The Rebel Prince

There was, without a doubt, many moments during this novel that I wanted to take Alberon aside and smack him upside the head. Between him and his father I'm honestly not certain who has less sense. If Razi hadn't already said that he didn't want to be King (and proved as much time and again) I'd urge him to stay far away because it appears the royal family loses all sense once given power.

I, like probably most of the readers, had been looking forward to when Razi, Albi and Wynter would be reunited. It was obvious that neither Razi nor Wynter accounted for the changes in their childhood playmate, but Razi was realistic. Wynter wasn't. Despite everything to the contrary she kept fast to the idealistic belief that once they were together show more again things would be back to the way they were before. Any wrongs would be corrected, any misunderstandings cleared up.

Kiernan juggled a lot of developmental things in this book. Before Razi, Wynter and Chris treated each other as more or less equals while traveling. They accepted each other and ignored the rest. Once with Alberon however those differences in station and treatment became very apparent. Razi was still a Prince, Wynter was still a Lady of the Court and Chris was...nothing. Almost worst then nothing. Alberon held to the station differences, but I think he also felt like Chris was intruding on something. He was as much an idealist as Wynter, though in a different manner.

Its not strictly true to say that there's a climatic showdown between Alberon and his father. Kiernan stuck to what she wrote best--character driven plot with a little bit of action. You can almost feel when 'childhood' falls away for the last time from the three friends, when they realize that no one is perfect and their parents lest of all.

The ending was amusing and fun. It gave the reader a chance to see what everybody could be like in peace. Its an uplifting one, if a trifle sad when you think of what it cost to bring about. As a conclusion to a historical fantasy such as The Moorehwake Trilogy was, it fit perfectly. show less

This is the third and final book of the trilogy, some spoilers for the previous books could be present.

Wynter, Razi, and Christopher are traveling with the Merron warriors, who are on their diplomatic mission to find the Rebel prince. They have all started to come to terms with the happenings of The Crowded Shadows. In trying to find the Rebel Prince they try different rendezvous points with no avail. Finally, they come across Alberon's military men and make it to camp. After some quick work with words Razi and Wynter make it to see Alberon. What they learn of his plans surprise and astound them. Could they work? Would they even want them to work? With everything that has happened between Prince Alberon and his father King Jonathan, show more could they repair the damage done to the kingdom? Razi and Wynter have the fate of the kingdom laying in their hands.

This was a wonderful read for me. One I barreled quickly through, not wanting to put the book down. I have enjoyed these characters and the world here since the first book. This was a wonderful end to an amazing trilogy. I'm still a little sad to see it end, but in this book all the remaining questions are answered and wraps up gracefully. And yes, we learn about the Bloody Machine talked about in the first book. We also get to see more of the Merron ways, which I grew to love in The Crowded Shadows.

The characters have grown in strength through these books. Especially Wynter. Wynter has grown into a wise and brave young woman. Not that she wasn't brave in the beginning, but she has learned much on her path and accepted a lot. She has found love and hate in these woods and how to express both. We get to meet one of Wyn's old friends here, one of the talking cats she had taken care of when at the castle before her and her father went North. And we learn more of Christopher and his hidden secret, and how Wyn deals with it. Razi is the constant rock and voice of reason, as always, but there is something that will shake his world as well. Then, we finally get to meet the Rebel Prince Alberon.

Hmmm, yes. Alberon. I have to say when we first meet Alberon I had wondered of his state of mind. He seemed as he could be a little off from all the war and bloodshed he has seen at such a young age. But as the book went on I learned of why the Prince is the way he is and that he is aware of it. But, he has to be strong and almost cold as he is the heir to the throne... or so he believes.

The story starts right in the thick of the woods with trouble all around. We get the feel of the danger in the woods still. Even when in the camp there is always danger lurking around. And even the different agents from different kingdoms and areas of this world there is friction between them.

I also enjoyed the different degrees and angles in which we see danger coming at the main characters. All the characters are tested to their limits. We even get to see at the end, the characters that survive, a close future to see what has come of them.

Lovely ending to a wonderful trilogy. I'm proud to say this is one that will stay on the shelves for years to come and I will revisit again and again. I will be keeping my eye out for any future work by Celine Kiernan. show less

Wynter Moorehawke and her friends Razi and Christopher, have braved bandits and Loup-Garous to find their way to their childhood friend, Alberon - the exiled, rebel prince. When we meet the Prince, it is instantly clear that he is no longer a boy, but rather a harsh and somewhat unhinged young man who is sure of his power as Crown Prince.

Now that they are there, they soon learn firsthand that politics is a deadly mistress. With the king and his heir on the edge of war, and alliances made with deadly enemies, the Kingdom is torn not just by civil war - but strife between the various factions as well. No-one has the answer to the problems that plague the Kingdom - and it seems likely that their differences will not just tear apart the show more friends - but the Kingdom as well.

Wynter, Razi and Christopher arrive in the camp accompanied by the Merron, Christopher's people. But after the events of the last book their relationship with Razi is shaky. And yet despite those shocking events, I still could not help but like most of these strange people, with their ancient habits and traditions and wanted them to get the new beginning they were so desperately seeking.

Prince Alberon's camp is made up of numerous political envoys from different nations and the relationships between them are tentative at best. But when the hideously violent Loup Garous arrive, the same people that enslaved and mutilated the man she loves, Wynter is suddenly very fearful for the future. It seemed that Alberon the boy she had once loved like a brother, was no longer a person she knows or understands.

In this new environment, Razi’s quiet strength is subdued because he is playing advisor to his brother; Christopher is overlooked and downtrodden by those who feel he is inferior; and Wynter is treated unfairly as a woman who obviously isn’t good for anything except getting married off.

