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Queen of Candesce

Book Two of Virga

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Queen of Candesce

By: Karl Schroeder
Narrated by: Joyce Irvine
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About this listen

Venera Fanning was last seen falling into nothingness at the end of Sun of Suns. Now, in Queen of Candesce, Venera finds herself plunging through the air among the artificial worlds of Virga, far from home and her husband, who may or may not be alive. Landing in the ancient nation of Spyre, Venera encounters new enemies and new friends (or at least convenient allies). She must quickly learn who she can trust, and who she can manipulate in order to survive.

Survival isn't her only goal; with the powerful Key of Candesce in her hands, she can control the fate of the entire world of Virga, yet something even more pressing is driving her—the all consuming need for revenge.

©2007 Karl Schroeder (P)2008 Macmillan Audio Adventure Science Fiction Space Opera Steampunk Fiction Survival

Critic reviews

“Oh, what worldbuilding! Schroeder is a master.”—Cory Doctorow

“Lushly realized . . . Queen of Candesce has a backdrop that's simultaneously steampunk and space opera, a complex and believably flawed lead character, and plenty of action and intrigue.”—Interzone

“With Queen of Candesce, Karl Schroeder's Virga saga establishes itself as an SF saga of the same order as LeGuin's Earthsea series, Asimov's Robot stories, and Niven's Ringworld stories.”—SFRevu
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I have such a crush on Venera Fanning, she is a real piece of work. a lot of politicking and backstabbing with some revolution and war thrown in for good measure. Joyce Irvine is an acquired taste as a narrator but once you get used to her she's actually really good and captures Venera's imperiousness perfectly, I love these books.

Queen Bee

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