Silver Queendom by Dan Koboldt
(Angry Robot, 2022)
Reviewed by Phil Nicholls
Silver Queendom is Dan Koboldt’s first book for Angry Robot, but the geneticist writer has previously published fiction and non-fiction titles. His new release is the story of a small band of thieves who run a battered inn on the edge of civilisation in the queendom of Rethalta. Of course, the Red Rooster inn is only a front for the band’s nefarious activities.
It is these illegal activities which form the core of this entertaining book, starting with low-level crime at a glittering ball and increasing in scope as the plot develops. Each crime seems to bring a fresh twist, which makes the crew ever more desperate and ready to accept a more daring heist for their next adventure. It is this spiral of events which makes the plot move so fast with flowing action.
The tone of Silver Queendom reminded me of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser meets Ocean’s 11. This is a superb fantasy heist story, although the style of the Red Rooster crew is more about deceit and misdirection rather than a smash & grab raid.
The heart of any team book is the ensemble of characters. Silver Queendom features Darin, the clever leader who worries about the team and Evie, the beauty with a secret past that Koboldt finds the space to explore. The off and on relationship between Darin and Evie is a fun sub-plot woven into the thievery.
The other members of the team include Tom, who is more than just the big, dumb muscle, and Kat, who brews ale with an acquired taste for the Red Rooster. Kat also accumulates orphans on her travels around the queendom, adding a layer of compassion to the novel. Koboldt weaves these characters together into an effective team and builds a wonderful found family who genuinely care for each other.
Aside from all the entertainment value from the cast, it is the sheer pace of Silver Queendom that carries the reader along. Koboldt begins the action with the team picking pockets at a nobles’ ball and the story quickly escalates from that point. Fate and poor choices by the characters embroil the team in larger plots with increasing stakes. Koboldt maintains a strong pace throughout the book, without skipping character moments along the way.
The team are finally dragged into a dangerous yet profitable scheme to steal imperial dreamwine. This caper presents the book with a suitable climax. Koboldt mixes plot twists into the book, yet the ending is satisfying and leaves the door open for a sequel.
Overall, the setting is rather a low-key fantasy one. Aside from the imperial dreamwine, the only unusual features are the metal-based magic and the lack of non-human species. The metallic magic plays a role in the story, but more at a supporting level. I would like to see this explored further, but the focus in Silver Queendom is on a team of thieves, so even magic takes a backseat to this central conceit. If there is to be a sequel, then I would be very interested to read more about Darin’s journey to master his magic, as well as simply to hang out with the team once again.
The book opens with the inevitable map of the region. Koboldt presents an unlikely cross-shaped mountain range that seems as natural as the wall of mountains that surround Tolkein’s Mordor. As with The Lord of the Rings, the shape of these mountains seems driven more by plot that plate tectonics.
There are just enough fantasy tropes in Silver Queendom to merit its inclusion in the genre, but these tropes play a supporting role in a novel which is focused on an exciting heist story with a loveable cast of characters. Koboldt’s style is light and easy, his pacing is strong and the book is a joy to read.
Review from BSFA Review 18 - Download your copy here.