Cover of Shadow of a Dark Queen

Shadow of a Dark Queen

core novel 1994 Riftwar Cycle

Record

First published1994
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.09 (32,163 ratings, collected 2026-09-12)
Page count497
First-edition ISBN0-688-12408-9
First-edition date1994-06
Internal chronology16

Synopsis

Shadow of a Dark Queen opens the Serpentwar Saga, set on the distant continent of Novindus, where a self-proclaimed dark queen is massing armies before turning her ambitions toward the Kingdom of the Isles. Two young men from the town of Ravensburg, Erik von Darkmoor and Roo Avery, are caught up in the growing conflict after a personal crime forces them to flee their home, and they are swept into a desperate mission meant to gather intelligence on the queen's forces and buy the Kingdom time to prepare. As Erik's aptitude for soldiering and Roo's talent for opportunism draw them deeper into the unfolding war, the two friends witness the scale of the threat massing across the sea and the price that resisting it may demand of everyone who stands against it.

Where it sits

Awards (verified)

  • Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1995: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 16.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Sources

← Riftwar Cycle dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.