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Broken Empire #[14 short stories]
Road Brothers, Tales from the Broken Empire
This is a collection of fourteen stories of murder, mayhem, pathos, and philosophy, all set in the world of the Broken Empire.
Within these pages, you will find tales of men such as Red Kent, Sir Makin, Rike, Burlow and the Nuban, telling of their origins and the events that forged them. There is Jorg himself, striding the page as a child of six, as a teenage wanderer and as a young king. And then there is a tale about Prince Jalan Kendeth – liar, cheat, womaniser and coward.
The new reader should be warned that there are spoilers for the Broken Empire trilogy in these stories, so better to start with my first book, Prince of Thorns.
To those who have already journeyed with Jorg, I hope you will enjoy renewing old acquaintances with your favorite characters.
Within these pages, you will find tales of men such as Red Kent, Sir Makin, Rike, Burlow and the Nuban, telling of their origins and the events that forged them. There is Jorg himself, striding the page as a child of six, as a teenage wanderer and as a young king. And then there is a tale about Prince Jalan Kendeth – liar, cheat, womaniser and coward.
The new reader should be warned that there are spoilers for the Broken Empire trilogy in these stories, so better to start with my first book, Prince of Thorns.
To those who have already journeyed with Jorg, I hope you will enjoy renewing old acquaintances with your favorite characters.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2017
142 people are currently reading
3410 people want to read
About the author
Mark Lawrence
99 books55.9k followersMy books vary a LOT - so
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[My new book The Book That Broke The World is out now!]
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Blog here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/
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Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. Before becoming a fulltime writer in 2015 day job was as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science ... oh wait, it actually is'.
Mark used to have a list of hobbies back when he did science by day. Now his time is really just divided between writing and caring for his disabled daughter. There are occasional forays into computer games too.
[My new book The Book That Broke The World is out now!]
Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/marklawrencea...
Blog here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/
I'm on Youtube now! *excitement!*
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIrB...
Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MarkLawrence...
https://www.instagram.com/mark___lawr...
Threads
https://www.threads.net/@mark___lawrence
Blue Sky
https://bsky.app/profile/marklawrence...
Three-emails-a-year newsletter here:
http://eepurl.com/cimnK1 #Prizes #FreeContent
I'm even on Tumblr!
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/marklawre...
Pintrest!
https://uk.pinterest.com/princeofthor...
Plus I have free stuff on Wattpad!
https://www.wattpad.com/user/MarkLawr...
Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. Before becoming a fulltime writer in 2015 day job was as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science ... oh wait, it actually is'.
Mark used to have a list of hobbies back when he did science by day. Now his time is really just divided between writing and caring for his disabled daughter. There are occasional forays into computer games too.
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February 13, 2025 STOP PRESS - you can now get this in paperback in the US!
It's been out in ebook for 7 years, but not in hardcopy in the US/Canada. Amazon are still (mind-blowingly), refusing to let me publish it in hardcover, but the paperback's great - go grab it!
This edition - available everywhere except the UK and Australia (where you can get the same words in an edition published by Voyager) is now on Kindle Unlimited, so if you have access to that, you can read it for free!
Follow Jorg and his friends (individually and in small groups) across the Broken Empire and see the events that shaped them.
Contains the short stories:
A Rescue
Sleeping Beauty
Bad Seed
The Nature of the Beast
The Weight of Command
Select Mode
Mercy
A Good Name
Choices
No Other Troy
The Secret
Escape
Know Thyself
Three is the Charm
With brief footnotes.
That's footnotes people!
if you've read all of them, vote on which are your favourites:
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=...
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
It's been out in ebook for 7 years, but not in hardcopy in the US/Canada. Amazon are still (mind-blowingly), refusing to let me publish it in hardcover, but the paperback's great - go grab it!
This edition - available everywhere except the UK and Australia (where you can get the same words in an edition published by Voyager) is now on Kindle Unlimited, so if you have access to that, you can read it for free!
Follow Jorg and his friends (individually and in small groups) across the Broken Empire and see the events that shaped them.
Contains the short stories:
A Rescue
Sleeping Beauty
Bad Seed
The Nature of the Beast
The Weight of Command
Select Mode
Mercy
A Good Name
Choices
No Other Troy
The Secret
Escape
Know Thyself
Three is the Charm
With brief footnotes.
That's footnotes people!
if you've read all of them, vote on which are your favourites:
http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=...
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
March 14, 2023
Mark Lawrence welcomes you back to the Broken Empire with Road Brothers, a collection of 14 short stories featuring characters from The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War trilogies. Each story is followed by a brief footnote from Mark Lawrence that provides some additional perspective on the characters.
The short stories take place either before or in between events from the two trilogies. Most of the stories focus on side characters from the main books, especially Jorg's band of Road Brothers. I really enjoyed getting to know them at a deeper level. Since The Broken Empire trilogy is told from Jorg's perspective, we only learn about these characters from his point of view in the main books. With the collection of short stories in Road Brothers, we get many of their back stories, as well as their experiences dealing with Jorg and his...shall we say strong?...personality.
Still, my personal favorites were the stories told by Jorg "I've killed more men than cholera" Ancrath. There is a reason why he is such a compelling narrator in the main books of The Broken Empire, and that carries over to the short stories as well. My #1 favorite story from this collection is "Know Thyself," which features the interactions between Father Gomst and Jorg as a six-year-old boy with a propensity for violence. The description of Jorg's four-year-old brother, William, was even more chilling, especially when he declared what he wants to become when he grows up...
While the short stories focus primarily on The Broken Empire, there are also a couple of great stories featuring characters from The Red Queen's War. In one of them, we learn about Snorri's father. Another is told from the perspective of Jalan, who is always a hoot.
