The Queen's Gambit (Paperback)

by Deborah Chester (Author) "Pheresa du Lindier was kneeling on a tiny embroidered prayer cushion, searching her soul yet again for answers, when a tremendous jolt threw her to..." (more)
Key Phrases: salt purse, upland lords, yer majesty, Sir Brillon, Sir Kedrien, Sir Talmor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The throne was her destiny-until Princess Pheresa lost her groom, Mandria's heir, to the dark magic. Now her fate is uncertain. Her enemies are strong. And her only ally is the last man she would ever choose-and the one man she should never love.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Ace (November 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441009972
• ISBN-13: 978-0441009978
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #711,424 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, its worth the time, January 20, 2003

By	Phillip B. Spotts "cintibookworm" (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not having read the Chalice trilogy I had no preconceived ideas of what this story would be like. I will have to admit I liked it. It is a well-written story with interesting characters, an uncomplicated but not obvious story line and a good finish. In fact didn't find out that there was a sequel until after I finished the book. You can take the ending either way, it works as a lead in to another chapter or it can be viewed as the end itself, period. This is one of the few books I have read lately that has been able to pull this off; Deborah is to be congratulated.

In brief: Good romance, interesting characters, an interesting story line without becoming too complicated.

In all I liked this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not a great book, June 19, 2003

By A Customer

After reading The Sword, The Ring, and The Chalice Trilogy, I couldn't wait to read The Queen's Gambit. However, this book really disappointed me. I expected this one to be as good as the trilogy, but I was wrong!
This book starts out pretty good. It keeps the readers going by talking about how Pharesa is weak and is in a dangerous situation. However, I expected Pharesa to get stronger and stronger as the plot flows. Pharesa is a whiny wife who doesn't want to turn against her husband until it's too late. Chester should develope Pharesa's personality more, but she didn't. So in the end, I still think Pharesa as a weak woman.
Also, we didn't get a lot of information about Talmor's personality except that he's brave and loyal. Chester could go a little bit beyond that.
Some events in the novel come out too suddenly. For example, Pharesa realizes her love for Talmor in just like a blink of eyes, and there's not a lot of foreshadowing before this abrupt realization. I think Chester could make the characters closer before having them admit their love to each other. Moreover, Chester should write more about the life of Dain.
Well, this is my opinion. I personally think it's not worth to buy this book. It is interesting to know what's Pharesa's life like after The Chalice, but I really wouldn't buy it if I were you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Unanswered Questions, March 15, 2003

By	Lloy Williams "Lloy" (Edmonton) - See all my reviews

I was looking forward to this book wrapping up some of the dangling threads from The Sword/Ring/Chalice trilogy. Not only were my questions not answered, I am now left with many more dangling plotlines.

I found Pheresa to be a weak, whining character who doesn't begin to buck up until almost the end of the book and is definitely not deserving of her love interest, who, by the way, is about fifty times more interesting than she is. Very disappointing, although I enjoy Chester's style. Quite disappointing for a book I was very much looking forward to.