King of Thorns (The Broken Empire Book 2)

A wonderful world; a carefully crafted, dystopian Earth in the far future, where the laws of physics have been altered to bring magic into the world. Muddy, bloody, raw and beautifully written. A 'hero'(???) I could empathise with, care for and hate in the same book. Well worth the read.

Second book, you will love Jorg, hes crazy, hes mad, hes bad, hes smart; the book goes off a little with that damn memory flashback, and I had to re-read those parts sometimes for remembering the parts. Overall, great book, felt in love with Mark Lawrance work, will start the third book soon.

It started a bit disjointed, but once the jumping back and forth between timelines establishes itself, the story weaves together and it gets great. One part epic journey (Homeric even) and one part epic battle, it culminates in both a satisfying ending as well as a new chapter.

Fast moving, engaging, pulpy, and gritty. While I do enjoy the slower fantasy from authors like Robin Hobb, this book and series in general is a refreshing shift toward fast paced action without sacrificing an engaging and suspenseful plot. You hate to root for the main character since he seems to have a devil on both shoulders, but he's just too clever, driven, and dynamic not to. Awesome read!

The second book kept me turning the pages as quick as the first. I actually liked this book better, as there was a bit more originality to it. The story line was good, compelling, mysterious. Any author that can make a grown man cry over a dog is doing a good job. I liked the exploration of the "builders" culture. Also, I felt this book was much more emotional and introspective than the other one. Jorg is still bloodthirsty, but he has regrets, the pea of a conscience is starting to form, and he actually helps others out, even if not always for the right reasons. I really liked the way his character progressed. Jorg's wife was a nice addition.

Things I didn't like:
1. I like the post-apocalyptic setting, but found it quite odd that every culture reverted back to concepts and naming conventions from 2000 years ago (book time).
2. I still did not come away with a good view of "the brothers". They just seemed there. Rike is big; Sim is a gay musical assassin; Makin is the trusty side-kick...thats about it.
3. I found Jorg's "magical powers" a bit contrived and everything too convenient.
4. Too much of the middle of the book seemed to be aimless wandering.
5. The Katherine chapters were rather boring and could have been left out IMHO. I wonder if they were inserted due to some criticism of the last book lacking strong female characters.

All in all, another good read. Can't wait to finish the series.

So very rarely can an author pull off what Lawrence did in this book and in the series so far for that matter. Of course, if you have read the previous novel Prince of Thorns than you are familiar with the first feat of literary brilliance. Jorg (the main character) is despicable and morally corrupt. Having said this about Jorg, I will admit that I think he is fantastic and likeable. How is it possible to accept a character that will commit almost any act to win the game? It comes down to brilliant writing. The first person narrative is partly how Lawrence succeeds in making Jorg acceptable, if not likeable. We are able to see the brilliance of Jorg through witnessing his poetic inner dialogue. There are several passages that I highlighted for the philosophical merit in the description and reflection Jorg regularly produces. I will grant that in this book Jorg has been tamed a bit. He commits less atrocities here and you get a glimpse of a heart buried somewhere in his depths. He does have tiny shards of regret and a few specks of conscience that show through the novel.

It is refreshing that Lawrence does not turn Jorg into someone who "has learned his lesson" or "redeems himself". This is the same Jorg who would do almost anything to win but you can see a tempering of his impulses as he grows up. It also goes a long way in convincing the audience to accept an anti hero if he is clever and Jorg is one clever kid. He still flies by the seat of his pants to succeed when facing insurmountable odds but in King of Thorns he has learned the value of planning. His impulsiveness is still monumental but we get a more wizened perspective as he approaches conflict.

The second literary feat was pulling off a plot twist that absolutely no one would have seen coming. I pride myself on getting it right when I guess at what is actually going on or what will end up happening. This is one of only two books that have completely knocked me off my feat with the "blind reveal" as some people call it where the character knows the secret but the audience is kept in the dark. The other book that accomplished this brilliantly was The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks.

