Review: Emperor of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence

Emperor of Thorns is the last instalment in The Broken Empire Trilogy. Here are my reviews of Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns.

The approach taken with Emperor is slightly different. Jorg Ancrath remains the central character and the story covers him in the present day (two years after the events in King of Thorns) as well as the past, but there is a third aspect. A certain character who has featured in both previous books gets small sections, set in the present, to herself. This does help to develop the antagonist, but I’m not sure whether it was necessary.

The secondary cast (the Brothers) seem to have a lesser role, due to both their numbers being diminished and their total absence from Jorg’s adventures in the past, which is a bit of a shame. However, we do get to see some new and interesting corners of the Broken Empire, and this also helps to flesh out the vote for the emperor near the end of the book.

The writing style, as has been the case with both prior books, is very easy to read. We continue to see the development of Jorg’s character, as well as the likes of Makin and Miana.

The story and ending did not progress quite the way I imagined they would. The premise of the present day plot is that Jorg is travelling to a planned voting ceremony, held every four years, to see if there will (finally) be an emperor agreed upon. Obviously I won’t spoil the ending, but there was less time than I’d imagined spent negotiating/arguing over the vote.

Emperor of Thorns is a good final part of a cracking trilogy, set in an intriguing world that mixes elements of both the past and future. I’ll probably try out something new in the immediate future, but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for other books by Mark Lawrence.

Thaddeus

Review: King of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence

King of Thorns is the second book in The Broken Empire Trilogy (preceded by Prince and succeeded by Emperor). It’s dark fantasy, set in a medieval(ish), magical world several centuries after mankind has undergone a nuclear holocaust, which destroyed the vast majority of ancient (ie advanced) technology and reduced our race to swords and spears, castles and knights.

The protagonist is Jorg Ancrath, a complex chap who doesn’t so much have shades of grey as small variations of black. Accompanied by a few associates (some perhaps even worse than Jorg), he spends much of his time travelling what’s left of Europe, seeking knowledge, power, allies and to sate his own curiosity. The other half of the book (the story flits back and forth) is four years after that journey, when he’s defending his modest kingdom from a man they say is destined to reunite the Empire.

King of Thorns keeps all that was to like about the first book and adds to it. In addition to the interestingly grim Jorg and the intriguing setting (which has elements of both past and future), it feels better balanced and takes its time (in a good way) without ever letting the plot get bogged down. The past and present chapters fit perfectly well together, the writing style is very easy to read and conveys a strong impression with relatively few words. There’s also a nice little twist near the end, which I shan’t spoil.

I particularly like the setting. Post-apocalypse is done to death, and a world where things are back on their feet but not back where they were (almost as the 9^th century or so was to Rome following the Dark Ages) is more interesting.

Downsides? Quite few, to be honest. The map is one of those which covers two pages, which means the paperback version has much of it disappear where the pages meet.

I’d strongly recommend it, but as it’s book 2 in a series, do make sure you read Prince of Thorns first. They’re dark fantasy, so if you’re more after snuggling up in bed with a fairy or two The Broken Empire may not be for you. But if you like the works of Martin, Abercrombie or Lynch you should definitely give this series a look.

Thaddeus

Review: Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence

Prince of Thorns is the first of three books in The Broken Empire trilogy.

The story is set in the very distant future, after a nuclear apocalypse has brought about a second dark age, and as mankind is still struggling to escape a second bout of feudalism. Technology has regressed to a more or less medieval state, and an awful lot of knowledge has been lost.

Power is splintered as a hundred petty lords battle for the imperial throne. Jorg is the eldest son of a king. At nine years of age he survives an assassination attempt by one of his father’s enemies which kills his mother and brother. Shortly thereafter he flees the relative safety of his father’s castle and takes up with a band of criminal scum. It’s there that we first encounter him.

The story centres firmly on Jorg, as he chooses to finally return home (at the grand old age of fourteen) and is given a nigh on impossible task by his father. The prince is a ruthless, black-hearted youth, and his father is perhaps even harder. There’s an almost, but not quite, unremittingly dark tone to the book. Jorg kills people in large number and has no qualms about inflicting pain or fighting dirty. He does, however, have a quick wit, a fondness (though he tries not to) for a few of his ruffian underlings and is occasionally lost as a teenager can be.

The secondary cast are not fleshed out too much as Jorg takes front and centre stage. Several are given a bit more depth, particularly Makin and Rike, and this approach works well. The ‘brothers’ do come across as a rough company of scum but the spotlight is firmly on Jorg.

The setting is immensely likeable. I prefer fantasy to sci-fi, and although there are very occasional snippets of what could be called sci-fi the world is definitely fantasy. There’s a strong echo of the collapse of Western civilisation when the Western Roman Empire disintegrated and the ensuing Dark Ages began, and I rather like that.

Prince of Thorns is written in the first person, and the writing style is very easy to read. Chapters are (mostly) nice and brief, and I often found myself reading rather more than I had planned.

That’s not to say the book is perfect. A case could be made for a bit more development of secondary characters, and the latter part of the first third felt a bit slow. However, overall I enjoyed Prince of Thorns. The pace is generally good and was particularly fast at the end, Jorg does a good job of being engaging despite being pretty rotten and the setting is fascinating.

I will be buying King of Thorns, the sequel, at some point.

Thaddeus