Greg Keyes

Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone — (2002-2008) Publisher: Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land — and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The king’s woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight — all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber. At the heart of this many-layered tale is Anne Dare, youngest daughter of the royal family... upon whom the fate of her world may depend.

The Briar King: A dark rose among thorns

The Briar King is the first novel in the (planned) fantasy quartet, Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone by Greg Keyes. The gist of my review is this: The Briar King is perhaps the first wonderful fantasy book of the 21st century and worthy of a place beside A Game of Thrones (George Martin) and Assassin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb) on your shelf reserved for engaging, well-written, mature, contemporary fantasy. It is, in a word, a keeper.

The Briar King opens with one of (if not the) best preludes in fantasy, which raises the overshadowing concept for the saga: a warrior-queen leads an army of enslaved humans in the storming of their demonic masters' citadel, only to learn that the means of their victory may have set in motion the doom of the world. In the story itself, set over 2,000 years later, the first signs of this doom begin to appear in the kingdom of Crotheny. The mythical Briar King, doom's harbinger, is said to be waking from his ancient slumber, even as the wars and intrigues of the human nations carry on, seemingly unaware...

I've been deliberately vague about the actual story and principal characters so as to let the book speak for itself. I read a good deal of fantasy fiction (and write it as well), and I'm pleased to say that this is one of the best I've read in recent memory. Greg Keyes writes in clear, often artful prose and has a true gift not only for world-building (and the research that surely underlies it) but also for showing the world and its wonders and horrors vividly without over-description or telling. (Or at least, when he must tell, he does it in a plausible, often inconspicuous manner.) The dialogue is crisp and spiced with wit and various languages; the characters are, for the most part, realistic and distinct. The plot is well-balanced and builds to a page-turning crescendo. If I have a quibble, it's that not enough of ancient history and mysteries are revealed to make the climax wholly comprehensible. That is, the hook for the next book is a bit heavily baited, but it's bait that I'll bite on nonetheless.

With the medieval/"British" nature of Crotheny and the chapter-by-chapter shifts in character viewpoint, The Briar King will indeed draw comparisons to A Game of Thrones. However, they should mainly be favorable comparisons; moreover, The Briar King develops a different "feel" or texture as it progresses — the lands of Westeros didn't spring to mind as I read on.

The bottom line: I read this book free of charge from the public library; I've since ordered it because I'd like a copy for my fantasy shelf and, more importantly, because Keyes deserves our support and encouragement. This book helped me remember what this genre can be. —Rob Rhodes

The Charnel Prince: Flawed but moves story along, good new character introduced

The Charnel Prince succeeds in what should be the immediate and least of goals for second books in series — it moves the plot along. The book is well-paced, moving quickly through various storylines and transitioning nicely from one point-of-view to another. The shifts occur smoothly and repeatedly act to increase suspense (some may tire of the tactic; it never really bothered me). The different stories are mostly well-balanced, each carrying its own weight in terms of plot and character. Though I'd say one is noticeably weaker than the others, it doesn't act as much of a drag on the book as a whole.

There is no "recap" of The Briar King, but Greg Keyes does a nice job of refreshing the reader's memory without being too obvious and without slowing the book down with a lot of early exposition. The main characters all return, some showing signs of growth, others performing their roles somewhat perfunctorily. Queen Muriel is perhaps the best example of a character who exhibits subtle and continuing signs of natural growth. Some of the characters instead have their changes "announced" to us, either by internal monologue, narration, or the somewhat clumsy remarks of other characters. Keyes also introduces a brand new major character, a composer, who is one of the more interesting characters of the series and whose personal storyline is certainly one of the more unique ones I've seen in fantasy. The boil of internal and external politics and the conflict between pagan and institutional religion, along with the typical individual grasp for power, makes for a stimulating ride. The more personal relationship issues aren't handled nearly as well, but since they remain mostly understory, they don't cause too much damage.