At last, and most importantly we finally discover what the feared 'bloody machine' is that King Jonathan and Wynter's father have done everything in their power to hide. The revelation is shocking to our three main characters, and Alberon's plans for it are even more disturbing.

The Rebel Prince is a great conclusion to the trilogy and I enjoyed it a lot. Whilst I found it to be less character driven than it’s prequels, it is still a well-paced, interesting read. My only reservation is the epilogue. Set five years later, it makes an attempt to convey some of what has occurred. Whilst it does so admirably, I didn't really feel there was enough closure. It felt a bit like a rushed ending, there to tidy up loose ends. show less

The last book in the trilogy, Wynter and friends finally meet up with Prince Alberon, and boy is Alberon a disappointment. He came off as a high-handed hothead who doesn't seem to listen to other's opinions and refuses to compromise. There was nothing very likeable about him. To be honest, I felt like all the characters were emotional trainwrecks who were constantly freaking about something or another. I never felt attached to any of the characters, and Wynter's role seemed to be relegated to witness and a person who is constantly whining at her two 'brothers' to play nice and listen to each other. The ending seemed a bit rushed, and I felt the epilogue was a little too cutesy.

I'd been greatly anticipating the third installment of Celine Kiernan's engaging trilogy, so when 'The Rebel Prince' came out, I scooped it up happily. Unfortunately, for me, the book failed to deliver on the promise of it's prequels, although it had its moments and was overall engaging.

In 'Prince,' we finally get to meet the long-missing Alberon. Who, regrettably, turns out to be a full-of-himself prat. Now, that might just be how royalty IS in this land. However, how he managed to earn so much loyalty with the attitude he portrays is difficult to fathom.

And that right there is what threw me off the book, I believe. When you introduce a character who's been so key since book one, then make him just.. unlikeable, well. It throws the show more reader out of the universe a bit.

There are some good action scenes, including a fairly thrilling climactic scene. From an emotional standpoint the book delivers too. One scene, with Christopher commemorating his father, is particularly poignant.

Ultimately, the conclusion didn't wrap up as neatly as I would have liked, with some questions unanswered and at least one surprise development that was only vaguely hinted at in the book itself. Despite my criticisms, it's overall a decent read. I just wish I could have come to like Alberon more. show less

I was looking forward to finally meeting Prince Alberon after reading about him in the previous two books. But when we meet him it is instantly clear that Alberon is no longer a boy, but rather a harsh and somewhat unhinged young man who is sure of his power as Crown Prince. To be honest, I was disappointed in Alberon’s character: he had too many mood swings and generally made me uncomfortable.

The other characters are also changed in the book because of the re-introduction of courtly life. Razi’s quiet strength is subdued because he is playing advisor to his borhter, Christopher is overlooked and downtrodden by those who feel he is inferior, and Wynter is treated unfairly as a woman who obvously isn’t good for anything except show more getting married off. All of these changes are to be expected, however, and I enjoyed the book despite them. The major change that I did not like is Wynter’s reluctance to acknowledge her relationship with Chris because others look down on him. It made me really angry and although she eventually realises that the opnions of others don’t matter, it ruined a lot of the book for me.

The plot of the book is exciting - fast paced and full of political intrigue that I enjoyed a lot. Some of the slower parts of the book involved complex political manoeuvring and may have been boring, but the author makes it really interesting through amusing interactions between the characters as they theorise. The ending is abrupt and a bit confusing, but satisfying overall. There is an epilogue, which some readers may not like, but I enjoy reading them and found interesting.

The Rebel Prince is a great conclusion to the trilogy and I enjoyed it a lot. I found it to be less character driven than it’s prequels but still a well paced, interesting read.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less

I enjoyed reading this final entry in the Moorehawke trilogy much more than I did the first two. The pace was a lot faster, the objectives of the characters more clear, and we finally get to find out a lot of the answers that the first two books made us ask.

However there are a couple of things I didn't really like. For example there are a considerable amount of storylines that are concluded "Off-Page". They results of these storylines are all pretty much mentioned in the epilogue, but not with the prominence that they needed concluding. One of them was quite major to this book, and the other is one that has been increasingly important throughout the trilogy, until in this book it becomes Christopher's Only real story.

----SPOILER show more ALERT---

That is, of course, his relationship with the Loup-Garous. I think I spelt that right. In the previous books it was interesting, but in this one it becoems overwhelming. It's almost all that drives him, and it's almost a cmplete change of character. Which I found quite sad, as I liked Christopher in the previous books. While we're under the spoiler alert, and this is a fairly big one, I though that Razi's amnesia was a cliché idea, and to be frank - pointless. For me, it only subtracted from the story and I really don't see what it was for.

---END OF SPOILER ---

What I DID like is the Merron. I always like the Merron. and although they don't feature as strongly in this book, I enjoyed those scenes where they did. Unfortunately I felt that their story could have used a little more tying up. Which is really the main issue with this book. It has too many loose ends, and the epilogue is a bit too complicated to be a nice ending. You have to try and think. The Ending of the final chapter would have been really good for the first or second in a trilogy, but I didn't like it for the last.

There are good points to the book - A Character named Mary and Alberon's Cat. Particularly the cat actually, I love the way cats are portrayed in this series. it's quite Novel. I was hoping it would be more important to the trilogy, as it was introduced early on, but it's a nice touch. And the writing style and flow in this novel is particularly good. I never really found myself rereading anything to make sure I'd got it right, or because it didn't make sense. It just worked.

If this was the first in the Trilogy, then I would recommend it whole-heartedly. But it isn't. I did really enjoyed this book, and if you started the trilogy, then it gets better as you move along. But I don't think that I would recommend reading the trilogy as a whole. It's just not finished. show less