Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Ace Hardcover (2004), Edition: 1, 320 pages
Description
Fairytale of wonder and magic where an orphan girl is haunted by thorns, a reluctant queen rules between sea and sky and epics never end.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ncgraham
One cannot pick up a Patricia McKillip novel and expect it to be like anything else one has read. My first, The Tower at Stony Wood, so confused and befuddled me that by the time I finished, I no longer cared about the characters or the plot. After trying and loving the Riddle-Master trilogy, I
Slightly less compelling are Bourne and Nepenthe, our leading couple. Theirs is one of those love-at-first-sight relationships that might better be described as lust-at-first-sight. Even when Nepenthe expresses worries that Bourne might be a restless nobleman out to take her virginity and break her heart, she leads him dazedly to her bedchamber anyway. In this relationship, premarital sex is treated in such an offhand way as to make it even more offensive than Axis and Kane's near-incest. What has happened to McKillip since she wrote of the pure love between a princess of An and a boy who once put a seashell to her ear and let her hear the sea?
Of course, the original concept of Alphabet is stunning. Being a bibliophile as well as a lover of languages, the idea of the fate of a nation being locked down in the royal libraries with a story written in an unreadable language is fascinating to me. More importantly, and what really surprised me in the end, is the fact that the seemingly disparate plot lines suddenly come together at the end of Chapter Twenty-Five in a terribly shocking way. Unfortunately the author only allows herself two chapters after that for the true climax and wrap-up, and the second of the two feels very rushed indeed, with only some of our major characters making an appearance. These objections aside, Alphabet of Thorn is still a wonderful memento of today's greatest fantasy authors.
Show More
returned to her newer books with Alphabet of Thorn, a little worried that my initial experience would be repeated. Thankfully it was not. Though the characters are from very different backgrounds and initially seem unconnected, I found myself drawn to almost every one of them; indeed, if this were a movie, I would certainly nominate it for a Best Ensemble award. There is Tessera, the new queen of Ombria who everyone has labeled an idiot child; Laidley, the stoop-shouldered apprentice librarian with thinning hair who is in love with Nepenthe; Vevay and Gavin, old, faithful lovers who together guard Raine; the legendary Axis and Kane, who in conquering kingdoms and worlds nearly destroyed themselves; and even Axis' forgotten wife, to whom is given this fabulous description: "She grew to become an affectionate mother and a discreet wife. So the poets mention her rarely and without interest. Her life was not the stuff of passion or tragedy, at least as far as they could see."Slightly less compelling are Bourne and Nepenthe, our leading couple. Theirs is one of those love-at-first-sight relationships that might better be described as lust-at-first-sight. Even when Nepenthe expresses worries that Bourne might be a restless nobleman out to take her virginity and break her heart, she leads him dazedly to her bedchamber anyway. In this relationship, premarital sex is treated in such an offhand way as to make it even more offensive than Axis and Kane's near-incest. What has happened to McKillip since she wrote of the pure love between a princess of An and a boy who once put a seashell to her ear and let her hear the sea?
Of course, the original concept of Alphabet is stunning. Being a bibliophile as well as a lover of languages, the idea of the fate of a nation being locked down in the royal libraries with a story written in an unreadable language is fascinating to me. More importantly, and what really surprised me in the end, is the fact that the seemingly disparate plot lines suddenly come together at the end of Chapter Twenty-Five in a terribly shocking way. Unfortunately the author only allows herself two chapters after that for the true climax and wrap-up, and the second of the two feels very rushed indeed, with only some of our major characters making an appearance. These objections aside, Alphabet of Thorn is still a wonderful memento of today's greatest fantasy authors.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
A story of magic and poetry, Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia McKillip is a lyrical fairy-tale like story about the Kingdom of Raine. The story focus is on Nepenthe, a beautiful foundling who was taken in and raised in the library deep in the city that is built on and in the cliffs overlooking the
I totally admired the writing but never felt fully engaged by this story. I felt the characters were a little one-dimensional and the dreamlike atmosphere, although beautiful, held me at a distance. The book started slowly but the last two chapters seemed to push the reader to the climax. With a plot involving books and libraries, I felt I should have loved this book, instead I have come away just feeling a gentle like.
