Prince of Fools - Mark Lawrence

The Blurb: The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all.

The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.

After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.

As my one reader knows, I'm a huge fan of Mark Lawrence. His Broken Empire trilogy was one of the best I've read yet, and the finale, Emperor of Thorns, put me in a book depression for at least a month. It was that good.

The Prince of Fools is the first book in the Red Queen's war trilogy, also based in the Broken Empire landscape and at the same time as the first trilogy. I highly appreciated this, seeing as I love the world and the characters he's created. You can read Price of Fools without reading the first trilogy, but a lot of the nuance will be lost if you do that.

Onto Prince Jalan. He's tenth in line to the throne, a minor Princeling of the Red March and pretty much a bastard in all the other ways that Prince Jorg isn't. A self confessed coward, putting his wants and needs before everybody else. He's certainly not ambitious, whoring and gambling his life away in all the luxury being a Prince provides. As he says in the book, his priorities is Prince Jalan, Prince Jalan, Prince Jalan with looking good coming a distant fourth. That being said I found him an entertaining protagonist, bringing humour to quite a dark world. With us riding in his head as a first person viewpoint certainly helped in this regard. He reminded me a little of Rincewind I must say.

The fun thing about Prince of Fools, with it being set almost concurrently with the first trilogy, is the different viewpoints to the same events. Jalan doesn't really give a crap, but there are enough hints around him to make stuff interesting to the sharp eyed reader. A few old favourites makes short appearances in the story which was pretty awesome. And we get a little bit of a clearer view of the moves made by the powers behind the throne, The Silent Lady, Sageous and their power plays.

Jalan gets caught up in this secret war through no fault of his own, and forced to go on a quest to the frozen north with Snorri Ver Snagason, a huge insane Viking. Honestly the poor bastard had no choice, and he complains pretty much all the way there. OK, it was 30% his own fault, but you'd never hear him confirm that. Snorri is pretty much awesome muscle, power and cheer. He's the perfect counterfoil for Jalan and their interactions throughout the book is a fun read. Jalan actually shows some real character growth without losing his cowardly charm, and he certainly contributes to their quest, even if it's pretty accidental for the most part. I do not know if Snorri's surname is a nod to Gemmel's early works, but I certainly hope so. Those that do not know of what I speak, go read Legend you lazy cretins.

Our two heroes, one roaring north and the other screaming in terror, run into quite a few fun and dangerous adventures on their way. They even visit the Tall Castle, and Jal almost has the misfortune of meeting Jorg in his early wild days. I'm sure that if this happened, poor Jal's tale would have ended right there, seeing as Jorg would have used his blood to decorate the walls on principle. I have no doubt that Jorg would have taken Jalan out just because he irritated him.

The quest they are on certainly isn't standalone in the Broken Empire universe, and I'm sure the follow up books will clarify and intertwine the two stories more and more. This is easily one of my favourite books of the year, blending a quest adventure story with a deeper, darker one seamlessly. It certainly stuck with me, making me wonder about the implications.

10/10

Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

The Blurb: The path to the throne is broken - only the broken may walk it.

To reach the throne requires that a man journey. Even a path paved with good intentions can lead to hell, and my intentions were never good.


The Hundred converge for Congression to politic upon the corpse of Empire, and while they talk the Dead King makes his move, and I make mine. The world is cracked, time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days, the future so bright that those who see it are the first to burn. These are the days that have waited for us all our lives. These are my days. I will stand before the Hundred and they will listen. I will take the throne whoever seeks to thwart me, living or dead, and if I must be the last emperor then I will make of it such an ending.


This is where the wise man turns away. This is where the holy kneel and call on God. These are the last miles, my brothers. Don't look to me to save you. Don't think I will not spend you. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don't follow me.


Follow me, and I will break your heart.


This is the third and final installment in the Broken Empire trilogy with Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns the previous brilliant two books. Could Lawrence bring this epic  series to a satisfactory close, or would the ending leave me scratching my head and feeling mildly irritated. 

This book left me depressed. But in a good way.

