Name: King of Thorns (The Broken Empire)
ISBN: 9780007439034

Mark Lawrence

King of Thorns (The Broken Empire)

King of thorns

Prashanth Srivatsa

Insane. In love with Honorous Jorg Ancrath. Lawrence here has created a character you can't stop thinking about hours after you've finished reading. There's a sadness about the world he inhabits, but there's also the satisfaction of watching him wade through the mess with equal amounts of courage and asshole-ry. Onward to the finale!

King Of Thorns

Jennifer Merchant

Aleena Korell

‪A man is made of memories. It is all we are. Captured moments, the smell of a place, scenes played out time and again on a small stage. We are memories, strung on storylines— the tales we tell ourselves about ourselves, falling through our lives into tomorrow. What the box held was mine. Was me.‬

King of Thorns is utter brilliance and a top-5 all-time favorite of mine. And Jorg— that diabolical, deranged little psychopathic mastermind— he’s an all-time favorite character. I don’t have a valid reason. Jorg’s advisor sums it up the best:

"I love you for no good reason, Jorg. I’ve no sons, but if I did I wouldn’t want them to be like you. You’re a vicious bastard at the best of times. I love thee for no good reason,” Coddin said. “...but I do love thee well."

Two storylines thread around each other in this installment. One spans only one day, describing a siege at Jorg’s gates in the present. The other, four years in the past, gives us little fragments of a story that piece together slowly, obviously leading to something terrible— the memory of which was taken and hidden in a box that Jorg carries with him everywhere he goes. The whole book leads to the question: what could have happened to make Jorg (who doesn’t exactly disturb easily, he’s usually the one doing the disturbing) beg for the memory to be taken from him? 
But also: how the heck does Jorg plan to win a battle with one thousand men against twenty thousand?

All I can say is it’s just perfection. Wit and humor, beautiful writing and a philosophical, genius, self-aware (but still deranged) narrator who murders, steals, gives lessons on the best techniques to kick severed heads, and aims to win the title of Emperor for no reason other than his belief that he can... but has just enough humanity left in him to tear at the heartstrings when he goes and does something selfless. Even when he convinces himself it’s not. 

‪Take the pain, I said, and I will be a good man. Or if not that, a better man. We all become weasels with enough hurt on us. But I think a small part of it was more than that. A small part was that terrible two-edged sword called experience, cutting away at the cruel child I was, carving out whatever man might be yet to come. I promised a better one. Though I have been known to lie.‬

Jorg Ancrath, I love thee for no good reason, but I do love thee well.

The second book in the Broken Empire series, Lawrence takes his young anti-hero one step closer to his grand ambition.

King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 2)

Tom Turner

A rough ride, but worth it.

I must admit I struggled with the structure of this one. Firstly, like the first it is written in first person, which is always a struggle for me. Secondly, the narrative of this book was split into numerous sections, time, places and narrators (though Jorg was the narrator for the majority) so I sometimes found myself lost as to my placement within said narrative. However, like a five tapestry, as we progressed, the picture became clearer. I believe my perseverance through my confusion actually made the accomplishment of finishing this book all the greater, and I'm excited to see where Jorg will take us next!

Melissa Eder

OH MY GOD

This book wrecked me. It was sad, hilarious and gory at the same time.

Granted, I thought this would be a boring middle book by the first 250 pages. Oh Boi was I wrong. Jorg is the same bloody bastard he was in book one, I'd say he's even scarier at this point. I'm truly terrified for book 3 and can't wait to finish the series. Also I can't believe I've DNF'ed book 1 two times. I'm so glad I gave it another chance, it's my favorite series now!

Daniela V.

"(...)“We’re not memories,[...] we’re dreams. All of us. Each part of us a dream, a nightmare of blood and vomit and boredom and fear. And when we wake up—we die.”..."

King of Thorns is the second book of the Broken Empire Trilogy. I had mentioned that the first book left me with an enormous mix of feelings. Now that I have read this one, I'm all kind words for Mark Lawrence. This guy is great!

Jorg is now king of the Renar Highlands. Even more, he has been reigning them for four years and he's getting married to a girl called Miana. At the same time, the Prince of Arrow is at his gates.

So, there is a lot of new characters in this book and they aren't one-dimensional anymore. That was my main concern with the first book, but character development is incredibly better. And... we finally have more kickass girls in the series (Katherine was not enough for me). Miana, Jorg's queen, is amazing. I loved everything about her and I have a very serious theory about her that is yet to be confirmed (I'm reading book three now).

The greatest thing about King of Thorns is it has three major plot twists. At first you think you know what it is going to happen but... hell, I couldn't predict a single one of those plot twists.

The ending is glorious. The introduction of elements from the age of the Builders to Jorg's world is amazing. (view spoiler)[I am talking about the gun! I always thought that guns are great for fantasy novels. If there are dream witches and dead people walking, why not a gun? (hide spoiler)]

Also, I found this installment easier to read because Jorg becomes more reasonable. He grew up in those four years reigning and it's a completely different person.

"(...)As a child there’s a horror in discovering the limitations of the ones you love [...] the wrong path must be taken because the grown-ups lack the strength to take the right one…each of those moments is the theft of your childhood, each of them a blow that kills some part of the child you were, leaving another part of the man exposed, a new creature, tougher but tempered with bitterness and disappointment..."  


The only thing I can object is that the first half of the novel is a little bit boring, I wanted answers and I kept accumulating questions. But when the first plot twist arrives, it all gets better.



"(...)The ale is as bitter as my mood. I take slow sips and wait for the night to come.
I think of Katherine. I make a list [...] I run through it again and again as the sun sinks, as the drunkards come and go, carts and whores and dogs and labourers pass in the street, and still I cycle through my list.
Love is not a list..."

Benjamin

In book two of the Broken Empire trilogy, the boy who would be king has gained the throne—but the crown is a heavy weight to bear... At age nine, Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath vowed to avenge his slaughtered mother and brother—and to punish his father for not doing so. At fifteen, he began to fulfill that vow. Now, at eighteen, he must fight for what he has taken by torture and treachery. Haunted by the pain of his past, and plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he has committed, King Jorg is filled with rage. And even as his need for revenge continues to consume him, an overwhelming enemy force marches on his castle. Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But he has found a long-hidden cache of ancient artifacts. Some might call them magic. Jorg is not certain—all he knows is that their secrets can be put to terrible use in the coming battle...