Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip
Nepenthe is a transcriber in the Royal Library of Raine. Found as an infant, she has been raised within the library all her life, and knows little of the outside world. When the school of mages is unable to decipher a book whose words look like thorns, they send a young pupil-a nobleman named Bourne-to take the book to the Royal Library. However, Bourne gives the book to Nepenthe, who decides to transcribe it on her own, and they eventually begin an affair. Meanwhile, the newly crowned Queen of Raine, Tessera, is believed to be weak and unsuited for the job of ruling a country, but receives a warning from the spirit of the first ruler of Raine-long believed to be a king, but revealed there to have been a queen-that thorns are bringing destruction to Raine.
As she transcribes the book, Nepenthe learns that it is the story of Axis and Kane, a king and his sorcerer who once conquered the entire world, but whose final fates are unknown. This story, however, is different from other stories of Axis and Kane, because in it, Kane is Axis's cousin who was in love with him, and who disguised herself as a mute, deformed mage after his wedding and gave herself to him as a gift, and then used her power to help him conquer the world. Even more, the book claims that Axis and Kane conquered lands that did not even exist when they supposedly lived.
Alphabet of Thorn is, for a McKillip book(at least those that I've read so far) very plotty. This is not to say that the other McKillip books I've read lack plot, but the focus in those books was always more of creating the fairy tale world and the characters. AoT has the more normal, fairly tale plot of Nepenthe and Tessera's stories that I've come to expect from McKillip, but also the darker and more epic story of Axis and Kane. In all honesty, I can't quite help but think that she needed a few more chapters to bring everything together.
While I loved the story of Axis and Kane, I have to admit that I never quite liked the characters. Their relationship was too much of one person unconditionally giving and sacrificing, and the other accepting it as their due. Kane gave up her life, her identity, and her dignity to be with Axis, and literally gave him the world. When that wasn't enough for him, she found a way to give him more. Axis gives up nothing for Kane, and instead, gains everything through her. If there had ever been any hint that he thought he should reciprocate, I probably could have liked them both a lot, but instead she just kept giving, and he just kept taking. While this frustrated me a bit, it did emphasize just how much Kane loved Axis, and how nothing would ever come before him for her. Because of this, Kane's final decision seems jarring and out of character. McKillip creates a dramatic moment for Kane's final decision, but she doesn't really create a case to justify Kane having such a dramatic change of heart. Because of this, the intensely dramatic and tragic conclusion McKillip seemed to be building towards never really came to be. It almost felt like she was about to do that, then decided there was no point in stomping on our hearts, and changed her mind. And when it makes more sense for the story, I'd rather my heart be stomped on than coddled.
Then there's the romance between Nepenthe and Bourne. All the McKillip books I've read so far have had some degree of romance (even In the Forests of Serre and Ombria in Shadow, despite not having romance in the actual book, made it fairly clear that there would be some after, now that all the problems are resolved) but the romance here was handled more directly. While I was convinced of Axis and Kane's love for each other, I never really felt Nepenthe and Bourne's love, and it never really seemed developed. I tend to think that it was supposed to make us think of Axis and Kane-a woman of more scholarly ways falling in love with a man out of her reach-but with a chance of happiness, but McKillip never quite goes there.
All this sounds fairly critical, and maybe it is. I just can't help but think that, with an extra chapter or two to better develop Nepenthe and Bourne's relationship and build up to Kane's final decision-not to mention give poor Tessera a little more space- it could have been the best McKillip I've read yet.
As she transcribes the book, Nepenthe learns that it is the story of Axis and Kane, a king and his sorcerer who once conquered the entire world, but whose final fates are unknown. This story, however, is different from other stories of Axis and Kane, because in it, Kane is Axis's cousin who was in love with him, and who disguised herself as a mute, deformed mage after his wedding and gave herself to him as a gift, and then used her power to help him conquer the world. Even more, the book claims that Axis and Kane conquered lands that did not even exist when they supposedly lived.
Alphabet of Thorn is, for a McKillip book(at least those that I've read so far) very plotty. This is not to say that the other McKillip books I've read lack plot, but the focus in those books was always more of creating the fairy tale world and the characters. AoT has the more normal, fairly tale plot of Nepenthe and Tessera's stories that I've come to expect from McKillip, but also the darker and more epic story of Axis and Kane. In all honesty, I can't quite help but think that she needed a few more chapters to bring everything together.
While I loved the story of Axis and Kane, I have to admit that I never quite liked the characters. Their relationship was too much of one person unconditionally giving and sacrificing, and the other accepting it as their due. Kane gave up her life, her identity, and her dignity to be with Axis, and literally gave him the world. When that wasn't enough for him, she found a way to give him more. Axis gives up nothing for Kane, and instead, gains everything through her. If there had ever been any hint that he thought he should reciprocate, I probably could have liked them both a lot, but instead she just kept giving, and he just kept taking. While this frustrated me a bit, it did emphasize just how much Kane loved Axis, and how nothing would ever come before him for her. Because of this, Kane's final decision seems jarring and out of character. McKillip creates a dramatic moment for Kane's final decision, but she doesn't really create a case to justify Kane having such a dramatic change of heart. Because of this, the intensely dramatic and tragic conclusion McKillip seemed to be building towards never really came to be. It almost felt like she was about to do that, then decided there was no point in stomping on our hearts, and changed her mind. And when it makes more sense for the story, I'd rather my heart be stomped on than coddled.
Then there's the romance between Nepenthe and Bourne. All the McKillip books I've read so far have had some degree of romance (even In the Forests of Serre and Ombria in Shadow, despite not having romance in the actual book, made it fairly clear that there would be some after, now that all the problems are resolved) but the romance here was handled more directly. While I was convinced of Axis and Kane's love for each other, I never really felt Nepenthe and Bourne's love, and it never really seemed developed. I tend to think that it was supposed to make us think of Axis and Kane-a woman of more scholarly ways falling in love with a man out of her reach-but with a chance of happiness, but McKillip never quite goes there.
All this sounds fairly critical, and maybe it is. I just can't help but think that, with an extra chapter or two to better develop Nepenthe and Bourne's relationship and build up to Kane's final decision-not to mention give poor Tessera a little more space- it could have been the best McKillip I've read yet.