Queene of Light (Lightworld/Darkworld Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jennifer Armintrout (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lightworld/Darkworld Novels | Publication Date: September 29, 2009

An unimagined destiny an undeniable passion.

In a time not long from now, the veil between fantasy and reality is ripped asunder creatures of myth and fairytale spill into the mortal world. Enchanted yet horrified, humans force the magical beings Underground, to colonize the sewers and abandoned subway tunnels beneath their glittering cities.

But even magic folk cannot dwell in harmony and soon two Worlds emerge: the Lightworld, home to faeries, dragons and dwarves; and the Darkworld, where vampires, werewolves, angels and demons lurk.

Now, in the dank and shadowy place between Lightworld and Darkworld, a transformation is about to begin....

Ayla, a half-faery, half-human assassin is stalked by Malachi, a Death Angel tasked with harvesting mortal souls. They clash. Immortality evaporates, forging a bond neither may survive. And in the face of unbridled ambitions and untested loyalties, an ominous prophecy is revealed that will shake the Worlds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This series rocks in every way! ----Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Lords of the Underworld series

Armintrout skillfully characterizes each character, and her use of description varies between chilling, beautiful, and disturbing. ----The Romance Readers Connection on Bloodties Book One: The Turning

The relationships between the characters are complicated and layered in ways that many authors don t bother with. ----Vampire Genre on Bloodties Book Two: Possession

About the Author

Jennifer Armintrout was born in 1980. Her first novel, The Turning, made the USA TODAY extended bestseller list. When not writing, Jennifer enjoys karaoke at dive bars and listening to classic rock at an inappropriate volume. She resides in a small town in west Michigan with her husband and children.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira Books; Original edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778326624
• ISBN-13: 978-0778326625
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Faeries Stuck in the Muck, November 19, 2009

By 

Patrick Shepherd "hyperpat" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queene of Light (Lightworld/Darkworld Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

The Great Rift has relegated both faeries and demons to the Underworld - literally. Their new home is the human-built sewers and subway spaces. But even in this space, the two maintain carefully separate worlds, the Lightworld and Darkworld, with a thin border between that is home to the homeless of all races, including humans.

Ayla is a half-human, half faerie asssassin for the faerie court, bound by oath and training, and Malachi is a Death Angel, tasked with harvesting the souls of the dead. Their chance meeting and interaction from that point on have great consequences for all the denizens of the underground ways, ranging from plots to overthrow the Queene of faeries to involving the Dragons in the war between faeries and demons.

As a plot basis, the above is reasonable. But I found myself quite unimpressed with the final result, due to multiple factors. First, the romance between Ayla and Malachi has no solid grounding and very little exposition of growing attraction through interaction. To be believable, this needed much greater detailing, a more comprehensive look inside their heads and a consistent building towards their mutual attraction. Second was the Dark/Lightworld itself, as I could never get a good mental picture of it; the descriptions were too vague and concentrated on only a couple of aspects of the place, and what description there was seemed to imply that this world was very small - small enough to walk across in a day, which doesn't seem a reasonable size to host the stated multiple races. Third was the motivations of some the secondary characters, who as supposed immortals displayed a depressing venality and ambitions at odds with long life spans. The conclusion was weak and depended upon a `reveal', information hidden from the reader that shouldn't have been.

This could have been a very interesting place to visit, but as detailed here, I'm afraid I won't be coming back for any future visits.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Held my interest, but not as good as I'd hoped., October 21, 2009

By 

Barb Caffrey "writer-for-hire" (In a Midwest State (of mind), USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queene of Light (Lightworld/Darkworld Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

Jennifer Armintrout's "Queene of Light" is the first novel in her new "Lightworld/Darkworld" trilogy, and is set in a future where an apocalypse of literally Biblical proportions has occurred. Angels are trapped underground, as are mythical and semi-mythical creatures from the astral and ethereal planes (yes, Ms. Armintrout makes a distinction between the two, though it isn't particularly clear why from the novel as it isn't necessary to the plot in book one) such as fairies, Elves, trolls, demons and dragons. The underground -- our old subways and sewers -- has been divided into two realms, the Lightworld and the Darkworld. This doesn't exactly refer to the worth of the creatures in these two divided realms, but merely whether or not they still wish to fight the humans who live aboveground and cast them out -- the Lightworlders still want to fight, while the Darkworlders (including many magically-talented and artificially augmented humans) do not.