Show More
sea. Now a trained translator she spends her time in the library surrounded by books. A magical book is discovered and passed on to the library for translation. Nepenthe comes into possession of the book and it’s language of thorns takes hold of her to the point of obsession. The story now branches out into not only Nepenthe’s story, but the story of the King and magician that is told in this alphabet of thorns. Eventually these two stories entwine and unveils who Nepenthe really is.I totally admired the writing but never felt fully engaged by this story. I felt the characters were a little one-dimensional and the dreamlike atmosphere, although beautiful, held me at a distance. The book started slowly but the last two chapters seemed to push the reader to the climax. With a plot involving books and libraries, I felt I should have loved this book, instead I have come away just feeling a gentle like.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Selanit
As usual, McKillip's sublime prose, superb tone, and excellent characterization make "Alphabet of Thorn" required reading for any serious devotee of fantasy literature. More particularly, this book will appeal strongly to the bookish and the scholarly.
That appeal derives from the setting and the
Sadly, the resolution of that crisis felt vaguely unsatisfying, depending as it did on a sudden change of heart by a character previously portrayed as obsessively devoted to one course of action. There was insufficient preparation for that change of heart. Though the change was necessary, it felt vaguely unrealistic. Perhaps this seems a strange criticism for a fantasy novel; yet the best fantasy breathes realism into the most implausible of things, and this implausible thing remained so: a deus ex machina at the end of all things.
Still, as flaws go, this one is fairly minor. Indeed, it may well be a product of my own taste more than anything else. And so I can, and do, recommend "Alphabet of Thorn" to any fantasy reader looking to while away a rainy afternoon. If you love books, fantasy, and puzzles, you will surely find "Alphabet of Thorn" as engrossing as Nepenthe finds her Book of Thorn.
That appeal derives from the setting and the
Show More
cast. The heroine, Nepenthe, is a foundling raised by librarians, and much of the plot revolves around her slow progress in deciphering and translating a mysterious book written in a nettlesome language no-one else can begin to grasp. Literally nettlesome - the characters of the alphabet are thorny, coiling shapes interlocked into a dense thicket of meaning. The difficult (and painful) task of disentangling these barbed words absorbs Nepenthe's attention, and the crucial message they carry slowly takes over the screen; there is a brilliant moment, towards the end, where the reader suddenly realizes that the words on the page have somehow become the words of the Book of Thorn itself. And that moment of realization precipitates the climax of the book, a crisis as convoluted as the alphabet of thorn itself.Sadly, the resolution of that crisis felt vaguely unsatisfying, depending as it did on a sudden change of heart by a character previously portrayed as obsessively devoted to one course of action. There was insufficient preparation for that change of heart. Though the change was necessary, it felt vaguely unrealistic. Perhaps this seems a strange criticism for a fantasy novel; yet the best fantasy breathes realism into the most implausible of things, and this implausible thing remained so: a deus ex machina at the end of all things.
Still, as flaws go, this one is fairly minor. Indeed, it may well be a product of my own taste more than anything else. And so I can, and do, recommend "Alphabet of Thorn" to any fantasy reader looking to while away a rainy afternoon. If you love books, fantasy, and puzzles, you will surely find "Alphabet of Thorn" as engrossing as Nepenthe finds her Book of Thorn.
Show Less
LibraryThing member quigui
This book was bought mostly because of its cover. It is simply stunning.
What is most fascinating about it is the scenery. A city built on the top of the cliffs, with only a small staircase carved onto the rock to reach the sea; a beautiful forest, everchanging, that houses a magic school.
The story
So, why is this not a great read? Because I couldn't care less about the protagonists. I never identified with any of them, and they were not very likeable either. If not for that this book could easily become a favourite.
What is most fascinating about it is the scenery. A city built on the top of the cliffs, with only a small staircase carved onto the rock to reach the sea; a beautiful forest, everchanging, that houses a magic school.