Overall it's a well-constructed and mostly well-written book, with several very strong scenes (especially those involving the composer), but it lacks somewhat a true spark. Some of the characters play out their roles a bit too robotically, some of the character shifts are too quick, the storyline involving Aspar and friends is weak in comparison to the others, and some of the plot points a bit too well-worn: secret passages in the castle, brilliant plotters allowing themselves to be overheard plotting (twice), mysterious aid coming out of nowhere at just the right time. None of these are major flaws, none of them bring the book to a screeching halt or make it a bad book. But they do make it a flawed book, one that despite its quick readability doesn't tug the reader along or make him/her ache for more. Having seen these characters through two novels now, and with all the pieces seemingly in their place, the time is ripe for the third book to transcend the first two in inventiveness and characterization. The composer character in this one is a good sign. —Bill Capossere

The Blood Knight: Solid if uneven "bridge" book in the series.

Anyone who reads a lot of fantasy knows by now to come with some trepidation to any sort of "bridge" book — the second book in a trilogy or the 2nd or 3rd book in longer series. Too often they simply exist to get us from the exciting stuff that got us hooked in book one to the exciting stuff that will wow us in the conclusion. Other times they read like they simply exist because the author can sell a trilogy more easily than a standalone or a simple sequel and so plot events are stretched out so thinly they almost snap.

The Blood Knight, for the most part, avoids the pitfalls of the bridge book. The strength of the book is the same as earlier ones — the reader is never quite sure of just who the "bad guy" is here. Greg Keyes gives us a broad enough viewpoint here so that we're always on shifting ground. The characters find themselves in the same situation and one of the pleasures of the book is watching them try to adapt — shifting alliances and jumping in with strange bedfellows as they say. This is especially true at the end and leads quite nicely into what one hopes will be the concluding book of the series.

Description is another strength, as is some of the characterization, especially Cazio and the composer Leoff. Other characters are solid if not particularly compelling, and a few suffer from relatively weak characterization, such as Winna. Anne, about whom much of this book centers, has her moments, but she is a surprisingly distant character and her growth occurs far too quickly and is too much told than revealed. The plot is multi-stranded and episodic as Anne marches on her home castle to try and retake it from Robert, Stephen tries to find a lost artifact to save the world, and Asper tries to find Stephen and help him in his task. All have various obstacles to overcome in the form of armies and monsters and these plot points arrive with varying success. The great worm that seems to be tracking Stephen leaves great swathes of death in its wake, but one never really feels its presence in any concrete form and the final battle with it is woefully anti-climactic. The same is true of Asper's meeting with the Witch of Sarnwood, whose horror is overlyhyped for what we get. The army battle is much better handled and the smaller, more intimately tense scenes with Leoff in captivity are some of the strongest scenes in the book, as is Anne's moment of decision at the very end.

In the end, Blood Knight is not as strong as the beginning of the series. It is a bit thin, leaves the reader a bit more cold than earlier books, and while it has its moments, one wishes we could have lingered over them a bit more. It does, however, set things nicely in motion for the conclusion, offering up a few surprises and lots of tension to come. Recommended with warning that fans of the series might be mildly disappointed. —Bill Capossere

The Born Queen

The Born Queen is the concluding (and how often do we get to say that when reviewing a fantasy novel?) book in Greg Keyes’ four-book series, Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. And it does actually conclude the series without any sort of sly wink-wink, nod-nod to a new series rising like the undead from the killed-off plot. For that alone, he should be given lots of credit, along with actually finishing a series in a decent amount of time and space.

But of course, one hopes to aspire to get more from a book than “well, now it’s over” (how far have we fallen though that it’s almost enough to say that?). On that level, The Born Queen mostly succeeds, though not completely.

To be honest, I haven’t been completely enamored of the series as a whole. It had a killer opening, a great premise (the greatest savior of humanity may also have doomed it a few millennia ago), an underlying theme of environmentalism/conservation that I agree wholeheartedly with, several quite strongly drawn characters, and a grayness about their actions and intentions that I really, really wanted to coalesce into a great series. The problem for me was not in the building blocks of the series, but in its execution, and that same nagging issue rises again with the concluding novel.

