Knight of the Demon Queen [Hardcover]

Barbara Hambly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2000

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Hambly is among today's most brilliantly inventive writers of fantasy. Her riveting novels portray the timeless struggle of good and evil with matchless intensity and insight. Now, in the sequel to her critically acclaimed Dragonshadow, Hambly works her most compelling magic yet. The result is a masterpiece of dark fantasy, a courageous and compassionate journey through the hells of the human heart . . . and beyond.

Once the most powerful mage in the land, Jenny Waynest is now a broken woman. Though sickened by the memory of how the demon Amayon had possessed her body to slake his sadistic lusts, she knows a part of her was corrupted by his touch. That part mourns the demon's defeat and longs for his return, though he has already cost her everything she holds dear: the trust of her husband, Lord John Aversin; the chance to be a mother to her mage-born son; and the magic that had given her life its purpose.

Lord John has torments of his own: memories of the beautiful and cruel Aohila, demon queen of a rival hell, whom he'd tricked into providing the help he needed to free Jenny. Now, condemned to death for trafficking with demons, John cannot forgive Jenny for what she suffered. Nor can he forgive himself--for opening the door to a far greater evil . . . an evil that still haunts his dreams. And not only his dreams . . .

For a vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than Lord John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John is given a guide: none other than Amayon, the demon he'd driven out of Jenny and into the waiting claws of the demon queen. Now, forced to put his life in the hands of a creature he dare not trust by a monster he dare not disobey, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in quest of a prize that may doom the world he has left behind . . .

While Jenny, awakened by the stardrake known as Morkeleb the Black, embarks on a quest of her own--one that will lead her, without the magic she has always relied upon, into a world as deadly as any braved by her husband . . . only much closer to home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The season of demons is on the world," announces the Demon Queen Aohila in this meditative sequel to the fantasies Dragonsbane and Dragonshadow. On the cusp of the winter following Jenny Waynest and Lord John Aversin's summer ordeal against demons and insurrectionists, their son, Ian, is driven to attempt suicide. His dreams, like his mother's, are haunted--both by the minor demon who possessed him during the summer and by Folcalor, an archdemon who seeks more gates between demons and humans to spawn mass "pain and terror and rage, lust and guilt and shame." Concurrently, Aohila visits Lord John to remind him of the debt he owes her for helping to vanquish the demons, who are now her prisoners behind the Mirror of Isychros. Up against her threats and pledges, John agrees to undertake an arduous quest with the demon Amayon--Jenny's former master--for his guide. Along the way, John discovers different hells, as well as a world whose inhabitants suffer from lives circumscribed by mood-altering drugs. Teaming up with a group of misfits who long for magic rather than for drugs, John strives to understand Aohila's demands as he attempts to execute them. Back in the Winterlands, Jenny, Ian and other residents face their own battles, but their opponents have been strangely superpowered, thus requiring special efforts of Jenny, who has been stripped of her mage's abilities in a prior battle. While John is an admirably realized character, he moves rather mechanically through his challenges, and Jenny and Ian's trials are overshadowed by his exploits. Intricately plotted and solidly written, the story nevertheless feels book-ended by past and likely future adventures--making this an amenable entry for series fans, but a difficult one for readers new to Hambly's demon-infested world. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When plague threatens his lands and his family, Lord John Aversin agrees to the demands of the demon queen Aohila and travels beyond the borders of his world into an alien land to capture a renegade lord of Hell. Once known for his skill at dragonslaying and now condemned for trafficking with demons, Aversin walks a fine line between losing his soul and saving all that he holds dear. Continuing the story begun in Dragonslayer and Dragonshadow, Hambly explores the strengths and weaknesses of her characters as they pit themselves against powers beyond their control. Her expert storytelling as well as her talent for creating sympathetic and believable characters places the author among the front runners of the genre. Recommended for fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345421892
• ISBN-13: 978-0345421890
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,360,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To Hell and Back Again, February 24, 2000

By 

Charles Seelig "Charlie Seelig" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knight of the Demon Queen (Hardcover)

