King Of Thorns

by Mark Lawrence

Paperback, 419 pages

English language

Published Sept. 5, 2013 by Ace Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-425-25623-7

(60 reviews)

In Book One of the Broken Empire, Mark Lawrence brought to life the "morbidly gripping" ("Publishers Weekly") story of a boy in search of power and vengeance. Now, in "King of Thorns," that boy's journey into manhood takes him to the dark depths waiting within his soul...

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 fulfil that vow. Now he is eighteen--and he must hold on by strength of arms to what he took by torture and treachery.

The boy who would be King has gained the throne...

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.

6 editions

Sean Gursky reviewed King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken empire, #2)

Review of 'King of Thorns' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

But I'm not him. I'm not him because we die a little every day and by degrees we're reborn into different men, older men in the same clothes, with the same scars.

I enjoyed King of Thorns but I realized I wasn't invested enough in the story to finish it. I liked the story telling method going between the "four years earlier" and current timeline, the grim characters but ultimately the story failed to grab me. With my attention wandering I thought about other books to read and once that happened I found it more difficult to convince myself to continue with the series.

When I think back on how I felt while reading Riyria Revelations I would make additional time in my day to read it and I thought about the book when I wasn't reading it. With a To Read list closing in on 100 books I feel like it was the right choice to abandon The Broken Empire.

Unfortunately this means this is my second Mark Lawrence series where I stopped two thirds of the way through (Red Queen's War being the other). I won't let this deter me as I am curious about Book of the Ancestor and will make that a top priority after I finish my next series (The Dragon Songs Saga).

TimMason reviewed King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken empire, #2)

Review of 'King of Thorns' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The second volume allows us to glimpse more of the workings of the world, and also brings Jorg's wounds, particularly visible in his dealings with his aunt, more clearly into view.

matt reviewed King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken empire, #2)

Review of 'King of thorns' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The multiple timeline / story perspective device didn't work for me, but it more or less came together near the end. The (literal?) deus-ex-machina resolutions to problems that Jorg is able to come up with are a little anti-climatic, but it's not a big deal. It's the Jorg show through and through and he remains a fun protagonist.

RxBrad reviewed King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken empire, #2)

Review of 'King of thorns' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

After the events of the first book, Jorg isn't nearly as horrible of a person. He's definitely no saint, but it's at least a little easier to not want him to die around every corner of the plot.

Also, Justice. Damn.

TimmyMac reviewed King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken empire, #2)

Review of 'King of thorns' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Honestly, I would give this 4.5 stars, since I gave the first book 4 stars and enjoyed this book more, though it's not quite perfect. Telling the story in three parts (current, flashback, hidden in the box) was ambitious, and for me, worked really well. Some of the Builders' stuff struck me as a little deus ex machina-y, but just a little. All in all, a really, really good book. Can't wait to read #3!