The story
Show More
is also very good, discovered bit by bit as Nepenthe decipherers the book written in thorns, a secret language. The story told on this book eventually crosses with Nepenthe's own story and the story of the kingdom she calls home.So, why is this not a great read? Because I couldn't care less about the protagonists. I never identified with any of them, and they were not very likeable either. If not for that this book could easily become a favourite.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ForeverMasterless
If you're a fan of epic fantasy, and things that are written like fairy tales, as I am, then you'll probably love this just as I did. McKillip's writing is beautiful, and some of the best I've read in the epic fantasy sphere. She had me jotting down quotes about every other page. Okay, fine, that's
Easier to understand the wind . . . Easier to walk on the surface of the frothing sea, than to remember the hunger to do it. Easier to remember knowledge than ignorance, experience than innocence. Easier to know what you are than remember what you were.
The Shadow of the Emperor
The Hooded One
Who unmasked night
Who laid the stars like paving stones
Who rode the Thunderbolt
Down the star-cobbled path into day
Was Kane,
The Emperor's twin
Silent, as lightning is silent,
Before the thunder speaks
More fantastic in-world poetry and imminently quotable lines are to be found throughout. This book has some fantasy tropes in it, such as a floating mage school, a mystical wood, etc. McKillip writes with such skill that you totally believe the world she's created, tropes and all, and isn't that what all us fantasy lovers really want? There's a reason floating castles and suchlike have persisted through time--because they're freaking cool. But they are also overdone, so it can be hard to make them believable and to put your own twist on it. McKillip not only makes you believe, but she enchants you with words as powerful as any magic.
The story is an interesting one, in that it's less “Lord of the Rings” than “Downton Abbey.” There's no great journey from point A to B for a band of heroes. It's mostly a story about the characters, and the things they feel, and the things that happen around them and to them, and the things that have happened in the history of their world, which gets a bit complicatedas you might expect when time travel is involved .
Before I talk more about the story as a whole, let me introduce you to our cast of characters.
Tessera is the young, unprepared new ruler of Raine. She has to take up the role when her father passes unexpectedly, and she's starts buckling under the pressure almost immediately.
Nepenthe was found abandoned as a babe on the edge of a cliff and taken in by the royal library as a transcriber. She loves translating strange languages, and when the mage school gives her a book written in a language of thorns that nobody has ever seen before to take back to the library she keeps it to herself so that she can have the first crack at it. What she uncovers is the story of two lovers, Axis and Kane, from the distant past who have become major mythical figures by her own time. Their tale is captivating enough to be a book all on its' own, and is revealed to be a lot more pertinent to current events than you might think.
Bourne is a young noble sent to the mage school by his uncle to learn its' secrets so that he can bring them back home and help his uncle conquer new lands in this vulnerable time of changing rulers. He doesn't much care for his studies, or for his uncle's schemes, but he falls hard for Nepenthe (and she for him) and is all around a pretty cool guy.
Vevay is a very old mage, and a personal adviser of sorts to the rulers of Raine. She's also quite the badass. Her main role in the story is to teach Tessera all she needs to know to rule, and to lay some magical smack down when needed. She also has a much younger, though still “old” lover named Gavin, who is a grizzled general.
The story is thrust into motion by Tessera having to take up the responsibility for the twelve crowns of her kingdom when her father suddenly passes, and by the librarian Nepenthe receiving a strange book written in thorns that she begins translating. Other than that the plot is rather meandering, but in a really good way. There is a threat to the kingdom that emerges first as the awakening of the corpse of the first king of Raine, who is entombed in the side of a cliff on the edge of the sea (so cool) and who actually turns out to have been a queen (again, so cool), warning Tessera about the imminent threat of “thorns”, but it's rather subdued by epic fantasy standards, very imaginative when it finally reveals itself, and it is resolved by a lie, an illusion, and a mother's love for her child. Seriously. The great threat is thwarted without a single drop of blood being spilled, and yet it was an incredibly satisfying ending. If that doesn't convince you of McKillip's immense talent, then I don't know what the heck will.
Meanwhile, Bourne is occupied by Nepenthe, and by his magic. Nepenthe is hell bent on translating the book of thorns. We get to see the story of Axis and Kane unfold as she does so. Tessera is flustered by her new responsibilities, and wondering why she can hear trees talk, and what's up with this warning about thorns. Vevay is busy trying to figure out what the threat is as well, and dealing with Bourne's stupid uncle when he decides to attack, and the book never actually explodes into physical conflict. Smaller, more personal stakes are something that I've been looking for in an epic fantasy for a little while now, and I think I've found my go-to author.