All of the stories are very well writen because, after all, this is a Mark Lawrence book, and he always pays close attention to style. I thoroughly enjoyed this chance to revisit favorite characters from The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War and also to read the author's notes after each story.
The short stories take place either before or in between events from the two trilogies. Most of the stories focus on side characters from the main books, especially Jorg's band of Road Brothers. I really enjoyed getting to know them at a deeper level. Since The Broken Empire trilogy is told from Jorg's perspective, we only learn about these characters from his point of view in the main books. With the collection of short stories in Road Brothers, we get many of their back stories, as well as their experiences dealing with Jorg and his...shall we say strong?...personality.
Still, my personal favorites were the stories told by Jorg "I've killed more men than cholera" Ancrath. There is a reason why he is such a compelling narrator in the main books of The Broken Empire, and that carries over to the short stories as well. My #1 favorite story from this collection is "Know Thyself," which features the interactions between Father Gomst and Jorg as a six-year-old boy with a propensity for violence. The description of Jorg's four-year-old brother, William, was even more chilling, especially when he declared what he wants to become when he grows up...
While the short stories focus primarily on The Broken Empire, there are also a couple of great stories featuring characters from The Red Queen's War. In one of them, we learn about Snorri's father. Another is told from the perspective of Jalan, who is always a hoot.
All of the stories are very well writen because, after all, this is a Mark Lawrence book, and he always pays close attention to style. I thoroughly enjoyed this chance to revisit favorite characters from The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War and also to read the author's notes after each story.
October 20, 2017
I loved this like I've never loved a short story collection before. What more is there to say?
“Every good story tells at least one lie and holds a secret at its heart.”
Reviewing a bunch of short stories is always difficult, especially when your followers are the kind that will check out your reviews to help them choose what to pick up next, instead of looking for a second opinion about something they have already read. Road Brothers is a collection of short stories that take place before and during the events of The Broken Empire. Although they are great if you want to revisit that world, they are obviously not a good starting point. Therefore, you can read and enjoy them without spoiling yourself only after you've finished the main trilogy. Now, if you've finished and liked the main trilogy, you don't really need me to tell you that you must read this, right? Well, I guess some of you may think that it simply isn't worth reading. That it doesn't add anything to the story. Now, if you think that, I don't want to say that you're wrong, but you're so fucking wrong.
"They call me a monster and if it were untrue the weight of my crimes would pin me to the ground. I have maimed and I have murdered and if this mountain stood but a little higher I would cut the angels from their heaven. I care less for accusations than for the rain that soaks me, that runs down every limb. I spit both from my lips. Judgment has always left a sour taste."
The Broken Empire, among other things, had a wonderful cast. Although it was Jorg’s story through and through, the other characters, and especially Jorg’s band of brothers, had their own important role to play. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for them to shine, which is what they do in Road Brothers. We get to see parts of the story from their own perspective, learn about their motives, and see the real characters behind the masks of toughened thieves and soldiers.
Some people think that writing a short story is easier than writing a full novel, but this isn’t the case. In the space of a few pages you have to provide a background, a motive, a fast pace, and more importantly to write an enjoyable story. Mark not only does all of those things, but he ties them together with his unique and mesmerizing prose. All in all, Road Brothers is an excellent collection of short stories that every fan of The Broken Empire should read, but be prepared for the feels!
You can read all of my reviews over on http://BookNest.eu
“Every good story tells at least one lie and holds a secret at its heart.”
Reviewing a bunch of short stories is always difficult, especially when your followers are the kind that will check out your reviews to help them choose what to pick up next, instead of looking for a second opinion about something they have already read. Road Brothers is a collection of short stories that take place before and during the events of The Broken Empire. Although they are great if you want to revisit that world, they are obviously not a good starting point. Therefore, you can read and enjoy them without spoiling yourself only after you've finished the main trilogy. Now, if you've finished and liked the main trilogy, you don't really need me to tell you that you must read this, right? Well, I guess some of you may think that it simply isn't worth reading. That it doesn't add anything to the story. Now, if you think that, I don't want to say that you're wrong, but you're so fucking wrong.
"They call me a monster and if it were untrue the weight of my crimes would pin me to the ground. I have maimed and I have murdered and if this mountain stood but a little higher I would cut the angels from their heaven. I care less for accusations than for the rain that soaks me, that runs down every limb. I spit both from my lips. Judgment has always left a sour taste."
The Broken Empire, among other things, had a wonderful cast. Although it was Jorg’s story through and through, the other characters, and especially Jorg’s band of brothers, had their own important role to play. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for them to shine, which is what they do in Road Brothers. We get to see parts of the story from their own perspective, learn about their motives, and see the real characters behind the masks of toughened thieves and soldiers.
Some people think that writing a short story is easier than writing a full novel, but this isn’t the case. In the space of a few pages you have to provide a background, a motive, a fast pace, and more importantly to write an enjoyable story. Mark not only does all of those things, but he ties them together with his unique and mesmerizing prose. All in all, Road Brothers is an excellent collection of short stories that every fan of The Broken Empire should read, but be prepared for the feels!
You can read all of my reviews over on http://BookNest.eu
December 20, 2017
An absolutely marvellous collection of stories that fleshes out the Broken Empire beautifully. It was not only great reading about Jorg and the Nuban (who is my favourite) but getting glimpses of Snorri's dad, witches and Rike willing to wait for some looting made it a full experience and one, like the rest of Mark's books, I'll treasure.
June 23, 2021
A wonderful book. I like short stories a lot, I find them strong in their brevity. I loved revisiting the Broken Empire, which is one of my favorite settings, and discovering new things about old characters.
