King of Thorns

by Mark Lawrence

hardcover

Published Aug. 23, 2012 by Harper Voyager.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-743903-4

(58 reviews)

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 …

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...

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...

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!