I'd also like to point out that if strong female characters are a thing you've been looking for in fantasy, you've come to the right place. Not only does McKillip write her women well, but she writes her men well too. While the shakers and movers of the story are mostly women, I never felt like it was just for the sake of being contrary to a male-biased norm, or to shove a feminist viewpoint down my throat. It's not like the women are super smart and men are incompetent. It's just that the most important people happened to be women, which is the best way to write strong female characters if you truly believe both genders are equal. Nepenthe manages to have a romantic relationship with Bourne without it diminishing either of them as individuals, or taking away from the main through-line of the story. Vevay may be an all-powerful mage, but she still looks to Gavin for support and advice. Everyone is written as a person first, a gender second, and that's something very special indeed. I wish more of McKillip's contemporaries (male and female) had the same gender-blindness.
This is the first of McKillip's novels that I've read, and I can't wait to gobble up everything she's ever written over the next few years (if it even takes me that long). As a rare standalone novel in a world of trilogies and long series this was a fantastic starting point for getting acquainted with her style. I can't recommend it enough.
Show More
a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one. I'd like to share a couple of them here, just to show you how wonderful she is. Easier to understand the wind . . . Easier to walk on the surface of the frothing sea, than to remember the hunger to do it. Easier to remember knowledge than ignorance, experience than innocence. Easier to know what you are than remember what you were.
The Shadow of the Emperor
The Hooded One
Who unmasked night
Who laid the stars like paving stones
Who rode the Thunderbolt
Down the star-cobbled path into day
Was Kane,
The Emperor's twin
Silent, as lightning is silent,
Before the thunder speaks
More fantastic in-world poetry and imminently quotable lines are to be found throughout. This book has some fantasy tropes in it, such as a floating mage school, a mystical wood, etc. McKillip writes with such skill that you totally believe the world she's created, tropes and all, and isn't that what all us fantasy lovers really want? There's a reason floating castles and suchlike have persisted through time--because they're freaking cool. But they are also overdone, so it can be hard to make them believable and to put your own twist on it. McKillip not only makes you believe, but she enchants you with words as powerful as any magic.
The story is an interesting one, in that it's less “Lord of the Rings” than “Downton Abbey.” There's no great journey from point A to B for a band of heroes. It's mostly a story about the characters, and the things they feel, and the things that happen around them and to them, and the things that have happened in the history of their world, which gets a bit complicated
Before I talk more about the story as a whole, let me introduce you to our cast of characters.
Tessera is the young, unprepared new ruler of Raine. She has to take up the role when her father passes unexpectedly, and she's starts buckling under the pressure almost immediately.
Nepenthe was found abandoned as a babe on the edge of a cliff and taken in by the royal library as a transcriber. She loves translating strange languages, and when the mage school gives her a book written in a language of thorns that nobody has ever seen before to take back to the library she keeps it to herself so that she can have the first crack at it. What she uncovers is the story of two lovers, Axis and Kane, from the distant past who have become major mythical figures by her own time. Their tale is captivating enough to be a book all on its' own, and is revealed to be a lot more pertinent to current events than you might think.
Bourne is a young noble sent to the mage school by his uncle to learn its' secrets so that he can bring them back home and help his uncle conquer new lands in this vulnerable time of changing rulers. He doesn't much care for his studies, or for his uncle's schemes, but he falls hard for Nepenthe (and she for him) and is all around a pretty cool guy.
Vevay is a very old mage, and a personal adviser of sorts to the rulers of Raine. She's also quite the badass. Her main role in the story is to teach Tessera all she needs to know to rule, and to lay some magical smack down when needed. She also has a much younger, though still “old” lover named Gavin, who is a grizzled general.