IMO Mark Lawrence is a superb writer of characters, he makes them perfectly imperfect, with just the right flaws. They end up being unforgettable and very human.
Abercrombie may be the King of Grimdark, and rightly so, but I believe that Mark Lawrence (and Richard Morgan) are on the same level of gritty stories and hard boiled characters, and this book proves it.
A must read for all the fans of the genre, even if they haven't read anything about the Broken Empire.
IMO Mark Lawrence is a superb writer of characters, he makes them perfectly imperfect, with just the right flaws. They end up being unforgettable and very human.
Abercrombie may be the King of Grimdark, and rightly so, but I believe that Mark Lawrence (and Richard Morgan) are on the same level of gritty stories and hard boiled characters, and this book proves it.
A must read for all the fans of the genre, even if they haven't read anything about the Broken Empire.
October 12, 2017
As always you can find this review on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
One thing that I find with short story collections is that you can pick up the book, read a story, go off and do something else and then come back and read another. Which of course is true for any book as you pick it back up to continue reading! But reading a short story collection isn’t like a full-length book where each time you come back to it you pick up the story where you left off and have to remember what’s gone on before. With shorts you get self-contained tales and a book that you can jump in and out of as you please, reading one or two shorts here and there or as life dictates making the collection easy to read whenever you have a spare moment and this sentiment holds true for Road Brothers. It’s a book that is infinitely easy to pick up, lose yourself in a tale or two told by Lawrence, put the book down and then come back to it later when you need another quick fix of escapism and that’s just what I did, reading Road Brothers over a span of days and dipping in and out as life allowed.
Road Brothers is a collection of 14 short stories that centre around Jorg Ancrath and his band of brothers from Lawrence’s The Broken Empire trilogy with the final short in the collection being about Prince Jalan Kendeth from Lawrence’s other trilogy The Red Queen’s War.
Road Brothers was previously released as an e-book and contains shorts that have been included in various anthologies. As such, some readers will already own the e-book and/or have read some of the included stories from those other collections. This new hardback version includes additional content in the form of some new short stories and footnotes at the end of each story as well as a shiny new paint job in the form of a stunning cover depicting Jorg Ancrath. The footnotes themselves are very interesting small asides giving you additional insight into the reason behind the story you’ve just read and are a fantastic little inclusion by Lawrence.👌
The stories found within the pages of Road Brothers are an eclectic mix of tales featuring additional insights, shenanigans, forays and origins into the characters, their lives and their world and I enjoyed them all, finding that each held my attention and offered the reader something different. Without giving away any spoilers (you all know by now that’s not my style) my favourite stories were: Sleeping Beauty featuring Jorg. The Weight of Command featuring Jorg, Sim and Brother Burlow. Select Mode featuring Jorg and the Nuban. Mercy featuring Makin. A Good Name featuring the Nuban. No other Troy featuring Jorg. The Secret featuring Sim. Escape featuring the Nuban. Know Thyself featuring a young Jorg, his younger brother William and Father Gomst (who I always found to be an intriguing character in The Broken Empire). And finally, Three is the Charm featuring Jalan Kendeth.
Lawrence’s writing is as good as ever, even in the shorter length he knows how to tell a tale and includes great characterisation, emotion, a dark style of humour and action, everything that you could want in a story.👌
If you’ve never read anything by Mark Lawrence before then Road Brothers is very accessible and as a starting point to his work, it is a great place to begin. The short stories included offer you brief glimpses and snippets into the lives of characters that will make you want to see and read more about them in his other works. But! Why not just start from the beginning anyway?! If you do then you are in for an absolute treat as both The Broken Empire and Red Queen’s War are utterly fantastic and for me, are two of the best fantasy trilogies to be released (Red Sister, the first book in The Book of the Ancestor trilogy is also an outstanding read).
If however, you are like me, have already read all of Lawrence’s previous books and are a massive fan of his work then Road Brothers takes on a new meaning (ever since my initial foray into the work of Mark Lawrence with Prince of Thorns, the first book in his Broken Empire trilogy I’ve always held an affinity towards Jorg and his band of merry ruffian degenerate riff-raff miscreant rabble – yes, I’m not sure what that says about me! But there was something immediately appealing about them all that just enamoured them to me. Jorg himself is such a complex and fascinating character and Grumlow, Rike, Sim, Makin, the Nuban, Gorgoth et al all add that extra touch to Jorg’s story) and it transcends just reading about various characters into something deeper. It’s a snapshot into the lives of characters you already know and love, it’s akin to visiting with and becoming reacquainted with old friends and I loved every moment I got to spend back in the company of these brothers. It was also an utter joy to get a brief glimpse and foray into Jalan’s life and read a short about him that was in all honesty, a typically Jalanesque tale too.
Regardless of whether you are an old or new reader to the work of Lawrence, there’s a lot to like in Road Brothers and it is a worthy addition to any fantasy fans bookshelf.
With Road Brothers, it was an absolute pleasure to once again read about and visit Jorg and his brothers.
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
One thing that I find with short story collections is that you can pick up the book, read a story, go off and do something else and then come back and read another. Which of course is true for any book as you pick it back up to continue reading! But reading a short story collection isn’t like a full-length book where each time you come back to it you pick up the story where you left off and have to remember what’s gone on before. With shorts you get self-contained tales and a book that you can jump in and out of as you please, reading one or two shorts here and there or as life dictates making the collection easy to read whenever you have a spare moment and this sentiment holds true for Road Brothers. It’s a book that is infinitely easy to pick up, lose yourself in a tale or two told by Lawrence, put the book down and then come back to it later when you need another quick fix of escapism and that’s just what I did, reading Road Brothers over a span of days and dipping in and out as life allowed.
