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297th out of 762 books
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The Charnel Prince (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone #2)
by
Greg Keyes
When the legendary Briar King awoke from his slumber, a season of darkness and horror fell upon the Kingdom of Crotheny. Now countless breeds of unspeakable monsters roam the countryside. An epidemic of madness has transformed peaceful villagers from the wildlands into savage, flesh-eating fiends. In Eslen, King William has been murdered, Queen Muriele is stalked by treach...more
Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages
Published
October 25th 2005
by Del Rey
(first published 2004)
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Tracy
rated it
Recommends it for:
fantasy readers
Recommended to Tracy by:
no one
Shelves:
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Monsters, gruesome sacrifices, dark sorcery, swordsmen devoted to honor, and a young woman being driven into the arms of her potent destiny are set loose in The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes. This second novel of his Kingdoms of Thorn and Born epic fantasy series benefits from the setting developed in the first book, and the characters are really allowed to blossom within the adventure.
For fantasy readers, Keyes delivers a complete bill of goods as he weaves multiple fantasy elements...more
For fantasy readers, Keyes delivers a complete bill of goods as he weaves multiple fantasy elements...more
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Well, I feel some people are a bit harsh towards this book compared to the first one, yet, some people are also too generous in ratings. I did, however, give this four stars as I felt this was a 3.5 book, like his last one, and, the time before, I gave him a 3 star rating.
This isn't a five star novel. George R.R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is a five star novel.
That said, it isn't fair to compare anyone to GRRM as he's top of the line and has been writing for over 3...more
This isn't a five star novel. George R.R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is a five star novel.
That said, it isn't fair to compare anyone to GRRM as he's top of the line and has been writing for over 3...more
The Briar King was a bit of a slog for me, but this book was such a good read, it made the slog completely worth it.
I absolutely loved the way the characters and storyline developed and one of my favorite characters in the series is Leoff, who was introduced here.
If you like pseudo-medieval geo-political fantasy (you know, princesses in peril, civil war, mystical monsters, evil monks and secret assassin guilds) you'll love this series. If like me, you feel this type of f...more
I absolutely loved the way the characters and storyline developed and one of my favorite characters in the series is Leoff, who was introduced here.
If you like pseudo-medieval geo-political fantasy (you know, princesses in peril, civil war, mystical monsters, evil monks and secret assassin guilds) you'll love this series. If like me, you feel this type of f...more
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Going into this book, I was afraid the author wouldn't adequately develop the characters he introduced in the first novel. I was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to keep up the pace. I needn't have been concerned. It was very refreshing to read a story showing interesting character development without being hit over the head with it, as I've sometimes experienced in Orson Scott Card's writing. My criticism of the first book was that I didn't quite get deeply enough into the characters' ...more
Andi
added it
These are deep waters...
I stayed up until three in the morning to finish this, and had to talk myself out of going on to Blood Knight. Keyes delivers in this one. Although much of it is classic fantasy the writing is great, practical yet lyrical. His characters are fabulous, layered, flawed, and interesting.
The thing that keeps me so engaged is the political intrigue, mixed with the background of fantastical monsters and our motley group of heroes. When a composer is the one that delivers the mo...more
I stayed up until three in the morning to finish this, and had to talk myself out of going on to Blood Knight. Keyes delivers in this one. Although much of it is classic fantasy the writing is great, practical yet lyrical. His characters are fabulous, layered, flawed, and interesting.
The thing that keeps me so engaged is the political intrigue, mixed with the background of fantastical monsters and our motley group of heroes. When a composer is the one that delivers the mo...more
This was just as much fun as the first book. As before, Keyes was able to keep the suspense at full throttle throughout and gracefully juggle multiple characters (although, I have to say, with so many characters, sometimes the similar names get me confused). When I think of well-developed characters, I think of it as the book giving you enough context to understand them through and through. While this book does that, it also develops the characters over the course of the story - they come out...more
The Charnel Prince proved to be another captivating read. The tension remains high, the PoV switches were done smoothly, and the characters all develop in believable ways. One of the reasons, I believe, that this series is so popular, is the balance. There are many components to this story. Mystery, love, politics, humor, interesting world building, loyalty, betrayal, royal characters, and lowborn characters are all present in equal measure. Moreover, those are just examples, there are many them...more
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It seemed a long time between sequels! But this was almost as good as the first.
Book: 9.5/10 - 2/19/11
Series: 5/10 - 3/21/11
This is another series that started out well but ended terribly. The first two books were excellent - great fantasy with interesting and detailed characters; a good plot with an interesting world with a big back story. It kind of reminded me of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, but focusing on fewer characters with a less intricate plot. The third book was still solid, but there was less character and plot development...still inte...more
Series: 5/10 - 3/21/11
This is another series that started out well but ended terribly. The first two books were excellent - great fantasy with interesting and detailed characters; a good plot with an interesting world with a big back story. It kind of reminded me of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, but focusing on fewer characters with a less intricate plot. The third book was still solid, but there was less character and plot development...still inte...more
I believe that The Kingdoms Of Thorn and Bone is one of the most criminally underrated works of fantasy around.
As far as I can discern, Greg Keyes hasn't exactly been a prolific writer, apart from some tie-in, or shared media, works for the likes of Star Wars and Babylon 5.
This series stands as his Magnum Opus.
Kingdoms is a seamless and close to perfect blend of old school charm and modern fantasy sensibilities. It is epic and grandiose, but it is also intimate and person...more
As far as I can discern, Greg Keyes hasn't exactly been a prolific writer, apart from some tie-in, or shared media, works for the likes of Star Wars and Babylon 5.