The story is thrust into motion by Tessera having to take up the responsibility for the twelve crowns of her kingdom when her father suddenly passes, and by the librarian Nepenthe receiving a strange book written in thorns that she begins translating. Other than that the plot is rather meandering, but in a really good way. There is a threat to the kingdom that emerges first as the awakening of the corpse of the first king of Raine, who is entombed in the side of a cliff on the edge of the sea (so cool) and who actually turns out to have been a queen (again, so cool), warning Tessera about the imminent threat of “thorns”, but it's rather subdued by epic fantasy standards, very imaginative when it finally reveals itself, and it is resolved by a lie, an illusion, and a mother's love for her child. Seriously. The great threat is thwarted without a single drop of blood being spilled, and yet it was an incredibly satisfying ending. If that doesn't convince you of McKillip's immense talent, then I don't know what the heck will.
Meanwhile, Bourne is occupied by Nepenthe, and by his magic. Nepenthe is hell bent on translating the book of thorns. We get to see the story of Axis and Kane unfold as she does so. Tessera is flustered by her new responsibilities, and wondering why she can hear trees talk, and what's up with this warning about thorns. Vevay is busy trying to figure out what the threat is as well, and dealing with Bourne's stupid uncle when he decides to attack, and the book never actually explodes into physical conflict. Smaller, more personal stakes are something that I've been looking for in an epic fantasy for a little while now, and I think I've found my go-to author.
I'd also like to point out that if strong female characters are a thing you've been looking for in fantasy, you've come to the right place. Not only does McKillip write her women well, but she writes her men well too. While the shakers and movers of the story are mostly women, I never felt like it was just for the sake of being contrary to a male-biased norm, or to shove a feminist viewpoint down my throat. It's not like the women are super smart and men are incompetent. It's just that the most important people happened to be women, which is the best way to write strong female characters if you truly believe both genders are equal. Nepenthe manages to have a romantic relationship with Bourne without it diminishing either of them as individuals, or taking away from the main through-line of the story. Vevay may be an all-powerful mage, but she still looks to Gavin for support and advice. Everyone is written as a person first, a gender second, and that's something very special indeed. I wish more of McKillip's contemporaries (male and female) had the same gender-blindness.
This is the first of McKillip's novels that I've read, and I can't wait to gobble up everything she's ever written over the next few years (if it even takes me that long). As a rare standalone novel in a world of trilogies and long series this was a fantastic starting point for getting acquainted with her style. I can't recommend it enough.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dmturner
McKillip's best
I love Patricia McKillip's fantasy novels, meandering and mesmerizing stories of people enmeshed in magic, but this one is my favorite. The love of language is part of it, and so are the intertwined stories of Tessera, Nepenthe, and Kane. It's worth a retread every few years.
I love Patricia McKillip's fantasy novels, meandering and mesmerizing stories of people enmeshed in magic, but this one is my favorite. The love of language is part of it, and so are the intertwined stories of Tessera, Nepenthe, and Kane. It's worth a retread every few years.
LibraryThing member VioletBramble
Nepenthe is a translator in the library of the Kingdom of Raine. She was discovered orphaned on a cliffside by the librarians and raised by them in the library. She has a talent for translating unusual languages. The mages at the magic school have come to possess a book written in an alphabet of
Another story thread involves the new Queen, Tessera. Tessera has become Queen at 14 due to her father's recent death. Her advisors think that she is too sad, too stupid and too uninterested to rule. They fear that the 12 crowns that comprise the Kingdom will rebel and start a war to seize power. Tessera is sent to the cave in the cliffs that is the resting place of the sleeping King who is prophesied to awake when the Kingdom is in grave peril. The King (actually a Queen) wakes and warns the Kingdom to Beware of Thorns. The Queens advisors have no idea what this means.
These two story threads blend together to determine the fate of the Kingdom of Raine, Nepenthe and Queen Tessera.
The writing is beautiful, full of detailed descriptions of places, rooms, objects, and very poetic. Sometimes a little too poetic. When McKillip describes Nepenthe as swimming with the fishes I wasn't sure if she was actually swimming with the fishes in a small cave pool or if her head was swimming with fishes because of the fish alphabet book she was busy translating. The beginning of the book seemed scattered but eventually McKillip pulled the threads together to a satisfying ending.