The structure of the book follows the recipe of the previous two, with two timelines being interwoven throughout the book. The present and five year back flashbacks. We also have a few chapters from Chella's viewpoint, the necromancer who tried to kill Jorg in PoT, and who Jorg resurrected in KoT.

Chella is in service of the dread Dead King, and the rare glimpse into another character helps to show the motivations and machinations of the other side quite well. Chella is one bitter lady, hating Jorg for some good reasons. It was interesting to read quite a bit about the Dead King, and having another viewpoint of the Broken Kingdoms was pretty refreshing.

Jorg is on the road and close to his goal. Attending the Congression with his plans moving along to help him become Emperor, the first in hundreds of years. His motivations isn't completely selfish which shows that our favorite psychopath has a little bit of a soft side. Maybe it's because he became a father, maybe it's because Jorg isn't as evil as everyone thought after Prince of Thorns.

Being the King of seven kingdoms and married, Jorg has certainly grown up. He's not a kid any more. He is certainly more calculating in this book, thinking, scheming and planning ahead. Less compulsive neck stabbing. He has grown by leaps and bounds over the three books, and you cannot help but love him. He's easily one of my favorite characters in literature. 

The whole flashback thing was perfectly done. During the previous two novels it felt at some times that the flashback wasn't really there for any other reason than to show why Jorg is well, Jorg. Thinking back now, each and every one was critical to the story. It should actually be viewed as one book with three parts, with the flashbacks interweaving the story and binding it all together. As soon as I have time I'm going to read all three back to back, which should make this close to perfect series even better.

The ending is intense, and comes as quite a shock. Lawrence always said that this is a trilogy, and he ended it strongly and perfectly. 

I really do not want to spoil this book for anybody, so if you've read the other two and liked them, read it. If you haven't, go buy them. This is easily my favorite trilogy ever.

I was depressed after reading this book because, after I've finished it, I couldn't read anything else for about two weeks. Hell, it's taken me a month to get my thoughts together to write this quick review. And that is what a book should do to a reader. It should make them emphasize with the characters, think about the story and influence them in real life. 

This one certainly did that, in spades. I'll never forget Jorg and his Brothers.

10/10

Emperor of Thorns Map

This is the pretty colour map for the Emperor of Thorns, Mark Lawrence's third book in the Broken Empire series. If it looks familiar, it's because Mr. Lawrence uses Europe as a base map and then drowns quite a bit of it. Blame the ice caps melting. All I know is that it's pretty and done damn well. This was stolen directly from Mr. Lawrence's blog, which can be found here.

Emperor of Thorns Cover

Feast your eyes on the basic cover design for Emperor of Throns by Mark Lawrence.

I approve.

Emperor of Thorns teaser image

King of Thorns is still fresh in my memory, and now Mark Lawrence is starting the tease for Emperor of Thorns! Looking good, except that it could mean that Jorg killed the world and is the only one left...

King of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

The Blurb:  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...

I won't lie, I've been waiting for this book since reading Prince of Thorns. I've been internet stalking Mark Lawrence for months, snapping up any and all hints, sneak peeks and deleted scenes. Hell, most of the fragments he's released has been reposted on this site.

The book is written solely from Jorg's point of view, with other character's thoughts only showing up as letters and interactions with Jorg. The four years between Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns isn't neglected though, since most of the story is told through flashback. Not classic blurry memory flashback, more through "four years earlier" but it's done well and interspersed throughout the current storyline. It supports and explains Jorg's actions and thinking, as well as consequentness of his previous actions coming home to roost.

Jorg is getting married. For those who knows Jorg, this might come as quite a shock. Our favourite little Captain Insane-o getting married? Can't be. Don't worry though, this happens four years after Prince of Thorns. The little bastard has grown up quite a bit.

Jorg's back story gets some perspective and attention in the book. This helps to explain why he sees the world as he does. There is a certain scene with Jorg and his father that made me feel physically ill. I can't remember the last time this happened, and it made me appreciate the writing so much more. You must be damn good to make me feel nauseous and uncomfortable. This certainly isn't criticism, it's praise. To suck you in and make you care so deeply that you feel so much is an art. 

