The Briar King by Greg Keyes

Greg Keyes has, and will always be my most influential author. He manages to achieve a level of reality that is the root to every fantasy reader's desire. His ability to take a well-known myth and twist it until it becomes his own shows that, though all originality may have long since died in the world, the search for a truly devine read is not a lost cause.
Even in his early books, Keyes had the talent of making truly believable characters. Their flaws make them human and, by so doing, pull you closer to them. Every fantasy buff knows that the good and bad can be found in any story. Its when the good far outweighs the bad that we find a book to which we can truly connect and love. The lack of things, such as a map for pure coincedental instance, must be overlooked to enjoy the greater aspects of the book. It is our imagination that makes us love these books. Our imaginations give us the maps and the faces, not pictures or doodles. This is not television and therefore thought is required. (The hard-back version has a map as do the new copies such that of the Blood Knight. Ask and thou shalt receive, I suppose). Keyes has done this and will continue to do this for many years, I think.

One of the most highly addictive reads around, this book fast becomes hard to put down. It's not that it's hugely original, but the way its written which makes it highly engaging, with several plots running at the same time. The protagonists are sympathetic and likeable, yet there is enough putridness to the villains to balance the story. The only criticisms are the ending, which although part of a series is still quite unsatisfying, and that it is sometimes a little cliched. Overall though, very good and a worthwile read for anyone into the fantasy genre.

I had high expectations for this book. The moment I saw it in a local bookstore I grabbed it and I finished it within 24 hrs. Was it good? Yes. Was it excellent? Nope.
First problem I encountered was nonexistance of map in my paperback edition. Since a lot of kingdoms was mentioned and politics are very important for the understanding of the story's backround, it's a shortcoming I could not forgive.
The ending was also a bit disappointing for me. I thought it too rushed somehow and the concept of Briar King was somehow left unexplained.
However, the story has all ingredients of a good fantasy. Adventure, plotting for throne, intrigue and some romance. Big battles are unfortunately missing, but I feel that we will have some of those in the future installments. There's a lot of potential in Neil character and I'm looking forward to seeing him again.
Definitely it was a good and entartaining read but I don't thing it can be compared to GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Or maybe it can be - in time we must wait for the next installment.