The One-Armed Queen

This is the best book I have read this year. Keep in mind, I have not read the first two to this sequal, but I was so thrilled with it, I am ordering the others right away.I feel the book gives many great points of view on various topics that should be introduced to younger children and teens, as well as adults who are philisophical. It not only has great values, but grabs your attention and rips at your every emotion. I cried for an hour after I was done- not knowing to keep crying or smile because it had a sorrowful ending, but was a superb story with an 'almost-happy' ending when given deeper thought. The plot is great, the characters are so vividly described and morals are popping out every other page! I seriously recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and great all-around books with great values.

I first read "Sister Light, Sister Dark" when I was nine years old and spent five fervent years searching for its out-of-print sequel, "White Jenna." (Needless to say, now that the two have been reprinted as "The Books of Great Alta," I'm ecstatic.) Together the two books were a perfect pair, complementary halves as befitted a story set in a world whose major system deals with opposites and complements. I loved them. This said, my problem with "The One-Armed Queen" has nothing to do with its characters, its setting, its pace, or its description. Admittedly, all aspects of the story pale slightly in comparison with the preceding two books, which are phenomenal, but on its own it is a fine, beautifully written, intriguing fantasy. I love the world of the Dales and the Continent, which feels a bit like some alternate British Isles; the societies are well-constructed, and the mythology and folklore are so solid as to be real. I enjoy the interweaving of story, song, and myth with historical interludes-most of the history rather inaccurate, as the pragmatic historian is trying to give concrete, realistic explanations of events that did in fact involve the supernatural (more evident in "The Books of Great Alta" than in "The One-Armed Queen")-and while I was a bit sorry to hear that the anonymous skeptic of the earlier books had died, I was quite pleased to see his daughter take over his work and be just as wrong as he was about what really happened. Story aside, all three books are a fascinating exercise in what happens to a story over time--how it evolves, what forms it takes in song and legend, and how it is reconstructed by historians a thousand years later. "The One-Armed Queen" is ten times better than much of the work out there, and definitely deserves to be read. So what was the problem? As I mentioned earlier, "Sister Light, Sister Dark" and "White Jenna" are beautifully self-contained, complementary, and complete. The story, which finishes so fittingly at the end of "White Jenna," does not really need to be extended. Of course something happened afterward-something happens after the finish of every story-but the story of Scillia, daughter of Carum and Jenna, and her brothers Corrine and Jemson, the story of the War of Deeds and Succession ("a rather long name for a rather short period in our history"), really does not need to be told. I am glad that it was told, I enjoyed reading "The One-Armed Queen," but the story still feels faintly unnecessary in the wake of its predecessors. "Sister Light, Sister Dark" and "White Jenna" were powerful books. "The One-Armed Queen" is a good, thoughtful read. There's a difference.

When I first read this book, I wasn't getting into it. It was a while since I read the other two books, but as I read on I was hooked. The charactization was believable and likable. I loved how Scilla matured and enjoyed reading the scenes with her brother. It keeps in the same style as the other books (which I now own). A good book overall.

Okay. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I have to ask . . . *what's the matter with you people???* This was a truly great book ! The plot was fascinating, and the set-up itself was wonderful. The concept of a Dark Sister is a little confusing if you've never read any of the other books in the series (which I haven't but now mean to), but Jane Yolen makes it clear as the book progresses. She didn't bore me with lengthy descriptions of the Dales in the beginning of the book; she showed, rather than told. The little inserts of history and letters that were written years after the story (so to speak) were great, adding a new dimension to the story. And the characters were amazing. Jenna, the White Queen, and her sister Skada. Uncertain of herself, yet brave in her actions, she has become a hero of mine. The brothers Jemsen and Corum----Corum was one of my favorite charaters, so real that he seems a real person. And of course Scillia, the one-armed warrior queen. What a great concept. But perhaps the best part of Scillia was that she did _not_ like war. Killing repulsed her. An original respite to the usual, kill-and-make-jokes-at-the-same-time method that most fantasy books use, thank you very much. And more than that, Scillia was the first true KID in a fantasy book I've seen so far. A moody thirteen-year-old, she found herself angry with her mother or a situation without knowing why. I can relate. In fact, reading this story gave me courage in knowing that I am not the only teen to be discouraged by things in life. And relating to Jenna for awhile helped me to see my mother's point of view as a parent. This is something you rarely see in books. -------- The plot, characters, setting . . . EVERYthing was original. And the songs in the back of the book were gorgeous. I sing "The Two Kings" and "The Dark Sister Lullaby" all the time. The music is simple but beautiful. So please, give this book a chance. It made me smile, it made me cry (and I don't cry when I read books), it made me proud to be a woman. The queen lives.

Fabulous, exciting, and suprisingly ne