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* DeterminedWidow: Elsevier says that, after the death of her beloved TJ, the only thing that gives her life meaning is carrying on his crusade.
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Error of fact.
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* CloneDegeneration: Most of Arienrhod's clones are nonviable; the only one to survive, other than Moon, is mentally unstable. Presumably averted with Moon herself, who is as intelligent and capable as her clone-mother. Arienrhod and Herne speculate harshly that this may have taken place nonetheless, as Moon lacks Arienrhod's callousness; BZ counters that Moon, as a clone, "could be better, for the things that were gained or lost inadvertently."
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* CloneDegeneration: Most Three of Arienrhod's nine clones don't survive birth; five of the others are nonviable; the only one to survive, other than Moon, is physically or mentally unstable.handicapped. Presumably averted with Moon herself, who is as intelligent and capable as her clone-mother. Arienrhod and Herne speculate harshly that this may have taken place nonetheless, as Moon lacks Arienrhod's callousness; callousness. BZ counters argues that Moon, as a clone, "could be better, for the things that were gained or lost inadvertently."
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* NobleBigot: As a Kharemoughi Tech, BZ Gundhalinu begins the storyline by genuinely believing that his people are better than the rest of those in the Hegemony, and that the people of Tiamat are nothing but savages. That said, he does his best to protect those "savages," shows a lot of courage and integrity, and is unshakably loyal to the beleaguered [=PalaThion=] KR Aspundh, another Tech, likewise deeply believes in the superiority of his own people (and unlike Gundhalinu, does not change his mind in the course of the story), but does not hesitate to do his duty in teaching Moon, and keeps his word to look after his sister-in-law Elsevier, even though he doesn't care for her personally.
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* RefusedByTheCall: Sparks, who then resents Moon's choice to become a sibyl without him. In ''World's End'' Song, though she lied to her sibyl mother and was infected by the virus anyway, to her detriment. BZ Gundhalini claimed to have been refused, but he had never actually gone to a Choosing Place.
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* RefusedByTheCall: Sparks, who then resents Moon's choice to become a sibyl without him. In ''World's End'' Song, though she lied to her sibyl mother and was infected by the virus anyway, to her detriment. BZ Gundhalini claimed claims to have been refused, but he had never actually gone went to a Choosing Place.
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* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In the course of the series, both BZ and Sparks, the two men who love Moon, will sacrifice their own happiness for her sake.
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* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In the course of the series, both BZ and Sparks, the two men who love Moon, will sacrifice their own happiness for her sake. sake.
* IfICantHaveYou: Arienrhod would rather see Sparks die with her at the Change, than allow him to find happiness with another. Then [[{{Lampshading}} Herne points that she's enacting this trope,]] resulting in an AvertedTrope.
* IfICantHaveYou: Arienrhod would rather see Sparks die with her at the Change, than allow him to find happiness with another. Then [[{{Lampshading}} Herne points that she's enacting this trope,]] resulting in an AvertedTrope.
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* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In the course of the series, both BZ and Sparks, the two men who love Moon, will sacrifice their own happiness for her sake.
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* TheBadGuyWins: Arienrhod's plan was for Moon, her last remaining clone, to get herself elected Summer Queen. ''It works,'' though it's clear Moon is [[UpbringingMakesTheHero a very different person]] than her predecessor.
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* TheBadGuyWins: Arienrhod's plan was for Moon, her last remaining clone, to get herself elected Summer Queen. ''It works,'' though it's clear Moon is [[UpbringingMakesTheHero a very different person]] than her predecessor.
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* TheDragon: Basically Starbuck's job description.
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* ClonesArePeopleToo: It never dawns on Arienrhod that her clone-daughter might not share her goals, until it's far too late.
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* ClonesArePeopleToo: It never dawns on Arienrhod that her clone-daughter might not share her goals, until it's far too late. late.
* CloneDegeneration: Most of Arienrhod's clones are nonviable; the only one to survive, other than Moon, is mentally unstable. Presumably averted with Moon herself, who is as intelligent and capable as her clone-mother. Arienrhod and Herne speculate harshly that this may have taken place nonetheless, as Moon lacks Arienrhod's callousness; BZ counters that Moon, as a clone, "could be better, for the things that were gained or lost inadvertently."
