This was not the most easy book to get into. It starts out with difficult names, an unknown world, about five different points of view and no clue how those five are related. The chapters are short and as a result, there is a lot of switching between viewpoints, and although I cannot identify what it is that makes it so, the language is such that it is slow to read.

After a while though (ok, it was a long while), I got used to the slower reading pace, and it became clear that all the viewpoints were at least in the same land, and a few of them got together. Finally understanding the world, I did get into it. And loved it. Like I said, it's not a fast read, and although I liked all the (good) characters and lots of things happen to them, it was not very exciting or tense. I've got the feeling this is because my affection got divided over all of them, so even though I didn't want any of them to die, I still could live with it, because there were enough of them left. I was very much engaged with the book, though. Somehow there was not a single story line that I disliked or even liked significantly less than any of the others. This is a rare thing in my experience; in most books with multiple story lines, there is at least one that is a necessary evil (necessary to get through to understand the story at least), one that disappoints you when you turn the page and see you've ended up in THAT story line again. The briar king didn't have that at all. All story lines were interesting and all (good) characters in them were engaging. I say good here because the one character I wish was different was the king's crazy brother. I just don't like that type of insane character.

As for the other characters, I really liked seeing how some of them evolved. I liked that the bookish young priest gains some skills in the physical department. Mostly I liked the two really young people, princess Anne and Cazio, gaining an understanding of life and of adventures, learning a bit more realism. That was quite well-done. And, although this is by no means an equal society, I still liked the portrayal of the women. I imagine the 'men fight from the outside, women from the inside' motto of the coven would not sit well with everyone, but the book does hold plenty of interesting and confident women, who, although they do not fight the way men do, still rescue the men as often as the other way around, and can hold positions of power.

So, all in all this book gets four stars, and I've already started the sequel... Which is really necessary by the way, because the book really doesn't end in a way that makes it even seem like you are at an ending. ( )

I think I would have liked this more if I had read it earlier, I wasn’t surprised by anything really as I’ve felt like I’ve read this type of characters,plots before in other books, yet it was well done. I would have liked to see more grey type characters personally. ( )

I liked this book, but it definitely had some flaws. The biggest problem was I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. With the exception of Anne, I didn't get a good sense of each characters' personalities. It just felt like they were going through the motions. Also, the story starts out very, very slowly. It takes about three-fourths of the book before it hits its stride.

However, once the book does get going, it is very exciting! A lot happens in the last fourth of the story, which saved the series for me. I will continue to read the rest of the series, but I hope they don't all follow this pattern. ( )

This excellent fantasy series ("Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone") is very
reminiscent of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire - except that
it's actually finished! (There's one more book in the series that I
haven't yet read.) It follows a similar format, structurally, and the
'feel' of the writing is very similar. The story itself, however, is
quite original - at least, more so than many fantasy epics. I mean,
it's still got Dark Forces and Bold Warriors and Beautiful Queens etc,
etc... but we want that, right?

The implication, at the beginning of The Briar King is that the lost
colony of Roanoke island was somehow transported into an alternate
world. However, not much is done with this setup, as we are now many
many years from that time, and fully immersed in this world - a world
where humans were once enslaved by the demon lords, the Skasloi, but
managed to free themselves through dread magics, and develop a
medieval-type society.
However, the King's Holter, a dedicated woodsman, Aspar White, has
been seeing strange and ill things in his forest of late... When he
rescues Stephen, an innocent young scholar and novice monk, from
bandits, he is at first irritated by the young man's naivete, but soon
realizes his book-learning may shed light on some of the mysteries of
the forest... old tales of the rise of the fearsome Briar King, a sort
of Green Man/nature spirit of ambiguous nature.
Meanwhile, the mystic prophecies of the gypsy-like Sefry race seem to
indicate that there must be a Queen in the land. There is indeed a
Queen - and some princesses to boot - but there are also assassins
abroad... The low-born warrior knight Neil McVren is absolutely loyal
to Queen Muriele - and also falling in love with one of her daughters
- but his bravery may not be enough to stop the treachery and foul
plots that surround the royal women. ( )

The history intrigues me, but the culture itself is oddly shallow ( )