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Speaking of decadence, the tale takes place in Renaissance-era Albion, the England of another world. The monarch of the book's title presides, with the assistance of her counselors, over an empire of remarkable peace and prosperity: a romantic Golden Age in stark contrast to the cynical, iron rule of her father. All is not well, however, for the queen cannot--despite a veritable circus-stable of lovers male, female, both and other--achieve sexual fulfillment. (Whereas our own Queen Elizabeth was the 'virgin queen', in name at least, Gloriana proves quite the opposite.)
This "Queen's Trouble", as it's known, correlates to the delicate balance through which peace and prosperity are preserved. And when one of her counselors makes a personal and political error of judgment, events are set in motion which threaten to topple it all; for the 'underworld' of the past, both figuratively and literally (in the form of the endless, forgotten rooms and passages beneath and within the palace and those who prowl them) begins to rise up and ensnare the present.
Within these mazes of intrigue (and shaping them) is an astonishing array of characters: nobles, ambassadors, spies, magicians, servants, poets and so on. However, one of the book's main weaknesses is that, with so many characters and the story's constantly shifting viewpoint, it's difficult to understand or empathize with any of them. Then again, many of them are so perverse or amoral that you don't even want to try. (E.g., one of the main characters murders at least two relative innocents to further his or her plans; and 'kinky' sexual activity in Albion is, so to speak, rampant.)
In the end, the means by which the Queen's Trouble is solved was somewhat vague, disturbing and, ironically, unsatisfying. If I did understand it all correctly, though, it was also disappointing and, IMHO, had nothing of the ring of truth about it. Although _Gloriana_ has a World Fantasy Award in its crown, I am sorry to report that, twenty-five years later at least, the queen has no clothes. Come one, come all to the spectacle (if what's been said above intrigues you), but don't come with your (ahem) hopes too high.
2-1/2 stars. A recommendation instead for _A Song for Arbonne_ by Guy Gavriel Kay and _Ombria in Shadow_ by Patricia McKillip.
But I found it lacking in the creation of its world. Perhaps fantasy readers are not that interested in the underpinnings of the worlds they read about, but I wanted to know more about why Albion was as old as it was but was for all intents and purposes stuck in the 17th century. Given the chief modes of transport were horse and sail, why was Arabia so powerful? In our world, its strength derives from its supplies of dinosaur juice. In a non-mechanised world, that doesn't work.
As an example, the first 3 Dune books do a credible job of creating a well-defined universe with believable political and economic themes. Gloriana misses this entirely.
But most disappointing of all was the rape motif at the end, including Gloriana's long-awaited fulfilment at the hands (?) of Quire. Quire was an interesting character, and perhaps the most self-aware of any, but it would have been more rewarding to see him transcend his past and his artistic desires for something larger than himself. And Gloriana's fulfilment seemed meaningless: was there some change or revelation that allowed her release? Or was it just Quire's urgency?
For a book where sex in all forms takes such a large role, it was of a pretty low standard. I don't need page after page of heavy breathing, but make it believable for people who've actually experienced the act.
The similarities to Gormenghast include a seething, ignored underworld of misfits and outcasts, but where Peake does some of his best work, Moorcock seems to be following his master's lead without any real intent. That was where the book started to weaken for me. Peake's underworld was more distinct in some ways than the daylit one: not so here.
I might recommend this to fans of Gormenghast who can't get enough, but I'm not sure anyone else would enjoy it.
