This was the final book in the four-book Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. This was an epic fantasy series that started off with a seemingly-generic storyline, but good writing and interesting characters. However, the story took some interesting turns as the series progressed and it grew increasingly more detailed and complex. Meanwhile, the characters remained interesting and the writing remained strong. The author really did a good job of fleshing out the world he had created.

 

There were quite a few twists in this final book. Some were things I had suspected might happen, and others took me completely by surprise. There were some dark and/or unexpected turns for some of the characters and not every character I had followed through the series made it to the end. However, it wasn’t the bloodbath I feared it might turn out to be at one point and I was pretty satisfied with where things ended up by the end.

 

I think my only complaint with this book is with the last couple of chapters. Most of the characters' climatic moments happened at the same time, so a lot of things were happening very quickly and all at once. The author provided fewer details at this point in the book, I guess to make things seem more fast-paced and exciting, and sometimes it wasn’t clear how characters had gotten from point A to point B. There were a couple of times where I had to stop and re-read a section to try to wrap my head around what had happened. I thought that hurt the pacing more than if the author had slowed down a bit and maintained the same level of detail as in the rest of the story. I started to lose my mental picture of what was happening and it felt sort of like watching a TV show with sound only – you can understand what’s happening, for the most part, but you’re missing out on the visual details and clues that let you fully appreciate the story.

 

Things were still feeling a little ambiguous to me at the end of the last chapter, but there was a nicely-done prologue set a little ways in the future. It briefly revisited all of the remaining characters and cleared up questions about what had happened to them and what they were up to after the events in the series.

 

I do very little re-reading, because I don’t have enough time to read all of the new things I’m interested in reading as it is. However, if I were inclined to re-read, this is probably a series I would re-read in the near future. The story and the world it’s set in is so full of depth and nuance that I think I would gain an even greater appreciation if I read it again with the full knowledge gained from my first read-through.

In today’s world of speculative fiction there are several different genres of fantasy. Though I can remember the days when there was only one and we described the novels we read with multiple adjectives rather than high jacking for nouns. Even though there many genres to explore, I lost count of them. I wish there was one called solid. That is one word I would use to describe Greg Keyes The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. Perhaps these four novels would qualify as traditional. I have heard that some are taking to calling certain novels traditional, because they engage in the use of cliches, or just copy Tolkien. Though there are certain aspects of Keyes’s work that could be considered over used, it isn’t traditional, but is solid storytelling.

The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone is made up of four books, The Briar King, The Charnel Prince, The Blood Knight, and The Born Queen. The most traditional aspect of this story is that the world resembles a very western one, with knights and their medieval ethos. There are several characters that the novels follow, making the story wider in scope and more entertaining. There is Anne Dare a young princesses of Crotheny and her best friend and servant Austra. There is Aspar White, a holter protecting the king’s forest. Stephan Darige, a young monk and scholar. Neil MaqVren, a simple knight, but powerful and skilled who serves the queen loyally. There is also Cazio Pachiomadio da Chiovattio, a cunning and witty student of the sword and women. That is just to name a few.

 

Each of these characters end up going on a different quest that ends up being related to the other quests of the other characters. They all grow in power and change as the story progresses. Each of their quests also ends up a little different then what they expected. Most of the time they are all very confused. All the quests center around the Sedos Throne, a seat of magical power. It seems that the lost colony of Roanoke, ended up being transported to this world of Keyes’s creation by a race of demons who enslave humans. The first child born in the Roanoke colony, historically, was Virginia Dare. Well, it seems she becomes a person capable of using the Sedos Throne and uses that power to free the human slaves and set up their own civilization. Events occur that begin to change this world during Anne Dare’s time. Kings’s are murdered, some people become immune to death, religious leaders practice evil magic, war is started and ancient myths come to life. I don’t like spoilers so I won’t give too much information. I will just go over some good and bad points.

 

Many may know Keyes from his work on Star Wars novels. The Kingdoms of Throne and Bone reads very much like those novels. They are fast paced, for Keyes is an action author. He does not spend a lot of time with inner monologues or examining the characters emotions. He does well with fight scenes, especially when it comes to Neil, Cazio, and Aspar. While this keeps the story running smoothly, there is little to no character growth, as far as internalizing the events. You really don’t come to care about these people, you might like them, and cheer for some of them, but never really become emotionally invested in any of them. The pace that Keyes sets is much like an action film, and like an action film, there tends to be some holes in the fabric of the story. That whole thing about the Roanoke colony coming to this world, Keyes never really says that, nor explains it. There is a kingdom in the book called Virgenya, and the people call themselves Virgenyans, but they play little part in the story. Keyes doesn’t explore a lot of his own world. The Briar King is a mythically being in the book and while he gets a fairly detailed write up many of the myths and even the Sedos Throne are never really explained.