Road Brothers is a collection of 14 short stories that centre around Jorg Ancrath and his band of brothers from Lawrence’s The Broken Empire trilogy with the final short in the collection being about Prince Jalan Kendeth from Lawrence’s other trilogy The Red Queen’s War.
Road Brothers was previously released as an e-book and contains shorts that have been included in various anthologies. As such, some readers will already own the e-book and/or have read some of the included stories from those other collections. This new hardback version includes additional content in the form of some new short stories and footnotes at the end of each story as well as a shiny new paint job in the form of a stunning cover depicting Jorg Ancrath. The footnotes themselves are very interesting small asides giving you additional insight into the reason behind the story you’ve just read and are a fantastic little inclusion by Lawrence.👌
The stories found within the pages of Road Brothers are an eclectic mix of tales featuring additional insights, shenanigans, forays and origins into the characters, their lives and their world and I enjoyed them all, finding that each held my attention and offered the reader something different. Without giving away any spoilers (you all know by now that’s not my style) my favourite stories were: Sleeping Beauty featuring Jorg. The Weight of Command featuring Jorg, Sim and Brother Burlow. Select Mode featuring Jorg and the Nuban. Mercy featuring Makin. A Good Name featuring the Nuban. No other Troy featuring Jorg. The Secret featuring Sim. Escape featuring the Nuban. Know Thyself featuring a young Jorg, his younger brother William and Father Gomst (who I always found to be an intriguing character in The Broken Empire). And finally, Three is the Charm featuring Jalan Kendeth.
Lawrence’s writing is as good as ever, even in the shorter length he knows how to tell a tale and includes great characterisation, emotion, a dark style of humour and action, everything that you could want in a story.👌
If you’ve never read anything by Mark Lawrence before then Road Brothers is very accessible and as a starting point to his work, it is a great place to begin. The short stories included offer you brief glimpses and snippets into the lives of characters that will make you want to see and read more about them in his other works. But! Why not just start from the beginning anyway?! If you do then you are in for an absolute treat as both The Broken Empire and Red Queen’s War are utterly fantastic and for me, are two of the best fantasy trilogies to be released (Red Sister, the first book in The Book of the Ancestor trilogy is also an outstanding read).
If however, you are like me, have already read all of Lawrence’s previous books and are a massive fan of his work then Road Brothers takes on a new meaning (ever since my initial foray into the work of Mark Lawrence with Prince of Thorns, the first book in his Broken Empire trilogy I’ve always held an affinity towards Jorg and his band of merry ruffian degenerate riff-raff miscreant rabble – yes, I’m not sure what that says about me! But there was something immediately appealing about them all that just enamoured them to me. Jorg himself is such a complex and fascinating character and Grumlow, Rike, Sim, Makin, the Nuban, Gorgoth et al all add that extra touch to Jorg’s story) and it transcends just reading about various characters into something deeper. It’s a snapshot into the lives of characters you already know and love, it’s akin to visiting with and becoming reacquainted with old friends and I loved every moment I got to spend back in the company of these brothers. It was also an utter joy to get a brief glimpse and foray into Jalan’s life and read a short about him that was in all honesty, a typically Jalanesque tale too.
Regardless of whether you are an old or new reader to the work of Lawrence, there’s a lot to like in Road Brothers and it is a worthy addition to any fantasy fans bookshelf.
With Road Brothers, it was an absolute pleasure to once again read about and visit Jorg and his brothers.
June 29, 2018
"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..
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..
January 21, 2019
5 stars
I really should have read this straight after the other books in this Broken Empire universe but it's still a fantastic collection of short stories.
It's very dark and violent like the books but it works and works really well.
The setting and world building are fantastic as always (especially the first story as it's a cracker)
The characters are great and we get a real collection of them and their backstories which is fantastic.
Jorg is quite the conundrum as always but is just so fascinating. Love hate doesn't even come close but he's enthralling (maybe even more so in this which is saying something)
I loved the Red Kent and Nubian stories too as they just explained so so much.
It's very very short but a fantastic addition to the Broken Empire universe.
I also love the author's own notes at the end of each story.
Highly recommended but it probably works best if you've read Broken empire before.
Not essential but you might get more out of it.
I really should have read this straight after the other books in this Broken Empire universe but it's still a fantastic collection of short stories.
It's very dark and violent like the books but it works and works really well.
The setting and world building are fantastic as always (especially the first story as it's a cracker)
The characters are great and we get a real collection of them and their backstories which is fantastic.
Jorg is quite the conundrum as always but is just so fascinating. Love hate doesn't even come close but he's enthralling (maybe even more so in this which is saying something)
I loved the Red Kent and Nubian stories too as they just explained so so much.
It's very very short but a fantastic addition to the Broken Empire universe.
I also love the author's own notes at the end of each story.
Highly recommended but it probably works best if you've read Broken empire before.
Not essential but you might get more out of it.
July 16, 2021
It was great to get back to The Broken Empire and fill in some gaps and back stories of the characters. Thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to my next Mark Lawrence book.
December 11, 2017
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Broken Empire changed and saved my life. This book allowed me to explore that landscape once again, and not just through the eyes of our beloved Jorg Ancrath. This book shows us the magic Mark Lawrence can do with his short and smooth prose, especially in short stories. I hope for another collection of short stories in the future.
June 18, 2019
14 x 5 stars
The ultimate read if you are fan of "The Broken Empire".
The ultimate read if you are fan of "The Broken Empire".
January 13, 2023
A short compilation of a dozen or so stories set in Jorg Ancrath's Broken Empire, plus a bonus story featuring Jalan Kendreth from the Red Queen's War trilogy.
