In The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Greg Keyes has crafted a brilliant
saga of magic, adventure, and love set against a backdrop of clashing
empires and an ancient, reawakened evil. Now, with The Born Queen,
Keyes brings his epic to a masterly close, gathering the strands of
plot and character into a stunning climax that both completes and
transcends all that has gone before.
The
Briar King is dead, and the world itself follows him to ruin. Aspar
White, wounded and tired, must embark on one last quest to save the
forest and the people he loves, but he has little hope of success.
Anne
Dare at last sits on the throne of Crotheny, but for how long? The
Church, now led by the corrupt and powerful Marché Hespero, has
declared a holy war against her, giving the king of Hansa the pretext
he needs to unleash his vast might on the young queen and her unready
army.
But Hansa is the least of Anne’s worries. The Hellrune,
war seer of Hansa, strikes at her through vision and prophecy. The
Kept – last of the elder Skasloi lords – weaves his own dark webs. Anne’s
teacher and ally in the sedos world might also be her worst enemy, and
Anne’s own mounting strength compels her toward madness.
Surviving
these dangers and mastering her eldritch abilities are merely prelude
to the real struggle. There are many – some with power matching or even
exceeding Anne’s own – who are willing to kill in order to seize control.
For whoever sits upon the throne will have the ultimate command to
bring about the world’s salvation – or its apocalypse.