The book starts out promisingly with a young Assassin who's half-Fae (fairy), half-human, Ayla. Ayla has been assigned to track were-wolves and keep them out of the Lightworld and away from the Fae Court, ruled by Queen Mabb. Ayla is also the protegé of a very nasty Fae named Garret, who is the Queen's brother, and who can be quite charming when he feels like it. So when Ayla is asked to become Garret's mate, even though she feels something isn't right about Garret's request, she acquiesces -- mainly because Garret hasn't yet shown the worst aspects of his nature (which are plenty bad, as you'll see if you read this book).

But during the assignment to track and kill a were-wolf, Ayla inadvertently touches a Death Angel -- one of the Heavenly Host who was cast down when the Ethereal plane fell. This Death Angel, Malachi, harvests the souls of the dead in the hopes that eventually all will be returned to the Creator, even though his God has been lost to him. And Ayla touching him precipitates his full fall into humanity; his wings are rent by his eternal brethren, and no pity or mercy is shown. (Technically, the angels are in the Darkworld portion of the underground, because they mean the humans no ill will. Which is one clue that things are not as idyllic as Ayla believes at first.)

Malachi is befriended by Keller, an augmented and telepathically talented human. Keller makes for some much-needed comic relief, and was a very welcome addition to this book; his humanity, and his common sense, is the perfect foil for both the terribly bemused and bewildered Malachi, and the colder-than-she-wishes-to-be Ayla. How they all come together, and what Ayla's ultimate destiny is, is for you to read -- but I believe if you like fantasy with paranormal or spiritual elements, you'll enjoy this book.

With all that being said, you might be asking, "So, Barb. If you like this book so much, and gave it four stars, why did you say right off in your title that it wasn't as good as you'd hoped?" Well, this is because of two things -- and they involve some spoilers, so please look away if you don't want your reading spoiled.

**** spoiler alert below ****

Ready? (This is your last chance to look away.)

**** spoilers below ****

Anyway, there are two points that severely irritated me in this book, and as I got a completed copy (not an ARC), I am going to comment on them.

First, there are a number of typos that are inexcusable. Sometimes, Ayla's name is given as "Ayfa." And early on, perhaps on page one of this book, "whither" is used rather than the proper word, "wither." These typos require a human proofer or editor's lookover; no spell-check in the world is going to catch them. Further, it's possible that the typographers messed up (with "whither" in particular, being so early on), but once again, human intervention in the process would've fixed this.

This is not the author's fault, but it needs to be addressed by someone in authority because it is distracting; it kept throwing me out of the reader's trance, and kept me from fully being immersed in this world. I have no idea if a non-writer/editor would have picked up on this, but I do know that any reasonably well-read person will know that "whither" is out of place when you're talking about something akin to "withering on the vine." Just no excuse for that error.

Second, I was really upset at Keller's off-screen death. What was the point of this? Keller was my favorite character here, but I knew he'd not survive the book; even so, if you're going to kill him, Ms. Armintrout, do so in a way where I can grieve with Malachi. Even though you've set it up that Malachi can't grieve because of his own nature, you wrote Malachi's POV so well that I easily would've understood the grief Malachi felt in losing his first real friend, the person who explained human love to him, and who explained that love was worth fighting for even when difficult, or damned near impossible.

These two flaws -- the second far more so than the first -- are why I cannot say this is a five-star book, and one worthy of instant classic status, despite the amazing skill Ms. Armintrout has with her wordplay, her plotline, her powers of description, and her dialogue. Ms. Armintrout did an outstanding job here -- in all respects but one (and even there, it's possible she wrote the scene, but the editorial staff believed it needed to be cut for space limitations) -- and I wanted to give "Queene of Light" all the respect it deserves.