I would have rated this much higher except I loathe short stories. They always leave me wanting more, as did this. The stories were good, and each one shined a spotlight on a different road brother or two (and most featured Jorg), but all it did was leave me wanting more Jorg Jorg Jorg. My obsession with him borders on the decidedly unhealthy.
If 2023 is the Year of Finishing Serieses, maybe I should make 2024 the Year of the Favorite Book Rereads, just so I can reread my Broken Empire collection. Maybe a few others. Hmmm!
I would have rated this much higher except I loathe short stories. They always leave me wanting more, as did this. The stories were good, and each one shined a spotlight on a different road brother or two (and most featured Jorg), but all it did was leave me wanting more Jorg Jorg Jorg. My obsession with him borders on the decidedly unhealthy.
If 2023 is the Year of Finishing Serieses, maybe I should make 2024 the Year of the Favorite Book Rereads, just so I can reread my Broken Empire collection. Maybe a few others. Hmmm!
October 30, 2020
Great to re-visit the world of the Broken Empire with this collection of short stories. I was particularly intrigued by story 13, 'Know Thyself', where we meet 6 year old Prince Jorg and 4 year old Prince William - good stuff! The author's footnotes at the end of each story were pretty enlightening too.
January 12, 2018
Feels good to catch up with old fiends.
December 11, 2017
Another excellent book by Mark Lawrence. I missed Jorg and the brothers. Worth reading
October 19, 2017
I’m probably far too biased when it comes to this book to write an actual review.
For one thing Bad Seed in June 2014 marked the beginning of my beta-reading work for Mark Lawrence and I was privileged enough to discuss the majority of these stories with him in detail as he was writing them. They are of course all excellent, as it is only to be expected from the author who brought us The Broken Empire and The Red Queen’s War trilogies.
I was also fortunate to call the cover artist, Kimberly Kincaid, a friend, although we never actually met in in person. She was kind enough to come and judge the art contest I ran last year and agreed to an interview I did with her on That Thorn Guy (https://thatthornguy.com/2016/03/21/a...). Her sudden death shortly after came as a big shock. She loved Mark’s works and I know that seeing her art featuring on the cover would have meant a lot to her. She was a very talented and inspiring artist, and I’m very pleased that HarperVoyager decided to use her work, allowing us to keep her memory in such a moving manner.
And finally, a funny little personal story to end on as even Kim wouldn’t want us to feel sad, but to celebrate the long-awaited print edition of this anthology: Last year I was looking for a name for a horse in the story I’d been writing. Mark suggested I called him Mr Clip Clop. Knowing he was only joking I posted the matter on Facebook and received several responses from mutual friends, who mostly chided Mark for trying to mislead me in the serious business of naming horses. Eventually the horse in the book I’m writing became Storn. But Mark wasn’t going to let me think his suggestion was anything but serious. And so you might find Mr Clip Clop appearing in one of these stories instead.
August 1, 2018
After reading The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War, I finished it all off with this book. It was such a great read, and made me realize that I was getting misty-eyed because I was closing the chapter on all of these amazing characters. The second to last chapter; Know Thyself made me actually choke up...
...luckily Mark was clever enough to end the book on a light and fun note with a short story about Jalan Kendeth.
I will definitely re-read The Broken Empire later on, but for now Nona and nuns of Sweet Mercy need all of my attention!
Huge thanks to Mark Lawrence for crafting such a brilliant universe.
...luckily Mark was clever enough to end the book on a light and fun note with a short story about Jalan Kendeth.
I will definitely re-read The Broken Empire later on, but for now Nona and nuns of Sweet Mercy need all of my attention!
Huge thanks to Mark Lawrence for crafting such a brilliant universe.
June 15, 2023
Almost no more Broken Empire content to consume😔
Book good
Book good
February 21, 2021
After finishing this book, it made me immediately want to delve back into the Broken Empire Trilogy. Usually with Short story books, it'll start with a real page turner, there could be filler in the middle, and end with the best of the bunch.
Instead, I didn't think a single one of these was a filler story. Brother Sim's story, containing one of the best lines I've ever read “Every good story tells at least one lie and holds a secret at its heart” ,provides fantastic depth to a underutilized character in the series. Even the story with Brother Rikke provided backstory that really helped me understand his motivations in the trilogy.
If you are reading the Broken Empire trilogy, this is a must read. I'd especially go for it right after you read Prince of Thorns, but before King of Thorns.
Instead, I didn't think a single one of these was a filler story. Brother Sim's story, containing one of the best lines I've ever read “Every good story tells at least one lie and holds a secret at its heart” ,provides fantastic depth to a underutilized character in the series. Even the story with Brother Rikke provided backstory that really helped me understand his motivations in the trilogy.
If you are reading the Broken Empire trilogy, this is a must read. I'd especially go for it right after you read Prince of Thorns, but before King of Thorns.
September 14, 2021
I love reading about the Broken Empire and this was no let down! Small stories of the characters that might or might not change your opinion on the characters. Highly recommended 💛
November 18, 2017
I loved every single story but my personal favourites were No Other Troy and Know Thyself. I'm a huge fan of the Broken Empire trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed reading more from my favourite characters :)
December 5, 2021
Reading this after The Broken Empire makes the story even better. Getting to know a few character's better and meeting a new one before starting The Red Queen's War makes it a lot of fun!
July 17, 2022
Absolutely loved this.
I forgot how much I missed the Broken Empire. Now going to re-read the trilogy, which is going to make my TBR pile cry as I walk past it with a previously read book in my hand...
I forgot how much I missed the Broken Empire. Now going to re-read the trilogy, which is going to make my TBR pile cry as I walk past it with a previously read book in my hand...
