Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!  Yes, I finally finished this book and this series.  I vowed that I would finish it before I allowed myself to even think of reading something else.  And it was a slog, let me tell you.  The first book in the series was fascinating, intriguing, full of interesting characters full of flaws and quirks.  The second... well, it got off track a lot, I thought and I had a helluva time following all the time jumping.  This final book, which I was hoping would return to the plusses of the first, sadly, was the hardest of all to get through.  

 

I guess, in the end, I just didn't get the point.  The writing itself is good. Mark Lawrence can turn a phrase.  And I enjoyed all the references to the pre-apocalyptic world, some of the pop culture that remained in very oblique ways.  There was a big deal made about the archway entrance to the big city, and I felt that I should have known what monument it was, but I assume it was European and sadly, North-American me is probably not as knowledgeable as I should be about those types of things.

 

Was this the story about Jorg's journey from child to young man and how the choices he made were preordained?  Was the story about removing magic from this world?  Did the world blow up in the end?  Was it another apocalypse?  Or did it all take place in Jorg's head?  I sincerely don't know... and to be honest... by the end... I didn't really care.  I'm all for dark fantasy books - God knows, I love CS Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy, but usually there are a few bright spots, positive things in the narrative... somewhere so that the story isn't totally bleak and unforgiving.  Sadly I couldn't find them here.  

 

I wanted to love this trilogy and it started off so well, but sadly, in the end, I didn't.  

Dragons & Jetpacks Fantasy Book of the Month, October 2013

The second installment in The Broken Empire serie was even better than the first one. I liked how the main character grown up - a little, but still. I'll repeat myself - it was fun. Can't wait for the last part. Is it August yet?

Synopsis:Honorous Jorg Ancrath has never exactly wanted to be a mere king but, as a mountainous strip of land falls into his hands he takes the crown and never looks back. A future emperor has to know his priorities, right? One step at a time...Currently, in order to clear the path to his empire, he must defeat two Princes of Arrow, brothers Orrin and Egan. Many prophecies declare that a Prince of Arrow will be the next Emperor; the fact that one of the brothers marries Katherine of Scorron, Jorg's beloved, only adds to his determination.Meanwhile Jorg himself has to marry for political reasons - without allies even he can't dream of keeping his modest crown for long. He is surrounded by enemies, visible and invisible ones; one of them, Sageous, can even invade his dreams. Finally faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. Fortunately playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan.What will happen during King Jorg's wedding day battle? Something spectacular, you might be sure of it.What I liked:I am glad to say young Jorg has matured a lot in the second installment. Compared to the previous part he is positively mellow. Not that he's become a nice, flawless hero of course, but, compared to his previous self, that of a deranged, murderous child, there was noticeable improvement.There were several clever scenes in this book, most of them involving the clash of the "new-old" technology (like a nice Colt gun or a watch) with medieval artefacts. One of them reminded me strongly of Indiana Jones movies and therefore made me smile.After reading this one I admit I am even more curious what happened to the Builders and why the humankind had to return to the level straight from the Middle Ages when it comes to material culture. Oh and little Miana, Jorg's betrothed, is an interesting creature.What I didn't like:I admit the whole story lost a bit of momentum. Constant jumps forward and backward in the plot line were a bit bothersome, especially at the beginning, before you get into the rythm of the narration.Also the POV of Katherine was, in my humble opinion, not such a great idea; in most of her diary entries the girl simply didn't have anything important to say and when she finally did, she disappeared most probably killed during the big blaze which consumed the Prince of Arrow's army. I hope she will stay absent - she was getting annoying with her "I-hate-Jorg-I-love-hating-Jorg-so-much-that-I-almost-love-him" soliloquy.Final verdict:Not bad continuation of an interesting series but I found it weaker than the first part. Well, the ending will be decisive.

If you’ve read Mark Lawrence’s Prince of Thorns, you’ll pick up King of Thorns for one of two reasons. The first is because you’re fascinated by Honorous Jorg Ancrath, beloved child turned merciless killer bent on vengeance and destruction. He’s King now, but life hasn’t gotten any easier. This is war, after all – and one he’d started. Now he’ll have to finish it, however he can.The second reason you’ll pick this up is for Mark’s storytelling. King of Thorns is much darker and more bloody than Prince of Thorns, and completely unapologetic about it. Jorg’s life is equal parts smarts and luck, and the events here bear that out.I’ll admit it took me a while to get used to the cadence of the story, which alternates between events in the past and the current day. But once I did, its rhythm was almost a soothing counterpoint to the bloody chaos flying around… Jorg has grown up, and – dare I say it? – may even have picked up a sense of responsibility at some point. Not that he’s in line for a Boy Scout badge; he still exudes some of the selfish child bent on revenge that he was in Prince of Thorns; he still oscillates between childish bouts of temper and bursts of brilliant cunning.Jorg is a large part of what makes this a compelling read. And now I’m done with King of Thorns, I am anxiously waiting to see where Mark Lawrence takes Jorg – and us – next.drey’s rating: Excellent!