The King of Thorns pacing is a little slow in some parts, unlike the first book. The reverse chronology timeline is used as it was in Prince of Thorns but here it drags somewhat. We want to stay in the action packed part of the story but are continually pulled out of it and brought back to a slower paced part of his story. It is effective, however, in relating how events played out so we get a full grip on who Jorg has become in the four years after Prince of Thorns took place. It is a great way of setting up the suspense in the conclusion and it is a conclusion that you do not want to miss.

Another great thing about the Broken Kingdom series so far is that, even though it is three novels long, the main conflict introduced in each book gets resolved fully so you are satisfied. Cliffhangers are becoming more and more the thing in writing now days. I think that this is either a sign of bad writing or a ploy to make money. There is no reason why an author cannot tell a complete story with each book in a series.

Overall it is just a genius piece of work that deserves a spot on the top twenty list for best fantasy of all time. I am assuming that most readers are familiar with Jorg from Prince of Thorns so the one impediment to satisfaction (Jorg being an amoral character) is not a problem for you. This was the singular complaint that garnered some bad reviews of Prince of Thorns and if you are easily offended than you may not appreciate this book. It is extremely refreshing to read about such an interesting character while cringing at many of his choices. I confess I was rooting for him to succeed at any cost. I have to admit that one of the reasons I love Jorg is because he is so awesomely wicked and unapologetic. He may become one of my favorite characters of all time.

For those who loved The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks this series is a must.

So, just when you think that epic battles are just between good and evil, this author makes one also consider other things: what's alive and what's not, what's past and whether it will stay there; who we ally with and why; what we do of our own accord and what we might be unknowingly doing for someone else, how to change game so the rules don't matter. The protagonist in this tale is as complex as characters get, but the author unravels his story carefully such that we can become quite comfortable with him. He is consistent, but not necessarily predictable. What is special to me about Jorg's struggle with himself is that it makes us stop and consider that we each could be "greater" than we are, but for the parts of us that we choose to leave tucked away. There some very eloquently written lines in these books (Prince and King) that I will remember forever, as they are now "painted" on a different canvas. I hope that every reader would find these jewels too and perhaps many that I was too dim to catch. Great story, and told in a way that leaves me feeling it is complete.

Great writing, very unique take on a familiar Genre. Cant put these books down, very compelling. I'm close to finishing "Emperor" ,the third book in the Trilogy and I am already sad that this adventure is coming to an end!

Mark Lawrence has one of the most enjoyable writing styles I've ever read. He combines the clipped masculinity of Hemingway with the heart of a poet, and the result pure reading pleasure. This would be a five star review if King of Thorns hadn't taken our anti-hero Jorg on a wandering quest in the middle of the book where the story line sagged a bit. Having said that, I'll read anything this author writes based purely on the enjoy-ability of his prose. Good Book. Buy it.

Every Summer vacation the last few years, I've searched out a gritty fantasy and read everything from whatever author I could find ... it Glen Cook's Black Company kept me company one year, then Joe Abercrombie's world ... I've started a couple of other author's that seemed similar from reviews I read but those books fell flat. I read POT, KOT and EOT in less than a week .... it is both mindless and deep thinking fantasy at once ..... I would be hard pressed to rank Lawrence against Cook and Abercrombie because in my mind it is a 3-way tie.

Ingenous plot which makes you want to keep reading to find out how things play out, many things left unsaid which keeps you wondering what happened in the past and so many aspects of the main character leave you questioning his sanity or it's world's.

A great read.

Lawrence proves by this book that he is a fantasy author to rival Martin, Tolkien, or Eddings. His world is masterfully drawn and his characters mesmerizing. A writer to watch, to learn from, to emulate.

Lawrence's second Thorns novel is a fine successor to the excellent Prince of Thorns. It is dark and gritty, and even if you dislike the protagonist Jorg, you have to agree he is a fascinating character. The book is essentially two stories, broken into two different time periods, yet the stories mesh quite well and in surprising ways. It is an extremely compelling book and the ending is very satisfying. The forces allied against Jorg are great and you will be on the edge of your seat awaiting the outcome. This is a well written book, and might even be better than the first book. But I highly recommend that you read them both, and I am eager for the final book in this trilogy.

... Clearly, they have never met Jorg.

