Name: Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 3)
ISBN: 9780007439072

Mark Lawrence

Lawrence brings the Broken Empire series to its devastating conclusion

Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 3)

Desiring to be emperor of the Broken Empire, young King Jorg Ancrath of the seven nations must face an adversary standing in his way, a necromancer unlike any he has ever challenged -- a figure hated and feared even more than himself: the Dead King.

Emperor of thorns

Prashanth Srivatsa

Spectacular! What a way to end the series. Another world goes by, another host of characters climbs over the heap that's always piling higher, but Jorg Ancrath will remain in memory. There's a tad bit of predictability in Lawrence's ideas, almost as if you're used to his thinking, but there's no taking away his poetic mastery of fantasy, a raw outburst of words that make you read every line with wonder.

Savannah Winchell

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
5⭐️
- MY BOI 
- MY PRECIOUS SON
- SEND HELP I WAS NOT READY
- 😭😭😭😭😭

Nat Welch

Weird book. The whole series is enjoyable, but a few of the twists seem annoying, and others don't make any sense.

In the final novel in the Broken Empire Trilogy, the boy who would rule all may have finally met his match... King Jorg Ancrath is twenty now—and king of seven nations. His goal—revenge against his father—has not yet been realized, and the demons that haunt him have only grown stronger. Yet no matter how tortured his path, he intends to take the next step in his upward climb. Jorg would be emperor. It is a position not to be gained by the sword but rather by vote. And never in living memory has anyone secured a majority of the vote, leaving the Broken Empire long without a leader. Jorg plans to change that. He’s uncovered the lost technology of the land, and he won’t hesitate to use it. But he soon finds an adversary standing in his way, a necromancer unlike any he has ever faced—a figure hated and feared even more than himself: the Dead King.

Emperor of Thorns

Tom Turner

And so, the saga of Jorg Ancrath comes to an end. It's been quite a journey, and not a particularly easy one in more ways than one.

Mark Lawrence is not an author to make things easy for you. Reading his books feel more like running a marathon, despite then not being overly lengthy. But as with a marathon, if you see it through you are greatly rewarded. I almost gave up on this series a number of times. But I am so glad I persevered. 

I will admit I didn't like The Broken Empire as much as I enjoyed The Book Of The Ancestors, but I believe that is more down to the latter having a more tangible plot. (And assassin nuns, don't forget assissin nuns!) but I am still extremely glad to have read them. I'm sure Jorg Ancrath will haunt my dreams and nightmares for years to come!

Kareema A Godhrawala

It’s odd. Even now I sometimes stop to think of Jorg or Makin or some of the other characters, sometimes I even think of what they would do if they were in my place. What would Jorg do if he was unable to do his math homework and his math teacher was annoying him? 

When I got to the end I knew that Jorg got what he deserved and I wasn’t sad, not entirely, but I felt oddly heavy and compounded with experiences of a great man. Not a good one, not even a respectable one but a great one nonetheless. I daresay if I was a character I would have done whatever was in my power to assassinate him. 

I love this book and the thoughts and ideas woven into this book is so enticing, so thought-provoking. These books are damn powerful.

Daniela V.

"(...)Does true love survive where flesh corrupts? What was she to you? A pretty face, a quick panting release? There’s no romance in death [...] and death’s the flip side of our coin.’ [...] ‘We’re just meat on bones, waiting to rot..." 


I really need to start this review stating that this is the best book of the trilogy. I can't believe how much the story progressed since Prince of Thorns! Everything gets subtler and more complex.

In Emperor of Thorns, Jorg (now (view spoiler)[king of seven kingdoms (hide spoiler)]) makes his way to the holy city of Vyene for Congression, with the representatives of the Hundred. Meanwhile, the Dead King starts to gather more forces and makes his move in this intricate game.

What I liked the most about this third installment was that there were chapters from Chella's point of view intercalated with Jorg's present and past chapters. I guessed that I needed more information about her side, the darkest side. So... adding points of view made the story more complex and meaningful.

"(...)Fear seeps into a man. In a cold dark place, alone with nothing but imagination for company, terror would gather him in. But she didn’t have two days, or even one.
‘Death is broken, [...] All you need to decide is whether to feed the fire or be the fuel.’..." 

Jorg continues to grow, as do the secondary characters. Miana, Katherine, Chella... this novel is full of amazing women. Maybe at the very start of the story it wasn't noticiable, but in this installment that fact becomes clear as water.

Jorg's persona changes during his journey to Viene... he is more protective of those he loves and (view spoiler)[even more when he becomes a father (hide spoiler)]. Of course, there is always that duality that makes us think if all he did is just because of power or if he really felt something for another human being.

"(...)Time heals all wounds, but often it’s only by the application of the grave, and while we live some hurts live with us, burning, making us twist and turn to escape them. And as we twist, we turn into other men..." 

"(...)‘A man who can’t make sacrifices has lost before he starts, Provost. There was a time when I could spend the lives of those around me without care. Now, sometimes, I care. Sometimes it hurts [...] But that doesn’t mean that I can’t and won’t sacrifice absolutely anything rather than allow it to be used to rule me, rather than have it be made into a way to lose.’..." 

I loved that more elements from the past were introduced in the story (to remind all of you, The Broken Empire is a fantasy trilogy set on a future, post-apocalyptic Earth) A few examples are (view spoiler)[the gun (of which we already knew at the end of King of Thorns) and an electric chair (that now works as a throne) (hide spoiler)]. I think those additions make this trilogy unique.

The plot twist at the end of the book as rather obvious because Mark Lawrence left tiny proofs for it throughout the novel but it was not dissapointing, meaning that I enjoyed it.

So now, lets talk about what I didn't like. I think some of the events in the book are very unrealistic. I know this is fiction... but some situations were really over the top. For example (view spoiler)[Jorg killing the Pope and some noblemen before a lot of guards from Vyene and they doing nothing to stop him. The same goes to the road scene on Congression... (hide spoiler)]

Leaving that little matter aside, I would have liked one more chapter at the end of the story. I felt that only one chapter to describe the aftermath was rushing things out.

Having said that... this one goes to my list of favourites. It was an amazing journey through The Broken Empire and Mark's prose made it even more astonishing. I really need to read more of this man's work. 
  Prince of Fools
, here we go!

"(...)We all carry the seeds of our own destruction with us, we all drag our history behind us like rusted chain..."