Alphabet of Thorn: 6

I have read several of McKillip's books, and while I haven't always understood them completely, I've never disliked them. McKillip's style is vague and dreamy, more apt to give impressions rather than photographic descriptions. If you can appreciate that style, give her books a try; if not, might I suggest you look somewhere else?As to the Alphabet of Thorn in particular, I found it surprisingly grounded in reality (as real as fantasy gets, anyways!) for one of McKillip's stories. (Never fear, it was still occasionally obtuse and mystifying, but less so than her previous works.) It was an interesting premise, and had me hypothesizing until nearly the end. Once the mystery was revealed, the book quickly drew to a close in a moderately anticlimactic finish. Don't get the wrong impression; this was more of a disaster-averted-at-the-final-moment sort of anticlimax rather than a disappointing conclusion. This is also one of the few of her books I'd be willing to reread at some future date (once I've forgotten the answer to the riddle of thorns). Give it a try.

You don't just read McKillip's books, you savor them. The way she writes is just beautiful - more so than any other author I've read. This was a wonderfully designed book with two plots that take place in different times. It was beautifully written, and I was really impressed with how the characters developed through the story. I was also delighted with the entire Alphabet concept...it was a lot of fun to visualize it.I highly recommend it.

Patricia A. McKillip has done it AGAIN with this book, Alphabet of Thorn. It's just as good as her other books, but it IS easier to understand-it's much less dreamy than her other books, a lot less confusion. You don't need to be a fan of hers before you pick this up-anyone can can enjoy it.I would warn you though, because as soon as I started reading it, I got as obsessed with this book as Nepenthe, the 16-year-old translator, got with her book of thorns! Once I picked it up, I wanted to constantly read it. Although I didn't enjoy all of the charactres as much as I enjoyed Nepenthe, Bourne-a mage from a floating school of wizardy, and the characters that Nepenthe reads about, Axis and Kane. In my opinion, Vevay, a very powerful mage, wasn't that interesting to read about. But since every chapter the book changes viewpoints, you're never with someone you don't like to long, and there is a bit of variety.I also think that a certain romance between two of the characters was much too rushed. Yes, they belonged together, and they had "chemistry", but I think that the author should have slowed it down a bit.Otherwise, this book is definitley one of my favorites of hers. She is such a good writer; if you're already a fan, you don't need to be worried, and if you're just getting into her, this is a good place to start out. Have fun!

Fans of Patricia McKillip will know to some degree to what to expect in her novels -- magical atmosphere and beautiful, totally original plots. In her latest novel, "Alphabet of Thorn," McKillip delves into a strange language, and an invader who cannot be stopped.The Twelve Crowns of Raine have a new queen -- very young, very timid and very unhappy. Lost in the shuffle is Nepenthe, a girl left to unravel old, mysterious alphabets. She was abandoned as a baby and raised in the library, and is quite happy there. Her knack with languages comes into play when she gets a book from student mage Bourne, the nephew of a possibly treasonous nobleman. The book is written in a language made out of thorns that no one except Nepenthe can decipher.It tells the story of the warrior emperor Axis and the sorcerer Kane -- except that the book also shows that Kane was a woman. She was Axis's cousin, lover and right hand. What makes the book puzzling is that Kane claims to have helped Axis conquer countries that hadn't existed yet. As Nepenthe struggles to uncover the mystery of Kane and Axis -- and her own origins -- the queen of Raine is warned... about the thorns that will destroy Raine.Patricia McKillip's novels are both predictable and unpredictable -- you can expect lots of rich language, ornate kingdoms, and enticingly weird magic. At the same time, you can never predict how that magic is going to appear. In "Alphabet of Thorn," McKillip tackles something old and something new, magicwise. On one hand, there's the floating magic school and stuff like that. On the other, there's Kane's frightening, majestic, bend-time-and-space magic.As always, her writing is lush and slightly dreamy. McKillip includes lots of little details like peacock feathers, pearls, crumbly books, candles and pebbles. She revitalizes ideas like the abandoned person with a Hidden Identity, the long-dead king who will return in times of need (sort of a female King Arthur) or the disguised sorceress. The only downside is that when a certain part of Kane's story is revealed, Nepenthe's secret is also out in the open before it's actually revealed.Nepenthe's a nice lead character, reluctant and confused without being self-pitying; her lover Bourne is rather less defined, but still good with his own confusion. Other supporting characters like the naive young queen, kindly librarion and the aging sorceress are nice supporting roles; Axis and Kane are rather lacking in dimension (king obsessed with conquering, and a sorceress obsessed with him) until the end. They seem as distant and weird as they do to Nepenthe.McKillip expands her boundaries in the enticing, mysterious "Alphabet of Thorn." It's an adult fairy tale that revitalizes the ye olde kingdom genre, and tells a good story while it's at it.

She is my favorite fantasy author and one of my favorite authors period, but that doesn't mean she always hits a home run. Her use of language is consistantly stunning, but occasionally her tales seem to stray too far from comprehensible structure. This one is one of her best. It is the author at her strongest, with wild, imaginative use of language paired with a strong story that reveals itself with pinpoint precision. Nothing matches the pitch-perfect trilogy of the Riddle-Master, but this is clearly one of her best since then. I always recommend a McKillip book to read, but this is one I can point to and say - this is how it should be.