August 31, 2022
The Broken Empire trilogy was entirely the story of Jorg. Suited some people, didn’t suit others, personally, I loved Mark Lawrence’s storytelling style in the series. I think Jorg matured greatly over the three books, and became a very interesting (if not necessarily likeable) protagonist with a compelling story to tell.
One of my favourite things about fantasy series is the use of multiple POVs. This was lacking in Broken Empire, and as a result, very intriguing characters such as the Nuban, Sir Makin, Red Kent, Gorgoth, Sim, and others were somewhat underrepresented. We get none of their backstory, and they exist mostly as enigmatic albeit highly interesting characters.
I actually had no idea this particular book (Road Brothers) existed until I spotted it on holiday in Bangkok. Picked it up immediately, and while I’m not usually a huge fan of short stories, I can strongly recommend this book. I’m sure if you enjoyed Broken Empire, these are characters you would’ve loved, and this book does a great job of filling in at least some of the blanks. Great addition to the series!
One of my favourite things about fantasy series is the use of multiple POVs. This was lacking in Broken Empire, and as a result, very intriguing characters such as the Nuban, Sir Makin, Red Kent, Gorgoth, Sim, and others were somewhat underrepresented. We get none of their backstory, and they exist mostly as enigmatic albeit highly interesting characters.
I actually had no idea this particular book (Road Brothers) existed until I spotted it on holiday in Bangkok. Picked it up immediately, and while I’m not usually a huge fan of short stories, I can strongly recommend this book. I’m sure if you enjoyed Broken Empire, these are characters you would’ve loved, and this book does a great job of filling in at least some of the blanks. Great addition to the series!
January 19, 2021
I'm glad I stumbled across "the Broken Empire" series in 2020 which led me to "the Book of the Ancestor" and "the Red Queen's War". I don't have the words for it.
This collection of short stories took me back and I'm still amazed and surprised by the characters & the stories.
This collection of short stories took me back and I'm still amazed and surprised by the characters & the stories.
August 2, 2020
Pure pleasure of seeing backstages of the main story! Felt great to meet characters once again 🙂 Broken empire world rocks!!!
December 31, 2019
Check out my blog Latif Reviews for my reviews
Ever wondered how the characters in Lawrence’s Broken Empire and the Red Queen’s War series came to be? Well, look no further. Road Brothers is a collection of character origins, raids and troubles with the additional insight of different cultures before the start of the main series.
I’ve only read The Prince of Thorns, so most of the stories had some spoiler content relating to the other series. Nonetheless, I enjoyed them all. And Road Brothers delivered. Each story was unique, albeit grim at times, but it offered a variety of mischief, philosophy, murder and sometimes sadness. The added footnote from the author was a bonus because I liked that he explained certain characters motivation. I’ll review each story separately.
A Rescue - 4/5
Sir Makin’s backstory and his unwavering loyalty to the traumatised Prince Jorg. A great start to the collection as it sets the tone for what’s to come. I like the sense of rescue the title depicts. Sir Makin rescues Jorg from a burning room and in a way, Makin leans to free himself from the hurt of losing his family. I really hope nothing happens to him when I continue reading the rest of the series.
Sleeping Beauty - 2/5
And this was the only one I did not like, but that doesn’t mean I absolutely hate it. It was just hard to follow because of the erratic pacing from the past event leading to the present event. This short story comes before or after certain events in King of Thorns so that might be the reason why I didn’t get it. Probably halfway in I sort of understood what happened.
Bad Seed - 3/5
Sort of reeling from the confusion of the previous one. Alann Oak killed the bully Darin Reed at the age of ten. As the years roll by, Alan has a family, but is somewhat haunted and cursed by Darin. When Alann’s family dies in a fire, he becomes Red Kent, a man who was always supposed to become a killer. This had a good delivery, good pacing and a nice introduction to his time in the brotherhood.
The Nature of the Beast - 5/5
This one was grim. Sabitha is a witch who reluctantly stitches up Rike’s wounds as her village is under attack by his raiders. This one had put me on the edge of my seat. I was hooked with the building climax. It’s an excellent story about siblings’ bond and fierceness of protection. If you know anything about Rike then he is an utter arsehole who doesn’t spare anyone. But be warned, Lawrence gives a major spoiler in this footnote for the Emperor of Thorns regarding this story about Rike.
The Weight of Command - 3/5
Not one of my favourites but it was okay. You do see the friction between Jorg and Brother Barlow disagreeing on more than one occasion. It is about taken on the responsibility, as the title suggests from those who lead and those who follow. Well written, but I was more interested in Sim.
Select Mode - 4/5
The Nuban has been, hand’s down, my favourite character from the first book. We follow Jorg and the Nuban, captured by Selector John, who is taken to a not so easy journey to ‘the arch’ to be judged and selected to be part of a group. This had some sci-fi/future references to our modern technology (which is the book’s historic technology) from Jorg observing technology through new eyes.
Mercy - 5/5
I love revenge stories! Sir Makin teams up with Sister Ellen (from the Book of the Ancestor trilogy) to track down Gorlan, the last of the men who killed his family. This one gets a 5 star because of the witty dialogue, the seamless ease between the two killers and one man’s snatched hope of coming out alive. After reading the Red Queen’s War I will give Book of Ancestor a read.
A Good Name - 5/5
Yes! The Nuban’s origin story. He was once called Harrac, then Firestone, who had enough of Broken Bowls (the son of the leader) orders, beats him up but has to go to the king in Ibowen for his crime (I guess). When he gets there, he befriends a Viking guardsman called Snaga.
I like the parallel between a young Jorg and a young Nuban who weren’t that different at all because of the hate taking orders. This gets a 5 star because its different from the rest, has a sense of tribalism, a longing to go back to your roots and the loyalty of friendship.