This series stands as his Magnum Opus.
Kingdoms is a seamless and close to perfect blend of old school charm and modern fantasy sensibilities. It is epic and grandiose, but it is also intimate and person...more
This is the second book in Keyes' epic-fantasy series. I'm not reading many of those kind of series anymore (too long, too similar, too boring, generally), but I've liked Keyes ever since reading 'Chosen of the Changeling'. So, a while ago I bought and read the first book in this series and wasn't disappointed. Took me a while to get round to reading this one, but once again: good read.
I rather like how Keyes takes traditional elements, almost clichéd characters even, yet manages to ...more
I rather like how Keyes takes traditional elements, almost clichéd characters even, yet manages to ...more
The organization of this book is different from the first book. More of the main characters interact so the chapters aren't organized by character anymore. Keyes seems to be really getting into his writting groove. This isn't high literature but it is a fun read. The story seems to stumble a bit as we try and figure out who is good and who is evil. This changing of opinions should be written with a bit more umph but the main characters coming together gives the book the cohesion it needs. ...more
3.5 stars
Book two of this series. Not as good as the first, though it did make me want to continue reading on, which I guess means it did its job, or at least earns a "decent" or "average" rating. Though I did like a couple parts more than average, therefore the 3.5.
I thought the beginning was kind of slow and that the characters weren't really amounting to much, except to run around the countryside. I enjoyed the plot twist with the secondary charact...more
Book two of this series. Not as good as the first, though it did make me want to continue reading on, which I guess means it did its job, or at least earns a "decent" or "average" rating. Though I did like a couple parts more than average, therefore the 3.5.
I thought the beginning was kind of slow and that the characters weren't really amounting to much, except to run around the countryside. I enjoyed the plot twist with the secondary charact...more
Although this sequel seemed more about politics than swords and/or sorcery, the characters had grown on me to the point where it was just as interesting. At times I wanted to scold Mr. Keyes for being too wordy - did I really need a lengthy lesson on the inner workings of music composition? There are deathless knights out there! - but in every case, I ended up happy for the tangent. I'll be moving on to the third in the the series, The Blood Knight.
A worthy sequel to The Briar King, it retains all the attractive characteristics of the first book (depth, pace, mystery and welcome brevity for epic fantasy).
Cleanly resolves several plots lines from the first book, and raises a few new questions, while managing to provide something that feels like a "whole" book rather than a few hundred pages chopped out of the middle of a bigger book as so many middle books in series do.
Cleanly resolves several plots lines from the first book, and raises a few new questions, while managing to provide something that feels like a "whole" book rather than a few hundred pages chopped out of the middle of a bigger book as so many middle books in series do.
After tearing through Keyes' first title in the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series (The Briar King), I was thrilled to get my hands on the second installment. He didn't let me down. Not by a long shot. It has been a long time since a fantasy series so completely captured my attention. Keyes does an amazing job of fleshing out his world, while mixing political intrigue, character development, and mysticism. Definitely recommended for fans of fantasy fiction.
The second book in the series is much better than the first. Anne grows into a stronger and more likable character (to me, at least), and we finally see some mingling between these groups of characters. Sometimes the dialogue is still a bit eh, but it's easy to overlook as the story is really going at a faster pace and it's exciting to read.
This is the second in a series (the first being the Briar King) of fantasy adventure. . My main objection is the inclusion of far too many made-up terms (not just for people and places, but also for things). Far inferior to Tolkien, but a decent read in spots with some interesting characters.
The plot thickens and we are introduced to more plot twists. Don't ever think you have it all figured out... you don't. This Story continues on it's dark path of religious mind control and gods of wrath. A few intrepid souls stand in the way of a world bent on self destruction.
9/10
A very good follow up, the next step in what proves to be a great book
good stuff:
Excellent, the characters are developed and the addition of Leof is a nice one
negative stuff:
aaah.... aaah.... one of the best but not the best
A very good follow up, the next step in what proves to be a great book
good stuff:
Excellent, the characters are developed and the addition of Leof is a nice one
negative stuff:
aaah.... aaah.... one of the best but not the best
Oh come on, *spoiler* did he have to torture the composer to death? I guess such reality is liked by some but not me in my escapist fiction without better support and here, the dying for your art was a bit overdone.
This is a great book. Not quite as good as The Briar King (the first in the series), but still quite good, and so much of the plot gets set in motion in this book. Loved it.
At first a promising sequel to The Briar King, but I had serious problems with the ending. I didn't find Sir Roderick riding to the rescue very convincing and quit the series.
Much better than the first in the series -the characters finally come alive in this book. Can't wait to find out what happens!
Wow! The double-crossers were getting double crossed! I was so swept up in the narrative and cosmology of the world.
This series is growing on me. The second book grabbed me a bit more than the first. If you are a fan of George R. R. Martin or Robin Hobbs, this is a good series to check out.
Definitely worth reading - and I shall continue. More often than not, when I think 'oh, now this is going to happen', that isn't it at all. I appreciate that.
Loved it. Loved it. Loved it! Just like the first book The Briar King. Can't wait to read the third one!
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Gregory Keyes is a writer of science fiction and fantasy who has written both original and media-related novels under both the names J. Gregory Keyes and "Greg Keyes".
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of George before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in...more
More about Greg Keyes...
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of George before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in...more
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