4 never a dull moment stars!!
Prince Honorious Jorg Ancrath vowed when he was nine to avenge his slaughtered mother and brother—and punish his father for not doing so. When he was fifteen, he began to fulfill that vow. Now he is eighteen—and he must hold on by strength of arms to what he took by torture and treachery.
King Jorg is a man haunted: by the ghost of a young boy, by a mysterious copper box, by his desire for the woman who rides with his enemy. Plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he committed, and of the atrocities committed against him when he was a child, he is filled with rage. And even as his need for revenge continues to consume him, twenty thousand men march toward the gates of his castle. His enemy is far stronger than him. Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight.
But he has found, in a chamber hidden beneath the castle, ancient and long-lost artifacts. Some might call them magic. Jorg is not certain—all he knows is that the secrets they hold can be put to terrible use in the coming battle…
I loved Prince of Thorns, it was very much an anti-hero book, a character you love to hate. Sometimes I couldn’t believe what I was reading on the page and I still couldn’t put it down I was just wanted to see if Jorg would succeed on his crazy journey. So of course, I wanted to continue this journey with him and see him succeed in becoming King.
This new book though, it wasn’t what I expected it still had Jorg being crazy off the rocker on a mission to become King no matter what. However, it jumps story lines, from Wedding Day “present day”, to Four Years Earlier, to Katherine’s Journal pages. Once you would get invested into a story line it would jump to a different one and that is fine but if you dare not pay attention you might miss something vital to another story line.
I liked that we get more of Jorg and his background in this book, it’s always great to see what molds a man or young man since he is still a teen in this book. I can’t believe he’s a teen, that just blows my mind. Obviously since there is a wedding day Jorg is getting married and his wife Miana is way wiser than her 12 years lets her on to be. I know there is a third book and I can’t wait to see where that brings her. I think she was a wise choice for Jorg’s bride because she seems to be smart and calculating.
I’m trying not to give to much away because obviously a lot happens in this book that you shouldn’t know especially if you haven’t read the first one. I really enjoy Mark Lawrence’s style of writing, maybe not so much the back and forth of time in this book, but his grittiness and not being afraid to kill of anyone or be daring and bold. He can be poetic when needed, but I almost just prefer his shock value of writing most. Although let’s be honest when you grow really attached to a side character and the author kills them off that does kind of hurt… just saying.
Excerpt…
I dropped the head and kicked it into the crowd. I say “kicked” but in truth it’s a bad idea to kick a head. I learned that years ago, a lesson that cost me two broken toes. What you want to do is hove the head with the side of your foot, like you’re throwing it. It’s going to roll anyhow so you don’t need much force. See, the thing about severed heads is the owner no longer has any interest in minimizing the force of the blow, or any ability to do so for that matter. When you kick somebody in the head as you do from time to time, they tend to be actively trying to move themselves out of the way and contact is lessened. A severed head is dead weight, even if it’s watching you.
And that exhausts my insights into the kicking of severed heads. Admittedly its more than most people have to offer on the subject but there were Mayans who knew a lot more than I do. That of course is a whole different ball-game.
Makin finished with his straps and stepped beside me. “That was probably too harsh,” he said. “You did ask me to point these things out.”
“Fuck off,” I said
I waved to the Brothers. “Let’s ride.”
About the Author…
Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. His day job is 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’.
Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY
alwaysbooking 
It’s really hard when time jumps aren’t clear. It sounds like maybe they were and maybe they weren’t if you didn’t pay close attention. I’m happy you enjoyed being back in this world. Great review!
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