The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K S Villoso

I would like to thank Nazia from Orbit for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publuisher - Orbit

Price - £8.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook

‘They call me the Bitch Queen, the she-wolf, because I murdered a man and exiled my king the night before they crowned me.’

Born under the towers of Oren-Yaro, Queen Talyien inherited a deeply divided kingdom, devastated by years of war. Her marriage to the son of a rival clan was meant to herald peace, yet her fiancé disappeared before their reign could even begin.

Now years later, Talyien rceives a message that will send her across on the sea. Yet what was meant as an effort to reconcile the past leaves her stranded  in a land she doesn’t know, with assassis at her back and no idea who she can trust.

If Talyien is to survive she must embrace her namesake.

Fantasy loves a monarch – good or bad. Possibly this is because we like to see what someone with absolute power can do; working out the balance between great responsibility and power aren’t just for mutated web slingers. The reader wants to see the monarch in a situation where they are put to the test. Unusually to save the kingdom but in K S Villoso’s inventive debut we get an injured monarch placed in a strange city with no power; without anyone to command on a mission to save both themselves and their kingdom.

This story takes place in a Filipino inspired world where Queen Talyien rules the kingdom of Jen-Syeng. She is the daughter of a notorious Oren-yaro warlord who brought the kingdom into conflict who perceived Talyien as part of the next step for peace through an arranged marriage with the Prince Rayyel of the rival Ikessar faction. Unfortunately the night before the wedding and coronation Rayyel left the kingdom; the popular view was generally that this was felt to be the fault of Talyien who was left to grow up their son and try to keep the kingdom together. But after five years silence Rayyel suddenly requests a meeting across the sea. Despite her advisor’s warnings the Queen charters a small ship and group of soliders to the allegedly more civilised city of Anzhou part of the mighty Zarojo Empire. At a secret meeting the two spouses meet and are promptly attacked by assassins – Talyien is left badly injured on a pouring wet night in a foreign city with her small forces either dead or missing; now on her own trying to survive and Anzhou city is not a place for the weak.

Here we have a very unusual episodic fantasy tale. Less the standard epic tale of kingdoms being immediately under threat but more (in this instalment of the story at least) a tale of survival in a foreign city. The plot is very episodic and focuses on Talyien’s experiences and adventures as she struggles to survive. It is effectively tales of one smart and often deadly monarch versus criminals, gangs and mysterious assassins. I found this very refreshing compared to some sprawling epics of various factions fighting in the king’s court and it definitely reminded me of some Asian dramas in it’s episodic approach to story-telling. Slowly these initially single story threads all come together and by the end it’s a very well crafted narrative heading the series for what would definitely point towards some epic confrontations.

A key feature for me in the success of the story was Talyien herself. The story is told in first-person and she’s a fascinatingly complex character. Externally Talyien especially to the other warlords and other empires is viewed with suspicion and a little fear. The Oren-yaro have a reputation for violence and bloodshed (which her father more than lived up to) and for those in Anzhou City she gets viewed as uncivilised and primitive. Whereas we get her own point of view which shows a sharp contrast with her internal monologue. Talyien is actually very focused on protecting her kingdom and family – she takes her responsibility of being Queen seriously and often means she puts herself in an awkward situation hence her constant need to try and meet Rayyel and sometimes she is so focused on this she makes riskier decisions. Once she is isolated though in some ways she gets freedom to do what she wants. There is a interesting culture clash as Talyien starts to see that underneath the glamour of Anzhou is a ruthless world of people who will happily prey on those viewed less powerful. Poverty, ruthless executions and oppression is commonplace just done with a veneer of wealth. The leaders she encounters don’t have the same sense of duty or honour and the reader may think the Wolf of Oren-Yaro may not be too bad but on occasion you can see the teeth and claws used to ruthless effect. One other main character I loved to watch develop is the alledgedly amoral conman Khine who Talyien starts to rely on and their relationship and banter plus occasional moments of possible betrayal really add a lot of heart to the story.

I also loved the way the story has a great way of weaving backstory into the tale through flashbacks. Rather than pure info dumps we get Talyien’s younger days where we see earlier versions of the characters and start to understand the political dynamics of the world plus a realisation that Talyien was not quite the ruthless queen some believed.

This was a hugely enjoyable and refreshing fantasy tale with just a few hints of a bigger and potentially more magical world to come. I loved exploring the world and trying to work out the connections between the characters and the real truth. If you’re looking for a new inventive voice in fantasy then this is a tale you should be picking up. I’m very much looking forward (possibly with hand over one eye) to what the Bitch Queen does next.