Prince of Thornes by Mark Lawrence Book Review

 Prince of Thorns 

(Broken Empire #1)

By Mark Lawrence 

Published Year: 2011

Page Count: 375 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Mages, Magic, Gore, Psychological Thriller, 2026-read. 

Rating : 5/5

A boy of 10, bent on revenge for the murder of his mother and brother, gathers a band of thugs and marches forth. But his path is magically modified and we get to read his escapades and adventures for the next four years in first person narrative. 

A young prince of nine years old, Jorg witnesses his mother and younger brother being brutally murdered by the troops of Count Renar. The prince survived the attack because he is thrown into the briar bush with thorns and either fear or absence of bravery keeps him silent and rooted to his spot. The thorns embed under his skin, causing fevers that last for weeks. After he recovers, he collects a band of outlaws/misfits/thugs and goes on a ride for vengeance. Something suspicious happens and the prince becomes directionless. His band wanders, destroying and ravaging towns and villages while the prince secretly pines for revenge. Enroute, they find that his father is remarried and wants to be sure of his death. He goes home, makes a gift of a rival territory to his father and then awakens from a long induced trance through Blackmagic. Once he realizes what has been kept from him, he is unstoppable. He rides to battle with just one accomplice and brings victory to himself. A must fantasy read! 

This story is narrated by the main character, Jorg. I waited, waited, as I read, to find a flaw in the narrator's personality. I tried to gain a glimpse of weakness or kindness in him - of which there is not even an ounce. He takes on impossible odds and wins against all expectations. He starts out on a vengeance which gets translated into a cruise for unifying the broken Empire and becoming the emporer. He doesn't come off as an ambitious character, only ruthless and merciless. In a bid to keep himself untouched and unaffected, he kills everyone causing weakness in him. Especially those that are formed as a result of wanting human comfort and love and relationship. He would rather they die than cause him inconvenience or pull him back from his endeavor. What a strange character! Really came as a surprise. But despite his detachment, I can see how easily he forms attachments and how loyal these characters, his band of outlaws, become to him. Once, he had a shot of attaining heaven despite his sinful escapades for over four years, but he refuses to embrace the waiting and all forgiving angel. He chooses darkness, pride and his human life above it. With a desire to become like one of the necromancers he encounters on his wild journey, he eats the heart of one of them he kills. When he leads a band of two hundred against a castle equipped with nearly ten thousand, he manages to raze the castle into non existence, avoiding any unnecessary casualties on his side. He has a blind luck following him - he is being guided by either an angel or a devil. He understands the nature of the game of thrones that is being played when his father stabs him and condemns him to death. Truly remarkable how detached he is while narrating very painful aspects of human personality!

I am so very eager to see if he keeps his vow, making it a reality. He vowed to become a king by the age of fifteen and he has accomplished that. Now, on the final page of the narration, where he is signing off for more adventures and risks to come ahead, he vows to become the emperor by the age of twenty. Will he make it? Need to read the sequels to find out! For sure!!