During the past few years, Hambly has spent much of her time sending her characters to hell, sometimes figuratively (in her mystery series (Graveyard Dust, et al)) and sometimes literally, as in this series. Decades ago, many characters might have experienced such a journey, but most of them would emerge unscathed, except for the rare one such as Frodo. A more recent trend is to see how much damage, physically, emotionally, and mentally, a character can endure and yet return. While not completely dark as that, the separate travels of Jenny and John are something you would rather stay home and read about rather than experience yourself. The hells include the usual physical difficulties, but also the ones of figuring out who to trust, how to survive in different environments, and having to worry about personal survival, the survival of those that you love, and at the same time worrying about the future of the land that you live in.

I cannot recommend that anyone start the series with this book. Knowledge of what happened before is vital. As it is, since it has been months since the previous book, trying to separate out the various minor characters and determining whether they are important enough to worry about and why, is very difficult.

On the other hand, Hambly brings us, among her hells, a new world, a mix of Blade Runner with the cities of Walter Jon Williams, a place that is not our own, but one that might be one of our own future hells. That piece is very well done.

I hope that Hambly can bring about a conclusion of all this in the next book. Besides the concerns we have for the main characters, the lights are going out across the land, even without this plague of demons. While I do not expect a solution to all the problems facing Jenny and John, some more immediate than others, it would be good to allow them some peace and a chance to regroup.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Hambly is a Hambly, but..., November 6, 2000

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knight of the Demon Queen (Hardcover)

I thought "Dragon Shadow" (the previous book in this series) was brilliant but depressing. It could have been subtitled, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". However, things get much worse for Jenny and her bespectacled husband, Lord John in "Knight of the Demon Queen". The book opens with their son's attempted suicide. Lord John's people begin to die from a demon-caused plague...and the situation deteriorates from there. Lord John goes hunting for a demon on a world that resembles a half-drowned, New York City of the near future. His only allies are wired-in, wannabe wizards in a world of violent gangs, bad smells, and screaming, in-your-face-24-hours-a-day drug ads.

Ugh. Get me out of this world, and don't send me back!

Jenny spends her part of the novel trying to come to grips with her loss of magic. At least she gets to hang around with a dragon.

At any rate, Hambly leaves us hanging at the end of "Knight of the Demon Queen". We don't know whether Jenny and Lord John are alive or dead. They seemed to have jumped from Purgatory straight into Hell. And here I am, still waiting for a reasonably happy ending. I'll read the sequel, but I wish I'd skipped "Knight of the Demon Queen".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is the problem the ending -- or the middle?, September 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Knight of the Demon Queen (Hardcover)

There is a rhythm to science fiction/fantasy, and especially to Ms. Hambly's works. In a word, three is supposed to be the charm. As you turn page after page, the excitement builds because you are finally going to get a resolution of plots and subplots. I did not realize until the very final paragraph that this third book in the Dragonsbane series would not be the end. Like others whose reviews I have read here, my reaction ranged from disappointment to downright anger.

But although it is easy to point to the ending as the problem with the experience of reading this book, I think that's just what sticks in your mind. The fact is that there have been other of Ms. Hambly's books -- notably any of the Darwath Trilogy or Windrose Chronicles -- which I never wanted to end. This was not such a book. There were times, particularly during the cyberpunk portion of the book, where I continued slogging along ONLY for the promise of resolution. I do not expect sunshine and roses in my fantasy reading -- God knows that The Mists of Avalon has a definite dark side -- but like some other reviewers, I had the sense that there was an almost sadistic strain to the way this book tortures the two main characters. One can only hope that the tone and mood of the book does not reflect something equally dark going on in the author's life; in the past, even in the midst of hardships, fears and difficulties, there has been a life affirming warmth and strength to her characters (think of Joanna trapped in the crystal, or Antryg in the silent tower).

I have read, and will contine to read, anything Barbara Hambly sets down on paper. I just hope I feel better about it in the future than I did when suffering along with Jenny and John here.