Krasia is reeling. The demons, long thought vanquished, have of course returned. But the two men who helped to end their threat are thought to be dead and their wives, who also fought the demons, are trapped by the demon horde. It is even more clear now that the new generation, Olive Paper and Darin Bales must lead the charge against the reawakening Demons. The Hidden Queen is the second installment of the Nightfall saga, itself a follow-up to Brett’s 5-book Demon Cycle saga.
(US Hardcover, March 2024)
Humanity thought the war with demonkind was over. Now, after less than a generation to rebuild, the demon corelings have returned with a vengeance. The Spear of Ala—the fortress that stands at the gates of the demon’s hive—is the last bastion against the horde, and reports say it may already have fallen.
Olive Paper is expected to take the vanguard in the fight. Only an heir of Kaji can wield the artifact that opens the gates of the Spear of Ala, and as Ahmann Jardir’s child, Olive seems destined for a role as leader and savior. But Olive does not wish to follow in her father’s footsteps any more than she did her mother’s.
Darin Bales was born with supernatural senses that he struggles to process, and even those who love him believe he can barely take care of himself. Yet to save his mother from the clutches of Alagai Ka, the demon king, Darin will brave anything to mount a rescue.
Darin and Olive each strive to walk their own path but find themselves inextricably tied to the legacies of their parents and to a fated confrontation with the demon king and his new hatchling queen.
If they fail, humanity may not survive.
Just like the first installment of this series, The Desert Prince, Brett unfolds his tale through the first-person perspective of Darin and Olive. Both characters have some, shall we say, unique characteristics that set them apart from people in their world and many of their Epic Fantasy peers. Olive is intersex, possessing genitals for both female and males. This is a heightened element because there is a very stark divide between gender roles in the society of Olive’s father. Whereas the first volume in this series Olive seemed to follow more along the lines of her mother, here in The Hidden Queen she very much hews to path closer to her father’s path. A major part of her journey is the quest to rescue Ahman Jardir from the Demon’s prison.
If the first novel in this saga felt like “Olive’s book,” then The Hidden Queen most definitely felt like “Darin’s book.” Because his parents ingested demons and painted their bodies with demon ichor, has heightened senses, he hears, sees, and smells everything. I hadn’t made the connection until listening to podcast with Peter Brett as a guest, but Darin is very much written as neurodivergent. Because of his heightened senses, Darin exhibits qualities of social anxiety. It is noticed by his friends and those around him, and it is mostly accepted as a part of who he is, even if those same characters understandably express frustration. I think Brett handled this element of Darin quite well.
I don’t know that I would say that The Hidden Queen has that typical middle book feel. Sure, the premise was set up in the first novel, but the story felt as if it advanced, from my perspective. Darin went through some maturation and finds himself in a romantic triangle and it has the awkward feel readers might expect. It worked for me, though even if the one who is his “Intended” grated on me a bit because of the overuse of that word “Intended.” I’ll notch that up to another of the linguistic quirks of how
There were serious consequences for some characters we’ve come to know in this series. Dangerous things in the past are hinted at rearing their heads again (aside from the demons, of course), I’m looking at you Arick. When there characters are in a second major war with demons, not everyone will survive, so even if the execution for a bit of that was jarring, the end result felt right. The thing that continues to fascinate me about these books is the worldbuilding (I know that can be a nasty word for some but as an Epic Fantasy junkie, it is what keeps me loving the genre), but specifically the magic and the demons and how humanity engages with those elements. I’m still very much intrigued about the demons and their origins and I’m not sure if I want to know how they came about or if the world depicted in this series is actually a version of ours in the distant future or past. Part of the fun is that guessing game, but knowing definitively would also be fun.
(US Paperback, March 2025)
I’ve had a copy of this in some form for about a year prior to reading it. Not sure exactly why I was hesitant to dive into it, there was no single reason. Maybe it was the time that passed since I read The Desert Prince, maybe it was looking back at my review for The Desert Prince and getting a little hesitant there. Those pangs of hesitancy were largely unfounded, I’m very happy to say. I’ve enjoyed all the books of this mega series and found The Hidden Queen to be another compulsive, immersive entry in Brett’s Apocalyptic, Epic fantasy saga. I enjoyed the hell out of this!
The Hidden Queen ends on a cliffhanger, but one that has me extremely excited for what comes next. As if Brett is telling readers, get ready because what comes next is going to be awesome rather than “are they dead” kind of cliffhanger but there is still a “What the Hell?!?” moment. It looks like the third book will be The Demon King, though I’m not sure if it will be the final installment or not. All I know is I’m looking forward to reading it.
© 2025 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | Del Rey Books
The Nightfall Saga (Volume 2)
March 2024 | 608
https://www.petervbrett.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Del Rey Books
