The Briar King (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1) (Hardcover)

by J. Gregory Keyes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Briar King, Greg Keyes's latest elegant entry into the world of high fantasy, lays the groundwork for what promises to be a mesmerizing four-book series--the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. Keyes spins his tale in a meticulously crafted fantasy realm on the brink of apocalyptic change. The Briar King, a legend cobbled from children's stories and rural folklore, is waking from his slumber to an unknown but cataclysmic end. Dark agents are afoot in the land, stirring war and edging an ancient prophecy closer to fulfillment. In destiny's path are a king's woodsman, his headstrong lover, a bookworm priest, a cocksure swordsman, and the embattled (from within and without) kingdom of Crotheny. Keyes masterfully intertwines far-off courtly intrigue with the personal quest of the woodsman and his brave companions who seek to unravel the secret of the Briar King before all is lost.

Although The Briar King will suffer the inevitable comparison with George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, it should be said that Keyes's work is no mere rip-off. This is excellent world building, applied with a dark, powerful touch that should convince Martin fans to become Keyes fans, too. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly
The author of the bestselling Age of Unreason tetralogy (The Waterborn, etc.) inaugurates the Kingdoms of Throne and Bone quartet with this epic high fantasy. The inhabitants of this splendid and dauntingly complex parallel world, Everon, are mostly descended from folk magically transported from our world. This is not quite the land of Faerie, although the Briar King resembles the old Celtic horned god Cernunnos, while Keyes brings his expertise as a fencing teacher to the swordplay, here called dessrata. The Empire of Crotheny faces war with its arch-rival, the Hanzish, and magical intrigues aimed at preventing the land from having a born queen (as opposed to a king's consort). By book's end, Princess Anne, the daughter of the Crotheny king, is fleeing for her life with Austra, her maid, and Cazio, a young Vitellian nobleman, having earlier experienced the pains of discipline in a convent and the horrors of having her family butchered. With aplomb, the author employs one of the most classic fantasy plots: the heir(ess) with a destiny and a necessarily huge cast of supporters. Keyes mixes cultures, religions, institutions and languages with rare skill. The main theme may emerge with formidable slowness, but patient readers will find the rewards enormously worthwhile.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (January 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345440668
• ISBN-13: 978-0345440662
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #630,661 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thorny "King", April 16, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Briar King (The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Greg Keyes' "The Briar King" is a mix of good fantasy and thorny mess. While the worldbuilding and background for the first book of his new series is outstanding, his writing doesn't live up to his imagination. It's a flawed but deeply interesting book overall.

The Briar King is a remnant of the old pagan beliefs, living on only in little superstitions and children's songs. But after the old holter Aspar rescues a nerdy young priest, they learn of strange things that are stirring in the woods, and human beings are dropping dead or being sacrificed -- and Aspar encounters a greffyn, a mythical monster whose touch and breath can kill. They're all signs that the Briar King is waking.

But the Briar King isn't the only source of trouble: the royal Dare family is being quietly turned on its head. Someone is trying to kill the queen, Princess Lesbeth has vanished mysteriously, and idealistic young knight Neil has fallen in love with Princess Fastia (who is married). Worst of all, one of the royals has gone mad, and threatens to destroy his entire family. The only one who may escape is immature Anne, who has been having strange visions.

It's virtually impossible to write semi-original fantasies now, but Keyes dodges the typical cliches -- elves, wizards, Dark Lords and demons. The story is engaging and unusual, but it starts stumbling partway through. But it demonstrates that Keyes has a good story worth telling; it ends on a "to be continued" note, of course.

Keyes starts off strong with mysterious occurrances and plenty of creepiness. He puts a lot of effort and description into his worldbuilding, such as the Dare family, the pseudo-Christian religion and well-crafted myths. But about halfway through "Briar King," Keyes starts to lose control of the story. There are too many subplots that only seem to be marginally tied together (what is up with that love potion subplot?), and it loses the creepy quality.

Keyes' writing is pedestrian most of the time, although it blossoms whenever something really freaky is happening. The description of Aspar encountering the Briar King is brief, but strikingly ominous. And once you get past the typical lead characters (spirited princess, priest with a lot to learn, cocky swordsman), there are plenty of unique supporting roles (like the dead old woman in the caves).

"The Briar King" is an unsteady but promising start to Greg Keyes new series. It dodges most cliches and sticks to an unusual storyline, but the execution needs some work before the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series can be counted as a good fantasy.

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five-star fantasy for fans of Tolkien, Martin, and Jordan, January 21, 2003

By	E. K. Stackler "Ed Stackler" (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In my estimation this exceeds the quality and readability of Robert Jordan, and nips at the heels of Tolkien and my favorite, George R R Martin. The characters, writing, language/history/culture/magic concepts, and clever (and at times brutal) plot twists are the best features. In some way it lacks the full feel of the "sweep" of other epic fantasies, but the work Keyes does with characters, along with the writing itself, distinguish it as absolutely first-rate.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than most fantasy, but..., May 5, 2005

By	Jacob Solomon (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Briar King (The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Though "The Briar King" by Greg Keyes doesn't entirely avoid the cliches and uninspired plot devices that seem to plague nearly every contemporary fantasy nowadays, it still makes for an enjoyable read.

The story laid out in the "Briar King" is a familiar one. In a faraway, foreign land, strange and ominous portents have begun to appear, and those creatures and stories once dismissed as the tall tales of history are suddenly walking the world again, signalling the end of an age of stability and peace.

It was for just that reason that I put down the Briar King only a hundred pages in, and did not pick it back up until over a year later, as I was growing impatient waiting for the latest from his holiness, George RR Martin. With patience, however, I discovered that the Briar King at least treads _some_ new ground, and Greg Keyes does it in a style that while not breathtaking, is at least rollicking. Keyes does a good job at keeping the momentum going, and he offers up a few original ideas for the world which he has created.

That being said, however, he still falls into the ever lurking trap of cliche that awaits all fantasy writers, and his dialogue, sadly, is some of the most uninspired I have ever read. I say that not to be cruel, but you should know what you're getting into when you buy this book. There are still a whole raft of stereotypical characters: the do-gooder knight, the unjustfiably evil schemer, the gruff but lovable ranger, the cold but sad queen, etc.

The greatest problem with this novel however, is the haphazard pace at which the characters and plot develop. Characters fall in love, mature, change and grow evil all within the space of a few chapters, and we readers are nowhere near as invested in the characters as we would need to be for this to work. The Briar King shoots for epic, but simply tries to do to much in the space allowed, and ends up falling a bit flat.

Still, it _is_ fun, and takes you to places that other fantasy writers have not yet gone. It's a worthy distraction, at least until the next novel by Martin or Gene Wolfe comes out...