World Famous Comics: The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 4)
The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 4)
By: Greg Keyes Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 464 Publication Date: March 25, 2008 Release Date: March 25, 2008
Product Description: 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.
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.
This one killed the series for me I know it's a harsh criticism, but this ending really rubbed me the wrong way. Admittedly, I didn't even read the whole thing...after the first few chapters I found myself feeling disappointed and confused. I skipped to the end and wish I hadn't even bothered. This series was better without an ending.
Despite these reviews, it was a great book I don't understand these bad reviews, honestly, did these people think that after all these terrible and life changing events that went on in a matter of a year that these characters would stay the same?? I don't get it...I do however understand these people concern with the quickness in which the ending came about. However...reading all three books you realize(or at least i did)that its all coming down to one terrible moment, one clash of the titans so to speak. One final battle, one final push. It all happens at once, which had me turning the pages over and over which had me reading faster than I ever had. Then the very end, the prophecies from the first three books, the anonymous author, it all...all came together in what i thought was a great book and one of the best stories i've ever encountered. Thank you Keyes!
A so-so end to a fantastic series. I really wanted to like "The Born Queen," as I enjoyed the previous entries in this four book series immensely. I felt that the first two books were the strongest, with "The Blood Knight" starting to go in a direction that was...disturbing. The fabulously rich world and great mystery created in the first books seemed to give way to more convoluted plots and magical deus ex machina, but I still had to read Born Queen. With whole chunks taken up by overly complicated magical dilemmas and unclear descriptive sequences, it seems Keyes rushed his usual detailed but clear writing style so that "Born Queen" could hit the stores ASAP.
Don't get me wrong, I still think Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone is a great series, worthy of mention alongside Erikson, Bakkar, Cook and of course GRRM when talking about great "dark epic fantasy." I am in no way saying don't read Born Queen, especially if you have read the other three books. There's certainly something to be said about closure. I just wish that it had been done in a more satisfying manner.
The series overall is a 4.5/5 to me, with "Born Queen" being the only real blemish. But I'd still recommend the series in a heartbeat to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy.
Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone I really enjoyed the series. My only complaint is that he built up the story in 3.9 books and then wrapped it up in two chapters which I didn't find very satisfactory.
Disappointing Conclusion For what started out as a promising series The Born Queen was very disappointing. The book was too fast paced and he lingered on scenes that were unimportant. Characters moved around too quick in a land that was at war. It seemed rushed and forced. Perhaps it was Del Rey, but the ending to this deserved more detail and emotion. Don't know what else to say. I was expecting much more.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
