"Magical adult fairy tale"
The King of the Twelve Crowns of Raine is dead and his
fourteen year old daughter Tessera is crowned Queen on
Dreamer's Plain. She is woefully unprepared for her
office since most thought she has years to train to be a
good leader. Already the second crown led by Ermin of
Sealton is plotting to overthrow the queen as his nephew
Bourne is placed in the Floating School of Macie to learn
how to be a weapon for his uncle in the coming battle. Bourne is not interested in power or being the nephew of a
high king. His interest is in Nepenthe, a scribe in the
huge library in the castle. She is an orphan who was
taken in by the Librarians and grew to love books and
knowledge. She is currently interested in the ALPHABET OF
THORNS a work about an Emperor who lived three millennia
ago and the sorcerer Kane who loved him. Little does
Nepenthe know that she is the bridge between past and
present and the future of the world rests on her shoulders. Patricia A. McKillip always writes about worlds of wonders
and magical adult fairy tales that have a universal appeal
with their happily ever after endings. ALPHABET OF THORN
is an exceptional work of fantasy with vulnerable
heroines, dashing heroes and a villain that is all too
believable in his quest for power. The land of Raine is a
wondrous place, one this reviewer would love to visit
(only if Bourne is borne away). Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 15, 2004
SummaryOne of the most spectacular fantasists of our time,
Patricia A. McKillip creates fairy tale worlds of wonder
and magic. Now, she opens the page on a time and place
where an orphan girl is haunted by thorns...a reluctant
queen rules between sea and sky... and epics never end...
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