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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
My god, I thought I was going to hate this book. But oh! Lord I was so wrong. At first the book didn't click with me but after 70-80 pages it all starts to come together and make sense and it becomes a hell lot more interesting.
This book continues to follow the journey of Jorg of Ancrath to the emperor's throne with new and old enemies lurking and trying to kill him and remove him from the board.
Again this book also has two different timelines, first at present and then four years earlier that explains what and from where his allies come at the single present day going in the whole book.
This book as before was also good at action and bloody and firey I would say.
This book continues to follow the journey of Jorg of Ancrath to the emperor's throne with new and old enemies lurking and trying to kill him and remove him from the board.
Again this book also has two different timelines, first at present and then four years earlier that explains what and from where his allies come at the single present day going in the whole book.
This book as before was also good at action and bloody and firey I would say.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Jorg Ancrath is one of the most horrible protagonists I’ve ever followed—and yet I couldn’t look away. He is cruel, arrogant, and ruthless, leaving destruction in his wake. There are moments where he’s so unapologetically awful that I wanted to throw the book across the room. And that’s exactly the point: Mark Lawrence doesn’t soften Jorg. If anything, in this second installment, he digs deeper into the trauma and twisted logic that make him the monster he is.
This book is darker and more ambitious than Prince of Thorns. The dual timelines—Jorg as a young king defending his castle and Jorg in flashbacks reliving the journey that shaped him—add depth and tension. You’re constantly aware of how his past scars and choices bleed into his present. The political maneuvering and brutal battles keep the stakes high, and Lawrence knows how to pull the rug out from under you with shocking twists.
The writing is sharp and often brutally beautiful. There are passages that made me stop and reread just because of how starkly they captured pain, ambition, or cruelty. Lawrence balances bleakness with flashes of dark humor, though the overall tone remains unflinching and grim.
But make no mistake: Jorg is still awful. He kills, manipulates, and betrays without remorse. He’s not an antihero you “root for”—he’s one you endure, trying to understand, even as you recoil from his choices. That makes this series hard to recommend for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach the darkness, it’s a fascinating exploration of power, morality, and whether someone so broken can ever change.
King of Thorns left me unsettled, impressed, and more than a little haunted. It’s not a comfortable read—but it is a powerful one.
Too many references to and casual acceptance of sexual assault. Then stopped reading at a flashback that included cruelty to an animal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Sexual assault
Ngl something about my current mental headspace or the writing or the story or something is creating a level of separation between me and the work to where it's difficult for me to fully absorb the story. I'm gonna put it down to something going on with me, bc I've read this author's work before and really enjoyed it.
That all said, I'm kind of obsessed with Jorg (Georg 😩😩😩). He's terrible, I don't like him, I'm not even really rooting for him, but at the same time I AM. Like I want him to fail, but I also want him to beat everyone else bc they are also terrible. I love his relationship with Macon. He's such a fucking teenage boy it's ridiculous.
I find the world really interesting, as well, particularly the glimpses we get into this far off future reality and how our current tech has survived and is used at that time. I kind of wish we explored mroe deeply into that, but I think it's more of an interesting side bit in this series that the MC can use as a deus ex machina. I also like how the story is set up, with two different timelines, and seeing how the events of 4 years ago impacted and shaped the events that happen in the present.
That all said, I'm kind of obsessed with Jorg (Georg 😩😩😩). He's terrible, I don't like him, I'm not even really rooting for him, but at the same time I AM. Like I want him to fail, but I also want him to beat everyone else bc they are also terrible. I love his relationship with Macon. He's such a fucking teenage boy it's ridiculous.
I find the world really interesting, as well, particularly the glimpses we get into this far off future reality and how our current tech has survived and is used at that time. I kind of wish we explored mroe deeply into that, but I think it's more of an interesting side bit in this series that the MC can use as a deus ex machina. I also like how the story is set up, with two different timelines, and seeing how the events of 4 years ago impacted and shaped the events that happen in the present.
dark
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Better than the first, with a nice plottwist at the end.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The dual timeline structure really worked for me, giving great depth to Jorg's character while maintaining that ruthless edge that makes him so compelling. The ending flooded me.