Slaves of Quentaris is the second book that Paul Collins has written for The Quentaris Chronicles; a series of stand-alone novels by a variety of Australian authors, including Michael Pryor, Isobelle Carmody and Cary Crew. The books are all based around predetermined places in the city of Quentaris and there are a variety of constant characters that feature in several of the books.

This is one of the more creative books in the series, because the city is seen through the eyes of an outsider, Yukin, the clansperson. Often, the better books in this series are the ones that explore in greater depth the development of characters, and this book focuses on the emotional hardships of its main character more so than the others, giving it a deeper, more thought-provoking story. Paul Collins uses a good combination of new characters and existing Quentaran characters to create a plot that is quite interesting to read.

Lovers of the usual Quentaris books, however, will have to battle through the beginning of the book, which – shock-horror – is not actually set in Quentaris. As a fan of the Quentaris setting myself, I found this different start somewhat out of the ordinary, and perhaps something to read quickly so as to reach the ‘real’ story. For those who have read several books from this series already, loving every page of this book is probably not a realistic expectation to have.

Slaves of Quentaris also shows us the cruelty and inhumanity of the slave trade, and reminds us why it is no longer allowed. Some very realistic insights into the brutal way slaves are treated – as sub-human creatures with no basic human rights – add merit to this tale.

All in all, this book isn’t really ‘unputdownable’, and neither is it particularly deep, multi-layered or filled with symbols. It won’t go down in history as a classic or anything hugely popular – but it’s a good bit of quick, exciting fun. Recommended for those who devoured and loved Deltora Quest and now want something more.