The rest of the world gets some fleshing out throughout the book. Quite a nice chunk of it gets explored by Jorg and his Brothers and new, interesting people and creatures are met. Not all of them are killed, which was quite nice. 

There are some shady characters moving people and nations around as pawns and they are truly in the background, pulling the strings. There's even a bit of prophecy coming to the fore from them, pushing the world into a certain direction, but Jorg really does not care for prophecy or being controlled. They should have known better.

Jorg has really matured throughout this book. He cares for his friends, even if he won't admit it to himself. He starts to show empathy towards strangers and his people. He hasn't gone soft though. He'll burn the world if he feels it'll get him what he wants and he'll not shed a single tear. This point is proven again in the climax of the book. He may be a bit more cuddly that younger Jorg, but he's still the hardest and most calculating bastard in the Broken Empire.

This book is written so well, the characters are amazing and the world is unique and interesting. Jorg is still on his mission to be the Emperor of the Broken Empire, and he's daring anyone to try and stop him. Distant lands are also spoken of, which makes me wonder what stories will be written about them. 

The Broken Empire has certainly jumped to the top of my favourite series pile. Go read this book. It's brilliant.

10/10

What a performance!

Now I know I'm a bit behind in my reading, but some good stuff is on the horison. I'm currently busy with Paul S. Kemp's The Hammer and the Blade, then right into Chuck Wendig's Mockingbird - with a giveaway - and then most probably Mark Lawrence's King of Thorns. So there are some damn good books and reviews coming in the near future.

I'm behind because of the Olympics. The games have sucked me in, and refuses to let me go. We do not stand much chance of a huge medal haul here in South Africa, it's always been that way. That's why when we win one it's kind of a big deal. Cameron van der Burgh worked his ass off to dominate in the 100m breststroke and Chad le Clos stunned the world in the 200m Butterfly. Thanks guys, you made my year!

King of Thorns Fragment XI

From the blog of Mark Lawrence, another deleted teaser for the second book in the Broken Empire series, King of Thorns.

Connie Hux, sixteen, arrow shot, Haunt, east wall.

Daughter of Samath and Greta. Born Hodd Town, Renar.

The speed of the shafts zipping over the walls didn’t scare Connie. It isn’t until you haul the bowstring back for your first shot, until you feel it bite at your fingers through the leather of the guard flap, and your bicep aches with the tension, that you remember just what rides behind the sharp iron of those arrowheads. The arrows didn’t scare her - she scared herself.

Connie loosed six shots into the men streaming to reinforce the enemy’s ram. She knew each one hit, though she didn’t stop to watch. Commonsense dropped her between shots and she’d no desire to see men die. If it were her say the gates would open and the Prince of Arrow could have her oath. But Camson was on the walls, up in arms to defend the Highlands and King Jorg. And it only stands to reason – the more who held the walls alongside him, the less likely Camson would be to get hit.

As Connie stood for her seventh shot, Camson glanced her way, a wild grin on him. Even the winter sun struck gold from his hair.

The day turned darker.

“God no . . .” A voice that creaked with age.

Old Jorna’s fingers hurt her shoulders as he helped her down. The light came flat as before a storm.

“I’m not hit.” She tried to say it.

Across the wall Camson loosed another arrow out toward the ridge, not seeing her, not looking.

 “I’m not hit.” The words wouldn’t come.

“Ah hell . . .” Something more than age cracked Jorna’s voice.

And darkness took her.

Prince of Thorns Optioned!

From his blog:


"I’m pleased to announce that Stephen Susco, writer of THE GRUDGE, and writer/producer of upcoming films HIGH SCHOOL (June 1st) and THE POSSESSION (Aug 30), has optioned the film and tv rights in Prince of Thorns and the Broken Empire trilogy published by Ace/Berkley in the US and Voyager in the UK."


Now I have absolutely no idea how the TV and movie industry works, and I'm sure this does not mean that we'll see an insane Jorg on small or big screens very soon, but this must be a step in the right direction. Well done Mark!

