I skipped two books in the series and picked up Queenslayer precisely because I disliked the wander aimlessly plot in Shadowblack and I thought this would finally give the plot some purpose? But I'm uncertain about how much purpose it actually gave Kellen, and everything else about the series seems very similar to what I remember from before.

Also (and I can't stress enough that this is a personal preference) I don't have that much patience for all the Western tropes shoehorned into a coming of age narrative? Idk, all the frontiersman and high noon showdowns haven't quite clicked for me, and it's especially jarring with whatever it is Kellen's internal narrative is.

The politics surrounding the queen are actually Interesting, but Kellen's methods of dealing with it are again just run at stuff and poke it with a stick to see what pops out? I mean, I shouldn't have a problem with that in itself (I like dumbass protags as much as I like smart ones it is a sad fact) but somehow it's not working for me here.

Misc Points From My Notes:

Spoiler

1. I am skeptical of any narrative that belittles people for the sin of choosing to be a servant. I was prepared to just shrug it off as Reichis being Reichis but then there was this and I honestly couldn't make any sense of what it was supposed to imply;

Had Koresh and Arrasia promised him money? Threatened his life? Then I remembered what Reichis had said about people choosing to be servants. “If you’re waiting for me to shed a tear, it might take a while,”

2. Then there was this little gem.

Mariadne or the queen. Love or duty.

Idk Kellen I don't know where this love nonsense comes from and you have been perfectly willing to throw the queen to the wolves and run away since the beginning of the book. I mean, be a selfish bastard that's fine (really!) but pick a side goddammit. And I don't mean the one with the shady damsel in distress you just had sex with.

3. All my favorite characters drop dead like flies, often unceremoniously and for plot-advancing reasons. This distresses me. (For the curious, my faves would be Tasia, Erras and Arex. RIP, all.)

4. Heyyy Kellen here's an idea why don't you just tell the queen from behind your locked door that you could be mind controlled into murdering her and so you need to keep away from her? Instead of letting her stand in the open vulnerable and pleading while giving her no answers? Is there something here I missed. (Also, Arex died at this point. I am now doubly incensed.)

5. Not gonna lie. Crazy ass psycho countess was one of the best parts of the book so far. I would have liked her to have more screentime.

6. Just... The whole rape thing. Oh my god where do I even start there is just so much to unpack. First off, the narrative choice to use that scene for drama? Questionable. Secondly, the whole "it was staged" thing?- I'm not sure what even to make of that. I mean, what was the purpose of that twist? Did it change anything? Kellen can still be puppeteered. His belief that the girl was innocent when he was puppeteered at her means that knowledge in hindsight about her complicity has nothing to do with his "evil soul" or whatever.

It would be a relevant plot point if the girl ever appeared on screen after that, but as it is it just reads like "look it wasn't REALLY an attempted rape it was consensual" and seriously you're pulling that bullshit on me after making me sit through that scene? ARGH.