The third book in the Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black, Queen of Nothing picks up where Wicked King left off. Returning to the world of Elfhame, we see the tying up of multiple plot threads and the finale for Jude and Cardan’s tale. While filled with it’s share of interesting fights and story twists, one of the big sub plots built up in the previous two books falls flat due to main plot convenience. A lead character also gets relegated to the background due to plot reasons that, while interesting, deny him the spotlight and character growth he so desperately deserved.
It is the ending of the novel by far that is the most conflicting. While satisfying in some ways, it also suffers from having too clean of an ending. Only one character seems to face the consequences for their actions while others, despite their many crimes committed throughout the trilogy, get the equivalent of a slap on the wrist and a shake of the finger.
There seems to be hints that there will be a continuation to the series outside the main trilogy, so perhaps this issues maybe addressed in the future. It is a good, but flawed read. You can borrow the series as ebooks and digital audiobooks from eLibraryNJ and eBCCLS. You can see all of the Hoboken Public Library’s ebook and streaming resources on our website.
Written by:
Lauren Lapinksi
Circulation Assistant
Hoboken Public Library Blog 