* CloneDegeneration: Most of Arienrhod's clones are nonviable; the only one to survive, other than Moon, is mentally unstable. Presumably averted with Moon herself, who is as intelligent and capable as her clone-mother. Arienrhod and Herne speculate harshly that this may have taken place nonetheless, as Moon lacks Arienrhod's callousness; BZ counters that Moon, as a clone, "could be better, for the things that were gained or lost inadvertently."
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* ReentryScare: When Elsevier takes Moon back to Tiamat, their ship is shot down.
to:
* ReentryScare: When Elsevier takes Moon back to Tiamat, their ship is shot down. down.
* RefusedByTheCall: Sparks, who then resents Moon's choice to become a sibyl without him. In ''World's End'' Song, though she lied to her sibyl mother and was infected by the virus anyway, to her detriment. BZ Gundhalini claimed to have been refused, but he had never actually gone to a Choosing Place.
* RefusedByTheCall: Sparks, who then resents Moon's choice to become a sibyl without him. In ''World's End'' Song, though she lied to her sibyl mother and was infected by the virus anyway, to her detriment. BZ Gundhalini claimed to have been refused, but he had never actually gone to a Choosing Place.
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* BigDamnHeroes: Off-world slavers have drugged Sparks and are about to cut out his tongue, preparatory to taking him off Tiamat. [=PalaThion=] and Gundhalinu rescue him just in time. Much later, [=PalaThion=] and her officers have similarly excellent timing when the Source's doctor is about to render Tor Starhiker mindless.
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* MissingMom: BZ Gundhalinu's mother left the family when he was quite young. Like many young children in such situations, he blamed himself.
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* MissingMom: BZ Gundhalinu's mother left the family when he was quite young. Like young; like many young children in such situations, he blamed himself.himself. Sparks's mother died in childbirth, not surprising given the primitive conditions in which Summers live.
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* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and... the rest of the story followed.
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* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, was RefusedByTheCall, she broke their agreement, and... the rest of the story followed.
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* {{Determinator}}: Moon ''is'' going to Carbuncle to find Sparks, and neither the Hegemony, the Snow Queen, nor ''the laws of physics'' can stop her.
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* FantasticRacism: the population of Tiamat are kept deliberately downtrodden for the Hegemony's benefit.
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* FantasticRacism: the population of Tiamat are kept deliberately downtrodden for the Hegemony's benefit. Also, though Kharemoughi pay lip service to equality, they tend to look down on natives of ''any'' planet other than their own.
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* JurisdictionFriction: On Tiamat, only off-worlders are subject to the Hegemony's legal system; any natives caught in crime must be turned over to the Queen's justice. Unless it's a crime that would affect her or her plans, Arienrhod usually simply releases the perpetrators. Thus, criminal enterprises on the planet generally use a Tiamatan front man or front woman to avoid prosecution. This is an endless source of frustration to [=PalaThion=] and her force.
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* ProperlyParanoid: [=PalaThion=] is convinced that the Snow Queen is targeting her personally. She's right.
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* CoolOldLady: Elsevier. Fate Ravenglass qualifies as well.
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* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [=PalaThion=] tries to communicate this to Gundhalinu, when he crumbles under the scorn of his fellow Kharemoughi. In '' World's End'', Moon offers him the same reassurance when he is terrified [[spoiler: after having been infected by the sibyl virus]].
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* MissingMom: BZ Gundhalinu's mother left the family when he was quite young. Like many young children in such situations, he blamed himself.
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True, but not what that trope means
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** Also, all the other stories, since the original was stand-alone.
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* BreakTheHaughty: As if his experiences as a captive of Winter nomads aren't enough to break BZ Gundhalinu, he also has to face the contempt of his fellow Kharemoughi when he escapes.
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* {{Jerkass}}: Herne, and arguably [[spoiler: Sparks Dawntreader.]]
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* {{Jerkass}}: Herne, and arguably [[spoiler: Sparks Dawntreader.]]]] Herne also qualifies as a JerkassWoobie before he's done.
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* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and... the rest of the story followed.
to:
* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and... the rest of the story followed.followed.
* ClonesArePeopleToo: It never dawns on Arienrhod that her clone-daughter might not share her goals, until it's far too late.
* ClonesArePeopleToo: It never dawns on Arienrhod that her clone-daughter might not share her goals, until it's far too late.
