“I am Ilanna, Journeyman of House Hawk… and vengeance will be mine.” Ilanna has lost everything: her friends, her home, her family, her dreams of freedom.All that remains is a burning desire to find the bastards who burned down her city and tried to kill her.But a traitor hides among the ranks of the Night Guild, poisoning her friends and allies with lies.Cast out and condemned to death, Ilanna … out and condemned to death, Ilanna has no choice but to turn to old enemies to save not only her life, but her Guild and city in the process.
Read the breathtaking, heart-stopping conclusion to the Queen of Thieves series!
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Ilanna is hands down the greatest character on Einan! You will fall in love with her. Her story starts out rough, but she becomes a legend. Besting demons, kings, and dukes in her own sly way.
Perfect conclusion to an epic trilogy…
Andy Peloquin has gifted his readers/listeners with another gruelingly intense and totally thrilling story in this third and final book of the Night Guild trilogy. We have watched as Ilana grew from a small, frightened child into a fierce and determined woman. We have experienced her fears, her victories, her heartbreak, and her incomparable resolve to overcome any and all obstacles. In this book, she is at her lowest point, having lost everything she valued as a consequence of an unthinkable betrayal. All she has left is an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Although I am saddened to think this is the final adventure we get to share with Ilana, I can say that it is unparalleled in emotional impact and will not soon be forgotten. I absolutely recommend this series to enthusiasts of dark fantasy.
I was provided with an audio copy of this book by the author and I am voluntarily offering my honest and unbiased review.
QUEEN OF THE NIGHT GUILD is the third installment of the QUEEN OF THIEVES series by Andy Peloquin. It is the adventures of thief Ilanna, who was sold by her debt-ridden father to the titular Night Guild. The Night Guild is a Thieves Guild straight out of Dungeons and Dragon with trained assassins, soldiers, thieves, and poisoners. They are a powerful organization in her home kingdom but not the most powerful as she finds out throughout this book.
Andy Peloquin is one of my favorite authors today. I have only read three of his novels but they have been consistently some of the best, easiest to read, and entertaining fantasy I have read in years. The story flows incredibly well from beginning to end with the main character developing from a scared and traumatized young girl to a hardened bitter cynic who wants nothing more to do with the Night Guild yet knows nothing else.
Readers should obviously start with the first book as a summary spoils the twist of the previous novel’s conclusion. Needless to say, Illana has lost her entire life in an act of arson and it has driven her half-insane. Consumed with a need for revenge, she attempts to track down the people who did it as the Night Guild falls prey to a conspiracy against it. Illana attempts to turn the tables on her enemies but her anger, bitterness, and arrogance result in some of her solutions making the problem much-much worse.
I like the way Andy Peloquin handles the character of Illana as she’s an incredibly nuanced character. The Night Guild has done a number on her but she’s used to being able to manipulate it and its members pretty well. There’s a great moment in the book when she deals with a genuinely honest man (who is not particularly nice) and it completely throws her. The fact she can’t bribe, blackmail, intimidate, or entice him leaves her completely cold. The fact she can’t appeal to his sense of justice is also great because she’s never had to try and wouldn’t even know where to begin.
The action in the book is extremely well done with Illana being closer to John McClain than more invincible heroes. She takes a rather severe beating with injuries that leave a permanent mark, starting with burns on her hand and face from the fire at the beginning. Illana suffers badly for her actions and yet she trudges on, which is something that makes the book feel stronger. I’m reminded a bit of Katniss Everdeen’s literary depiction as what made those books memorable was the fact it authentically depicted the trauma she suffered.
The Duke is a fantastic villain of the story as he’s wonderfully self-righteous and believable. He genuinely believes he’s a good man and is uninterested in what Illana is selling. He also has a great love for his brother, the King, that makes him credible. However, he’s also someone who shares his society’s disdain for bastards and doesn’t consider them a part of the family. His lies directly contribute to the suffering of virtually the entire city. I also enjoyed the Bloody Hands as they prove to be a brutish and detestable group of thugs. I’m not sure I really buy the Night Guild is any better than them but I understand why Illana believes it.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book. Illana is a fantastically written character and a well-done bi-heroine (though romance is nothing she’s terribly interested in). I look forward to picking up the sequel series when it comes out but this trilogy stands on its own. It’s a book series that could theoretically be classified as a Young Adult one (albeit a very grimdark one ala Joe Abercrombie’s work for teenagers) but adults should enjoy it even more.
My review for this exceptional book is on page 87 of the March 2018 issue of InD’Tale Magazine. http://magazine.indtale.com/magazine/2018/march/#?page=87
Have You Heard?
Tiffany Landers Andy Peloquin Queen of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves Book 3)
The author drops us right where Thief of the Night Guild ended. Horror that Ilanna had lost all of what she had worked so hard to attain. True, she had her freedom, but to lose those whom she loved to share it with is an emotion we all wish never to experience ourselves.
The Night Guild is built on the sins of mankind, where the innocent to survive must face the danger or die. The author takes the reader into the anguish of those whose freedom has been ripped from them, then to be part of the Night Guild whether they wish it or not. The life is for those who have the strength to survive, however they can.
Ilanna is a young woman who faces much in this three-book series. Her experiences of tragedy, successes and determination had me admire who she becomes. She is intelligent and skilled in her trade and equally determined to find those who have taken her son from her, taking her to the brink of certain death.
This gripping and gritty tale will stay long with me, rethinking the scenes where friends are there to help, where Illanna is left alone with impossible odds and comes out the victor, where evil is found in the most benign faces. I highly recommend this read if you love a thriller written with a writing style which keeps you on the edge of your chair.
When all has failed you, friends abandoned you, what you believe hasn’t worked, do you lay down and expire? I DON”T THINK SO!! This book gets your blood pumping and urges you to take up a sword. When she doesn’t know where to turn, Illana falls back on the ancient axiom “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”….Maybe not really, but there is nowhere else to turn.
And it will keep you turning pages late into the night
Talk about a thrilling culmination of The Queen of Thieves series. This is where it all ties together and you get to see the whole picture. All of the could haves, and what ifs rear their ugly head. Ilanna yet again is in a place where most would give up and quit trying. Yet revenge keeps burning like a fever. This is the sort of series you will want to read again just to watch how it all went down in a different light.