Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Do you ever get tired of seeing the same story told repeatedly? With the same type of characters being the focal point? If so, then The Blacksmith Queen will be a refreshing change of pace. Here, we have atypical characters resolving a mess that may seem very familiar but with a few twists along the way.

Keeley Smythe is a blacksmith, and she loves her job. Unfortunately, a strange twist of fate may force her to change her career path. Now, she’s stuck in a family feud for the kingdom, all in hopes of keeping her family safe.

The Blacksmith Queen is the first novel in a new series by G.A. Aiken. I probably should mention that it is connected to Aiken’s Dragon Kin series. Both series happen in the same world, but you don’t have to read one to understand the other.

Writing

G.A. Aiken managed to bring a lot of familiar tropes together and turn them into something entirely new and unique in The Blacksmith Queen. This novel was honestly a lot of fun to read. It had action, family drama/dynamics, fantasy elements, political moments, and a good sense of humor.

The novel was fun and charming – Keeley doesn’t exactly fit the stereotypical mold for a queen-to-be, but that made her all the more interesting in my book. There were a lot of characters in this novel, but they all seemed fleshed out on the whole. And all were very unique in their own ways.

As mentioned above, The Blacksmith Queen did have its amusing moments. These moments were perfectly placed to balance out the heavier tones within the story. Aiken used repetition and the familiar to add a sense of humor without requiring a whole lot of setup. It was very effective.

The repetition also gave a sense of order to the world. I’m sure that Aiken’s other series fans will have a better sense of the world shown here. But this one novel did show quite a large chunk of world-building. It’ll be interesting to see if the two series end up weaving together at a later point.

Development

The Blacksmith Queen was an exceptionally fast-paced read. It seemed like every moment, something was either happening or about to happen. The result was a book that readers wouldn’t want to put down. I ended up reading this book in one sitting. It was simply too entertaining to do anything less.

The plot started slightly slow, taking its time to introduce all the characters involved. But once that was done, it progressed very rapidly. There were a few subplots to support and entertain along the way, but that’s probably a given, considering how large the cast is.

The storytelling techniques in this novel were interesting. While the plot mostly focused on Keeley’s perspective, every now and then, it would shift. This allowed us to have a better idea of what was happening in the world at large. It also sets up for some larger moments within the story, warning us of future things.

Conclusion

The Blacksmith Queen was a quirky and brilliant read. It was full of fun and exciting moments, fascinating characters, and even more interesting battles. G.A. Aiken had a lot of fun twisting these tropes around. But the result made it all worth it.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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