"A kiss had woken me and I'd found, as we so often do, that the world had moved on without me. And that's the riddle of existence for you. When to move and when to stay. Dwell too long and we become the prisoner of our dreams, or someone else's. Move too fast, live without pause, and you'll miss it all, your whole life a blur of doing. Good lives are built of moments - of times when we step back and truly see. The dream and the dreamer. There's the rub. Does the dream ever let go? Aren't we all only sleepwalking into old age, just waiting, waiting, waiting for that kiss?"
I've been putting off reading this after I preordered it because I didn't want to be done, fully done, with the Broken Empire universe. It's no secret that I am a massive fan of Mark Lawrence & his brilliant writing! You've probably heard me raving from the rooftops at one point or another!
Road Brothers consisted of fourteen stories focuses on the glorious misfit motley crew from the world of the Broken Empire. To revisit my beloved Jorg throughout various timelines again is worth getting this book alone! Throw in other memorable characters & their perspectives & damn. We have ourselves quite the adventure! With this, we are able to explore in depth the diverse cast of characters more, including background characters from the trilogy.
I don't find myself reading a ton of short fiction, just because I prefer to get lost within the intricacies of a longer tale. Inevitably, short stories tend to come up.. well.. short, for me. Road Brothers was one exception, however! These supplemental stories are fan-fucking-tastic! There was such a seamless transition from story to story. Plus this has footnotes! I love me some footnotes! Getting a glimpse inside Lawrence's thoughts added to my enjoyment, for sure.
The in-your-face yet beautiful prose from Mark Lawrence across all of his books is incomparable. I haven't read anyone that has mastered that juxtaposition quite as uniquely as he does! There were some especially gut-punchy, brutal passages within these pages. The quote I highlighted up above, for instance! SO BLOODY STUNNING!
I always find reviewing a collection of short stories difficult, yet here I am.. blathering on. WHY AM I LIKE THIS?!? It's hard not to gush over this mesmerizing world. If you've already read & loved the Broken Empire trilogy, then this is a must! Jorg & his brothers are waiting..