Chaos everywhere as we enter Inys that is under the rule of Berethnet family for thousands of years but now that rule has started to dwindle. Though there seems to be no weakness in the rule of the queen but the problem that she faces is making her throne slip under her feet.
The queen is without a heir and if she fails to give birth to a daughter her throne would be taken away from her forever. More to her worries she is getting threats, there are groups that want her dead at any cost and now it’s up to her to save herself along with the baby that is about to be born.
Samantha Shannon does not keep the story on a single theme, the story also works on multiple plots as well. We meet another character that seems to be as powerful as the queen in the novel, Ead Duryan not a member of the court but ready to protect the queen at any rate. Ead even goes as far as to use forbidden magic even for the protection of the queen. There is another woman with a destiny of her own, Tane the dragon rider is forced to choose something that she never wanted.
Thus the three ladies with different aims in life are joined by fate in order to face the evil that lurks on their land. It has been Samantha’s way of writing, joining the destines of the characters, we can observe this in The Bone Season and The Mime Order as well. Liyah Summers narrates this novel in her simple but impressive way. The pronunciation is clear and easily understandable which is quite helpful for the listener.
