Now that I am done with Court of the Vampire Queen, it’s time to start a new adventure and I’m finding it in Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I’ve been seeing her all over my TikTok feed and when I spotted the book in my local bookshop, I figured, why not use that as my next one. So without further ado, here is the first 2 chapters of Red Queen and it’s only two because there was so much I loved about these and the imagery Victoria paints.
https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5182198842395474If you’d like to follow along, you can get the book here.
Chapter 1
The market deflates, with everyone closing up their stalls for the day. The merchants are distracted, careless, and it’s easy for me to take whatever I want from their wares. By the time I’m done, my pockets bulge with trinkets and I’ve got an apple for the road. Not bad for a few minutes’ work.
Starting out strong with an Aladdin like character, which I love. The way it’s written is highly engaging to me.
Kilorn Warren. A fisherman’s apprentice, a war orphan, and probably my only real friend. We used to beat each other up as children, but now that we’re older – and he’s a foot taller than me – I try to avoid scuffles. He has his uses, I suppose. Reaching high shelves, for example.
Am I sensing a friends to lovers sub-plot here?
“Tsk tsk, Mare,” he teases, shaking a finger at me. “This is supposed to be fun.”
“It’s supposed to be a warning, you dumb fool.”
A quick, but subtle reminder that, despite the ensuing ‘entertainment’, Mare knows that their place in the world is a treacherous one, but I am glad that Kilorn brings a sense of joy even in a bad circumstance.
The only thing that serves to distinguish us, outwardly at least, is that Silvers stand tall. Our backs are bent by work and unanswered hope and the inevitable disappointment with our lot in life
A very clear divide between the classes and between the powered and the powerless before powers are even mentioned. Honestly, it’s not that different out in the real world where no one has powers, but you can tell the people who haven’t had to work hard.
Many Reds gamble their earnings on the fights, hoping to win a little something to help them get through another week. But not me, not even with Kilorn. It’s easier to cut the bookie’s purse than try to win money from it.
I think most people, myself included, can resonate with this. It might not always be the wisest move, but sometimes a frivolous chance at something big is worth it even it just for morale. She is right though, it’s easier to steal money than it is to try and win it.
Next to me, Kilorn cheers and the other villagers roar with him. A Security officer throws a loaf of bread at the louder ones for their trouble. To my left, another hands a screaming child a bright yellow piece of paper. ‘Lec papers – extra electricity rations. All of it to make us cheer, to make us scream, to force us to watch, even if we don’t want to.
No one should be forced to do something that they don’t want to, but this is hardly even harmful. They are given the directive to be loud and excited for the sake of the Silvers and sometimes it will provide a benefit. It is kind of like gambling because there is no guarantee that you will get the load of bread or the extra rations, but there is also nothing lost by trying.
This is the true division between Silvers and Reds: the color of our blood. This simple difference somehow makes them stronger, smarter, better than us.
I think I’m almost surprised it’s not the other way around. The only reason it wouldn’t be is because the Silvers have powers. If they didn’t, the Reds would likely be the ones in power and would find a use for the Silver blood. It’s not fun to imagine, but it is always one or the other in worlds and hierarchies like this. Equality would be nice, but at this point in the story, it is utterly unrealistic.
In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in the sky, ruling the earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just stories, but I don’t believe that.
The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.
Oh I love this. It highlights what they are taught and likely believed in childish innocence and then that last line being the last line of the chapter, it’s highly impactful.
Chapter 2
Our house is small, even by Stilts standards, but at least we have a view. Before his injury, during one of his army leaves, Dad built the house high so we could see across the river. Even through the haze of summer you can see the cleared pockets of land that were once forest, now logged into oblivion. They look like disease, but to the north and west, the untouched hills are a calm reminder. There is so much more out there. Beyond us, beyond the Silvers, beyond everything I know.
Something tells me that this kind of comparison imagery is going to be very common in this book and I’m glad, it’s done well.
Gisa is going to save us one day, with nothing more than needle and thread.
I like that Mare is able to appreciate the effort and value of her little sister and her talents rather than placing all the value on her three brothers who are all fighting in the war. Neither is better or worse than the other, but Gisa won’t have to leave to provide and work.
“I don’t want cake,” he grumbles. I don’t miss his glance toward his growing belly.
“Well, tell me what you do want, Dad. I new watch or-“
“Mare, I do not consider something you stole off someone’s wrist to be new.”
While he does have a point in that it wouldn’t be new, the least he could do was appreciate that she was trying to make an effort for his birthday.
He’s been crying. Kilorn does not cry. His knuckles are bleeding too, and I bet there’s a wall hurting just as hard somewhere nearby. In spite of myself, in spite of the late hour, I can’t help but feel concerned, even scared for him.
First of all, I like that a male character is showing weakness, distress and fear. Not because I want men to feel that way, but because it’s rare to be shown. It’s also a really stark change from the happy-go-lucky man we met in the first chapter.
Conclusion
While I’ve read the first 4 chapters, there was just so much jammed into the first two that I had to cut this post short for risk of writing my own novel! This book has been captivating from the jump and I am very excited to see where it goes next.
If you’d like to follow along, you can get the book here.
Bookish Mumma 
Leave a comment