I love a good heist story and felt that this did a great job and keeping the pace up as the story unfolded. I liked the various characters but feel that the cover could have been a lot better considering the quality of the story. It just feels like it lets it down.

Unfortunately, there were multiple points in this novel where I considered not finishing it and adding to my DNF list. I thought the premise was interesting, but there simply wasn’t enough depth to the characters to feel invested in the storyline or the success of their mission. It’s hard to keep going in the story when you’re not really rooting for any of the characters. Maybe if there weren’t so many POVs it would have been easier, but I had a hard time connecting with the story.

Reminded me of Locke Lamora slightly. It was a fun read with engaging prose.. The plot is nice fantasy heist and moves at a fairly quick pace. the twists and turns are nicely done and keep up the surprises. When the resident gang of thieves are faced with taking a near impossible and possibly suicidal challenge to escape their debts...a super fun read follows!

A story you can really get your teeth into, with a complex plotting and many twists and turns in the conning of others.
The ending was unexpected though - for me at any rate.
I liked the world building and all the characters, especially Kat - but please can someone give her a good recipe for ale!
I found the style compelling and the whole stealing and conning amusing as they certainly used up their special talents and inventiveness in making their ways through this unusual and magical world. It does seem though, that the gentry and Lords couldn't do much in the way of looking after things as they were always high on the dreamwine! Or gambling...
I am not sure that you can really follow this up and make a series but I shall wait and see what happens.

A fantasy heist story, a gang of magical misfits must plan to steal the magical doodad. Good characters, fun plot, great pacing.

Thank you to Angry Robot and Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Silver Queendom is available now.

Give me rogues aplenty and let the heist begin! Silver Queendom was chock full of shenanigans, plan Bs (through Z), and memorable ne’er do wells. Desperation can cause some opportunistic individuals to go looking for trouble and the characters in this book didn’t seem all that great at avoiding it in the first place. What they lacked in self-preservational skills they more than made up for with sheer moxie.

The book drops you right in the middle of a heist (that is not at all going as planned) and introduces the characters as they play their particular roles. There’s Darin, owner of the Red Rooster Inn and the de-facto leader of the crew. There’s also Kat, who has a big heart for those in need and a laughably small amount of brewing skill, Tom (the meat shield; every good crew needs one), and sophisticated yet broke Evie. In fact, it’s the group’s constant issue with debt that leads them on a dangerous gambit: the theft of Imperial Dream Wine.

Silver Queendom was fun. It was fast-paced and easy to follow. It wasn’t a complicated epic, rather opting for mischief and action aplenty. I was never floored by a shocking twist, but I was entertained throughout the book. I feel like there were some things that could have been more fully explored, but the plot made sense and the pacing was good.

One of the things I wish could have been explained a little better was the use of magic. Darin was a metallurgist. The idea was cool but never seemed to be fully developed. I would have liked a bit more in that respect. I feel like I missed something or just didn’t grasp it fully.

The world was well-developed but vague in some ways. I believe this was done on purpose. The characters themselves were the focus of the book, with the rest existing as a backdrop to these fascinating people. The story was told from multiple points of view, giving the reader a chance to get to know each character better. This came in handy with the heists themselves because I felt like I was getting to see how each person functioned both in terms of character dynamic and heistening (if that’s not a word, it is now).

The fact that this was a series of misadventures as opposed to just one heist made me oh-so-happy. These poor rogues never could get ahead. Boo for them but yay for the readers. I enjoyed Silver Queendom immensely.

Silver Queendom is full of wonderful world building and captivating fantasy. I like the heist-y premise of this story and how they are a con team of their own making. I love the found family trope and this book does not disappoint!

Silver Queendom – Dan Koboldt



I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.



Dan Koboldt is an American fantasy author who has a history in genetics research. He is best known for his fantasy trilogy “Gateways to Alissia”. See his website www.dankoboldt.com for more details.





Red Rooster isn’t much but its home, at least it was for Darin. Darin was a career criminal who ran a small crew. They did jobs that kept them going, until they took on a big job for the Dame, and it all went wrong. It should have been easy to pull it off and get back but a silver witch intercepted them.

This silver witch knew about the special ability Darin had, how he could sense silver, knew how much someone had on them too. But all of that meant nothing, as he was being held upside down and all the loot falling onto the deck of the ship. At least he was able to leave still breathing and drag himself home to the Red Rooster.

Yet now the owe a lot to the Dame, and they didn’t have long to pay it back. So that only meant one thing, pulling off stupid and dangerous heists as they are the ones that paid the best. Yet word was started to spread about Darin’s crew, and that is not good for business. And just as they were about to pull off their biggest heist yet and earn enough to pay off the Dame – it all went to hell, again.

Someone was betraying them, someone was selling them out, but who would gain from doing such a thing.... One thing is for sure, they all needed to stick together and Darin needed to allow himself to acknowledge his gift and use it, because one thing is for certain, if his crew were going to survive this, his skills would be sorely needed.



“Silver Queendom” is a fast paced and enjoyable fantasy read that has an Ocean’s Eleven twist to it. With roguish and loveable characters that all have their own mysterious and colourful pasts, this story was fun, light hearted and just a dam good read! I do hope in the future we will be able to read more about Darin, his crew and their adventures.

I really enjoyed the book. While the characters weren't always the most upstanding, you couldn't help but feel drawn to them and their story anyway. The world itself was rich and detailed as well.

Fantasy does not have to be massive epics set over several books that see dynasties rise and fall. Some of the best modern fantasy books concentrate on the characters that may have hidden in the background of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. The humble conman for instance and their crew. I cannot imagine Frodo being conned out of his ring as written by Tolkien, but in reality, he probably would been – a canny thief would have robbed him, or an orc bopped him on the head. Silver Queendom by Dan Kobold is a book all about the daily hustle that a group of criminals need to do just to stay alive and it is great fun.

Darin has a trusted crew around him. He thinks of the ideas, Evie acts as a distraction and is a great pickpocket, Big Tom is the muscle and the new member, Kat, is fitting in well, but when a job goes wrong, they find themselves in debt to the local crime lord. They must look for a big job. They do not come much bigger than stealing from the Queen herself and her famous dreamwine is worth your weight in silver, but what is all that money worth it if you are dead?

Multi character epics that span several books are one form of fantasy novel and they have their place, but I do prefer a simpler style that concentrates on a smaller scale story with few characters. Silver is that type of book with the tale being told from the point of view of the gang members, all of which have close proximity to one another most of the time. We join them after they have been together a while. Kobold does an excellent job of creating a sense of shared history and trust between them. As a reader you are instantly comfortable in their presence.

Rather than being made up of just one heist, this is a book that builds to the biggest job after a couple of smaller ones. This allows us to get a sense of how the crew works together and means you have the enjoyment of more than just one hustle in the book. It feels like Oceans 11 set in a slightly shabby fantasy world.

Kobold shows how a good writer can create an easy book to read. There is some great world building and complex character development, but you never feel confused or overwhelmed with complex place and character names. By staying focussed on one crew and their fight for survival, the book is given a pace to it that feels very modern. The crime caper and fantasy elements are treated equally, and they are both extremely well done. Silver is one of the most entertaining fantasy books that I have read in a long time.

I had fun since the beginning, loved the characters, and couldn't put this book down.
Great plot, excellent storytelling, lots of humour.
As I had so much fun can I have another book featuring these characters ?
Thanks
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’m going to be honest—this was a DNF for me. I tried, I really did. I don’t know if my mind just couldn’t wrap around the story line but it wasn’t for me. I am sure there is an audience that will be able to appreciate this story but I wasn’t it.

DNF at 25%

The premise of this one sounded enticing - i do love a good heist book. The story fell flst for me though.

The world building wasn't great. You're thrown into this world with no real understanding of it and that doesn't get cleared up. The characters are just moving from one place to the next with no real distinction between them or where they are in relation to other locations.

25% in and I still didn't really have any idea what the plot was. I know they're supposed to be pulling off a major heist, but there's no reference to it a quarter of the way in.

The characters I feel could have been great if they were fleshed out and developed more. We don't really know anything about them apart from the basics and I would have enjoyed finding out more about them and how they came to be a crew.

Overall the premise was great and it had potential, it just didn't grip me enough to keep reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for access to this arc.

A year and a half ago, I read “Domesticating Dragons” by Koboldt and enjoyed it very much. When I saw this cover, read the blurb, and then saw a few 4-5 star reviews, I thought I’d love it. Excited to be approved for an arc, I dove in expecting to be caught up in the promised impossible heist.

The story begins in media res with three of the main characters. Darin and Evie are circulating through a party of aristocrats, deftly robbing them blind. Perhaps robbing them too much as I kept thinking, surely someone would notice the amount of pickpocketing being done given how much is being taken. Then Darin is challenged by a pompous blowhard (who frankly sounds like a young Donald Trump). Does our cheeky hero save his wisecracks in order to slip out with the loot and his life? Of course not. But he doesn’t impress me either. Instead he proceeds with a paint-by-numbers attempt to outface the opposition which fails. Only with the help of the other two and a last second bluff which makes things worse in the long run does he sort of get out. After which he still doesn’t save himself but returns to turning on the smarm charm which fails him again. Color me still not at all impressed with him so far and he’s supposed to be the brains of this group.

The world building is lukewarm and bog standard Medieval Fantasyland. Chapters into it, I still have little to no understanding of this world and was growing less interested in it by the minute. Everyone is acting and responding precisely how I’ve seen done countless times before in film, TV, and other books. It was a struggle to stay engaged. I usually prefer showing rather than telling but I need some telling so I’m not flailing around lost. I might, at some point, go back and see if I can push through a bit more but for right now, I’m putting this one aside.

Silver Queendom is a book that’s all about the fun. There’s no world-ending threat, it’s just a bunch of thieves trying to keep afloat in an ocean of politics, backstabbing, crosses and double crosses, and everything else that follows someone in their particular profession.

We follow a crew based in the Red Rooster inn. Loosely speaking, Darin is the brains of the operation, Evie the beauty, and Tom the brawn. You then have Kat the brewer, and the mysterious Seraphina who looks after the inn while the crew is away.

The crew is in deep to The Dame, and they take on a job boosting a shipment of imperial dream wine to pay off the debt. We see much more than that though, including how the crew come to owe The Dame in the first place, and also a series of jobs leading up to the headline steal.

I found each of the characters here to be well-written and likeable, with little bits of backstory added in where it is natural in the story to do so, rather than just doing it because the character needs fluffing up a bit.

The world as well is quite well put together, with little bits of history and magic here and there that add to the story without overwhelming it.

The heists were also generally enjoyable, with just the right balance between cleverness and ‘realism.’

At this point, I don’t know whether there will be more to this world and these characters, Silver Queendom is not listed as being part of a series, from what I can see, but the ending definitely leaves it open for us to get more stories.

I do find that this is the type of tale where you can have that though, as you’re not relying on constant wars or global threats to give the characters a new adventure.

Overall, this was a really fun book, that I definitely recommend. There’s a nice light tone to the writing, with some good humour in the interactions between the characters and it was a very accessible writing style throughout.

Silver Queendom fits in the fantasy genre and it’s filled with adventure and action. If you love to read books about heists, you will love this book. I loved it and it was fun to read. It has an interesting plot and characters, not to mention an amazing ending which is surprising and pleasing. I don’t know if there will be a sequel, but if so I’m all in!

[This review is posted on GoodReads and StoryGraph, and a similar version is posted on Instagram. Links to the reviews are attached]

3.5 stars

So this was a pretty fun heist book. I hesitate to call this fantasy, just because the magical element is a very small portion of the book. It’s really an action adventure heist book. The writing style is pretty simple, and they are short chapters, so it’s an easy book to get into. I do wish that we got more of the backstory for each of the characters. Sprinkled in throughout are hints of their bad pasts, and I just wanted a bit more info on that. That being said, it’s a fun book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Angry Robot Books for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 4.5/5
In order to get ahead on their debt to The Dame, Darin and the Red Rooster crew take on the heist of a lifetime in Silver Queendom by Dan Koboldt.

The Red Rooster crew is a delightful example of a found family done well. Darin is the dashing mastermind, Evie is the femme fatale with a mysterious past she longs to reclaim, Tom is a mountain of a man with the softest of hearts, Seraphina is old and cranky, while Kate is the sarcastic nerd with a penchant for picking up stray orphans. Even though Kate is new, she fits into the crew like a missing puzzle piece, helping them pull off two daring heists throughout the book.

These heists were excellent in every way. The planning left enough out that I never knew exactly how each would unfold, even if the hints were there. Darin utilises his crew’s abilities perfectly, keeping the readers engaged throughout both the planning and execution stages.

What surprised me was that there were two heists in the first place. The blurb only mentions the one about the dreamwine, which doesn’t arise until the first is done some halfway through the book. As such, some exposition on the world and the crew’s lives before coming together were left rather vague, lacking resolution.

Despite this, the book was well-paced. The heists compliment each other, which different parts of the planning process showcased in each. Koboldt balances this with action scenes as well as more comedic scenes that bring levity to the book and allow us readers to appreciate the family this crew has created.

Koboldt’s writing fit the story he was trying to tell perfectly. Each POV allowed us to have a deeper insight into the characters, while the writing itself had a cinematic aspect to it at times. It was very easy to visualise everything that was happening, especially in the action scenes. In fact, I was so engrossed that I only realised after finishing that I wanted to know more about the world Silver Queendom was set in.

Overall Silver Queendom by Dan Koboldt impressed me in the best of ways. He brought an exciting story to life in a way that made reading effortless with a loveable group of ragtag protagonists building a home together. Despite a couple shortcomings, I highly recommend this gem.

Silver Queendom may be Koboldt's first purely fantasy work (the Gateways to Alissia series always felt more science-fantasy to me) and I love it. In the mood for a fantasy heist? With found family and a crew of misfits? But not too much magic that it makes your head spin? THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

The crew from the Red Rooster Inn are having a run of bad luck. Their latest heist - at the Duchess of Eskirk's gala no less - went pretty well...until it didn't. Returning home with a pittance and a new crew member, Darin has to think of a way for them to earn coin fast - or face the wrath of The Dame, the criminal overlord of this part of the Queendom. So when a high-paying job with impossible stakes comes along, it feels impossible to refuse. After all, who else can say that they've stolen a shipment of imperial dreamwine and lived to tell the tale? That's if they live to tell the tale.

Koboldt's strength has always been in his characterisation and the Silver Queendom has the most compelling band of misfits you've ever rooted for. Darin is the man with a plan (or many plans) who's constantly trying to protect his crew (and his marks) while refusing to use metallurgy (a magic drawing from silver, reminiscent of Sanderson's Allomancy) despite all the ways it could really make his life simpler and safer. Evie dreams of returning to the high life - the one her father destroyed with his gambling habit - but now uses her background to blend seamlessly into high society while stealing their stuff. Big Tom may initially come across as the dumb muscle - but while he's clueless about the ways of the world and is overly kind to animals, his military knowledge and protectiveness are what often saves the day (or rather, Darin). And newcomer Kat is just chaotic hilarity with her nigh-undrinkable ale (it's an acquired taste) and her ever-growing list of adopted boys. Then there's Seraphina, the mysterious mentor-type, who's always there to welcome them home.

And as much as the story is about the heist, it's also about how all of them learn to truly rely on each other and start to call the Red Rooster home.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Angry Robot Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Silver Queendom was a fun, light-hearted fantasy read. I really liked the characters and the banter in this book. I wish there had been a little more world building but overall I enjoyed this.