King of Thorns [Hardcover]

King of Thorns (#2 Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence.

Hmm, What to say about this Author and this series, without spoiling any of the twists or surprises. Book one, Prince of Thorns was one of the surprises of 2011. If you didn't get it on your to do list you should add it now. I'll wait while you do.

Ok? Done?

At it's essence, this series is a VERY dark and violent tale, told first person, from the point of view of Jorg the young and disturbed ringleader of a brutal band of wandering misfits (Brothers), that, for want of a better description, go round raping and pillaging and murdering whomever they like, and unashamedly, loving every minute of it.

I did say it was dark.

It's not grotesquely violent. It's not horror, but it does not 'hollywoodize' the violence. Its real and raw. It's the Tarantino of Fantasy. The violence is somewhat confronting because Jorg is so calm about it. It's not an angry reacting to an insult. It's not vicious self defence. It's not heroic winning after an honourable sword-fight. If that guy is annoying, or smiles oddly, and needs a dagger pushed gently into his eye, then that's what he gets.

It's not all violence though. I'm just giving you fair warning that there's some moments in there that may turn your nails black (in a good way).

It is, in a way, the journey, both physical and mental, of Jorg, as he discovers where he came from and remembers what made him as he is. It's actually pretty insightful.

It could be the journey of a boy becoming a man. A man learning to control the primitive angry beast that wriggles in the shadow of many of us.

There's some superb humour stirred into the mix as well. I do get a big kick out of black humour.

Mark Lawrence has a wonderful writing style, that suits this tale.

It's sparse and bleak. It almost misleading in it's apparent simplicity, but then you realise he's painting a very clear scene.

It's a naked grey sketch, stepping quietly along without heavy description but then he will slip in a line so masterfully crafted, so beautifully colourfully detailed, that it's like a punch in the face with a bunch of flowers.

The beauty stands-out all the clearer against the bleakness. The good in people stands out against all the bad that can happen.

Maybe it's a look at what is evil?

Maybe it's just Lawrence testing what we are allowed to write?
Many good books have tested boundaries in the past.

Maybe Jorg is just a broken, disturbed, detached young man.
Maybe he's just a cool character to writer and that's it?

Lawrence makes you feel like a child discovering a frozen puddle on the way to school. The pure pleasure of breaking something perfect. The natural joy of not being burdened by consequence.

Either way.

This is a great writer and an engrossing series with a difference, not just because of its dark moments, but because of its surprising twists and revelations.

This is a series well worth a look by fans of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Alternate History and Post Apocalyptic, or just damn good writing.

I just finished Mark Lawrence's, "King of Thorns" last night, and I must say that while I enjoyed "Prince of Thorns," it's predecessor, the sequel solidified my admiration of Lawrence as an up and coming fantasy author.

Lawrence is gutsy, to say the least. In the first book, he chose to tell a conflicted coming of age story, but in reverse order, starting with Jorg and his band of brutal, unmerciful bandits raping and pillaging the land, only giving the backstory of the troubled Prince of Ancrath later. Lawrence must have known that he would lose readers - especially those who found Jorg's morality, or lack there of, a little too much to handle. We eventually got our explanations and the origin story for his sociopathic nature. Still, as a reader, Jorg was difficult to identify with because of the shock of the first half of the book.

Enter the second book. Here, Lawrence gives us much more backstory and situates Jorg with character-types we weren't privy to in the first - characters that remind Jorg that human lives might indeed be worth something. In this context, Lawrence gives us several emotionally gut-wrenching scenes, offering us glimpses into the complexity of Jorg's character. Readers who did not enjoy the first book should definitely try the second. Very rarely do authors make readers bleed the injuries suffered by their characters, and Lawrence does that successfully in several scenes.

The book is told in two primary time frames, the present, while Jorg is 18, and 4 years prior, directly following the events of the first book. Interspersed between these time-jumps were diary entries told from Katherine's perspective. As several other reviewers have noted, the initial 100 pages were a bit difficult to navigate, primarily because in addition to time-jumping, the reader had to figure out where the story actually was in each of those time points. This was not a problem with the latter half of the book.

Supporting characters were well-flushed out. Katherine, in particular, has developed tremendously, and we also get introduced to an additional strong female lead.

As with the first book, the mythology of a post-apocalyptic world was rich, and the juxtaposition of ghosts, trolls, and machines certainly makes the story less predictable.

In sum, "King of Thorns" outdoes its predecessor. I certainly recommend picking up a copy. Lawrence is unpredictable and one of the most interesting fantasy authors to read.

Its rare for a sequel to outdo the initial book in the series, but King of Thorns does handily. It ups the ante and takes a series that started off with a promising debut and lifts it to the stratosphere. I read a LOT and this is hands down the best Fantasy book that I have read in the last 5 years. Dark and witty and with an anti-hero you can really get behind. This book rocks!