About the book: 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 in 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.
Quote: "The Briar King has always been here," Sir Symen whispered. "Before the Hegemony, before the Warlock Wars, even before the mighty Scaosen themselves, he was here. Ages turn, and he sleeps. When his sleep is troubled enough, he wakes."
Quote: "The Briar King has always been here," Sir Symen whispered. "Before the Hegemony, before the Warlock Wars, even before the mighty Scaosen themselves, he was here. Ages turn, and he sleeps. When his sleep is troubled enough, he wakes."
Why this book? I have read a couple of Keye's other books and when I saw this one free for the Kindle I got it.
My thoughts: I have greatly enjoyed books by Keyes in the past so thought I would enjoy this. It is good epic fantasy, I did enjoy it. This book had me from the start and i just kept turning pages. The setting of this story, the world called Everon, was well built. There were many characters but I had no trouble keeping them straight. My favorite was Aspar, the goodhearted woodsman. I wanted to like Neil (the pure hearted lancelot figure) more than I did. It was full of politics, backstabbing, battles, fights, adventure and twists and turns and a little romance. There were even a few funny lines. Of course the story doesn't end at the end of this book so I have already purchased the next book in this series: The Charnel Prince. I'm anxious to see if Charles, the "saint touched" son might bring more to the story. Or maybe his companion (keeper,) the jester Hound Hat, might be more than he seems. How does Anne get back home after the attempt on her life? What of the evil Robert come back from the dead? I gotta know!
My thoughts: I have greatly enjoyed books by Keyes in the past so thought I would enjoy this. It is good epic fantasy, I did enjoy it. This book had me from the start and i just kept turning pages. The setting of this story, the world called Everon, was well built. There were many characters but I had no trouble keeping them straight. My favorite was Aspar, the goodhearted woodsman. I wanted to like Neil (the pure hearted lancelot figure) more than I did. It was full of politics, backstabbing, battles, fights, adventure and twists and turns and a little romance. There were even a few funny lines. Of course the story doesn't end at the end of this book so I have already purchased the next book in this series: The Charnel Prince. I'm anxious to see if Charles, the "saint touched" son might bring more to the story. Or maybe his companion (keeper,) the jester Hound Hat, might be more than he seems. How does Anne get back home after the attempt on her life? What of the evil Robert come back from the dead? I gotta know!
Links:
Plot Summary & spoilers at Wikipedia
Interview with the author
Challenges:
100+ Reading Challenge
E Book Challenge
What's In A Name Challenge
Opposites Attract Challenge
Pages read in 2010:
This book - 608
Total - 4392
2 comments:
I read this on the Kindle too, but I didn't like it as much as you seemed to. It really bothers me when evil gets away with too much and good people don't know what's happening.
It makes me think of the TV show "Heroes." I loved it at first, but too many bad guys running amok have made it difficult for me to watch anymore.
Jo, I did like this. I think it is just a big set up for the other three books in the series. If this goes as usual, good will prevail. If it doesn't I'll be very disappointed. I did dislike that so many good ones died, like Faustia. That did make me unhappy.
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