Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone
4 primary works
Book 1
Book 2
The Briar King has woken and, with the aid of monsters formerly found only in folk-tales, is destroying the forest and the people living on its bounty. Aspar White, the king's forester, has been given the impossible task of killing the feared newcomer, but in the process he will discover that nothing about the Briar King is as straightforward as he had thought.
Meanwhile Leoff, composer and self-professed coward, becomes embroiled in the horror of a town's destruction - which is part of an intrigue that leads him to the aid of Murielle, widowed Queen of Crotheny. As she fights to save her remaining family, Murielle despatches Neil, a trusted knight, to save her youngest daughter, in whose hands may rest the kingdom's future. But as prophecies, saviours and assassins close in, Murielle's plan may leave the girl - and the kingdom - as vulnerable as ever.
Praise for The Briar King:
'The best reinvention of the big fantasy series since George R. R. Martin' Time Out ; 'The most exciting and brilliant opener to a series for a long, long while' Alien Online
Book 3
'Something was coming for her. It began as an insect, but it grew, its many eyes fastened greedily on her. Something had followed her back. But back from where? Where was that place of dark waters?'
A season of darkness and horror has fallen upon the Kingdom of Crotheny. Now countless breeds of unspeakable monsters roam the countryside. After her husband's murder, Queen Muriele finds herself at the mercy of Robert Dare who plans a strategic marriage for his hostage to secure his own power in Crotheny. Muriele’s fiancée is Berimund Reiksbaurg, heir to the throne of Hansa and descendant of the legendary Blood Knight, who once drank the blood of a waurm to gain the beast’s power. But will Dare's plans really work out even?
Meanwhile, Princess Anne awakes from a deep, trancelike sleep after a bloodthirsty battle with the monsters the Briar King has unleashed. Her guardian Sir Neil MeqVren and their escort are nowhere to be seen and Anne embarks on a perilous journey desperate to track down her travel companions.
'The best reinvention of the big fantasy epic since George R. R. Martin' Time Out
Book 4
War is coming.
With the usurper Robert Dare having fled, Princess Anne has finally ascended to the throne to the Kingdom of Crothney, but it may already be too late to stop the approaching destruction. Dark monstrosities prowl the countryside, and as the holter Asper soon discovers, the Sedos power that granted humanity its freedom may now be responsible for the corruption that will eventually destroy it.
As the combined forces of Hansa and the Holy Church mass against the Queen they claim to be an unnatural shinecrafter, Anne’s mother Murielle sets out on an embassy of peace to Hansa, accompanied by the knight Sir Neal MeqVren. But, there is more to Murielle’s mission than first appears, a fact that puts both of them at the mercy of Hansa’s unstable king, and the unkillable Robert Dare.
The world has been poisoned, and only the one who gains control of the legendary Sedos Throne can heal it. Anne knows that it must be her, but as she embraces her powers, and the violent impulses they bring, she finds herself changing. Only she can stand against the forces that threaten Crothney, but the cost of her victory may be too great for the world to bear…