Sovereign

Keys of Power #3

by Simon Brown

- The conclusion to The Keys of Power trilogy
- Fast-paced epic fantasy
- A highly commercial novel by a highly acclaimed Australian author

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy

423 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Simon Brown wrote his first science fiction story in 1966, read his first science fiction novel in 1968, and by 1970 had decided he wanted to be a science fiction writer more than anything else in the world.

His first professional sale was to Omega in 1981. Since then he has had several short stories appear in Omega, Aurealis and Eidolon.

His first novel, Privateer, was published by Harper Collins in April of 1996. His second novel, Winter, was published by Harper Collins in 1997. A collection of short stories, Cannibals of the Fine Light, was published by Ticonderoga Publications in 1998. A new novel, Inheritor, will be published by HarperCollins in late 2000.

Simon worked as a journalist with the University of Western Sydney, and is now a full-time writer.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Michayla Lovitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book even more than the first two. There are going to be some spoilers. I wish there was going to be more to the series, I want to know how Lynan and Korrigan will rule together as King and Queen. I want to see their wedding and know about their children. I want to see how life changes for the Chetts and the other provinces, especially the newely defeated province of Haxus. I had the honor to get to speak to Mr. Brown over e-mail and he has confirmed to me that he does not plan on returning to this series. But I will always have my hopes. But anyways, on to the review;

Story 9.5/10:

There were times where I became a little confused about what had happened in previous pages and paragraphs, due to the sheer speed of the action going on in the story. Some may see it as a pro, some may see it as a con. While I enjoy a fats-paced narrative, I dislike having to turn back to re-read a section because the story was going too fast. Other than that, I found the story to be exciting, and the different sub-plots and war campaigns going on were easy to discern from one another. I especially appreciate how natural and smooth the transitions felt between chapters and sections. As for the fighting and battle sequences, I found them quite satisfactory. The writing both eloquent and candid, without too much embellishment. I dislike stories with over-bearing and gory language, but Simon Brown has been able to display the glory and horrors of war without gratuitous violence and disgustingly descriptive deaths and torture.

Character Development 9.25/10;

I am not certain I would be able to pick out one single character as my "favorite" from this series, which is due in part to Simon Brown's ability to make even the most minor character to feel well-rounded and realistic. However, for me, there were some loose strings left untied in the final installment of this series. For me, Jenrosa and Olio were the two biggest loose ends for me. I wanted more resolution with Jenrosa's unwillingness to accept her title as Truthspeaker. However, her death was satisfy to me in a way, not because I wanted her to die, but because it just made a lot of sense in the story. As for Olio, I felt that when he finally did remember everything and saw Lynan getting ready to battle it out with Areava, that he should have been more decisive on which side he was on. I did, however, really appreciate the ending when it came to Lynan and Areava. I enjoyed how Lynan revealed his compassion and love for his sister in the end, after all she had done and no matter how much she hated him, he wanted to spare her. As for Areava, even after she has discovered the truth and knows of Lynan's innocence, she sticks to her guns and refuses to back down. Feeling strongly about Lynan's actions following Beryama's murder, she decides it is no longer about Beryama or the throne, but about Lynan's conquest of her people. Yet, when she is mortally struck by an arrow, only then is she able to accept her defeat and ask for her merciful demise.

Overall 9.75/10

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the whole series and I would highly recommend it to fans of fast-paced fantasy novels. I think it would also be a great read for those who like fantasy and are transitioning between YA and Adult fiction. I would not recommend this for a YA or younger audience, as there are some mature themes.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this novel was interesting with lots of political movement. I was never a big fan of Lynan, even up to the end. However, I felt invested enough in the rest of the characters to see how the Kingdom of Grenda Lear fared.
I found Simon Brown's writing to be engaging and colourful (despite a few glaring grammatical errors which even I was able to spot).
All in all an enjoyable read.

[Debby Kean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly awful! I spent far too long hoping it would improve, but it didn't.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bookcrossing.com/journal/15748...

[knots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynan is on the warpath in this book.He annexes the provinces one by one.Areva, Lynan's sister and the antagonist is raising a Grand Army to stop her brother.However conspiracies at Kendra put an inept commander at the head of the army.The after effects of Lynan's 'cure' comes forth and Lynan's actions scare even his own companions.Jenrosa must accept her destiny as Truth Speaker and battle the deadly foe who has Lynan.The conspiracy which led to Lynan's flight come to light, but too late.The price to be paid for victory is too high.The best thing about this series is that the characters, even the antagonists are very sympathetic.We get to know their perspectives,prejudices and motives and why they act the way they do.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While good, it didn't live up to the promise of the first two in the series.