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''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to ''{{Dune}}'' and WelshMythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood of a native sea mammal. In the Winter years The Hegemony, remnants of a once mighty star-spanning empire, are able travel through the nearby black hole to exploit Tiamat’s resources and use it as an R n’ R stop; in the Summer years, the black hole becomes too unstable for space travel, and the planet loses whatever luxuries and technology it had.
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter at adolesence and having her reign as the next Summer Queen. However Moon, her clone daughter, has other ideas for her life; raised among simple villagers, she falls in love with her cousin Sparks, becomes a sacred advisor/prophetess known as a Sibyl, and is kidnapped and taken off-world where she learns the true nature of the sibyl network and the decay of the forner Empire. Sparks, meanwhile, travels to the capitol city of Carbuncle to find his fortune and becomes the Snow Queen’s lover and chief huntsman responsible for the slaughter of the sacred mers that provide the means to eternal youth. This is only the rough outline of the plot.
Basically there is something for everyone in this book, feminism, adventure, romance, empire building, love triangles, exotic cultures. A sequel, The Summer Queen, was later written as well as two ancillary novels, World’s End and Tangled up in Blue, which fill in the plot and answer questions about what happened between the two longer books.The books were published in this order:
Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood of a native sea mammal. In the Winter years The Hegemony, remnants of a once mighty star-spanning empire, are able travel through the nearby black hole to exploit Tiamat’s resources and use it as an R n’ R stop; in the Summer years, the black hole becomes too unstable for space travel, and the planet loses whatever luxuries and technology it had.
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter at adolesence and having her reign as the next Summer Queen. However Moon, her clone daughter, has other ideas for her life; raised among simple villagers, she falls in love with her cousin Sparks, becomes a sacred advisor/prophetess known as a Sibyl, and is kidnapped and taken off-world where she learns the true nature of the sibyl network and the decay of the forner Empire. Sparks, meanwhile, travels to the capitol city of Carbuncle to find his fortune and becomes the Snow Queen’s lover and chief huntsman responsible for the slaughter of the sacred mers that provide the means to eternal youth. This is only the rough outline of the plot.
Basically there is something for everyone in this book, feminism, adventure, romance, empire building, love triangles, exotic cultures. A sequel, The Summer Queen, was later written as well as two ancillary novels, World’s End and Tangled up in Blue, which fill in the plot and answer questions about what happened between the two longer books.The books were published in this order:
to:
''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The "The Snow Queen, Queen", is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera SpaceOpera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to ''{{Dune}}'' and WelshMythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen is kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood ofa the native sea mammal. "mers". In the Winter years The Hegemony, remnants of a once mighty star-spanning empire, are able travel through the nearby black hole to exploit Tiamat’s resources and use it as an R n’ R stop; resourcesp; in the Summer years, the black hole becomes too unstable for space travel, and the planet loses whatever luxuries and technology it had.
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter atadolesence adolescence and having her reign as the next Summer Queen. However Moon, her clone daughter, has other ideas for her life; raised among simple villagers, she falls in love with her cousin Sparks, becomes a sacred advisor/prophetess known as a Sibyl, and is kidnapped and taken off-world where she learns the true nature of the sibyl network and the decay of the forner Empire. Sparks, meanwhile, travels to the capitol city of Carbuncle to find his fortune and becomes the Snow Queen’s lover and chief huntsman responsible for the slaughter of the sacred mers that provide mers. Woven through all this are the means to eternal youth. This is only offworlders from the rough outline Hegemony, many of the plot.
whom have their own agendas.
Basically there is something for everyone in thisbook, book: feminism, adventure, romance, empire building, love triangles, exotic cultures. A sequel, The "The Summer Queen, Queen", was later written written, as well as two ancillary novels, World’s End and Tangled up in Blue, which fill in the plot and answer questions about what happened between the two longer books.books. The books were published in this order:
Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen is kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood of
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter at
Basically there is something for everyone in this
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* AfterTheEnd: The Hegemony is all that remains of a once mighty human starfaring Empire.
to:
* AfterTheEnd: The Hegemony is all that remains of a once mighty once-mighty human starfaring Empire.Empire.
** Also, all the other stories, since the original was stand-alone.
** Also, all the other stories, since the original was stand-alone.
* AntiVillain: Arienrhod's goal in having herself cloned is to prevent Tiamat from voluntarily abandoning high technology during the Change, and position itself as a full partner in the Hegemony instead of as the victims of FantasticRacism.
