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In Book One of the Broken Empire, Mark Lawrence brought to life the “morbidly gripping”* (Publishers Weekly) story of a boy in search of power and vengeance. Now, in King of Thorns, that boy’s journey into manhood takes him to the dark depths waiting within his soul…
The boy who would be King has gained the throne...
Prince Honorious Jorg Ancrath vowed when he was nine to avenge his slaughtered mother and brother—and punish his father for not doing so. When he was fifteen, he began to fulfill that vow. Now he is eighteen—and he must hold on by strength of arms to what he took by torture and treachery.
King Jorg is a man haunted: by the ghost of a young boy, by a mysterious copper box, by his desire for the woman who rides with his enemy. Plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he committed, and of the atrocities committed against him when he was a child, he is filled with rage. And even as his need for revenge continues to consume him, twenty thousand men march toward the gates of his castle. His enemy is far stronger than him. Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight.
But he has found, in a chamber hidden beneath the castle, ancient and long-lost artifacts. Some might call them magic. Jorg is not certain—all he knows is that the secrets they hold can be put to terrible use in the coming battle...
Mazarkis
Posted August 10, 2012
King Jorg celebrates his wedding day but all is not auspicious: the Prince of Arrow has surrounded the Haunt with thousands of men. On his way to becoming emperor, the prince will defeat all and any in his path - and Jorg is in the way.
Jorg has a necromantic power he does not want, a mysterious copper box he fears to open, and a ghost who haunts him in private moments. His new, determined wife is an intriguing addition to the mix - young but fearsome - and Katherine has her own, most welcome point of view. Chella the necromancer appears again, and new characters are added, both allies and enemies.
King of Thorns, like Prince of Thorns, is a tale told on many levels. First, the battle plays out in breathless action and presents a series of strategic puzzles to be solved. Second, the pages of Katherine's diary, which are found blowing through the mountain valleys, are similarly scattered throughout the book. Third, intense flashbacks bring Jorg in contact with his family and new allies.
Told in Lawrence's trademark, lush prose, and never ceasing to surprise, King of Thorns pushes young Jorg ever more towards adulthood. I strongly recommend this book.
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Simply an amazing continuation of this series! It grabs you and slowly embroils you in the plot and with a few twists has you begging for more. A great book by a great author.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BookguyMN
Posted April 28, 2012
I was drawn in at the start with this book. It keeps you wanting to know what happens next. I liked this book so much that I am on the pre-release list for the next one in the series. Read it, you will enjoy it.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 11, 2013
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A very good continuation of the series, though slightly lacking from the first book. I still enjoyed it, even with all the jumping around and confusion, in the end the story was connected, fascinating and I can't wait for the next one.
Reminiscent of fantasy/"game of thrones" type of genre, with dark humor and cocky wit. So glad I stumbled across this series!
PRINCE OF THORNS, the first book in THE BROKEN EMPIRE, was probably my favorite discovery of 2011. The pace was swift, the action sharp as a knife, the prose subtly effective and the characters hiding unseen depths beneath their violent exteriors.
So it’s high praise indeed that KING OF THORNS is even better than its predecessor.
In the opening book, Lawrence chose to tell his story by introducing Jorg at his worst and then providing backstory primarily in the second half of the book. While I admire the tactic, I wonder how many readers Lawrence lost, people who never read to the second half of the book to find that while Jorg may not be a character you want to root for, he’s at least an understandable character.
Of course, I love a good anti-hero — Raistlin Majere, Gerald Tarrant, Nicomo Cosca, anyone? — so Jorg was right up my alley.
In KING OF THORNS, the tale bounces back and forth between the current action, in which an overpowering army prepares to invade the kingdom Jorg won in PRINCE OF THORNS, and four years earlier, when Jorg begins to explore his newly-won territory. It’s easy enough to tell which story thread each chapter addresses, as the chapters are all titled either “Four Years Ago” or “Wedding Day.”
The two storylines work well together and take full advantage of the dynamic world Lawrence has created, one that can host ghosts and dreamwalkers and computers and trolls without feeling like an awkward mash-up.
The secondary characters in the book aren’t given much time, but there are surprisingly likeable characters mixed in amongst the thugs who typically surround Jorg. In the first book, I liked characters such as The Nuban, Gorgoth, Gog and Morgog. In this book, Makin fills a similar role to that of The Nuban, and Gorgoth and Gog are key to the first half of the book. The two main female characters are also interesting. Nonetheless, none of the characters are explored too closely — in fact, Jorg is surprised in this book to learn the Nuban’s name.
Of course, Jorg is a self-centered character, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to be too concerned about his compatriots’ back stories and motivations, but it also takes away some of the impact when members of the band die. At one point, Jorg gets angry and avenges a comrade’s death in bloody fashion, but afterwards he’s asked why he bothered — he never liked that fellow in the first place. Jorg has no answer to this query.
Other characters die with only a passing mention.
It fits, of course, with Jorg’s worldview — he truly doesn’t treasure the lives around him, so why would he stop and weep for the fallen? At times I’d like to see more reaction when one of my favorite characters dies, but that really doesn’t fit with the tone of these books — it’s a violent world with a violent protagonist.
It’s a recipe that makes for a bloody (good) read.
Anonymous
Posted March 8, 2013
I love the anti-hero, he just speaks to the rebel in all of us. That need to push back for no other reason than we are being pushed.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Arrat
Posted February 26, 2013
Good book! This is the 2nd in the series & I did'nt think it was good as the first. Jorg our ruthless "hero" stays the same & we get to meet the "brothers" in more detail. Mr. Lawrence does try to let you know when he is going back in time, but it becomes disjointed at times, making the shift between past & present confusing. At times he can focus too much detail of the land which can get a little boring. Over all a solid read.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Jorg said he would be King, and King he is, but can he keep hold of his throne?
Book 2 picks up four years later and Mark Lawrence still delivers a good read! Now I have to wait until the next book comes out? Ugh!
Anonymous
Posted November 25, 2012
I look forward to the next book
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.IN YOUR FACE AGAIN - This book like the first in the series is a fast paced romp through an apocalyptic medieval landscape where a nuclear holocaust in ages past has caused the veils between reality, sorcery and death to be very thin. This book also as in the first book of the series switches from the present involving a siege of the Haunt in Renar by the Prince of Arrow to the past involving a quest to find the fire mage, Ferrakind and the charred pages of the journal of the woman he loved. Jorg on the surface appears to be more humane and ethical as he is haunted by memories of his past actions to include the thousands he killed in Gelleth with a nuclear weapon – so haunted that he has some of his crushingly painful memories suspended in a small copper box. He also explains some of his seemingly cold blooded murders in the first book as being preemptive and rationale rather than psychotic. Jorg recognizes that some of his actions have been at least in part influenced by sorcerers – powers hiding behind the lords of the land. However, Jorg finds that he wants to be emperor much worse than he wants to be humane and ethical. The stratagems and tactics Jorg employs to snatch victory from defeat are entertaining although I grew a bit weary with the emphasis on fire throughout the book. Nevertheless, I am impatient to get my hands on the next book of this series.
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Posted February 11, 2013
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Overview
In Book One of the Broken Empire, Mark Lawrence brought to life the “morbidly gripping”* (Publishers Weekly) story of a boy in search of power and vengeance. Now, in King of Thorns, that boy’s journey into manhood takes him to the dark depths waiting within his soul…
The boy who would be King has gained the throne...
Prince Honorious Jorg Ancrath vowed when he was nine to avenge his slaughtered mother and brother—and punish his father for not ...