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obr 's review for:
King of Thorns
by Mark Lawrence
This feels like a two-parter more than your usual middle novel. It's a new episode in the sordid saga of Jorg Ancrath, throwing us into the action without context 4 years after the events of [b:Prince of Thorns|9579634|Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #1)|Mark Lawrence|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327917754l/9579634._SY75_.jpg|14466531], and just lets us wade our way through until we catch up. I'm no fan of the tossed in at the deep end approach coupled with the prologue that foretells the climax, but it pays off in the end.
Why a two-parter? Because it both has it's own main arc in the form of the present day narrative - Jorg being besieged by another potential ruler who wants to unite the Broken Empire - and picks up again from that one 4 years previously where a barely pubescent Jorg has just picked up his first crown. While one of these stories is resolved, the other... hangs. Ominously. I really like how the two narratives play off each other, giving us the knowledge from the past we need to understand present-Jorg's actions. But... It also doesn't. Not completely. Towards the end there are allusions to past events, but no answers. That and the still nebulous "magic" system. How did Jorg win that last victory? There's the actual action part, yes, but how he came to have it as his plan? Oh, you'll find out in Book 3. Hopefully.
He does also still get away with things far too easily. Oh, there's some terrible obstacle ahead against insurmountable odds and everyone's saying it's hopeless? Did I mention I have some magic/hidden soldiers/knowledge of goatherd traditions that conveniently saves us all? Dare I say this is all a bit Grimdrk Gary Stu? I mean yes, he's clever and all but it does get a little repetitive.
And there is one moment when poor Jorgy suffers a sudden memory loss. It is part of the story, but it left me very confused about what just happened. Characters reporting on things didn't really answer the questions, and the reveal at the end still left a big gap in what happened between the cut off point we read and the aftermath.
Regardless, it's another excellently interwoven story of utterly vile characters who have, thankfully, been tempered a little by age, experience, and a ton of introspection (you will get a lot of introspection from good old Jorgy - he has much to say). I really liked how we got to know more of Katherine and understand just how much of a dark mirror she is to Jorg. Their shared madness and obsession despite being apart is yet another part of the morbid fascination of this series. There haven't been many female characters who weren't seductresses or crones, so she and Jorg's tweenage bride are an interesting addition.
Yes, there's great deal of violence, but it seems,if anything, toned down after the shocking nature of the first book. Maybe it's down to long-term exposure if you're fresh out of reading the first, or the circumstances for it (being part of a war/siege rather than random wanton destruction). Again, it's perfunctory and matter-of-fact rather than relishing in the act. Jorg's narration is about how clever he is, not about wallowing in depravity. Sexual conduct, violent or otherwise, is only alluded to. It just shows that you don't have to go there to do shocking well in grimdark. There is however animal torture. It's there as part of the story, not as a random shock tactic, but it's hard to stomach.
The end was a bit of a frustration - how, Jorg, how can you not have shared this memory yet when you crow so much about everything else? - but I guess that's what they call a hook. I'm only glad to be reading this many years after the whole series had been published, the wait would have been impossible.
Why a two-parter? Because it both has it's own main arc in the form of the present day narrative - Jorg being besieged by another potential ruler who wants to unite the Broken Empire - and picks up again from that one 4 years previously where a barely pubescent Jorg has just picked up his first crown. While one of these stories is resolved, the other... hangs. Ominously. I really like how the two narratives play off each other, giving us the knowledge from the past we need to understand present-Jorg's actions. But... It also doesn't. Not completely. Towards the end there are allusions to past events, but no answers. That and the still nebulous "magic" system. How did Jorg win that last victory? There's the actual action part, yes, but how he came to have it as his plan? Oh, you'll find out in Book 3. Hopefully.
He does also still get away with things far too easily. Oh, there's some terrible obstacle ahead against insurmountable odds and everyone's saying it's hopeless? Did I mention I have some magic/hidden soldiers/knowledge of goatherd traditions that conveniently saves us all? Dare I say this is all a bit Grimdrk Gary Stu? I mean yes, he's clever and all but it does get a little repetitive.
And there is one moment when poor Jorgy suffers a sudden memory loss. It is part of the story, but it left me very confused about what just happened. Characters reporting on things didn't really answer the questions, and the reveal at the end still left a big gap in what happened between the cut off point we read and the aftermath.
Regardless, it's another excellently interwoven story of utterly vile characters who have, thankfully, been tempered a little by age, experience, and a ton of introspection (you will get a lot of introspection from good old Jorgy - he has much to say). I really liked how we got to know more of Katherine and understand just how much of a dark mirror she is to Jorg. Their shared madness and obsession despite being apart is yet another part of the morbid fascination of this series. There haven't been many female characters who weren't seductresses or crones, so she and Jorg's tweenage bride are an interesting addition.
Yes, there's great deal of violence, but it seems,if anything, toned down after the shocking nature of the first book. Maybe it's down to long-term exposure if you're fresh out of reading the first, or the circumstances for it (being part of a war/siege rather than random wanton destruction). Again, it's perfunctory and matter-of-fact rather than relishing in the act. Jorg's narration is about how clever he is, not about wallowing in depravity. Sexual conduct, violent or otherwise, is only alluded to. It just shows that you don't have to go there to do shocking well in grimdark. There is however animal torture. It's there as part of the story, not as a random shock tactic, but it's hard to stomach.
The end was a bit of a frustration - how, Jorg, how can you not have shared this memory yet when you crow so much about everything else? - but I guess that's what they call a hook. I'm only glad to be reading this many years after the whole series had been published, the wait would have been impossible.