Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


For the untold billions that have been desperately awaiting to hear some review or other from me, I apologise in the delay; I have been busy with far less important tasks than reading. Anyway, to the matter at hand.

[insert slow clap here] This book was fantastic. Easily the best of the three in the series, and, despite the length of it, the one I imagine I finished the quickest. Aptly bloody and with enough surprises in it to keep me hooked, this third leg of young Jorgy's journey through empire is one of the better things I've read for some time.

Jorg's character was developed masterfully, and the flashbacks and alternate POV throughout were flitted between smoothly, and gave the whole thing a very well-rounded feel.

However, and I am reluctant to add this 'however', the ending fell short of the build up. While I had guessed the twist at the end, that was not the disappointing part of it. As I neared the last few chapters I was unsure of how Lawrence was going to end it all, and, while I cannot think of a better way in which to finish this series, to me it felt somewhat rushed, and lacked the power of the rest of the novel.

But that was all that let it down. An easy four stars and a highly recommended read for anyone.



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