Choices - 3/5
Jane and Gorgoth track down their sister and their two nephews to some poisonous pit. I can only give this a 3 star because I don’t know what was going on, but that’s only because I haven’t read the other two books. just like Select Mode, you see old tech and nuclear radiation poisoning affecting the body of anyone coming in contact with it. This had a good pace with steady combat sequence.
No Other Troy - 5/5
Jorg, the classic anti-hero who wants to invade the City of Towers, a walled city on the Orlanth border. Mimicking the old Trojan Horse story of the Greeks, Jorg does a similar tactic to get in much against Sir Makin’s advice. He’s sneaky, manipulative and like promised, achieves his goal. He also has a burning desire for his Aunt Katherine (through marriage) who is under house arrest by Lord Alstan. I loved everything about it, the pace, the build-up, the dream sequence with Katherine very much hating him for besmirching her good name.
The Secret - 4/5
Oh, the twist in this had me reeling in my seat. Sweet and innocent at first, Princess Dara is having a midnight rendezvous with a handsome storyteller Guise in her bedchamber. He tells her the story of Brother Sim a lethal assassin.
I heartedly enjoyed this one. Much like Mercy, this one had me hooked from the start. We learn much more about Brother Sim about his secret, his capabilities as an assassin. Jorg surely knows how to pick them.
Escape - 5/5
At the end of A Good Name, the Nuban was known as Kashta. Now he serves as a guard to Count Merren, he’s simply named Othello. He oversees the training of a slave River-Stone, whom he forms a bond with as the slave is a reminder his former self. But River-Stone decides on the last minute to run away, leaving Kashta no choice but to track him down with Mai T’uii, a faraway eastern guard.
This one, by far, has had more sorrow than the rest. Kashta has come to the point where he’s had enough and wants to go back to his roots because it took one man to show him that he was too accustomed to being chained to a life he was half living. This had action, sadness and realisation. I think it’s one of my favourites. Plus I want to know if Mai T’uii is mentioned in the other books because honestly, he was a badass.
Know Thyself - 3/5
This was a nice story from a young father Gomst’s perspective, overseeing a young Jorg and Willam’s education and discipline commissioned by the King of Ancarth. I like how Father Gomst wins the boys over into not killing their father. You can see from even a young age; the boys don’t take lightly to authority.
Three is the Charm - 5/5
From the Red Queen’s War trilogy, we meet Prince Jalan Kendeth, much like Prince Jorg, yet different in many ways. Both lie and cheat, but for different reasons; Jorg is ambitious and wants an empire, Jalan is a womanizer who lives in the moment. They are two princes from different trilogies who live in the broken empire.
Unlike the others, this one did have a comical side to it. Jalan is in a race against to win a number of tasks from the Hellfire Club, which include bedding three members of the royal family, and elephant seal a wooden leg etc. It was chaotic, funny with a little twist and a tone quite different (but good) from the rest of the entries. It was an engaging read.
Summary
Road Brothers lived up to the hype. If anyone is in love with Lawrence’s Broken Empire world, then you’d be mad to miss this. He marvellously integrated much loved minor characters in his series to expand the book world with another two sets of trilogies I look forward to reading in 2020. After reading this collection I have more of an understanding about these road brothers that I probably wouldn’t have had I not read this. I can say that at least 10 out of the 14 stories were above a 4-star rating, which means I’d most likely re-read this collection once I’ve completed my goals to finish his series.
I mean, what a way to end my reading collection of 2019.
Ever wondered how the characters in Lawrence’s Broken Empire and the Red Queen’s War series came to be? Well, look no further. Road Brothers is a collection of character origins, raids and troubles with the additional insight of different cultures before the start of the main series.
I’ve only read The Prince of Thorns, so most of the stories had some spoiler content relating to the other series. Nonetheless, I enjoyed them all. And Road Brothers delivered. Each story was unique, albeit grim at times, but it offered a variety of mischief, philosophy, murder and sometimes sadness. The added footnote from the author was a bonus because I liked that he explained certain characters motivation. I’ll review each story separately.
A Rescue - 4/5
Sir Makin’s backstory and his unwavering loyalty to the traumatised Prince Jorg. A great start to the collection as it sets the tone for what’s to come. I like the sense of rescue the title depicts. Sir Makin rescues Jorg from a burning room and in a way, Makin leans to free himself from the hurt of losing his family. I really hope nothing happens to him when I continue reading the rest of the series.
Sleeping Beauty - 2/5
And this was the only one I did not like, but that doesn’t mean I absolutely hate it. It was just hard to follow because of the erratic pacing from the past event leading to the present event. This short story comes before or after certain events in King of Thorns so that might be the reason why I didn’t get it. Probably halfway in I sort of understood what happened.
Bad Seed - 3/5
Sort of reeling from the confusion of the previous one. Alann Oak killed the bully Darin Reed at the age of ten. As the years roll by, Alan has a family, but is somewhat haunted and cursed by Darin. When Alann’s family dies in a fire, he becomes Red Kent, a man who was always supposed to become a killer. This had a good delivery, good pacing and a nice introduction to his time in the brotherhood.
The Nature of the Beast - 5/5
This one was grim. Sabitha is a witch who reluctantly stitches up Rike’s wounds as her village is under attack by his raiders. This one had put me on the edge of my seat. I was hooked with the building climax. It’s an excellent story about siblings’ bond and fierceness of protection. If you know anything about Rike then he is an utter arsehole who doesn’t spare anyone. But be warned, Lawrence gives a major spoiler in this footnote for the Emperor of Thorns regarding this story about Rike.
