Good conclusion. Not great, but still entertaining | The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 4) |...

Good most of the way through | The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 4) | Greg Keyes

books:


	• The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 4) Greg Keyes Del Rey, 2008 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

The Born Queen

Woah, well I finished reading tis four weeks ago and I still get flashbacks,
One of the best wind ups to a saga that I have read, enjoyed every page, another month and I'll probably reread. Every character comes across as a real person, what will Gregg deliver next.
I rate Gregg at the same level as Donaldson and Fiest at their best.

Physical presentation, Hardcover, well bound, however pages were rough cut.

Shipping, exceeded expectations by over a month.

Good conclusion. Not great, but still entertaining

The Born Queen is the last of a four book high fantasy series by Greg Keyes. This series as with this book has been adult fiction and a little dark in areas which I have enjoyed. This book continues this trend. Anne the queen is learning magic so powerful she can kill thousands at will. The Hansans are attacking because of this ability, and so is the church. They are all trying to stop the queen from going out of control with all this new power, where she is aided by The Kept, the last of its kind who have vowed revenge on the humans when they were destroyed two thousand years ago.

The final book had a lot of twists in it that were surprising, a few main characters get killed off and it builds up to a nice conclusion. So everything was good up until the epilogue, where we find out that most everyone comes out ok. To me it was a little too cheesy, and I liked my thoughts about what happened before the epilogue, which changed some of my thinking as to what really happened. Anyway, I really enjoyed this series. It wasn't great, but then again it was a good adult fantasy series.

for more information click here

Good most of the way through

I must say that when I started this book I was immediately entertained. There was action, intrigue, etc. It continued on this way and I enjoyed every moment, eagerly awaiting each new plot twist, and then ... the final section.

It's not that this is not a good, well-written book. For about 3/4 of the book it was great, but in the end I feel that there were many elements in this story that should have been foreshadowed earlier in the other novels. The fates of Stephen, Aspar, and Anne herself, were surprising, but (especially where Aspar is concerned) I felt that Keyes reached a dead end in his plot and did a quick fix. While this is probably not the case, the lack of previous foreshadowing did not make some of the plot points cohesive enough for the story being told. The result is that instead of being amazed and wowed by the surprises, I was left thinking, "WTH?" and wondering if anything was mentioned previously that made some of these things plausible. Instead of keeping me wrapped up in the story, I was pulled out of it as I tried to recall elements about Aspar and others from the previous novels. I also noticed that some of the characters (Anne and Austra) seemed completely out of character in this novel. It is a bit of a literary betrayal when we, the audience, are lead to expect certain behaviors from characters and then, suddenly, they change up. I will try not to post major spoilers, but Stephen's plot line made very little sense. I understand why a Stephen-like character was needed to advance the story (the thrones, etc.), but it did not blend well with the rest of the story. Another issue that I had is that Keyes seemed to be going for an "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" theme, but if that is the case I think it should have been weaved into the story in earlier volumes. Fend is another sore spot for me in this story. SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING. Fend takes the time to go into a story about how Aspar needs him, blah blah blah when he could have just taken Winna and did what he wanted. This made no sense to me either. Fend is the Blood Knight and he has Vaix, and sedmhari with him, he didn't need Aspar. His subterfuge was unnecessary and added nothing to the plot. There were several other cases similar to Fend's where characters did things that were completely unnecessary and their only motive was to advance the author's plot.

I think that Keyes is a better writer than the last 1/4 of this book shows. While it is not a bad book and if you've already read the other three you'll want to read this to conclude the series, be prepared for some plot twists that make you say, "WTH?"

for more information click here

In The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Greg Keyes has crafted a brilliant saga of magic, adventure, and love set against a backdrop of clashing empires and an ancient, reawakened evil. Now, with The Born Queen, Keyes brings his epic to a masterly close, gathering the strands of plot and character into a stunning climax that both completes and transcends all that has gone before.

The Briar King is dead, and the world itself follows him to ruin. Aspar White, wounded and tired, must embark on one last quest to save the forest and the people he loves, but he has little hope of success.

Anne Dare at last sits on the throne of Crotheny, but for how long? The Church, now led by the corrupt and powerful Marché Hespero, has declared a holy war against her, giving the king of Hansa the pretext he needs to unleash his vast might on the young queen and her unready army.

But Hansa is the least of Anne?s worries. The Hellrune, war seer of Hansa, strikes at her through vision and prophecy. The Kept?last of the elder Skasloi lords?weaves his own dark webs. Anne?s teacher and ally in the sedos world might also be her worst enemy, and Anne?s own mounting strength compels her toward madness.

Surviving these dangers and mastering her eldritch abilities are merely prelude to the real struggle. There are many?some with power matching or even exceeding Anne?s own?who are willing to kill in order to seize control. For whoever sits upon the throne will have the ultimate command to bring about the world?s salvation?or its apocalypse.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5