 

All this aside, the books are fun. The characters are likable and the action is exciting. You may not get to really know the characters but watching them play out their destiny is entertaining. The love interests are pretty tame, but filled with nice sentiment. Keyes does not handle romance well. The villains are fairly interesting as well, as some can’t die, some are demons, some mad men. However, Keyes does paint a world with shades of grey, there is not black and white, good and evil, which is always appreciated. For all the shades this world possesses this is not a complex place. This is a straight forward, fast, fun read. That is why I called it solid, but now that I think about it, perhaps Action Fantasy would be better. If you are interested in some fantasy novels that don’t tax you, an easy read, to fill in between two more serious novels, try The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone.

I feel like an evil person giving this book one star, especially when everyone else seems to love it. If you are reading this review you should note that I didn't finish this book. I read about 250 pages, got bored and angry, guessed at the ending, checked to see if I was right (I was), and put it down.Why didn't I like the book? I'm the eldest child in my family. I am very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very tired of reading books where the eldest child is bitter and is evil or live a bad life or dies while the youngest child is the chosen favorite. I understand the whole psychological reasons for it; I've studied fairy tales after all. But can't fantasy books break that formula sometimes? I don't think it is an accident that A.S. Byatt is one my favorite authors; after all the first story I read by her was "The Story of the Eldest Princess". So poor Greg Keyes; I have issues with the whole younger and older children thing. These issues are made worse in this book because the youngest child is such a spoiled, self-centered, idiot, twit of a girl that I wanted her to be spanked, and no, not in a good way. For me that was a main issue. Very few of the characters felt really real. The chose was Winnia. And the romance elements seemed forced. Gentleman, ladies don't always need romance in books. Really.

This excellent fantasy series ("Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone") is very
reminiscent of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire - except that
it's actually finished! (There's one more book in the series that I
haven't yet read.) It follows a similar format, structurally, and the
'feel' of the writing is very similar. The story itself, however, is
quite original - at least, more so than many fantasy epics. I mean,
it's still got Dark Forces and Bold Warriors and Beautiful Queens etc,
etc... but we want that, right?

In the third book, The Blood Knight, the composer Leoff finds himself
entangled with the cursed and undead usurper, Robert. His only hope of
escape may be to create a composition of deadly power - music that may
kill anyone who hears it performed. But what cost to his soul will
writing this music take?
Meanwhile, Princess Anne is still on the run - but has begun to accept
the prophecy that she must be Queen, and finds a new maturity and
authority that is necessary to her destiny.
Anne may be the only hope the land has - because foul and deadly
creatures are seemingly multiplying, laying waste to the forest and
the lands. The Holter Aspar, Stephen, and Aspar's young village
sweetheart, Winna, are desperately seeking an answer to a dire problem
that becomes worse every day...

And now, I really rather desperately need to get my hands on a copy of
the fourth (and final) book in the series!

This excellent fantasy series ("Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone") is very
reminiscent of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire - except that
it's actually finished! (There's one more book in the series that I
haven't yet read.) It follows a similar format, structurally, and the
'feel' of the writing is very similar. The story itself, however, is
quite original - at least, more so than many fantasy epics. I mean,
it's still got Dark Forces and Bold Warriors and Beautiful Queens etc,
etc... but we want that, right?

The Charnel Prince continues the story right where the previous book
left off. The titular character is indeed a royal prince - but also a
traitor, afflicted - or empowered - by a backfired curse, and now
undead - and seemingly unstoppable.
His aim is to murder the Princess Anne - who has escaped him with only
her maid, Austra, and is in hiding as a peasant girl, forced to work
to earn money to somehow make her way home. Luckily, she is befriended
by a roguish swordsmaster, Cazio, who helps and defends her.
Unknown to her, the knight Neil has undertaken a quest to find her and
help her, but it is much like seeking a needle in a haystack - and
Anne doesn't even know whether he might be friend or foe.
Meanwhile, Aspar and Stephen have been charged by religious leaders,
including the Praifec Hespero, to find and destroy the Briar King -
but corruption is in the Church, and black magic. Who knows how high
the evil may have spread? Is killing the Briar King truly the right
thing to do?
Hespero is also on a personal crusade, it seems, against the brilliant
musician and composer Leoff Ackenzal, whose innovative pieces buck
against church dogma. Recently called to an appointment at court, the
innocent Leoff finds himself over his head amongst the conniving
courtiers and courtesans at the palace. Soon, he is worried about more
than his position - his very life may be at stake.