Mark Lawrence

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)

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!

Savindi Jinasena

Synopsis: Four years have passed since Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath took the throne of Renar from his uncle and now the time has come for the young king to wed his beautiful bride. 

A Wedding is often seen as an occasion to celebrate; for Jorg it may not be so, the Prince Of Arrow, a champion of the people stands outside the Haunt with an army of twenty-thousand soldiers, waiting for the king to surrender. The once young boy, now a king is all too familiar with those who pull the strings behind the scenes in the Hundred Year War and he is not about to bow down to the Prince of Arrow. One thing Jorg does not like is to be controlled.

Will the Prince Of Arrow thwart Jorg’s plan to become Emperor? Will the King Of Renar stand his ground and win the most important battle against a worthy adversary? Then again, Jorg has never been one to play by the rules… 

Cover Gushing Worthiness:I have to say that I’m fast becoming a fan of Jason Chan’s artwork. I think the cover illustrations are sharp and vivid. I especially like the contrast of colours. That being said I have to say that I prefer the UK Cover of King Of Thorns over the U.S. one. I’m not fond of the white background in the U.S. edition.

I won a signed copy of King Of Thorns courtesy of Goodreads. In all honesty I didn’t expect to win the book considering that more than 3000 people had entered the Giveaway. I had also pre-ordered the book just to be on the safe side. So I’m sure you can imagine my reaction when I got the email which said that I’d won the book! So thank you to Goodreads and to Mark Lawrence for hosting the giveaway!

Those of you, who are regular visitors to The Streetlight Reader may know that I’m obsessed with The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence. I’ve practically talked about Jorg in so many of my Top Ten Tuesday posts and you’re probably getting tired of hearing about him. But I just can’t help it. After The Enchantress, King Of Thorns is probably the book that I’ve been looking forward to reading the most this Summer. 

A lot of reviews for King Of Thorns have pointed out that this is a VERY different book in comparison to its predecessor and I have to agree. For one thing there are different story points which include: Wedding Day, Four Years Earlier and the Journal entries of Katherine who is Jorg’s Step-Aunt and Love interest. One reviewer on Goodreads remarked that she got frustrated with all the different story lines and that she wanted to put the book down. I have to say that I agree with her because I found myself not knowing how to feel about this book. I think it was because of how different it was to Prince Of Thorns. However I’m so glad that I didn’t put the book down!

The plot of King Of Thorns is a lot more complex than the first book in the trilogy, simply because Jorg is older and the flashbacks that take place look at Jorg’s journey from the mere boy of fourteen who took the Haunt to the man who is about to wed the young princess Miana, while thinking of how to defend the Renar Highlands from the Prince of Arrow. Approximately the first third of the book is devoted to developing the plot and it jumps between Jorg’s Wedding Day and Four years earlier and Katherine’s Diary entries. All these points of view are welcome additions, however what I noticed was that it slowed the pace of the story which was why I felt like putting the book down. I shouldn't have worried because the story picks up the pace and I understand why Lawrence wrote the book that way. Also the world building in this book is important and I enjoyed it a great deal. As I said in my review of Prince Of Thorns, this is the first time I’ve seen a book incorporate a post-apocalyptic world and fantasy in a successful manner. The world building in this book showed the growth of Lawrence as a writer and I can’t wait to learn more about the empire in the final installment of the series. 

As for the characters, there’s a lot more development in this book. I still adore Jorg and for me it was definitely interesting to see a more human side of him if you will. I know, it’s strange to associate the word ‘human’ with a character like Jorg considering that he does some of the most vile and horrible things. But I think that’s where Lawrence’s talents lie; in creating such a compelling character that you know you should loathe, but you come to empathize with him after learning more about his childhood and family. In an essence Jorg has matured, though he is still is the same character who charmed us with his tactical brilliance, intelligence and thirst for revenge, I enjoy the struggle Jorg has within himself for the emotions he feels four years later in life in comparison to when he was fourteen years old.

I especially liked Katherine’s journal entries. I like her as a character because we get to see Jorg from a normal person’s perspective since she is one outsider who has caught the attention of Jorg despite her absolute hatred for him. I also like the underlying tension between these two characters. I appreciated Katherine’s honesty in her journal entries. She says what needs to be said and I thought it was interesting that she somehow feels that here is a hidden power pulling the strings and I’m looking forward to seeing how that plot line will develop.

As for the other lady in Jorg’s life; his new Queen Miana…it’s hard to say what to feel with her because we see very little of her and even in the end it’s still not much to go on. She is definitely a smart and strong woman, however I can’t help but root for Jorg and Katherine.

The Brothers are still present in this book. I liked Makin’s character development in King Of Thorns. It was a welcome addition in comparison to the last book. You can see that Makin cares for Jorg and wants what is best for him. But he let’s Jorg do his own thing and neither does he condone or condemn the young king’s actions. As for the other Brothers I don’t think we see enough of them to really have a strong opinion. I mean Rike is just as violent as he was in the first book, if not more.

Lastly, one of my favourite parts of the book was meeting Jorg’s extended family from his mother’s side. This was a welcome addition to the story because I did wonder if we’d get to meet them at some point. While we didn’t see a lot of them, what I saw I enjoyed reading and I hope there might be some more flashbacks which show some interaction between Jorg and Queen Rowan.

Overall, despite its slow start, King Of Thorns was an amazing read. The plot twists, the characters, the world, everything was brilliant. I really don’t think I have enough adjectives to describe how great this book is. I know this book may not be everyone’s cup of tea after reading Prince Of Thorns but please don’t let the slow beginning stop you from enjoying the story!

I want to share the quote Mark wrote in my copy of King Of Thorns with you. Thank You Mark for the signed copies!

Wheels within wheels, worlds within worlds, possibilities without end. I am Jorg of Ancrath – I burned ten thousand in Gelleth and didn’t think it too many.

My Rating: 5/5

Would I recommend it? Absolutely

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.

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...

King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 2)

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