The plot picks up from the last book and broadens it out nicely. Anne Dare (descendant of the aforementioned savior) tries to grow into her dual roles as Queen and major league magic-user (or “shine-crafter”) while she wages war with the Church and the land of Hansa. Stephen searches for Anne’s ancestor’s journal which tells how she gained the power to defeat the Skasloi — the race that had enslaved humanity for eons. Aspar tries to fight off the Sarnwood Witch’s geas which seemingly involves an attempt to birth a new Briar King — a birth that may have dire consequences for Aspar personally. Neil and Muriel head off to Hansa to try and negotiate peace. Leovigild attempts to compose a song to reseal the law of life and death. And of course, Cazio, Austra, Roger, Hespero, Fend, etc. make their appearances for good and ill and sometimes in between, while a major relatively-new character (in terms of import) makes their presence known — the Hellrune — Hansa’s magical answer to Anne.

Whew. And that isn’t all, of course. It’s a lot to balance and Keyes doesn’t always do so. The structure is the same we’ve seen in the earlier books. Multiple points of view that very often switch in the middle of some sort of cliffhanger. The multiple POVs work quite well and the transitions are smooth and effortless for the reader, though I admit to sometimes tiring of the trademark ending of each section, which usually went along the lines of “the sword descended... and all went black” or “the spear flew... and all went white.” I thought he could have been a bit more selective about those endings.

Characterizations, as before, vary in strength. Anne’s, unlike the previous book, is very well done as we see her struggle with her role as Queen and her growing magical power and watch her realize what the two roles are doing to her as a person. Cazio, Neil, and Muriel also stand out for the depth and subtlety of characterization. Others are much more pallid, such as Aspar and a few others. Then there are characters whose growth and detail we’ve thoroughly enjoyed in the past but are given some short shrift here, such as the Leovigild and Stephen. There just isn’t enough time to cover what needs to be covered with them.

The same is true for some of the plot. There is a wonderful thread of uncertainty that underlies all of what is going on: Is Anne’s increasing power a good or bad thing? Will she save or doom the world? Are her advisors (and there are plenty) working for her or against her or both depending on context? Is a new Briar King a good or bad idea? Is the Sarnwood Witch a villain or not? And so on. All of that uncertainty is great. But some of it gets resolved too quickly or sketchily, similar to how some new events are handled, such as the Black Jester’s sudden appearance or the Hellrune. It’s rare (believe me) when I ask for more time in a fantasy series, but Keyes had set himself up with such rich material that it seems he shortchanges it by zipping through too much too fast or too muddily. And the need to maintain the structure sometimes works against him because the various components are not equally engaging.

There’s a lot to praise in the overall series and anybody reading fantasy should definitely read it — it’s not as good as the best or near-best (Erikson, Martin) that’s out there, but it’s better than most of the rest, despite its flaws. And of course, it’s also complete.

Recommended as a strong second-tier fantasy series, an enjoyable if flawed series to read while you wait for the next Martin or Erikson book. —Bill Capossere

The Born Queen: Decent conclusion to noteworthy, dark, medieval, fantasy epic

Of course, if you haven't read The Briar King yet, I highly recommend that you do. And if you do, and enjoy it, odds are you'll follow the tale all the way through The Born Queen.

The tale is dark and complex, perhaps overly so when it comes to the tangle of prophecies, languages, and magics that the characters must unravel. And in many ways, each book in the series is weaker than its predecessor. (If anything, given the complexities involved and the many threads needing resolution, The Born Queen actually feels rushed at points.) 

On the other hand, even if all that's left is an echo of The Briar King's powerful song, it's still worth listening to, and it's been ages since I read a fantasy book so quickly, wanting to know the outcome. It's also nice to see an epic actually completed. Recommended for those who enjoyed the first three books of Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. —Rob Rhodes