Chaos Queen - Duskfall: Chaos Queen 1

by Christopher Husberg

Overview

Shortlisted for the Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer at the Gemmell Awards 2017

Pulled from a frozen sea, pierced by arrows and close to death, Knot has no memory of who he was. But his dreams are dark, filled with violence and unknown faces. Winter, a tiellan woman whose people have long been oppressed by humans, is married to and abandoned by Knot on the same day. In her search for him, she will discover her control of magic, but risk losing herself utterly. And Cinzia, priestess and true believer, returns home to discover her family at the heart of a heretical rebellion. A rebellion that only the Inquisition can crush…


Their fates and those of others will intertwine, in a land where magic and daemons are believed dead, but dark forces still vie for power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783299157
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Series:	Chaos Queen
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	615,341
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Christopher B. Husberg was born in Alaska and studied at Brigham Young University, where he went on to teach creative writing. His short story collection Look Me in the Stars received an honourable mention in the 2013 Utah Original Writing Competition. He lives with his wife in Lehi, Utah.

Editorial Reviews

07/11/2016
Husberg's debut fantasy launches a projected five-volume series set in a standard high-fantasy world: quasi-medieval, populated by elves (who name themselves tiellan) and humans, dominated by a lightly camouflaged and very corrupt Christian religion. Tiellan are a fading race, persecuted in their ghettos. Winter, a restless young tiellan woman, is about to escape by marrying an amnesiac human man called Knot, but the ceremony is disrupted by attackers who kill most of the celebrants. Knot kills the attackers but is nonetheless blamed for all the deaths. He lights out for Roden, the city he feels strangely drawn to. Winter, who survives, soon follows him. Their parallel quest-journeys bring about the usual portentous meetings with mysteriously knowledgeable strangers. Interspersed are snippets about the priestess Cinzia, who's combating heresy in her family, but it takes too much time for her role in the overall narrative to become clear. Leisurely pacing and scant innovation make this story more workmanlike than enthralling. Husberg's prose is assured, however, and some of his tweaks—particularly his variation on vampires—indicate that the series may develop in intriguing ways. Agent: Sam Morgan, JABberwocky Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"The first book in the Chaos Queen Quintet starts with a bang and introduces Husberg’s world to the reader in an interesting, plot-driven manner. " - Booklist

"This is a solid setup for a great new fantasy epic, perfect for fans of Daniel Abraham and Brandon Sanderson." — Library Journal

"Duskfall is the Borne Identity for the fantasy crowd!...It is sure to quench the thirst of any reader who is looking for dark forces who vie for power and those who wish to fight against them!" Night Owl Reviews

"a must for any fantasy lover and is the one you have been waiting for." - SFReader

“The most engaging and satisfying fantasy book I have read in a very long time” - Impedimenta Magazine 

“This novel is a perfect read for fans of Anne Rice, or  J. R. R. Tolkien.” -  Bookaholic Banter

 “Easy to become engrossed in” - Adventures In Poor Taste

“This novel reminded me a bit of Gail Z. Martin, Michael J. Sullivan, Courtney Schafer and Marc J. Turner. Just like these authors, Christopher Husberg has the ability to entertain his readers and move the story fluently forward.” - Rising Shadow

From the Publisher

06/15/2016
Tensions are high between humans and the elflike tiellans they once enslaved. But when human Knot, suffering from amnesia, is pulled from the freezing sea by tiellan fishermen, he settles down with them by marrying Winter, a tiellan girl. The wedding is disrupted when unknown men in robes attack Knot. Upon recognizing his own killing instinct, Knot abandons Winter, but she pursues him, only to fall in with a group that sense in her a gift that should be impossible for a tiellan to possess. The couple's paths will intersect with religious dissident Jane and her sister Cinzia, a priestess of the Cantic religion. All seem to have an important role to play as darkness builds in a land across the mountains. While the pieces of this traditional fantasy debut—prophecies, magic squaring off against religion, political conflict, and even amnesiac heroes—are not particularly original, the storytelling is fresh and assured and the characters appealing. Winter is especially compelling, as her supernatural studies lead to a troublesome addiction. VERDICT This is a solid setup for a great new fantasy epic, perfect for fans of Daniel Abraham and Brandon Sanderson.—MM

Library Journal