Queen of Sinister (Dark Age) [Paperback]

Mark Chadbourn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dark Age | Publication Date: April 14, 2005

In this new dark Age, myth and legend has become reality; nothing is quite as it seems. The plague came without warning. Nothing could stop its progress: it's first symptom is black spots at the base of the fingers; an agonising death quickly follows. But this is no ordinary disease ...Caitlin Shepherd, a lowly GP, is allowed to cross the veil into the mystical Celtic Otherworld in search of a cure; her search takes her on a quest to the end of a land of dreams and nightmares to petition the gods. So Caitlin is humanity's last hope, but she carries a terrible burden: a consciousness shattered into five distinct personalities ...and one of them may not be human. THE QUEEN OF SINISTER is the latest instalment in Mark Chadbourn's riveting 'Dark Age' sequence: a masterful blend of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend in a modern setting.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British Fantasy Award–winner Chadbourn continues (from 2010's The Devil in Green) his jumbled tale of magic returning to postapocalyptic modern England. A terrible plague forces Caitlin Shepherd, a suburban doctor reeling from having to bury her husband and son, to seek a cure in the Celtic Otherworld. Chased through a changed English countryside by a sentient wave of despair, she accumulates companions among whom she must sort out friend from foe. Chadbourn fills the twisty narrative with history, myth, fairies, ghosts, unusual undead, and links to his earlier Age of Misrule works. Notes of optimism and enthusiasm around recreating human civilization are tempered by the realization of how much suffering this new world order would entail, and further revelations about the Fall portend more misery to come in the concluding volume. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Mark Chadbourn was raised in the mining communities of South Derbyshire. He studied Economic History at Leeds before becoming a national newspaper journalist. He is the award-winning author of several novels, including The Age of Misrule trilogy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz Paperbacks (April 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575076534
• ISBN-13: 978-0575076532
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,628,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A two-time winner of the prestigious British Fantasy Award, Mark has published his epic, imaginative novels in many countries around the world. He grew up in the mining community of the English Midlands, and was the first person in his family to go to university. After studying Economic History at Leeds, he became a successful journalist, writing for several of the UK's renowned national newspapers as well as contributing to magazines and TV.

When his first short story won Fear magazine's Best New Author award, he was snapped up by an agent and subsequently published his first novel, Underground, a supernatural thriller set in the coalfields of his youth. Quitting journalism to become a full-time author, he has written stories which have transcended genre boundaries, but is perhaps best known in the fantasy field.

Mark has also forged a parallel career as a screenwriter with many hours of produced work for British television. He is a senior writer for BBC Drama, and is also developing new shows for the UK and US.

An expert on British folklore and mythology, he has held several varied and colourful jobs, including independent record company boss, band manager, production line worker, engineer's 'mate', and media consultant.

Having travelled extensively around the world, he has now settled in a rambling house in the middle of a forest not far from where he was born.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing fantasy, June 26, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Queen of Sinister (Dark Age, Book 2) (Paperback)

The Dark Age of magic has rendered technology useless; the world we know vanished overnight with Beasts sending fire from the skies and creatures stalking humans across the British landscape. Deadly chaos is the norm with most humans believing it could not get any worse; they are wrong.

A pandemic plague attacked Britain. No one knows the source only those who catch it die violently and painfully. Dr. Caitlin Shepherd tries her best, but the twenty-eight year old mom feels overwhelmed as she is too young to be in charge, but out of default is. feeling helpless. She is hammered further when her beloved husband Grant and their son catches the deadly infection at a time the town is invaded by a horde whose purple mist causes incredible depression and despair. Caitlin feels helpless between the plague killing her family and these Whisperers mentally destroying anyone unfortunate to get in their way. However her friend witch Mary Holden introduces Caitlin to Professor Crowther; he insists the GP is a Sister of Dragons and the only hope to curing the plague. All she has to do is enter the Otherworld is to find the magic elixir. Caitlin and Crowther begin the quest accompanied by the female teen Magalia , the young male mute Carlton, , and Matt seeking his daughter he insists Faeries carried away.

This entertaining tale is not on the epic proportions of the Age of Misrule trilogy or this saga's predecessor The Devil in Green. Still The Queen of Sinister is an intriguing fantasy as the heroine and her teammates cross into the Otherworld on a quest with little hope of success. Filled with action throughout and an incredible twist, fans of the author will want to join Caitlin as she treks across a realm from Celtic mythos to save what is left of her local world starting with her two loved ones.

Harriet Klausner

2.0 out of 5 stars Weakest book in the series so far, August 6, 2010

By 

Stefan "Stefan" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Queen of Sinister (Dark Age, Book 2) (Paperback)

The Queen of Sinister, the middle book in Mark Chadbourn's DARK AGE trilogy, introduces a different set of characters from book 1, The Devil in Green. This is a bit surprising, because the author's earlier AGE OF MISRULE trilogy, which describes the events leading up to the start of the DARK AGE books, focuses on the same characters throughout all three books. So, rather than offering a continuing story, The Queen of Sinister feels completely separate from The Devil in Green: it's set in the same world, but features all new characters and at least for now is unconnected to the first novel (although the author's afterword hints that everything will be pulled together in the trilogy's final novel, The Hounds of Avalon).

Unfortunately the novel's brand new set of characters just isn't as interesting as the one from The Devil in Green or the AGE OF MISRULE trilogy. The novel starts out well, with protagonist Caitlin Shepherd, a medical doctor, trying her best to ease the suffering of the many victims of a devastating plague. The first two chapters of the novel are actually some of the most powerful and emotionally gripping in the series so far, but after this promising start, The Queen of Sinister falls flat. The cast of side characters is initially interesting, but never as likable as you'd hope based on previous books, and -- even worse -- a bit predictable.

After its strong start, The Queen of Sinister adapts the now familiar pattern of travel across the ravaged English countryside and the mystical Far Lands, on a quest for an item or solution (in this case, a cure for the plague), interspersed with some horror, some mysticism, and plenty of action scenes. Readers will recognize the world's mystical underpinnings from the previous books, but -- maybe because all of it is by now very familiar -- Mark Chadbourn occasionally starts to sound preachy here.

Combine all of this with a plot that at times seems quite haphazard, and The Queen of Sinister is easily the weakest novel in the series so far. If you loved the previous books, you'll probably find some things to like here, but in the final analysis, The Queen of Sinister comes across as a weak novel in a generally strong series. Here's hoping that Mark Chadbourn will regain command of his formula and pull it all together convincingly in the trilogy's final volume, The Hounds of Avalon.

3.0 out of 5 stars Super Reader, August 6, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queen of Sinister (Dark Age) (Paperback)

Definitely the weakest book in Chadbourn's 6 books about the Fall, so far. This one is more of an aside, as the doctor that you meet in the 6th book crosses over to the Otherworld to find a cure for a plague that is ravaging her local area.

She has a few companions, is a Sister of Dragons, gets help from the Goddess in the form of the Morrigan, and still screws up.