London belongs to vampires, werewolves and goblins—and Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist—in this fantasy series debut. The undead matriarch presides over a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. It's a world where the nobility are infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns. Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key—the prize—in a very dangerous struggle. The fantastic start to The Immortal Empire series that continues with the spectacular undead books, The Queen is Dead and Long Live the Queen.

ケイト・ロックの『God Save the Queen』は、不死の女王が君臨し続ける2012年のロンドンという、歪で壮麗な代替歴史を描き出した傑作です。貴族が吸血鬼や人狼に変貌した「疫病」の感染者であるという設定は、階級社会の特権性と不気味な捕食性を鮮やかに象徴しており、読者を一気に物語の深淵へと引き込みます。 本作の真髄は、魔術と科学が交錯する世界観の中で、忠誠と自己のアイデンティティに揺れる主人公ザンドラの葛藤にあります。帝国を揺るがす陰謀を暴くスリリングな展開は、単なるファンタジーの枠を超え、権力の正体や人間性の定義を鋭く問いかけます。退廃美と知的な興奮が満ちた、類まれな物語体験がここにあります。