**** end spoiler discussion

The philosophical question at the heart of this book, as a few other reviewers have mentioned already, is this: if you're called Dark, are you? Even if you live in filth? And if you're called Light, are you? Even if, inside (as is the noxious Garret), you're evil and twisted and sick?

This question was treated soberly, yet in an action-packed and thoroughly unique way by "Queene of Light." Which is why I really wanted to like this book more. And though it absorbed me completely from beginning to end (minus those distracting bits of being thrown out of the reader's trance), it unfortunately falls short of the twenty or thirty very best fantasy books I've ever read.

Still. It's a good story. I plan on reading book two of this trilogy. And I admire Ms. Armintrout's skill with words.

The upshot is, I recommend this book to anyone who reads spiritually-based or paranormally-based fantasy. It's interesting, it has much to recommend it, and should find a wide audience.

Four stars. Recommended.

Barb Caffrey

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A world filled with Faeries, Angels, and Demons..., September 26, 2009

By 

Falling Off The Shelf (http://fallingoffthesh... (Shippensburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queene of Light (Lightworld/Darkworld Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ayla is an assassin for the Faery Court of Lightworld. It is her duty to protect the innocent Fae of Lightworld, and to destroy those that may cause harm. Her most recent assignment brings her into Darkworld, the home of evil creatures and humans that were banned from the Up World. She is tracking a Werewolf, a vile creature that kills in it's wake. Ayla doesn't fear this creature, but she does fear the one that is tracking her.

Legend has it that there are Death Angels in Darkworld, powerful creatures that kill without mercy. Ayla can understand this, as it is her job to kill without missing a beat. When she realises that she is being followed by one of these Death Angels, she is ready for a fight. No one has lived to see another day after an encounter with one of these creatures, and she is determined to share her story.

Malachi is a Death Angel, and has no feelings for other creatures. It is his duty to remove creatures from the Darkworld that will cause harm to humans. When he encounters Ayla, he brings it upon himself to rid the world of the Fae creature. What he doesn't know is that Ayla is not only Fae, but half-human as well. Touching her is the end of his immortality, and now he is out for revenge.

This is the first installment in Jennifer Armintrout's new trilogy, Lightworld/Darkworld. I must say, that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was written as though it were a historical novel, which was surprising to me, although it had a few modern things about it. Armintrout's characters fight with weapons such as swords, daggers, and axes, because this is what they were able to bring with them when they were banished beneath the streets of the Up World.

Armintrout's characters are very well rounded. Throughout this novel you will learn a lot about Ayla, and how she became an assassin for the Light World. In the beginning there seemed to be some holes, but throughout the story they were filled in perfectly. I also really enjoyed Malachi's character. He was new, and fresh to the mortal world, and we got to experience it all through his eyes.

I have read Jennifer Armintrout's first series, Blood Ties, and enjoyed it very much. I honestly can say that after reading the first book in this new trilogy, it is my new favorite work of hers. I'm thrilled that she decided to write about creatures other than Vampires, because she has done a wonderful job of it. I can't wait to read the final two books in this series, Child of Darkness and Veil of Shadows.

If you liked Jennifer Armintrout's previous series, you should really give this book a shot. I read it fairly quickly, as it is only 375 pages long, according to the advanced copy that I received. It is full of magical creatures of all kinds, not just Fae and Death Angels. There are also Werewolves, Dragons, Trolls, and even Pixies. It does have romance, but it is not the whole of the story, it is just something that makes this book whole. I'd like to thank Adam from Mira Books for sending me an advanced copy of this book. I was so thrilled when he agreed to let me review it. I'd also like to thank Jennifer Armintrout herself, for stopping by my blog early in June to notice my Waiting on Wednesday post featuring this book. It was her that drove me to contact Adam in the first place.