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* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and ...the rest of the story followed.
to:
* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and ...and... the rest of the story followed.
* FantasticRacism: the population of Tiamat are kept deliberately downtrodden for the Hegemony's benefit.
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* LoveTriangle: Moon, Sparks, and BZ Gundhalinu; also Arienrhod, Moon, and Sparks.
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* KissingCousins: Moon's mother is sisters with Sparks' mother. Given her actual heritage, they are not actually related; but given their ''cultural'' heritage, it was [[ValuesDissonance not a big deal]] when everyone thought they were.
* LoveTriangle: Moon, Sparks, and BZ Gundhalinu; also Arienrhod, Moon, andSparks. Sparks.
** BettyAndVeronica: Sparks vs BZ; Moon vs. Arienrhod.
* LoveTriangle: Moon, Sparks, and BZ Gundhalinu; also Arienrhod, Moon, and
** BettyAndVeronica: Sparks vs BZ; Moon vs. Arienrhod.
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* MentalFusion: the secret of the Sibyl network. [[spoiler:Each acts as terminals for a galaxy-wide information system. Ask a Sibyl anything. If anyone else in the network knows it, the one in front of you can tell you the answer.]]
* MosesInTheBullrushes: attempted by Arienrhod.
* MosesInTheBullrushes: attempted by Arienrhod.
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* RaisedByNatives: Moon.
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* TheBadGuyWins: Arienrhod's plan was for Moon, her last remaining clone, to get herself elected Summer Queen. ''It works,'' though it's clear Moon is [[UpbringingMakesTheHero a very different person]] than her predecessor.
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* CallReceptionArea: Inverted where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize). They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care — Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and ...the rest of the story followed.
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''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to ''{{Dune}}'' and Welsh mythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
to:
''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to ''{{Dune}}'' and Welsh mythology.WelshMythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to Dune and Welsh mythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
to:
''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to Dune ''{{Dune}}'' and Welsh mythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
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moved to namespace
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''The Snow Queen Series'', by Joan D. Vinge, is a series of four books set in the far future world of the Hegemony. The first and titular book, The Snow Queen, is a multifaceted, old-fashioned space opera cast in the form of a high-tech fairy tale, with nods to Dune and Welsh mythology. It won the 1981 Hugo Award for its author.
Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood of a native sea mammal. In the Winter years The Hegemony, remnants of a once mighty star-spanning empire, are able travel through the nearby black hole to exploit Tiamat’s resources and use it as an R n’ R stop; in the Summer years, the black hole becomes too unstable for space travel, and the planet loses whatever luxuries and technology it had.
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter at adolesence and having her reign as the next Summer Queen. However Moon, her clone daughter, has other ideas for her life; raised among simple villagers, she falls in love with her cousin Sparks, becomes a sacred advisor/prophetess known as a Sibyl, and is kidnapped and taken off-world where she learns the true nature of the sibyl network and the decay of the forner Empire. Sparks, meanwhile, travels to the capitol city of Carbuncle to find his fortune and becomes the Snow Queen’s lover and chief huntsman responsible for the slaughter of the sacred mers that provide the means to eternal youth. This is only the rough outline of the plot.
Basically there is something for everyone in this book, feminism, adventure, romance, empire building, love triangles, exotic cultures. A sequel, The Summer Queen, was later written as well as two ancillary novels, World’s End and Tangled up in Blue, which fill in the plot and answer questions about what happened between the two longer books.The books were published in this order:
** The Snow Queen (1981)
** World's End (1984)
** The Summer Queen (1991)
** Tangled Up in Blue (2000)
However, the timeline of the books is as thus:
** The Snow Queen
** Tangled Up in Blue
** World's End
** The Summer Queen
------
!!Contains examples of:
* AfterTheEnd: The Hegemony is all that remains of a once mighty human starfaring Empire.
* AIIsACrapshoot
* BizarreSeasons: Though the exact length in Earth years of Tiamat's two seasons is never explicitly stated, Arienrhod reflects she has barely been given two (human length) lifetimes for her reign, so 160 for each is a good guess. Enough to turn over 8 generations.
* BlindSeer: Fate Ravenglass. She even has a [[ThirdEye third artificial eye]] in the form of a band across her forehead.
* CloningBlues: Moon differs significantly from her clone-mother Arienrhod.
