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{{short description|2003 novel by Greg Keyes}}
1.Editorial Review
<!--Novel article template : owned by Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels-->
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = The Briar King
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = BriarKingCover.jpg<!--prefer 1st edition-->
| caption =
| author = [[Gregory Keyes|Greg Keyes]]
| cover_artist = Stephen Youll
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = ''[[The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone]]''
| genre = [[Fantasy novel|Fantasy]]
| publisher = [[Del Rey Books]]
| release_date = January 2003
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 608
| isbn = 1-4050-3351-7
| oclc=
| followed_by = [[The Charnel Prince]]
}}


'''''The Briar King''''' is a [[fantasy novel]] by American writer [[Greg Keyes]], the first book of four in the series ''[[The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone]]''.
Amazon.com


==Plot summary==
The Briar King, Greg Keyes's latest elegant entry into the world of high fantasy, lays the groundwork for what promises to be a mesmerizing four-book series--the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. Keyes spins his tale in a meticulously crafted fantasy realm on the brink of apocalyptic change. The Briar King, a legend cobbled from children's stories and rural folklore, is waking from his slumber to an unknown but cataclysmic end. Dark agents are afoot in the land, stirring war and edging an ancient prophecy closer to fulfillment. In destiny's path are a king's woodsman, his headstrong lover, a bookworm priest, a cocksure swordsman, and the embattled (from within and without) kingdom of Crotheny. Keyes masterfully intertwines far-off courtly intrigue with the personal quest of the woodsman and his brave companions who seek to unravel the secret of the Briar King before all is lost.
Although The Briar King will suffer the inevitable comparison with George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, it should be said that Keyes's work is no mere rip-off. This is excellent world building, applied with a dark, powerful touch that should convince Martin fans to become Keyes fans, too. --Jeremy Pugh


The Born Queen, Virgenya Dare, defeats the evil Skasloi with magic and frees humanity from slavery. The Skasloi king tells Virgenya humanity is cursed. About 2300 years later, Dare's grave is found by her descendant, rebellious Princess Anne.
2. Plot Summary - Spoiler warning


The forester Aspar White rescues a novice monk, Stephen Darige, from a kidnapping. Aspar is warned about the mythical Briar King by the strange Selfry travellers.
The first book in the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. It starts with the defeat of the demon Skasloi at the hands of the Born Queen, Virgenya Dare and her magic imbued warriors. The story then jumps to about 2300 later to the third daughter of the King of Crotheny and the direct descendant of the Born Queen, Anne Dare. Meanwhile, the King's Holter, Aspar White, encounter strange tracks in the forest and the dire predictions of the enigmatic Sefry that he doesn't want to believe seem to be coming true. Stephen Darige, a nobleman's youngest son, promised to the church, is en route to study at the Monastery D'Ef. He has an uncanny ability with old languages and extremely knowledgeable about history. His meeting with the Holter in the King's forest after being rescued by bandits by the Holter, set the stage for a wonderful duo that is completed and complimented when Winna, Aspar's lover, joings them on their quest.

In Crotheny dark forces are moving. The king's younger brother Robert is set to usurp the throne and his twin sister Lesbeth is murdered by Robert himself in jealousy over her impending marriage. The king on advice of his brother whom he doesn't suspect of any foul play, sends his wife, Queen Muriel together with his two eldest daughters, Fastia and Elseny, to a fortress in the countryside for their own safety. With them goes Neil McVren, a warrior of true and honest heart who swears service and allegiance to Muriel. His unvoiced love for Fastia though, may yet cause conflicting loyalty for the young knight. Unbeknownst to anyone, even the king, Muriel conspired with her lady-in-waiting, the coven trained assassin Ellen, to send the wayward Anne to the same convent to train in the arts of magic, politics and stealth. With Anne goes only her maid and best friend Austra.
Evil Prince Robert murders his sister and tricks his brother into war with nearby Hansa. Queen Muriele secretly sends Anne and her friend Austra to a convent to be trained as an assassin. Muriele and her two other daughters evacuate to the country, aided by loyal knight Neil MeqVren who is in love with Princess Fastia.
Many forces are moving to see the line of Virgenya Dare destroyed, including the Kept, the last of the demon Skasloi Lords who is in captivity in the dungeons below the castle at Eslen. Forces in the church also move to destroy the king and may have an even darker agenda. When these forces force a confrontation with Stephen concerning a forbidden scripture, the Briar King is accidently summoned and loosed upon the world.