What to say about this series? The character evolves, but never as much as you want him to. You want to see him as the typical fantasy hero. He is not. And is unapologetic about it. There are themes explored, but they aren't in your face. They creep up on you while you are taking a shower.

The prose, my god, the prose. Brutal and beautiful, descriptive and devastating.

What Mark Lawrence started in Prince of Thorns reaches new heights in the second book of The Broken Empire trilogy. I cannot heap enough praise onto this book. It has excellent pacing, satisfying payoffs, complex characters, twists that turn the traditional hero story on its head, and an all around entertaining story. I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite books, ever.

The world of the Broken Empire is wonderfully weird and has grabbed and held me like the the thorns that have created such a character like Jorg Ancrath. Looking forward to the the next book. The violence in this series may be too much for some.

Quick, smart, difficult to put down. With enough glimpses behind the curtain leaving you sad there isn't more(no spoilers there!). Only real knock I have on the book, or the series for that matter, is Jorg's age: I've decided to blame it on Lawrence's editors - c'mon guys, earn your money.

I stopped writing reviews because they seamed to get rejected for some reason or another.
I don't go into the story of the book in my reviews just if I liked them or not, but after reading the king of Thorns I had to try again.
This book is good. A true 5 stars. The characters are flawed and believable, you care about them, aren't always good and the bad guys aren't always bad, its just one big mess of great characters.
There are greats quotes, constantly making you stop and reread them .
You once again remember what makes you like to read in the first place. Every sentence, paragraph, and chapter, you savor and stop to pause and muse over the meaning.
I recommend this book highly for those who like books with a war, brotherly, and fantasy themes. Good reading, Raven.

I've loved this book series so much. The characters are dark but not inhuman or unrealistic. There is also a real sense of jeopardy for most of the characters, giving the reader a true sense of carnig about what happens. Out of the entirety of the series I would say this book is the weakest, but that doesn't mean it's a weak book on it's own. 5/7

I reviewed "Prince of Thorns" earlier. "King of Thorns" grabbed me in the same way. Unfortunately we have to wait until August(?) for "Emperor".

Lawrence is gifted, his work is highly immersive and immediate. Great stuff.

This series has really taken the things I liked about The Black Company and the Game of Thrones and Apocalypse Now then added in a coming-of-age timeline for the protagonist, but without doing so in the same corny and cliche training montage methods that one would expect in this genre. This second book has a non-linear timeline to many of the events, which is confusing at first, but eventually becomes a rather important feature to the plot. There's a certain poetic nature to the way this is written which really puts scenes into the mind's eye in a very visceral manner. It's not forgettable and will always be one of my all time favorite book series. I hope there's a 3rd.

This book series is better than crack.

With this series you start with the prince of thorns.
The narrative of which is slightly childish but fitting because its from the 14 year old Jorgs' perspective.
The book is still a phenominal anti-social personality disorder charactor study that doesn't fail to entertain with ample twists and turns.
It is alsk a fantastic distopia that takes place in the distant future when now is just an ancient memory.
It lifts you up and lets you know you want more.

In my experience when something is as great with their first shot as this you chase the dragon and get very let down with a lacluater experience.

This is very much not the case with King of Thorns.
The bad/good guy starts to discover insights and feelings while still being relentless and ruthless.
the narrative takes on many more perspectives, there is also a neat device thrown in so his plans hatch without even him knowing what they are, even thouh he previously planned them.

There ate great new charactors and a strong sense of cohesiveness even though the story line is all over the place.

After all that and my decided love for the book all I can think about is how the hell I can actually wait for the next book in the Series.

Please write just write I'll give you some cheeseburgers man I need this book!

I applaud Mark Lawrence for this so well written, complex and compelling work. Fantasy? Yes, or sort of until things begin to unfold and the puzzle begins to take more shape. As you read you will get little familiar pings in your brain, and you move forward knowing that things will hang together, but when? This chapter? The next one? It's all up to you of course, and how well you make the connections. And you will get there. Mark Lawrence is a superb writer. Reading Mark Lawrence is like watching a movie. His words are so well chosen, like a fine point pen sketching the images in your mind. Can't wait to read Emperor of Thorns, and I know I will miss every character once it is done. Thank you Mark Lawrence!