King of Thorns Fragment.

From the blog of Mark Lawrence, another teaser for his upcoming novel, King of Thorns.


Gog

Skin, bones, and mischief comprise Brother Gog. Monster born and monster bred but there’s little to mark him from Adam save the stippled crimson-on-black of his hide, the dark wells of his eyes, ebony talons on hand and foot, and the thorny projections starting to grow along his spine. Watch him play and run and laugh, and he seems too at ease to be a crack in the world through which all the fires of hell might pour. Watch him burn though, and you will believe it.


Brother Maical

Brother Maical’s wisdom lies in knowing he is not clever and letting himself be led. The foolishness of mankind is that we do not do the same.


***

Chaliced Rome, fourteen, arrow shot, Haunt, east wall.

Son of Molly Freerange, father unknown, raised in the Haunt’s shadow.

So many arrows had missed him that Chaliced started to think they all would. He started to think Kelly’s warm kiss, the one she gave behind the stables, really would keep him safe. Even when the arrow came he thought it some kind of mistake. It didn’t look like an arrow, just black flights and an inch of wood standing from his chest. It hadn’t felt sharp, more like a punch. He reached to tug at it but his fingers were too cold to grip. Chaliced turned to ask Old Jorna and something hit him in the neck. 

To fall forty feet from wall-walk to courtyard flagstones takes almost no time, but starting to fall, those moments of imbalance, of flailing arms, of a foot finding nothing but air beneath it, they can take forever. 
Even falling Chaliced didn’t think he would die, or that he could die. Fourteen is too young for it. He wanted . . . too many things. One more kiss would do.

King of Thorns Fragment

Another fragment from the upcoming King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. 


Brother Row

Age set its hand on Brother Row and left him forever fifty, not wanting to touch him a second time. Grey, grizzled, lean, gristly, mean. That pale-eyed old man will bend and twist but never break. He’ll hold where the better man would fail beneath his load. The shortest of our number, rank and filthy, seamed with forgotten scars, often overlooked by men who had scant time to reflect on their mistake.  

King of Thorns Fragments 6

Gorgoth 


Gorgoth is like no other. There is no mould for the leucrota. Twisted by the Builders’ poisons they fall broken from the womb and follow strange paths as they grow. The ribs that pierce his flesh and reach from each side are black and thick, his hide more red than blood, and the muscle beneath surges as he moves. And though he is shaped for war and for horror, there are few men in Adam’s image whose approval would mean as much to me – and most of them lie dead.

King of Thorns fragment

Here's another teaser from Mark Lawrence.


"Martel Harris, twenty-three, sword blow. Blue Moon Valley, west of the Haunt. 


 Son of Martel and Hela, born above the Falling Angel’s barroom, Crath City, Ancrath. 


 Find something worth following and stick to it, son. Martel took his father’s advice along with his name, and both served him well. He followed into the Forest Watch, followed the Forest Watch into the Renar Highlands. He followed the son as he had the father. Just don’t put a foot wrong. Another gem of Harris the Elder’s wisdom. Martel put a foot wrong in Blue Moon Valley. You can’t follow on a turned ankle. He drew his sword and chose his spot amidst the broken rock. Kenna and Justin tried to stay with him. The first time anyone ever tried to follow Martel Harris. He saw them off with curses and threats. A tear ran hot on his cheek in the coldness of the wind. He watched the men of Arrow over the bright line of his blade. “I may have followed, but I wasn’t led.”"

King of Thorns - Fragments part 4

Publised on Mr. Lawrence's blog:


"Brother Makin has high ideals. If he kept to them, we would be enemies. If he nursed his failure, we would not be friends."


Makin was one of my favourites in Prince of Thorns. I can't wait!

Mark Lawrence - King of Thorns fragments 3

The third instalment of the little tasters of King of Thorns, the second book by Mark Lawrence.

