Alphabet of Thorn (Hardcover)

by Patricia A. McKillip (Author) "On Dreamer's Plain, the gathering of delegations from the Twelve Crowns of Raine for the coronation of the Queen of Raine looked like an invading..." (more)
Key Phrases: own spell, Floating School, Master Croysus, Ermin of Seale (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Patricia A. McKillip is one of America's greatest fantasy authors. Her best known novels include Riddle-Master; World Fantasy Award winner The Forgotten Beasts of Eld; World Fantasy Award and Mythopoeic Award winner Ombria in Shadow; and In the Forests of Serre. Like its predecessors, Alphabet of Thorn demonstrates McKillip's mastery of prose and her knowledge of the human heart.

As an infant, Nepenthe was abandoned by her mother on the edge of a cliff so high no one can hear the sea below. Nepenthe was raised by the librarians of the Royal Library of Raine, and knows little of the outside world beyond what she reads. She has a gift for translation, and she alone has a chance of translating a newly arrived book, a mysterious tome written in an alien alphabet that resembles thorns. But Nepenthe has fallen in love with the high-born student-mage who brings her the book. And the thorns are exerting a strange power over her--a magic that may destroy not only Nepenthe, but the kingdom of Raine and the entire world. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
Those who have bemoaned the death of the true fairy tale will be delighted by this charming foray from World Fantasy Award-winner McKillip (Ombria in Shadow). She skillfully weaves together two eras and two sets of believable characters to create a single spellbinding story that brilliantly modernizes a beautiful old formula: the clever orphaned foundling has no desire to seek out her parents nor ambition for high office; the powerful wizard is a disguised woman deeply in love with the conquering king, who treats his subjects kindly; the sullen young queen catapulted to her throne by her father's unexpected death turns out to have both skill and humor in unexpected places; the haughty witch finds herself honestly baffled by turns of events that she never predicted. Moreover, where another author might have played up slapstick clumsiness for cheap laughs, McKillip evokes compassion for the characters' frustrations as they take their befuddled steps toward their predestined meeting. Best of all, the strong female leads neither rail against nor submit to patriarchy. In this magical world blissfully free of bias, people are simply themselves, equally intelligent and witty and thoroughly capable while prone to the occasional error, in a manner that transcends feminism and becomes a celebration of essential humanity. The brisk sweep to the slightly abrupt conclusion leaves the reader longing for more.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; 1 edition (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441011306
• ISBN-13: 978-0441011308
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An elusive, cobwebby fantasy, October 7, 2004

By	E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's hard not to fall in love with Patricia McKillip's characters, who try to do right in the face of an unknown but overwhelming doom. The new Queen is young and inexperienced, and many doubt that she will be able to hold the twelve Crowns of Raine into one dominion. One Crown openly revolts. But that isn't the doom that the mages seem to sense. The true doom of Raine has something to do with thorns.

Deep in the library tunneled through the stone beneath the palace, an orphaned transcriptor is translating a book received from the mages of the Floating School. It is written in an alphabet of thorn that only she can read. Could a book about the conquests of an ancient king and his shadowy mage bring about the destruction of Raine?

"Alphabet of Thorns" is a twining, cobwebby sort of tale. The author strays into this elusive type of story-telling when there is no strong villain such as the Basilisk-prince or the evil Domina Pearl plotting and spinning at the center of her novel. McKillip's "Ombria in Shadow" and "Eye of the Basilisk" are easier to read because of their villains. This fantasy is a-brim with the author's quicksilver, magical descriptions but it doesn't proceed directly from Point A to Point B. As much as the spirit is willing to linger in the wondrous Floating School for mages, or drink ponds of wine with the coronation guests, or descend to a hollow in the cliff where a skeleton sleeps "with a crown on its head and a great sword at its side," the eyes do sometimes wander off to a book with a brisker plot.

This is an intricate, spell-binding fantasy, but it's not McKillip's best.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the end, all endings are the same...., March 7, 2004

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

Fans of Patricia McKillip will know to some degree to what to expect in her novels -- magical atmosphere and beautiful, totally original plots. In her latest novel, "Alphabet of Thorn," McKillip delves into a strange language, and an invader who cannot be stopped.

The Twelve Crowns of Raine have a new queen -- very young, very timid and very unhappy. Lost in the shuffle is Nepenthe, a girl left to unravel old, mysterious alphabets. She was abandoned as a baby and raised in the library, and is quite happy there. Her knack with languages comes into play when she gets a book from student mage Bourne, the nephew of a possibly treasonous nobleman. The book is written in a language made out of thorns that no one except Nepenthe can decipher.

It tells the story of the warrior emperor Axis and the sorcerer Kane -- except that the book also shows that Kane was a woman. She was Axis's cousin, lover and right hand. What makes the book puzzling is that Kane claims to have helped Axis conquer countries that hadn't existed yet. As Nepenthe struggles to uncover the mystery of Kane and Axis -- and her own origins -- the queen of Raine is warned... about the thorns that will destroy Raine.

Patricia McKillip's novels are both predictable and unpredictable -- you can expect lots of rich language, ornate kingdoms, and enticingly weird magic. At the same time, you can never predict how that magic is going to appear. In "Alphabet of Thorn," McKillip tackles something old and something new, magicwise. On one hand, there's the floating magic school and stuff like that. On the other, there's Kane's frightening, majestic, bend-time-and-space magic.

As always, her writing is lush and slightly dreamy. McKillip includes lots of little details like peacock feathers, pearls, crumbly books, candles and pebbles. She revitalizes ideas like the abandoned person with a Hidden Identity, the long-dead king who will return in times of need (sort of a female King Arthur) or the disguised sorceress. The only downside is that when a certain part of Kane's story is revealed, Nepenthe's secret is also out in the open before it's actually revealed.

Nepenthe's a nice lead character, reluctant and confused without being self-pitying; her lover Bourne is rather less defined, but still good with his own confusion. Other supporting characters like the naive young queen, kindly librarion and the aging sorceress are nice supporting roles; Axis and Kane are rather lacking in dimension (king obsessed with conquering, and a sorceress obsessed with him) until the end. They seem as distant and weird as they do to Nepenthe.

McKillip expands her boundaries in the enticing, mysterious "Alphabet of Thorn." It's an adult fairy tale that revitalizes the ye olde kingdom genre, and tells a good story while it's at it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She continues to stay on top..., April 11, 2004

By	polkadots "polkadots" (usa) - See all my reviews

Patricia A. McKillip has done it AGAIN with this book, Alphabet of Thorn. It's just as good as her other books, but it IS easier to understand-it's much less dreamy than her other books, a lot less confusion. You don't need to be a fan of hers before you pick this up-anyone can can enjoy it.

I would warn you though, because as soon as I started reading it, I got as obsessed with this book as Nepenthe, the 16-year-old translator, got with her book of thorns! Once I picked it up, I wanted to constantly read it. Although I didn't enjoy all of the charactres as much as I enjoyed Nepenthe, Bourne-a mage from a floating school of wizardy, and the characters that Nepenthe reads about, Axis and Kane. In my opinion, Vevay, a very powerful mage, wasn't that interesting to read about. But since every chapter the book changes viewpoints, you're never with someone you don't like to long, and there is a bit of variety.

I also think that a certain romance between two of the characters was much too rushed. Yes, they belonged together, and they had "chemistry", but I think that the author should have slowed it down a bit.

Otherwise, this book is definitley one of my favorites of hers. She is such a good writer; if you're already a fan, you don't need to be worried, and if you're just getting into her, this is a good place to start out. Have fun!