Show More
thorn. Nepenthe is sent to retrieve the book. She ends up keeping the book and translating it in secret. As she translates it the book reveals itself as the story of Axis, the Emperor of Night, and Kane, his masked sorcerer (actually a sorceress) as they conquer many lands, including many that did not exist at that time. Eventually the book reveals that Kane figured out how to time travel. It also reveals the secrets of Nepenthe's origins. Another story thread involves the new Queen, Tessera. Tessera has become Queen at 14 due to her father's recent death. Her advisors think that she is too sad, too stupid and too uninterested to rule. They fear that the 12 crowns that comprise the Kingdom will rebel and start a war to seize power. Tessera is sent to the cave in the cliffs that is the resting place of the sleeping King who is prophesied to awake when the Kingdom is in grave peril. The King (actually a Queen) wakes and warns the Kingdom to Beware of Thorns. The Queens advisors have no idea what this means.
These two story threads blend together to determine the fate of the Kingdom of Raine, Nepenthe and Queen Tessera.
The writing is beautiful, full of detailed descriptions of places, rooms, objects, and very poetic. Sometimes a little too poetic. When McKillip describes Nepenthe as swimming with the fishes I wasn't sure if she was actually swimming with the fishes in a small cave pool or if her head was swimming with fishes because of the fish alphabet book she was busy translating. The beginning of the book seemed scattered but eventually McKillip pulled the threads together to a satisfying ending.
Show Less
LibraryThing member macha
the translator Nepenthe is learning new languages. the language of fish, all gills and bubbles and tiny scales, a silver presence glimpsed in the water, and then gone. compare the language of thorns, all sharp and angular, ensnaring. new words that never existed before dangle at the end of her pen
Show More
as she works, recreating in more familiar words a story that threatens the Kingdom of Raine. the Queen of Raine is vague and almost formless; she drifts through her kingdom like a wraith, making no imprint on it. the Library has not seen the book to know the threat. the school of magic floats in the wood, and the birds sing only for the Queen. the Dreamer comes to warn the enchanted kingdom. time shifts, space folds, the briars close tighter on the kingdom in translation. new words are born, shaped by the translator, released onto the page as an enchantment. new maps are made, as the shape of the world changes as a consequence. the cover artist wraps the book, dreaming of Remedios Varo. the writer is the true magician; as always, everything she writes is an enchantment. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
Patricia A McKillip will forever labour under the disadvantage that one of her earliest books is her best-loved, and nothing else will ever quite measure up to it, however technically superior it may be. She can also, occasionally, focus so strongly on style that she neglects substance, but this
Show More
particular title is quite strong on plot, fully backed up by all the rich, lush details one expects from this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member librisissimo
Interesting but somewhat muddled, most comes clear in the end but not all. Good characters, youth romance.
LibraryThing member ssadar
I was initially drawn to this book because its protagonist was a librarian and translator, but I know better than to think that that will recommend it to most people! However, issues of family history and cultural inheritence are certainly common. As the main character learns more about her
Show More
identity, she discovers that her heritage is not particularly pleasant. After living as an orphan for most of her life, she is forced to choose between doing what she believes is right or going along with the family she's always wanted. Many people, students or patrons, can identify with the experience of being torn between family stability and individual convictions. Show Less
LibraryThing member coffee.is.yum
I should have given this amazing book a five. I would have if the ending had been more satisfying. From the beginning to near the end, the book engulfs the reader into a mystical world. The world is unlike any other you have read about. It is fantasy, yes, but not cliche fantasy that is so typical
I thought the book was going to be about Nepenthe, and while it is primarily about her, there are many other characters that equally share the spotlight. Kane and Axis, for example, whose story I enjoyed as much as Nepenthe's. Then there is Tessera, the Queen of Raine; Bourne, a mage, Yevena, a powerful and old mage and of course Kane and Axis. They all share the spotlight to transform the book into something unique and interesting.
However, the ending was highly unsatisfying. When it seemed all the characters had reached their climax, when finally the reader would realize how important the characters are in the story...the crisis ends and everyone goes back to being happy, before all the chaos happened. While I do hate stories that end with page after page of resolution, the ending of this book seemed like an afterthought. It was as if the writer didn't write the ending, it didn't fit in with the rest of the novel.
I don't mind happy, sweet endings...but when I closed the book I had a wretched picture in my head of all the character's standing around with big smiles on their faces and laughing...you know, like you see in those cheesy movies?
