The Briar King by Greg Keyes (Del Rey)

When I was browsing through some message board I frequently visit, I came across a thread about “underrated” authors. It caught my interest, as I am always up for discovering new prose worth reading. On particular entry mentioned Greg Keyes as one of the most underrated authors and after reading this book, I certainly have to agree with that statement. Keyes’ Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone may well be one of the most overlooked fantasy series of the last few years.

Greg Keyes started his writing career with the Age of Unreason saga, four books with a twist of steam-punk, alternate history and science fiction and featuring the historical figure Isaac Newton. After concluding this series in 2001, he began his fantasy series Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone starting with The Briar King. There are those examples of authors who fail miserably when they move from one genre to another, but I think Keyes has managed exceptionally well with this effort. The story is told from the perspective of five characters – a rebellious princess, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, a young knight and a king’s woodsman. As is often the case in novels by Keyes, the reader is allowed to follow the same events from different point of view. Each chapter features one of the POV’s and often, much to my frustration, ends with a cliffhanger. The story then moves on to another POV, leaving the reader churning through the pages wanting to find out what happens next. I will not spoil any of the surprises Greg Keyes has up his sleeve to catch you off guard, because it is way too much fun to discover for yourself.

As I said, I think he has managed the transition from alternate history to fantasy exceptionally well. The worldbuilding is solid, though after reading the first book you have only glimpsed at the sheer size of his world, but the places we visit feel real enough. It is, in many ways, a recognizable typical pseudo-medieval setting; small villages scattered across the rural country, large forests with restless shadows, magnificent cities bursting of life and at end of the map exotic places just waiting to be visited. Above all, a king rules supreme and holds court in the capital named Eslen. It is not a very original setting but suffices as an interesting backdrop for the story (luckily we are spared the cliche of the farm-boy discovering his power to save the world from old evil forces). What makes it interesting is that Greg Keyes is a storyteller pur sang, he knows how to build anticipation and suspense and delivers in the end. This is partly because of his writing style. I think it is one of his strongest points as an author, his prose never seems rushed or strained instead he writes in way that you barely notice it while reading, but you just go with the flow. Apart from it enabling you to churn down those pages, it also enables you to focus more on the characters and just enjoy the adventure. His prose is not very distinct, not particular gritty or flamboyant, but it just feels right. Same can be said of his choice of words, it is fairly straightforward and not too difficult to understand. Do not expect pages of descriptions of every sort of landscape surrounding the characters, Keyes delivers when is needed. One of the other strong points is the characterisation of his protagonists. The five of them all have a different kind of feel, making them distinct from each-other. As the story progresses, you can actually see the impact of the events they experience, it changes their demeanour resulting in pretty ‘fleshed out’ characters. Especially the princess, the young priest and the honorful young knight are not hard to empathize with and should appeal to many readers. The authors does a good job at that.

Structure wise, I found it interesting to see how Greg Keyes was able to combine most of the parrallel storylines involving the same sort of events. At the start of the novel, all these characters are separated not only by many miles but also leading different lives. So one might wonder how he is able to fit this into the broad scheme without affecting the realism of the story. In that aspect, there were a few ‘hiccup’ moments, not everything seems to be completely realistic, but it did not bother me too much. Let me tell you this, when priests starts doing heroics, I roll my eyes. But I do realise afterwards these moments were needed to be able to move the story in the way the author wanted. Still it could have been in a different manner.

The novel is sadly lacking a bit in the originality aspect, having read works by the likes of George RR Martin, I felt some things had been done before and in a more interesting way. Like I said earlier, the setting is, although recognizable, neither orginal nor mindblowing. There was not a moment during the story where I doubted one of the protagonists would die. The Briar King is at that, in many ways the first of a series. It serves to introduce the cast of characters, sets up the conflict and ends with a big bang, leaving the reader with no other choice than to pick the second installment ‘The Charnel Prince’. I must say I was a little bit surprised the big bang came so soon, considering the novel is part of a four books series, but maybe it just the beginnening of a chain reaction of events shaping the story.

All in all, I think this was pretty good transition from one series to another and very good fantasy effort. If you’re looking for more epic fantasy reading, this is definitely a book and series you should seriously condider picking up. It is not a heavy read, but very likeable. Also, as the book is the first of four, you don’t have to struggle through ten book just so see what how the books end. I would rate this:

Seven and a half out of Ten