Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the third book in The Broken Empire Series. Once again King Jorg has to defend his kingdom, but this time it’s against the Dead King and his undead army, and it’s not just Jorg’s kingdom at stake, but the whole empire.
The Cover: This is another a good cover for me. The image depicts a man, holding a crown above his head, a red cloak draping from his shoulder. We see him from behind, as he faces away, looking over a pile of dead bodies, still impaled by the swords that snuffed out their lives. The swords jut up, the hilts at the top, like crosses on graves. It matches well with the other covers in the series. The title in a large silver font and the author’s name in a white font, contrast well against the dark black/grey cover art and also align with the series. It screams dark fantasy/Grimdark and represents the story well.
The Good Stuff: Another solid fantasy novel by Mark Lawrence with a number of characters we have met before. When I started this series I didn’t like the main character much at all, but I have grown to like King Jorg of Ancrath and understand his character much better than before. He is still a murderous bastard, but that’s part of his charm. This final book in the series completes the story arc and has a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I am accustomed to this world now and the blend of modern tech and fantasy was expected, therefore it didn’t bother me this time around. A very enjoyable read if you like dark fantasy and grimdark novels as much I do.
The Bad Stuff: The 1st person POV did pull me out of the story a few times, I just don’t like 1st person. I found the ending a little confusing and think I will have to read it over to grasp what actually happened, but that could just be me. I may look at other reviews to see if anyone else has thought so. Other than that, I can’t think of much else to say in this segment – and that’s a good thing.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the series. It is a sound grimdark story with a strong fantasy feel. The story has continued on and developed well. Book 3 in the series is getting a dead walking, blood spraying, emperor making, 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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