Queen of Candesce: Book Two of Virga [Mass Market Paperback]

Karl Schroeder (Author)

Book Description

Series: Virga | Publication Date: December 30, 2008

Venera Fanning was last seen falling into nothingness at the end of Sun of Suns. Now, in Queen of Candesce, Venera finds herself plunging through the air between the artificial continents of Virga, far from home and her husband, who may or may not be alive.  Landing in the ancient nation of Spyre, Venera encounters new enemies and new friends (or at least convenient allies). She must quickly learn who she can trust, and who she can manipulate in order to survive. Queen of Candesce is her story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Schroeder's ambitious sequel to 2006's Sun of Suns further explores Virga, the vast enclosed realm containing a miniature cosmos of floating worlds, wheellike townships and intriguing mysteries about the construct's origins and creators. Heated and lit by numerous artificial suns, the individual populations have evolved on divergent paths. When the delightfully amoral Venera Fanning finds herself on Spyre, an ancient and decaying cylindrical world that's slowly breaking apart, and realizes the Key of Candesce could not only unlock the secrets of a long-lost technology but also destroy entire worlds, she inadvertently disrupts Spyre's delicate political balance and rigid cultural mores and ignites a revolution. Comparable to classic SF epics like John Varley's Gaean trilogy and Jack L. Chalker's Well of Souls series, Schroeder's saga is an awe-inspiring example of masterful world-building. A myriad of themes, from rogue artificial intelligences to the evolution of human bodies and culture, make this futuristic epic one to reckon with. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

The ingenuity and inventiveness of Karl Schroeder's miniuniverse has ushered the acclaimed author into the ranks of leading world-builders. In this second chapter of the Virga saga, Schroeder takes a different approach, with mixed reactions from the critics. He largely abandons the worlds and characters introduced in Sun of Suns and focuses on one character, the Machiavellian Venera Fanning, and one place, the world of Spyre. Most critics agreed that Venera was one of the most interesting protagonists in the earlier book, and she shines here, but it is Virga itself that steals the show. Frequent flashbacks and explanations allow the novel to stand alone, but the brisk plot and vivid settings will leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; First Edition edition (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765354543
• ISBN-13: 978-0765354549
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born September 4, 1962 in Brandon Manitoba. My family are Mennonites, part of a community which has lived in southern Manitoba for over one hundred years. I am the second science fiction writer to come out of this small community -- the first was A.E. van Vogt!

I moved to Toronto in 1986 to pursue my writing career. I married Janice Beitel in April 2001 and our daughter Paige was born in May 2003.

I divide my time between writing fiction and consulting--chiefly in the area of Foresight Studies and technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best of the three Virga books, February 21, 2009

By 

I C booklover (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queen of Candesce: Book Two of Virga (Mass Market Paperback)

I still don't think the Virga books are Karl Schroeder's best work. If you're looking for hard, challenging SF, read Ventus, Lady of Maze, and Permanence. But the Virga books are still very entertaining and original, and well-worth your time.

I've read all three of the currently-published Virga books (I understand there is at least one more on the way), and Queen of Candesce is the best. Still, it isn't stand-alone, and must be read in context with the others. If you've read Sun of Suns and aren't quite sure whether you want to continue with the Virga series (which is where I was after reading that book), Queen of Candesce will make you glad you kept going; it is, I believe, the most artistic and thoughtful of the three; more about the characters than about the world of Virga itself.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out Nivens Niven II, February 21, 2008

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen of Candesce: Book Two of Virga (Hardcover)

This is a well written descendent of Larry Niven's Ringworld and Bob Shaw's Orbitsville. The essential features are an immense, exotic, and technologically formidable habitat in an extrasolar system combined with some kind of action/adventure plot that reveals the interesting features of the habitat and its occupying human societies. Schroeder does well on both counts with an ingenious space habitat and a decently written story line. The habitat is well articulated and the plotting does of a good job of displaying a variety of human cultures occupying the habitat. The plot incorporates a theme of personal transformation on the part of the protagonist that boosts character development.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellently imagined story, November 17, 2009

By 

Rachel Thern "kiravae" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen of Candesce: Book Two of Virga (Mass Market Paperback)

At the end of Sun of Suns, Venera Fanning, an interesting but not completely sympathetic character, has taken a chance in throwing herself into the gravity-free air of Virga. The air currents have brought her to a vast structure called the Spire, where she is rescued by a disgraced gentleman now living on the outskirts of society. The Spire is a huge cylinder consisting of many independent nations. It contains more gravity-laden land than Venera has ever seen before, but due to its state of ill repair, is in danger of splintering to pieces at any time.

Venera, raised in a highly Machiavellian and paranoid society, is not comfortable staying in a powerless position for long. Through her plots she upends the power structure of one nation and then works her way into being one of the most powerful players in the Spire. During this time, she is also reflective and grows to be loyal to more than just herself.

Of the first three Virga books (I haven't yet read the fourth), this is my favorite due of its focus on character and its well-formed and self-contained story arc. I loved Sun of Suns when I first read it when it came out, but re-reading it now (I found I'd forgotten a lot of the plot!) I can see how his writing has improved in this series. His descriptions of people and the sights of Virga have become more natural and effortless. Of course, some of this may be due to the reader - a gravity-free world is hard to wrap my mind around, but I find I can picture it more and more vividly the longer I spend there.