* CoolChair: Arienrhod's throne is made from clear, ornate glass, with a velvet cushion for her head.
* CorralledCosmos: The Hegemony comprises at least eight planets, but because interstellar travel is only possible through black holes, they are in actuality thousands of light years apart.
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Sparks Dawntreader, who is half Kharamoughi (a dark-skinned offworlder race.)
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Arienrhod's nobles are described as favoring bizarre, androgynous fashions and trying to play-kill each other with stunguns. They are also hinted to have group sex with each other.
* DiabolicalMastermind: The Source, who also TheFaceless because of his aversion to light.
* EvilAlbino: Arienrhod, although she is not so much evil as ambitious and decadent. However, [[spoiler: she did also try to kill her Summer subjects by infecting them with an offworld virus.]]
* EvilisSexy: Arienrhod, and she is not afraid to use it.
* FantasticCasteSystem: There are several.
** The Tiamatans are divided into two great clans, Winters and Summers. Winters favor technology and dominate when the offworlders reside on Tiamat, while Summers are more religious and primitive, and dominate when the offworlders leave.
** The planet of Kharemough, which dominates the Hegemony, has three castes: Tech, NonTech, and Unclassified. Techs are the highest, Nontechs comprise artists, and Unclassifieds act as Untouchables.
** The planet of Samathe has two: Talls (normal humans) and Shorts, who have been dwarfed by genetic damage.
* FantasticDrug: The Water of Life, the youth serum extracted from the blood of mers.
* GoingDownWithTheShip: Elsevier.
* GoingNative
* HeroicAlbino: Moon Dawntreader, though not technically an albino, is described as having pale skin and hair like cream, with light green eyes the color of moss and mist agate.
* ImmortalityImmorality: The wealthy, decadent few who can afford to take the Water of Life.
* LoveTriangle: Moon, Sparks, and BZ Gundhalinu; also Arienrhod, Moon, and Sparks.
* {{Jerkass}}: Herne, and arguably [[spoiler: Sparks Dawntreader.]]
* JunkieProphet
* MasqueradeBall: These are held by the Snow Queen to honor the Hegemony's periodic visits. Moon was implanted in a Summer woman at one of them.
* NewMeat: BZ Gundhalinu.
* ReentryScare: When Elsevier takes Moon back to Tiamat, their ship is shot down.
* SapientCetaceans: The mers, even though they are more seal-like. They sing like whales though.
* SingleBiomePlanet: Tiamat is a water world with a few scattered islands.
* SpiceofLife: Because of its youth-extending powers, The Water of Life is a hot commodity on the interstellar market.
* StarcrossedLovers: Moon and [[spoiler: BZ Gundhalinu]].
* SuperVillainLair: The Royal Palace, which is full of CCTV networks so Arienrhod can spy on her court, as well as a bottomless pit filled with dangerous winds all visitors must cross.
* ViceCity: The capitol city of Carbuncle, because, acording to the author, "It can be either a jewel or a fester, depending on your point of view." In Winter times, it is a city dedicated to the pleasure of the offworlders, and criminal gangs, smugglers, and worse run rampant.
* WorldBuilding
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Tiamat is a mostly oceanic world which orbits a black hole, and seasons there last for hundreds of years. In the warm years, the Summer Queens rule and the planet reverts to primitivism; in the cold years, a single Snow Queen kept perpetually at age 18 by the water of life, a youth serum extracted from the blood of a native sea mammal. In the Winter years The Hegemony, remnants of a once mighty star-spanning empire, are able travel through the nearby black hole to exploit Tiamat’s resources and use it as an R n’ R stop; in the Summer years, the black hole becomes too unstable for space travel, and the planet loses whatever luxuries and technology it had.
The story begins when Arienrhod, a Winter Queen whose reign is soon to end, seeks to break the cycle of exploitation by cloning herself among the Summer fisherfolk, with the idea of retrieving her daughter at adolesence and having her reign as the next Summer Queen. However Moon, her clone daughter, has other ideas for her life; raised among simple villagers, she falls in love with her cousin Sparks, becomes a sacred advisor/prophetess known as a Sibyl, and is kidnapped and taken off-world where she learns the true nature of the sibyl network and the decay of the forner Empire. Sparks, meanwhile, travels to the capitol city of Carbuncle to find his fortune and becomes the Snow Queen’s lover and chief huntsman responsible for the slaughter of the sacred mers that provide the means to eternal youth. This is only the rough outline of the plot.
