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Emperor of Thorns: Book Review

I just finished reading Emperor of Thorns, which is the climactic novel in The Broken Empire trilogy. I pushed through all three of the books in the series, as I was rather captured by Jorg, the main character. (Even as other people are outright repulsed by him . . . I should probably mention that, lol.) This book follows up the last book two years down the line, while also following a timeline from five years in the past. Another inserted perspective is also thrown in, similar to Katharine's from the last book, though this is executed in a different way. The second plotline serves a similar function to the secondary plotlines in the last two books: filling in the information that the main plotline requires in order to progress. Basically, all of this funnels the story toward the climax, where Jorg looks to become the Emperor, with the added tension of the Dead King, as he approaches the capital and wants to consume the world by killing everything in it. No Spoilers I was really le...

King of Thorns: Book Review

I just finished reading King of Thorns, which is the second entry in The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. This book follows up on the first entry, continuing the plot lines with interesting point of view shifts that relate to how the original story was told. I will be spoiling the first entry of this series throughout, so click away if you want to avoid that. We last saw Jorg, the main protagonist, manage to capture the castle of Count Renar, with Jorg proclaiming himself King of the lands of Renar. There are two following plotlines, where we see what is more-or-less the immediate aftermath of Jorg's rise to power, and then see Jorg's place four years down the line. The back of the book fills in some of the details. Jorg is now surrounded by a multi-nation army, and they are almost certain to lose. Jorg is now forced to surrender or sacrifice many as he faces down the enemy in a live or die situation. Also, "Jorg," as I say, is actually pronounced as it is spel...

The Prince of Thorns: Book Review

I just finished reading The Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence. This is the first book in The Broken Empire trilogy, and it follows Prince Jorg Ancrath, a decidedly nasty protagonist who is about to return home after multiple years of raping and pillaging the landscape with his band of outlaws. You get a sense of the kind of character you are dealing with from the very first chapter, where Jorg steals, rapes, and kills people with his troupe of men for no reason but loot. And this is the crux of the book, the major selling point. Jorg is the most unlikeable character imaginable, treating everyone around him like they are pawns in his schemes. The cherry on top is that this story is told from the first-person perspective, giving the reader a close telling of his actions and psychology. Also, he just turned fourteen. No Spoilers Character I was drawn into this story from the very beginning. And I am happy to say that I was satisfied with the story throughout the course of the novel, and ...