Brother Grumlow

In the long ago, in the gentle days, Brother Grumlow carved wood, worked with saw and chisel. When hard times come carpenters are apt to get nailed to crosses. Grumlow took up the knife and learned to carve men. He looks soft, my brother of the blade, slight in build, light in colour, weak chin, sad eyes, all of him drooping like the moustache that hangs off his lip. Yet he has fast hands and no fear of a sharp edge. Come against him with just a dagger for company and he will cut you a new opinion.

I love this little leaks. 

In other news, I'm off on holiday from tomorrow until 27 February. It's time to recharge my batteries, play some golf and indulge too much in food and drink. 

Mark Lawrence: King of Thorns Fragments 2

Hello party people. Mark Lawrence, author of the frankly brilliant Prince of Thorns, is busy editing the next book, aptly titled King of Thorns. He thought it good to release the cut bits to the public, which is nice of him. These parts were meant to be fillers between the chapters, to show us some of humanity in his world. From his blog:

"Sorren Hammerson, seventeen, arrow shot. Tellan slopes, below the Haunt.

Son of William and Sereh, raised in Northdean, Renar.

The arrow pinned him to the moment, and Sorren fell, knowing that for all his life he and the arrow had been racing toward each other.

He fell. His head bounced once and his helm clattered away. A last breath left in a crimson spray of surprise. Sound faded, bowstrings thrummed into silence, the sky bright and wide, filled everything. He had wanted to be a farmer. He had wanted Milly Turner. The sky narrowed to the gleam of her hair. Narrowed again. Gone."

Mark Lawrence - King of Thorns Fragments

Via the blog of Mark Lawrence, we receive the first fragment from his upcoming novel, the second book in the Broken Empire series, The King of Thorns:

"Brother Kent

In the red ruin of battle Brother Kent oft looks to have stepped from hell. Though in another life he would have tilled his fields and died abed, mourned by grandchildren. In combat Red Kent possesses a clarity that terrifies and lays waste. In all else he is a man confused by his own contradictions – a killer’s instincts married to a farmer’s soul. Not tall, not broad, but packed solid and quick, wide cheekbones, dark eyes flat with murder, bitten lips, scarred hands, thick-fingered, loyalty and the need to be loyal written through him."

I cannot wait for this book. Prince of Thorns was one of my favourite reads of 2011. Come on August!

Prince of Thorns – Mark Lawrence

The Blurb: Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."

Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

This is the debut novel of Mark Lawrence. I’ve seen it on the 

shelves of bookstores and on Amazon for a while now, floating around my recommendation lists. I haven’t been that interested in it. The hooded man with sword cover has been done to death, and it sure as hell didn’t shout out to me “Read me, I’m awesome.” When the Best of 2011 lists started showing up and most had Prince of Thorns on it, I decided it should be worth my while.

Boy, am I lucky I listened to myself.

The setting of Prince of Thorns is a broken Empire, with everyone who has a claim competing for the throne. It’s been going on for generations, with no end in sight. The story is told from the viewpoint of Prince Jorg, who, when we meet him, leads a band of criminals and highwaymen on a spree of murder and mayhem. And all that at thirteen. They rape, pillage, murder and do all the dark deeds that could be thought off. Now Jorg as a thirteen year old bloodthirsty highwayman was a cause for me to pause and groan. I hate it when the hero is basically a teenager and he is the bestest and brightest in all that he does. He does impossible things on a regular basis in the book, and it almost spoiled it for me.

However, it all gets explained in quite a satisfactory way towards the end of the novel, which made me enjoy it a million times more.

The story is action packed, delivering fight scenes and normal conversation with fast pacing and a bit of insanity. The setting is one I quite enjoyed. It hasn’t been used to death and the setting alone promises to influence the way the story will unfold in the future. I won’t spoil it for you, but that alone is worth a read.

Jorg is a bastard, but the book is full of bastards and at least Jorg is a lovable bugger underneath all his faults and hurts. He even eats a heart, and I still like him.

There are magic in the world, but it isn’t the focus or that important in this novel. I’m sure that it will be included into the story a bit more in the next installment, but I didn’t miss it.

The only big faults with this book? Well, I don’t really care about the cover at all. And I wish I’ve read it sooner. That’s about it really.

Is it worth a read? Hell yes. 8/10