Queen of the Orcs: Royal Destiny

by Morgan Howell

Book Overview

"Dar never loses our admiration and compassion--qualities at the heart of any struggling hero."--Karin Lowachee, author of Warchild

A delicate alliance between human and orc has been achieved. Now Queen of the Orcs, Dar works toward making that peace last. Her position has helped her to finally feel part of a community, to find a life to call her own.

But sudden, strange outbreaks of unrest and ominous signs throw both...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345496523
• ISBN13: 9780345496522
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Brand new. Perfect condition.

Royal Destiny is the third book in the Queen of the Orcs trilogy. If you're into Orcs and such, you'll see a more "human" side of them.

I loved the trilogy!

I totally loved all three books and was not dissapointed in the least, even with the ending. All characters were excellently written and i followed secondary plots with the same level of interest as the story of Dar. Perhaps if Dar ended up with Kovok at the end it would have been a tad more satisfying. But one can understand how she made the selfless and heartbreaking decision to part as opposed to live as an outcast from both races. And the very end, when Dar is greeted by her daughters leads this reader to believe (and hope) that she found a place for herself and maybe a different kind of happiness. Not everything has to have a HEA ending much like fluffy romance novels. These books are different and that is why all three are keepers for me. There will be another book coming soon from the author and it also looks very promising.

Almost anti-climax

I was desperate to find out what happened and therefore I was so excited this volume actually came out earlier than the publishing day listed by [...] I got it and read the whole book in one reading just like I did with the first two books. I almost wish the author would stop with the second book because it was such happy ending. This book did not make too much senses unless there will be a fourth book coming out. The fact that Dar found out she could have babies with Kovah-Mah almost seemed to be a total waste because the two got separated at the end of the book. If this is indeed the last book of the series, then the author had done a poor job despite a great job with the first two volumes. Therefore, the question is: will there be a fourth book?

The Conclusion

Royal Destiny is the concluding book in the Queen of the Orcs series. In the previous books Dar has advanced from being a slave to being the Queen of the Orcs and creating a peace treaty. However, despite her efforts at trying to create peace between the Orcs and the Humans, there are forces working against her. The Dark Mage is still alive and more powerful then ever. He enlists the aid of the vengeful Kol to help him destroy the frail alliance and create war. While Kol whispers dark lies into Queen Girta's ear, Dar is struggling on learning how to be a queen and prove to the Orcs she is able to be said queen. Dar is a powerful character who has grown from a meek slave girl into a woman who has the strength to command the Orc population. She is not the needy girl you see in the second book, but has moved past that and is now able to ignore her strong emotions to make more wise decisions. Despite how strong Dar is, she does still have her misgivings and makes mistakes. This is what makes Dar more realistic as she isn't suddenly an amazing Queen who knows exactly how to rule and command. Dar is strong in the fact that she knows she is at a disadvantage and is willing to ask help from others to help her out. The secondary characters are all strong and well developed characters. Kovak-Mah remains his sensitive and kind self that we were first introduced to in the first book. Zna-Yat seems the most aware of the deceptiveness of humans, yet he realizes not all humans are like this. Nir-Yat is a strong and loyal supporter of Dar, even going against her own mother to do so. The plot of the story flows beautifully and follows the previous books in the series seamlessly. The writing is wonderfully done and lets you see how different the Orc society is, yet you can still relate at the same time. However, the reason I gave this book a 4 star rating instead of a 5 is because the ending seemed almost rushed and was very disappointing. I hoped for a more concrete and insightful ending about what happens between the two very different nations as well as with Dar. I really wish the ending was different for Dar. Yet, despite these disappointments for me, The Queen of the Orcs is a very well written and engaging series that will keep you following Dar to her amazing Destiny. I recommend this book to any romantic fantasy fan.