combined into one fine book that readers who enjoy an alien species threatening the human outer space empire will want to read. Both tales are strong action adventures with heroic lead couples. Personally this reviewer enjoyed The Golden Queen more as the planet hopping of the stars seem real and the people met on these various orbs genuine; while Beyond the Gate is well written it needs a leap of acceptance that the champions from a backwater planet can so easily adapt to planet jumping. Still David Farland provides two fine save the galaxy tales of heroes battling unbeatable adversaries.

Harriet Klausner