Show More
in books these days. The magic in the book seems real, and powerful, the very book is bewitching!I thought the book was going to be about Nepenthe, and while it is primarily about her, there are many other characters that equally share the spotlight. Kane and Axis, for example, whose story I enjoyed as much as Nepenthe's. Then there is Tessera, the Queen of Raine; Bourne, a mage, Yevena, a powerful and old mage and of course Kane and Axis. They all share the spotlight to transform the book into something unique and interesting.
However, the ending was highly unsatisfying. When it seemed all the characters had reached their climax, when finally the reader would realize how important the characters are in the story...the crisis ends and everyone goes back to being happy, before all the chaos happened. While I do hate stories that end with page after page of resolution, the ending of this book seemed like an afterthought. It was as if the writer didn't write the ending, it didn't fit in with the rest of the novel.
I don't mind happy, sweet endings...but when I closed the book I had a wretched picture in my head of all the character's standing around with big smiles on their faces and laughing...you know, like you see in those cheesy movies?
Show Less
LibraryThing member mrgorbachev
This was one of the most gorgeous books I've ever read-- every word seemed to be singing in chorus to create a novel that's as much about its lyricism as it is about the plot-- but because of this lyricism, the plot drags a bit in what feels like a lot of extended exposition, taking up about the
Show More
first 2/3's of the book, though it's worth sloughing through the parts that sing out of tune for the excellent pay-off. There was a chapter near the end where the plot and the style and everything resolved into a truly gorgeous reverie. Show Less
LibraryThing member krisiti
I loved this. I've been disappointed by some of her recent books, but this-- the alphabet, the queen, the foundling transcriptors.But - the characters weren't quite -- something. Especially Kane, at the end. Her sudden turnaround. I mean, it was forshadowed, I guess. When she wondered what it would
Show More
have been, to have stayed musing Axis' wife. And had such trouble giving up her daughter. And no time had passed, to her, before her beloved toddler was grown up and rejecting her.What happened with Nepenthe, and Bourne, and Laidley? Another story. Show Less
LibraryThing member ethereal_lad
A dreamy adult fairytale about libraries, language and war.
LibraryThing member amaraduende
I'm a bit bothered by the fact that the main character is supposed to have "hazelnut skin" and she's white on the cover. :p
This book was nice. Kind of felt like it wound up in a hurry, though.
This book was nice. Kind of felt like it wound up in a hurry, though.
LibraryThing member sara_k
Alphabet of Thorn tells a complex story that boils down to a basic question of parental love.
Nepenthe is an orphan who has been brought up in the royal library and whose talent and job is deciphering mysterious alphabets. As the story begins, she is working on a book written completely in clusters
(shrug) I felt like I should like this book and story more than I did and I'm not sure why I didn't fall into the story. Some books are like that.
Nepenthe is an orphan who has been brought up in the royal library and whose talent and job is deciphering mysterious alphabets. As the story begins, she is working on a book written completely in clusters
Show More
of small fish, each with its own meaning. A book comes to Nepenthe which she is meant to pass on to the master librarians; instead she keeps the book and tries to figure out the complicated alphabet of brambles and thorns. The book seems to reveal a set of stories about a long ago king and his mage but strange things are happening around Nepenthe.(shrug) I felt like I should like this book and story more than I did and I'm not sure why I didn't fall into the story. Some books are like that.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mossjon
A coming-of-age tale for nearly all the characters involved in this novel. An orphan raised by the royal library as a transcriptor. The young Queen of Raine so to be crowned after the sudden death of her father the King. A minor son of the Second Crown sent to the magician's Floating School.
Patricia McKillip does not disappoint with her pace, prose and even her poetry. Many of these characters are also strong female role models, without appearing overly feminist. The magic is mystical and mysterious, powerful without being pedantic.
Show More
Another library-raised orphan who is love struck by the first. Even the legendary figures from ancient history move through their adolescent struggles via the tale been translated. All these lives weave together to solve the mystery threatening the realm of these Twelve Crowns. Patricia McKillip does not disappoint with her pace, prose and even her poetry. Many of these characters are also strong female role models, without appearing overly feminist. The magic is mystical and mysterious, powerful without being pedantic.