The Weight of Command - 3/5
Not one of my favourites but it was okay. You do see the friction between Jorg and Brother Barlow disagreeing on more than one occasion. It is about taken on the responsibility, as the title suggests from those who lead and those who follow. Well written, but I was more interested in Sim.
Select Mode - 4/5
The Nuban has been, hand’s down, my favourite character from the first book. We follow Jorg and the Nuban, captured by Selector John, who is taken to a not so easy journey to ‘the arch’ to be judged and selected to be part of a group. This had some sci-fi/future references to our modern technology (which is the book’s historic technology) from Jorg observing technology through new eyes.
Mercy - 5/5
I love revenge stories! Sir Makin teams up with Sister Ellen (from the Book of the Ancestor trilogy) to track down Gorlan, the last of the men who killed his family. This one gets a 5 star because of the witty dialogue, the seamless ease between the two killers and one man’s snatched hope of coming out alive. After reading the Red Queen’s War I will give Book of Ancestor a read.
A Good Name - 5/5
Yes! The Nuban’s origin story. He was once called Harrac, then Firestone, who had enough of Broken Bowls (the son of the leader) orders, beats him up but has to go to the king in Ibowen for his crime (I guess). When he gets there, he befriends a Viking guardsman called Snaga.
I like the parallel between a young Jorg and a young Nuban who weren’t that different at all because of the hate taking orders. This gets a 5 star because its different from the rest, has a sense of tribalism, a longing to go back to your roots and the loyalty of friendship.
Choices - 3/5
Jane and Gorgoth track down their sister and their two nephews to some poisonous pit. I can only give this a 3 star because I don’t know what was going on, but that’s only because I haven’t read the other two books. just like Select Mode, you see old tech and nuclear radiation poisoning affecting the body of anyone coming in contact with it. This had a good pace with steady combat sequence.
No Other Troy - 5/5
Jorg, the classic anti-hero who wants to invade the City of Towers, a walled city on the Orlanth border. Mimicking the old Trojan Horse story of the Greeks, Jorg does a similar tactic to get in much against Sir Makin’s advice. He’s sneaky, manipulative and like promised, achieves his goal. He also has a burning desire for his Aunt Katherine (through marriage) who is under house arrest by Lord Alstan. I loved everything about it, the pace, the build-up, the dream sequence with Katherine very much hating him for besmirching her good name.
The Secret - 4/5
Oh, the twist in this had me reeling in my seat. Sweet and innocent at first, Princess Dara is having a midnight rendezvous with a handsome storyteller Guise in her bedchamber. He tells her the story of Brother Sim a lethal assassin.
I heartedly enjoyed this one. Much like Mercy, this one had me hooked from the start. We learn much more about Brother Sim about his secret, his capabilities as an assassin. Jorg surely knows how to pick them.
Escape - 5/5
At the end of A Good Name, the Nuban was known as Kashta. Now he serves as a guard to Count Merren, he’s simply named Othello. He oversees the training of a slave River-Stone, whom he forms a bond with as the slave is a reminder his former self. But River-Stone decides on the last minute to run away, leaving Kashta no choice but to track him down with Mai T’uii, a faraway eastern guard.
This one, by far, has had more sorrow than the rest. Kashta has come to the point where he’s had enough and wants to go back to his roots because it took one man to show him that he was too accustomed to being chained to a life he was half living. This had action, sadness and realisation. I think it’s one of my favourites. Plus I want to know if Mai T’uii is mentioned in the other books because honestly, he was a badass.
Know Thyself - 3/5
This was a nice story from a young father Gomst’s perspective, overseeing a young Jorg and Willam’s education and discipline commissioned by the King of Ancarth. I like how Father Gomst wins the boys over into not killing their father. You can see from even a young age; the boys don’t take lightly to authority.
Three is the Charm - 5/5
From the Red Queen’s War trilogy, we meet Prince Jalan Kendeth, much like Prince Jorg, yet different in many ways. Both lie and cheat, but for different reasons; Jorg is ambitious and wants an empire, Jalan is a womanizer who lives in the moment. They are two princes from different trilogies who live in the broken empire.
Unlike the others, this one did have a comical side to it. Jalan is in a race against to win a number of tasks from the Hellfire Club, which include bedding three members of the royal family, and elephant seal a wooden leg etc. It was chaotic, funny with a little twist and a tone quite different (but good) from the rest of the entries. It was an engaging read.
Summary
Road Brothers lived up to the hype. If anyone is in love with Lawrence’s Broken Empire world, then you’d be mad to miss this. He marvellously integrated much loved minor characters in his series to expand the book world with another two sets of trilogies I look forward to reading in 2020. After reading this collection I have more of an understanding about these road brothers that I probably wouldn’t have had I not read this. I can say that at least 10 out of the 14 stories were above a 4-star rating, which means I’d most likely re-read this collection once I’ve completed my goals to finish his series.
I mean, what a way to end my reading collection of 2019.
July 15, 2021
I couldn't get enough of these characters and their backstories!
I just wish we saw more of Jorg's childhood with his mother and William.
My favorite story was definitely "Know Thyself" for sure!
I just wish we saw more of Jorg's childhood with his mother and William.
My favorite story was definitely "Know Thyself" for sure!
February 20, 2023
First time reading short stories and they have left me wanting more! Love the world these stories are set in already and it just made me love it more. The Nubian being one of my favourite characters and getting two stories was more than I could have hoped for!
September 10, 2019
Father Gumst: What's the greatest sin?
6 years old Jorg: Fornicating with camels
I AM NOT GETTING OVER THIS ANY TIME SOON..
6 years old Jorg: Fornicating with camels
I AM NOT GETTING OVER THIS ANY TIME SOON..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews