Erynn and I are excited to bring you our discussion for The Forgotten Kingdom, the second book in The Lost Queen Trilogy by Signe Pike. Previously, we discussed The Lost Queen. You can check out our thoughts in the link. Set in the 6th century in Europe, this series is well researched and supported by the documents found from that time. Did the legends of Merlin and King Arthur really exist? And if they did, in what circumstances would they have existed? Take a look at the synopsis below for book 2 and read our thoughts.
In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the Christians and the pagans together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin.”
Bitter rivalries are ignited, lost loves are found, new loves are born, and old enemies come face-to-face with their reckoning in this compellingly fresh look at one of the most enduring legends of all time.
Content Notes: Depictions of death, violent and brutality.
The Forgotten Kingdom
The Reading Discussion
If I remember the trend right, second books in a trilogy are usually not better than the first. The Forgotten Kingdom is one of those books that was better than the first! After all the setup, this book in the series threw us directly into the middle of the action. Though I did not start it right after The Lost Queen, as soon as I picked it up, it felt like I had never left. The new POVs by Lailoken and Languoreth’s daughter, Angharad were quite interesting to read and developed those characters further in my mind. It felt like we were actually at all the right places where the action was taking place. What hooked you into this book, Erynn?
Right! That’s usually the case, but I really loved The Forgotten Kingdom, it was such a great book and I think that’s partially because of all the amazing setup that was done in book 1. Even though we didn’t like how slow the beginning of The Lost Queen was, the payoff was good!
What hooked me about this book specifically, though, was the new chapters in Angharad’s perspective.
Angharad is one of my favorite characters in the book! She is a little girl who has seen so much and has unbound potential. She has had an amazing set of teachers and I don’t think she would have developed as much if the terrible things had not befallen the Dragon Warriors. I enjoyed how she connected with the people in her mother’s past too. What did you think of Ang’s POV?
Ang’s POV was my favourite in the book! I loved her innocence and how good natured she was, and how she was still that way even though she was in the process of escaping a war. It was also enjoyable to learn more about her abilities and see them grow with her as a person, especially as she was forced to make difficult decisions. For a long time I was wondering how her POV fit into the grander picture, though, and I’m glad that it all paid off for the larger story in the end!
Lailoken was quite interesting too. The book gave me a bad feeling about him – that he was going to grow mad and we started to see his ascend into madness and I think more drastic events will happen in the final book which will throw him off the edge. Through his perspective, we were able to dive deeper into the Old Ways and the customs of the Wisdom Keepers. That is something that I remember both of us were very curious about in the first book since Languoreth was fascinated by it and wanted to be one but could not. What did you think of Lailoken’s character development in this book? Did you like reading his perspective?
Especially with how book 1 and book 2 keep foreshadowing that something big is going to happen to Lailoken, I think you’re spot on. I adored the moments in Lailoken’s chapters early on where he was interacting with Angharad. There was so much love and wonder in him learning how to care for a child while teaching her about the Old Ways, it was so immersive that I wished I was learning to be a Keeper, too!
As for his development in this book, it was sad to see how jaded he’d become because of war, even though it seemed realistic. He, like lots of his comrades, got lost in war and it took him a long time to find his way out. By the end, I think he returns a bit to himself, especially once he’s reunited with Languoreth, and I’m interested in seeing how their brother-sister relationship develops in book 3 since a lot has changed between them because of events outside of their control.
Languoreth is still the one I root for and she has grown so much! Her imprisonment and the choices that she has had to make, the people she has had to say goodbye to have been heartbreaking.
Yes, I still have very high hopes for Lang. I wished we’d seen more of her in this book, but it’s understandable why she wasn’t that present because of how the story developed. However, I think things will change in book 3 and we will get more page time with our favourite character!
With the deaths in the family, we got a glimpse of another side of the Old Ways and how they honor their dead. The magic in this book was captivating and I did not want to go anywhere.
The magic is so subtle but also captivating. There was not a lot of it in the first book, but I was so happy to see more of it in the sequel through Lailoken and Angharad’s perspectives. The Samhain in this book was intriguing and eerie but in a good way, I think it was one of our earlier introductions to the priestesses (besides hints of it in book 1) that showed how Wisdom Keepers weren’t the only bearers of knowledge and power in the Old Way. I hope we will see more of magic in book 3 as well! What did you think of the magic of the priestesses compared to the Wisdom Keepers?
That’s a great question! I think the Priestesses have more power and influence than the Wisdom Keepers in the broader religious realm of things. While the Wisdom Keepers are consulted by kings and queens, the Wisdom Keepers consult the Priestesses. The Wisdom Keepers are quite important because due to their influence the Old Ways continue in the world. The Priestesses can set direction for the Old Ways and look into the future and action on it. I think they have access to more magic than the Wisdom Keepers. What did you think about their magic?
At first I wasn’t really sure what the difference was, but as we read further and the differences became clearer, I thought they were both very cool. I agree that the priestesses seem to have more magic. To me, it seems like they have more innate power and abilities, whereas the Wisdom Keepers rely on external signals to make use of their power. At least, that was my impression if you compared Ang and Lailoken, for example. It also seems that, while the Wisdom Keepers are being rooted out by Christian beliefs, the priestesses are untouchable, at least for the time being, which is a big deal when it comes to the theological combat between Christianity and the Old Way.
Conclusion
The Forgotten Kingdom was a fantastic book! I am hoping that the last book of the series comes out next year and we can read it together. I think it will be a longer tale with more war, maybe ending with the crowning of a new king, kind of where King Arthur’s stories begin. How do you envision the direction of the last book, Erynn?
I think the next book is where Languoreth will really shine. Now that she’s queen, she has a lot more power to protect the Old Way and influence the world that’s leashed her up until this point. I really look forward to seeing her use her new freedom to make some changes–and to see how that backfires. I, too, am eager to see how the tale of Merlin and Arthur develops in the next book because that’s only been hinted at so far. We know things aren’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows…
** The Forgotten Kingdom is now out in stores so get a copy and let us know what you think! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Many thanks to the publisher for proving me a review copy of the book! It has been wonderful to discover a new series and read it with Erynn.
Cover Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash
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