At the same time, in the same night, assassins are dispatched to kill the queen and her three daughters. Neil McVren, unable to save both queen and love, must watch as Fastia and Elseny are both killed and only with the unlooked for help of Stephen, Aspar, Winna save Queen Muriel from death. The Briar King is awakened though and in awe they survivors watch the towering figure stride towards the forest.
At the monastery, Stephen finds corruption within the church, and prophecies concerning the terrifying Briar King. Beneath the castle, the captive last Skasloi (known as "the Kept") makes evil predictions. Anne's training takes a strange turn as she finds herself in a magical realm. On her return, Anne is warned she must be Queen to save the world.
The convent where Anne is studying is attacked the same night but by the sacrifice of the Mother Superior and her Sisters, Anne and Austra escape. They are ultimately saved in the woods outside the convent by Cazio, a remarkable swordsman and his mentor z'Accato. Before she fled the convent, Anne is told by the Mother Superior that she must live and reach Eslen at all costs and that the fate of the world depends on her being Queen in Eslen.

And back in Eslen, the king is set-up and killed by his own brother Robert. But William manages to give Robert a killing blow just before he dies himself.
The other princesses are murdered as Neil and Muriele watch helplessly - themselves saved only by the appearance of the Briar King. As the assassins aim for their final target, Anne and Austra escape the mass slaughter at the convent, aided by swordsman Cazio and his mentor z'Acatto. Prince Robert murders the king who deals a fatal wound as he dies.
⚫
Muriel, back in Eslen, consults the Kept from whom she gets the most terrible curse imaginable to cast on the murderer of her husband. She does not know that it was Robert and that he is also dead. The curse however is more powerful even than death and by casting this on Robert, Muriel inadvertently and unintentionally breaks the Law of Death.

⚫
The Briar King ends with the awakening of Robert, which also explains the title of the next volume, The Charnel Prince.
⚫
Muriele, back in Eslen, consults the Kept from whom she gets the most terrible curse imaginable to cast on the murderer of her husband. She does not know that it was Robert and that he is also dead. The curse, however, is more powerful even than death and by casting this on Robert, Muriele inadvertently and unintentionally breaks the Law of Death.

⚫
The Briar King ends with the awakening of Robert, now a form of undead, which also explains the title of the next volume, [[The Charnel Prince]].

==Characters ==
* Virginia Elizabeth Dare, also known as Virgenya. A born queen (rather than royal consort) and warrior who freed humans and Sefry from the Skasloi slavemasters
* Anne Dare, daughter and potential heir to the Empire of Crotheny
* Austra, Anne's maid and close friend
* William Dare, King William II of Eslen and Emperor of Crotheny
* Muriele Dare, of the House of Liery
* Sir Robert Dare, brother of King William, treacherous usurper
* Charles Dare, "saint-touched" son of King William
* Sir Neil MeqVren, of Skern, honorable knight sworn to protect Muriele
* Stephen Darige, of Virgenya, scholar and monk
* Aspar White, the King's holter, gruff, grumpy, but honorable
* Winna, Aspar's significant other
* Erren, Muriele's assassin-bodyguard and close friend
* Lesbeth, Robert's twin sister
* Fastia, Princess of Crotheny. The eldest, serious-minded and dutiful
* Elseny, Princess of Crotheny. Sweet and good-natured
* Elyoner, Duchess of Crotheny. Kindly but mischievous
* Cazio Pachiomadio da Chiovattio, duellist swordsman
* z'Acatto, Cazio's instructor and friend
* Lady Gramme, the King's mistress, ambitious lady of middle years
* Alis Berrye, the King's mistress, young and simple
* Praifec Marché Hespero, the leader of the local church
* Fend, the one-eyed Sefry and Aspar's nemesis
* The Briar King, long thought to be legend, the dangerous spirit of wild nature
* the Kept, the last of the Skasloi, held captive for two thousand years
* the Sefry, a mysterious non-human people among whom Aspar was raised

==References to lost Roanoke Colony==

The Briar King provides a fantasy explanation for the mysterious disappearance of the [[Roanoke Colony]] in 16th century Virginia, suggesting the colonists had been abducted by the dimension-crossing Skasloi and enslaved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sffworld.com/interview/28p1.html |title=Greg Keyes interview at SFFWorld.com, 2003-02-11}}</ref> [[Virginia Dare]] was a real person, dubbed the "first English child born in the Americas". With subtle linguistic change, "Virginian" became "Virgenyan", which translated in the language of the slaves as "the born men".

