A review by sgbrux
Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

4.0

You would think it best to save your breath for running, but I often find screaming helps.

Meet Prince Jalan Kendeth: liar, cheater, shameless coward, and tenth in line for the Red March throne. The story kicks off with a couple comical pursuits that find our bumbling hero in one stinking pile of shit. In fact, countless ridiculous situations this man lands in will leave you in tight stitches.

This is one of the most unique stories in that I doubt I'll ever read another first-person POV of a protagonist who is so unapologetically selfish and anti-hero. This perspective gives the reader hilarious dialogue and internalizations, but honestly, I think Jal's approach to the world is more representative of human behavior than most would be willing to admit.

But that's just my two cents.

The story begins in Roma with a couple of hot pursuits because Jal is a serial seducer and a gambler dangerously behind on paying his debts. If you've read Broken Empire, his grandmother is the Red Queen who makes a brief appearance in Emperor, and in Fools, her agenda is to deal with the rising problem of the Unborn, to the north. This books gives us a gladiator-style fighting pit scene that is a blast to read, plus highly destructive rune magic involving a mysterious crone who appeared alongside the Red Queen in Broken Empire. There's a bit of mystery involving who this crone is and what her intentions are, which is revealed as the story progresses.

We're also given a second key character, a northman named Snorri, who is out for blood in his quest to exact vengeance on a group of traitorous northmen and the Unborn. His scenes and dialogue are exciting to read—he's the opposite of Jal in antics and stature—and the juxtaposition of Snorri and Prince Jalan creates such an entertaining read.

Other elements I enjoyed: the Jorg Ancrath, Makin, and other roadbrother cameos, references to Chella and the Dead King, action scenes (a total blast), overall dialogue, and the Snorri flashbacks. These latter were so visceral I actually cried a couple of times.

As far as authors go, Mark Lawrence has become one of my all-time favorites. Underneath the witty dialogue and bloody fight scenes, there is so much poignance and depth to his writing that I'm often left speechless and ruminating on the ideas. Prince of Fools did not disappoint me there.

I'm a reader who prefers character over plot most times. My only qualm with Fools is that although the characters were incredibly compelling, the plot for this book was simple and a little predictable from the beginning. I was anticipating the end for the greater part of the 350+ pages, which made the pacing feel slow at times, especially when our dynamic duo was on the road or in the freezing north.

Side note: if you love Norse/Viking-set stories, I think you'll really enjoy this one.

I still prefer Prince of Thorns to this installment, but I'll definitely be reading on in the Red Queen's War trilogy to see what shakes out with the greater conflicts. Lawrence has a knack for always surprising me, and I fully expect the next two books to do just that. Looking forward to it.

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Favorite quotes:

"When you run out of screaming during a fall, you know that you've dropped way too far."

"Most of what a man is has been written by the time his beard starts to prickle. A babe is made of maybes. There are few crimes worse than the ending of something before its time."

"'Some lost things can be found again and some can't.' He broke off his explanation, seeing in his daughter's eyes the exact moment that a child first understands there are limits on what her parents can do, rather than just limits on what they choose to do."

"We all practice deception to a degree; no man can handle complete honesty without being cut at each turn. There's not enough room in a man's head for sanity alongside each grief, each worry, each terror that he owns."

"I've always felt that the placement of a man's testicles is an eloquent argument against intelligent design."

"And that's how it is in this world, boy. Start a tale, just a little tale that should fade and die—take your eye off it for just a moment and when you turn back it's grown big enough to grab you up in its teeth and shake you."

"Sometimes our worst fears aren't realized—though in my experience it's only to make room for the fears our imagination was insufficient to house."