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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated King of Thorns in Books

Nov 18, 2019

King of Thorns

Mark Lawrence | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.4

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

It won't be a surprise that in this book we find Jorg installed as king in his own right. It is also his wedding day. Rather inconventiently his castle is also about to be attacked by a huge army and he just doesn't have the troops to stop them.

The main story thread takes place over the day of the wedding and the battle to save his castle and kingdom. Any worries that Jorg has become soft in the years since the first book are swifly put aside as it's clear that with a proper army he can simply cause mayhem on a larger scale.

Like the first book there is also a 'flashback' story, again taking place four years previously, a year after he declared himself king. In this his journey takes him to other parts of the broken empire, showing more variety than the first book. There is also more use of arcane powers - for good and evil - and other adversaries join the story.

I thought the first book was excellent, if a little light on plot. This follow up is another notch up on the scale. The battle scenes are tenser, the plans even more desperate. The plot is now in full swing and moves nicely between the two story threads, events from four years previously having direct impact on the present.

We also find out more about The Builders and the world that Jorg inhabits, all of it totally fascinating, and once again Jorg is not above using the 'ancient' technology to further his ends.

The characterisation is better in this book, simply because more time is taken to flesh them out, but not at the expense of the speed of the story. Lawrence really is a natural story teller.

The plot twists and turns, and the reader is left guessing at each turn of the battle at what Jorg is going to do next and how he is going to win through the insurmountable odds stacked against him.

This really is an amazing book. I cannot recommend it highly enough.