To Visit the Queen

0-446-67318-8OCLC39533851

Dewey Decimal

813/.54 21LC ClassPS3554.U233 T6 1999Preceded byThe Book of Night with Moon Followed byThe Big Meow

To Visit the Queen (1998) (titled On Her Majesty's Wizardly Service in the UK edition) is a fantasy steampunk novel by Diane Duane.^[1] Its plot deals with the invention of nuclear weapons in Victorian Britain, thanks to the evil intervention of the Lone Power and the efforts of Duane's wizard feline adventurers to save the day.

It was a sequel to The Book of Night with Moon (1997). In its review, Publishers Weekly said, "Duane presents her usual felicitous mix of magical high adventure and humor, avoiding much of the preciousness that can infect anthropomorphic fantasy. Even those who don't fancy felines should enjoy this purr of a tale." Kirkus Reviews was somewhat less kind, criticising what it termed "a slow start" and "mind numbing details" in a book aimed squarely at the young adult market.

Cultural reference

The title To Visit the Queen is a cultural reference to the English rhyming poem known as "Pussy Cat Pussy Cat"; it is the second line of the poem.^[2] The British title On Her Majesty's Wizardly Service is reminiscent of the James Bond title On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

One element of the plot bears a similarity to Project A119.

References

^ "Bibliography: To Visit the Queen". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
^ I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 357.

Young Wizards by Diane Duane

Novels

So You Want to Be a Wizard
Deep Wizardry
High Wizardry
A Wizard Abroad
The Wizard's Dilemma
A Wizard Alone
Wizard's Holiday
Wizards at War
A Wizard of Mars
Interim Errantry
- Lifeboats
Games Wizards Play

Short stories

"Uptown Local"
"Theobroma"
Interim Errantry
- "Not On My Patch"
- "How Lovely Are Thy Branches"
Interim Errantry 2: On Ordeal
- "Roshaun ke Nelaid"
- "Mamvish fsh Wimsih"
- "Ronan Nolan Jnr."

Feline Wizards