Basically there is something for everyone in this book, feminism, adventure, romance, empire building, love triangles, exotic cultures. A sequel, The Summer Queen, was later written as well as two ancillary novels, World’s End and Tangled up in Blue, which fill in the plot and answer questions about what happened between the two longer books.The books were published in this order:
** The Snow Queen (1981)
** World's End (1984)
** The Summer Queen (1991)
** Tangled Up in Blue (2000)
However, the timeline of the books is as thus:
** The Snow Queen
** Tangled Up in Blue
** World's End
** The Summer Queen
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!!Contains examples of:
* AfterTheEnd: The Hegemony is all that remains of a once mighty human starfaring Empire.
* AIIsACrapshoot
* BizarreSeasons: Though the exact length in Earth years of Tiamat's two seasons is never explicitly stated, Arienrhod reflects she has barely been given two (human length) lifetimes for her reign, so 160 for each is a good guess. Enough to turn over 8 generations.
* BlindSeer: Fate Ravenglass. She even has a [[ThirdEye third artificial eye]] in the form of a band across her forehead.
* CloningBlues: Moon differs significantly from her clone-mother Arienrhod.
* CoolChair: Arienrhod's throne is made from clear, ornate glass, with a velvet cushion for her head.
* CorralledCosmos: The Hegemony comprises at least eight planets, but because interstellar travel is only possible through black holes, they are in actuality thousands of light years apart.
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Sparks Dawntreader, who is half Kharamoughi (a dark-skinned offworlder race.)
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Arienrhod's nobles are described as favoring bizarre, androgynous fashions and trying to play-kill each other with stunguns. They are also hinted to have group sex with each other.
* DiabolicalMastermind: The Source, who also TheFaceless because of his aversion to light.
* EvilAlbino: Arienrhod, although she is not so much evil as ambitious and decadent. However, [[spoiler: she did also try to kill her Summer subjects by infecting them with an offworld virus.]]
* EvilisSexy: Arienrhod, and she is not afraid to use it.
* FantasticCasteSystem: There are several.
** The Tiamatans are divided into two great clans, Winters and Summers. Winters favor technology and dominate when the offworlders reside on Tiamat, while Summers are more religious and primitive, and dominate when the offworlders leave.
** The planet of Kharemough, which dominates the Hegemony, has three castes: Tech, NonTech, and Unclassified. Techs are the highest, Nontechs comprise artists, and Unclassifieds act as Untouchables.
** The planet of Samathe has two: Talls (normal humans) and Shorts, who have been dwarfed by genetic damage.
* FantasticDrug: The Water of Life, the youth serum extracted from the blood of mers.
* GoingDownWithTheShip: Elsevier.
* GoingNative
* HeroicAlbino: Moon Dawntreader, though not technically an albino, is described as having pale skin and hair like cream, with light green eyes the color of moss and mist agate.
* ImmortalityImmorality: The wealthy, decadent few who can afford to take the Water of Life.
* LoveTriangle: Moon, Sparks, and BZ Gundhalinu; also Arienrhod, Moon, and Sparks.
* {{Jerkass}}: Herne, and arguably [[spoiler: Sparks Dawntreader.]]
* JunkieProphet
* MasqueradeBall: These are held by the Snow Queen to honor the Hegemony's periodic visits. Moon was implanted in a Summer woman at one of them.
* NewMeat: BZ Gundhalinu.
* ReentryScare: When Elsevier takes Moon back to Tiamat, their ship is shot down.
* SapientCetaceans: The mers, even though they are more seal-like. They sing like whales though.
* SingleBiomePlanet: Tiamat is a water world with a few scattered islands.
* SpiceofLife: Because of its youth-extending powers, The Water of Life is a hot commodity on the interstellar market.
* StarcrossedLovers: Moon and [[spoiler: BZ Gundhalinu]].
* SuperVillainLair: The Royal Palace, which is full of CCTV networks so Arienrhod can spy on her court, as well as a bottomless pit filled with dangerous winds all visitors must cross.
* ViceCity: The capitol city of Carbuncle, because, acording to the author, "It can be either a jewel or a fester, depending on your point of view." In Winter times, it is a city dedicated to the pleasure of the offworlders, and criminal gangs, smugglers, and worse run rampant.
* WorldBuilding
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