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sfsite.com/03b/bk148.htm Page at sfsite.com]

{{Roanoke Colony}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briar King, The}}
[[Category:American fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Novels by J. Gregory Keyes]]
[[Category:2003 American novels]]
[[Category:Del Rey books]]
[[Category:Roanoke Colony in fiction]]

Latest revision as of 20:22, 17 September 2024

The Briar King
AuthorGreg Keyes
Cover artistStephen Youll
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone
GenreFantasy
PublisherDel Rey Books
Publication date
January 2003
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages608
ISBN1-4050-3351-7
Followed byThe Charnel Prince 

The Briar King is a fantasy novel by American writer Greg Keyes, the first book of four in the series The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone.

Plot summary

[edit]

The Born Queen, Virgenya Dare, defeats the evil Skasloi with magic and frees humanity from slavery. The Skasloi king tells Virgenya humanity is cursed. About 2300 years later, Dare's grave is found by her descendant, rebellious Princess Anne.

The forester Aspar White rescues a novice monk, Stephen Darige, from a kidnapping. Aspar is warned about the mythical Briar King by the strange Selfry travellers.

Evil Prince Robert murders his sister and tricks his brother into war with nearby Hansa. Queen Muriele secretly sends Anne and her friend Austra to a convent to be trained as an assassin. Muriele and her two other daughters evacuate to the country, aided by loyal knight Neil MeqVren who is in love with Princess Fastia.

At the monastery, Stephen finds corruption within the church, and prophecies concerning the terrifying Briar King. Beneath the castle, the captive last Skasloi (known as "the Kept") makes evil predictions. Anne's training takes a strange turn as she finds herself in a magical realm. On her return, Anne is warned she must be Queen to save the world.

The other princesses are murdered as Neil and Muriele watch helplessly - themselves saved only by the appearance of the Briar King. As the assassins aim for their final target, Anne and Austra escape the mass slaughter at the convent, aided by swordsman Cazio and his mentor z'Acatto. Prince Robert murders the king who deals a fatal wound as he dies.

Muriele, back in Eslen, consults the Kept from whom she gets the most terrible curse imaginable to cast on the murderer of her husband. She does not know that it was Robert and that he is also dead. The curse, however, is more powerful even than death and by casting this on Robert, Muriele inadvertently and unintentionally breaks the Law of Death.

The Briar King ends with the awakening of Robert, now a form of undead, which also explains the title of the next volume, The Charnel Prince.

Characters

[edit]
  • Virginia Elizabeth Dare, also known as Virgenya. A born queen (rather than royal consort) and warrior who freed humans and Sefry from the Skasloi slavemasters
  • Anne Dare, daughter and potential heir to the Empire of Crotheny
  • Austra, Anne's maid and close friend
  • William Dare, King William II of Eslen and Emperor of Crotheny
  • Muriele Dare, of the House of Liery
  • Sir Robert Dare, brother of King William, treacherous usurper
  • Charles Dare, "saint-touched" son of King William
  • Sir Neil MeqVren, of Skern, honorable knight sworn to protect Muriele
  • Stephen Darige, of Virgenya, scholar and monk
  • Aspar White, the King's holter, gruff, grumpy, but honorable
  • Winna, Aspar's significant other
  • Erren, Muriele's assassin-bodyguard and close friend
  • Lesbeth, Robert's twin sister
  • Fastia, Princess of Crotheny. The eldest, serious-minded and dutiful
  • Elseny, Princess of Crotheny. Sweet and good-natured
  • Elyoner, Duchess of Crotheny. Kindly but mischievous
  • Cazio Pachiomadio da Chiovattio, duellist swordsman
  • z'Acatto, Cazio's instructor and friend
  • Lady Gramme, the King's mistress, ambitious lady of middle years
  • Alis Berrye, the King's mistress, young and simple
  • Praifec Marché Hespero, the leader of the local church
  • Fend, the one-eyed Sefry and Aspar's nemesis
  • The Briar King, long thought to be legend, the dangerous spirit of wild nature
  • the Kept, the last of the Skasloi, held captive for two thousand years
  • the Sefry, a mysterious non-human people among whom Aspar was raised

References to lost Roanoke Colony

[edit]

The Briar King provides a fantasy explanation for the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke Colony in 16th century Virginia, suggesting the colonists had been abducted by the dimension-crossing Skasloi and enslaved.[1] Virginia Dare was a real person, dubbed the "first English child born in the Americas". With subtle linguistic change, "Virginian" became "Virgenyan", which translated in the language of the slaves as "the born men".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Greg Keyes interview at SFFWorld.com, 2003-02-11".
[edit]
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