Iroedh carries the burden of Rogue Queen's themes. The theme of love is developed through her as she grows from a repressed spirit that could be an emotional child forever to a fully resplendent, loving woman. One of the aspects of RogueQueen that elevates it above ordinary fiction is the well-rounded characterization of Iroedh. She is not an alien "creature," she is "human"—a word de Camp uses often to describe the Avtini.

At the beginning, she is already unusually independent for a "worker." She studies the ancient civilization of the preCommunitarian Avtini; and she carries on a close friendship with the drone Antis.

These interests are regarded as frivolous by other Elhamni, and she is already a bit of an outsider. By steadily increasing the pressure on Iroedh, the novel forces her to grow and to mature into a fully independent spirit. First, she learns to...