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A review by hank
The Briar King by Greg Keyes
4.0
That was surprisingly good. Surprising in that the first part was a bit tough to get through. The story seemed silly and it was a fire hose of new information. The names seemed ultra made up and it was setting up to be a been there done that fantasy. Not sure how it happened but the characters sort of snuck up on me and I started caring even though they started of a bit cookie cutter. The book also has a bit of a dark edge to it which helped set it apart.
I can't put my finger on what I liked about the characters, they seemed obviously trope-y but Keyes did not belabor the points, just moved on and made them different and better. The old, grizzled forester refusing to let the young pretty girl melt his heart. Been there, but although that was the set up, it moved past it quickly and on to a very real feeling struggling relationship. A too smart priest with no real world experience appears, in other books his coming to realize how little he knows would have lasted the entire story. The Briar King gets to the point faster and then moves on.
It may be I am "reading" too much into it but I read 100 page chunks until I was done which says something and I am definitely going to finish the series.
I can't put my finger on what I liked about the characters, they seemed obviously trope-y but Keyes did not belabor the points, just moved on and made them different and better. The old, grizzled forester refusing to let the young pretty girl melt his heart. Been there, but although that was the set up, it moved past it quickly and on to a very real feeling struggling relationship. A too smart priest with no real world experience appears, in other books his coming to realize how little he knows would have lasted the entire story. The Briar King gets to the point faster and then moves on.
It may be I am "reading" too much into it but I read 100 page chunks until I was done which says something and I am definitely going to finish the series.