Show Less
LibraryThing member threadnsong
OK, so this one was an extraordinary adventure. No matter what Patricia A. McKillip writes, it seems as though I am in her enjoyment of the world/subject with her. This book is no exception.
It takes place in the library of a castle, buried so deep in the caverns beneath this castle (and the castle
Also blended in is Nepenthe's love interest, a student at the magic school that seems to hover or be invisible, depending on the tasks set out for the students; a new Queen who does not seem equal to the task; twelve Crowns who may go to war for the chance to overthrow this new Queen; and a loving pair of older wizards just to remind us that wisdom is earned and adventures don't only come to the young.
It takes place in the library of a castle, buried so deep in the caverns beneath this castle (and the castle
Show More
is on a cliffside, so dark and cold are two active words here), with a scribe who is part of the library staff. When the new Queen is crowned, she begins the translation of a book of fishes, but surprise! a new book, this one of thorns, is surreptitiously given to her. Just the idea of alphabets written in thorns, in fishes, is pure creative genius. And the interweaving of the story of Axis and his beloved Kane, including the mystery of their kingdom, is an extraordinary mark of genius.Also blended in is Nepenthe's love interest, a student at the magic school that seems to hover or be invisible, depending on the tasks set out for the students; a new Queen who does not seem equal to the task; twelve Crowns who may go to war for the chance to overthrow this new Queen; and a loving pair of older wizards just to remind us that wisdom is earned and adventures don't only come to the young.
Show Less
LibraryThing member simchaboston
The prose was a little hard to get through at first, but I eventually found this a very absorbing story. I found myself wanting to know more about this richly imagined world, so it was a little letdown to find the ending came so quickly (and that there aren't any sequels).
LibraryThing member Krumbs
A delightful, rich story from a wonderful author. The words are a delight to the senses and the story is a lovely meander through a magical world (with books! and a huge library! and wizards!).
LibraryThing member RubyScarlett
Oh, what a beautiful book! As beautiful as its cover and very imaginative with lots of evocative language and great characterization. Feminist-friendly too as it features a variety of interesting female characters. I loved how the magic is still experimental yet not something they're constantly
Show More
afraid of. It's a great book, partly set in their present and partly in their past which keeps you on your toes. I didn't except the final revelation even though it's hinted at throughout the novel. I loved all the details about the library and how as a people they value books so much. I'd never read a book by this author but this won't be the last. Last, but not least, I fell in love with the name of the heroine, Nepenthe, and added it to my secret list of names I love. Show Less
LibraryThing member Isana
This was a pretty good read. It was short but the characters were all awesome (though their were too much of them in my opinion). The sheer number of them was really unnecessary and confusing and annoying, but surprisingly the book was still interesting. It was amazing that she could do so much in
The only thing that really put me off was that Nepenthe is described as having dark skin (her skin stays "hazelnut" coloured though she hardly ever goes outside) but the girl on the front and back covers is really white. This isn't a fault of McKillip's necessarily because the publisher and artist had that job but it still really upset me.
Show More
so few pages. The ending was also wonderfully sweet.The only thing that really put me off was that Nepenthe is described as having dark skin (her skin stays "hazelnut" coloured though she hardly ever goes outside) but the girl on the front and back covers is really white. This isn't a fault of McKillip's necessarily because the publisher and artist had that job but it still really upset me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TheTrueBookAddict
I loved this book. It has been a while since a fantasy novel has struck me in such a way. Fantastic world building and mythology within the story. Can't wait to read more of her books.
I may or may not write more later.
I may or may not write more later.
LibraryThing member cindywho
This high fantasy is sweet and dreamy and perhaps a little stand-offish. Nephenthe is a translator in the bowels of a library of a palace where the new young queen is not ready to rule. A book with thorny lettering from the floating school of magic becomes the hidden threat winding its way into
Show More
palace intrigue. It's a coming of age story of two girls, both who seem a little hard to get to know, along with their pleasant world. Show Less
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2005)
Endeavour Award (Finalist — 2005)
Locus Recommended Reading (2004)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2004
Physical description
320 p.; 5.64 inches
ISBN
0441011306 / 9780441011308
Local notes
An orphan girl is haunted by thorns, a reluctant queen rules between sea and sky, and epics never end.