The Summer Book Club Introduces THE RUBY PRINCE

There are spoilers in this post!!! If you have not read The Queen's Gambit, you can find it here.

“Irony is the province of every culture, Your majesty,” Basaal said, his voice turning sharp. “Not just of one’s own.”

There is not a moment for breath between the ending of The Queen's Gambit and the beginning of The Ruby Prince. The final chapter in Gambit and the first chapter in Prince are simply two pieces of the same scene. You hit the ground running. Eleanor has managed to win the game, for now. But what happens to the pieces swept off the chess board?

Welcome to The Ruby Prince. 

My writing process is immersive. I feel like I'm splitting dimensions, knowing I have a life here, but following the characters into other places as solid beneath my feet as anything. I remember a particular day. I was writing the part of the story where The Ruby Prince begins. My husband came home late from work only to be dragged outside for a walk, for I needed to anchor myself. My heart was racing, I could feel a current running through me, and it was time to pull myself home before I tipped too far into that world.

But the I remained there for a bit longer, inside that tent, watching, listening. And as Kip and I were walking in the warmth of the summer evening, I turned to him and said, "One of my characters just said, 'Irony is the province of every culture, not just of one's own.'"

"That's great," Kip replied. "What is happening in the scene?"

"I can't tell you."

Kip glanced at me with a half-smile, then looked away. "Okay. I'll wait."

And over the following months I traveled to Zarbadast and became sort of resident there. Readers have told me that they, too, got lost in the allure of that city. For many, it has become a favorite part. I'm curious to see how the journey will be for you. But take care upon entering that hauntingly beautiful place. Keep your eyes open, and your step quiet. To be caught unaware never bodes well in Zarbadast.

And so week two of Beth's Summer Book Club begins. 

You can pick up The Ruby Prince here.

“Queen Eleanor’s gambit worked. Aemogen, for now, has been spared from the ruthless Imirillian army. But Eleanor is still a captive, and Prince Basaal is taking her into the North. As Eleanor is swept through the deserts of Imirillia to the magnificent city of Zarbadast, she begins to understand the contradictions Basaal must negotiate beneath the reign of the sadistic Emperor Shaamil.

Having returned home, Prince Basaal again finds himself at war with his own conscience. Under the scrutiny of his father, the pressure of his brothers, and a fierce loyalty to his own people, Basaal doubts his ability to fulfill his impossible promise to Aedon: to help Eleanor escape.

In a rich telling of culture, ritual, and choice, The Ruby Prince draws on the complexity of what honor means to both Eleanor and Basaal, who find themselves together, yet set against one another, in the enigmatic court of Zarbadast.”