Greg Keyes -- The Charnel Prince -- Review

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The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes ****
Second Volume of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone
Rating: Excellent (4 out of 5 stars)

The Charnel Prince is Greg Keyes’ second installment of the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone saga. The first volume was a tour de force of world building, with a host of characters, settings and a working history, which stretches back thousands of years into the past. The setting for the current narrative is in the Age of Everon, an age which appears to be drawing to an unhappy, violent conclusion. Strange beasts from legend walk the kingdom and there are rituals and unholy sacrifices made in the forests to saints that have long been damned by the Church. The hierarchy of saints plays a special role in the novel, and their influence is greatly felt in the unfolding events in the Kingdoms of Everon. Many of the central characters draw their power from the different saints, whether for love, knowledge, power, even over life and death itself, there is a saint for whatever the occasion demands.

For those who have not read the first novel, there will not be any real spoilers here, as plague many reviews of further installments, which are strongly connected to a previous work. Thusly, it is recommended that the first novel, The Briar King be read before this one. And that brings up the first – and one of the few - criticisms of this particular book: There is not much of an ending here. Even in most other continuing series there is always a climax and a resolution to a main plot thread. In The Charnel Prince there is a sort of ending, but really the book just leaves off in a poorly chosen spot in the narrative that will leave the reader just wanting a different conclusion after 500 pages of swordplay, some good old fashioned monster thumping, courtly intrigue, cross-country chases and even a short, but interesting chase by sea. Much like in Erikson, there’s a lot going on at one time, but Keyes is never quite as overwhelming as Erikson. But like Erikson, Keyes shifts the action from scene to scene at a breakneck pace that leaves off just when “something interesting is about to happen.” Yes, you’ve seen this before, but it’s still nicely done, in my opinion.

The characters are nicely done also, with just enough depth to keep a brisk pace to the four, sometimes five plot threads all going simultaneously. Aspar, the King’s forest ranger, is back with his companions, Winna and Stephen; there is Sir Neil, chivalrous knight and cut from the Arthurian mold. Then there is Anne Dare, the headstrong princess, with her cohorts, Cazio and Austra; Muriel, the Queen, also returns. Also, there are a few new characters to make it a little more interesting, including Leoff, the new court composer. Leoff is a nicely rendered character, adding a nice touch of humanity to the background of violence and indiscriminate death that is typical of Keyes, as well as is often found in Erikson’s or Martin’s works. But in comparison to The Briar King there is a bit less of the indiscriminate killing off of characters. But not to worry, there are still ample gore and bloodshed in The Charnel Prince.

For the most part this is a continuation of the events in The Briar King. The ranger, Aspar, is attempting to learn the motives of the Briar King, a half-man, half-creature, who has awakened from a long slumber to wreak vengeance on those who are responsible for the continuing destruction of his forest. His waking will, according to the ancient legends, bring the Empire’s doom. The towns within the wood have been mysteriously emptied, and mythological beasts walk the forest. There have been unholy, bloody rituals carried out in the depths of the forest. At the court, war looms with ancient enemies, who covet the Empire’s throne, which was founded by the warrior-sorceress, Virginia Dare. The royal family attempts to hold on to its fading power, but intrigue within the court itself foils the royal family at every turn. Into the fray steps Sir Neil, knight extraordinaire, who lends his sword to Queen Muriel, taking up the cause of the royal family.

Everything considered this is an excellent read, with suspense that will keep the pages turning; an intricate plot, which is not terribly difficult to follow, and great, memorable characters. But the really outstanding aspect of Keyes’ accomplishment is the thoroughness of his world building in the The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. There is an interesting, intelligent history, which is never corny or overly clichéd; a well thought-out religion, complete with its own working dogma, months of the year, solar cycle, etc; and Kingdoms is brimming with an ancient mythology and sets of archaic languages that add a nice bit of flavor to the overall composition of the story. Did I mention that Keyes was a former anthropologist? I’m sure you already guessed that by now.

[ November 03, 2005, 07:41: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]

 

I am going to have to pick up this one when it is released in paperback. As for you Chandos, a pox on thee for writing such indepth and brilliant reviews!

 

Thank you, Joacqin. I really should have given this book 4 1/2 stars instead of just four. I was a bit harsh. But the quality of the ending was just...not what I expected. Most of the book was just great.