I finally got around to reading King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, the second book in his Broken Empire trilogy that began with Prince of Thorns.
In the first book, the protagonist Jorg Ancrath was challenging to root for. He was a genuinely evil character, redeemed only slightly by the fact that his enemies were even worse. But in King of Thorns, Jorg begins to change, evolving into a more thoughtful, less impulsive figure who shows a trace of “hero” while still remaining a classic antihero.
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world that has devolved into a feudal, quasi-medieval patchwork of kingdoms that were once united by an emperor. For now, the empire remains broken. The apocalyptic event is known as the Day of a Thousand Suns, the day the “Builders” unleashed a nuclear holocaust that reshaped the world. In the last book, Jorg used one of the “Builder’s Suns” to lay waste to an enemy. The carnage he caused now haunts him, as he begins to understand the terrible cost of that act.
The book opens four years after the events of Prince of Thorns, on Jorg’s wedding day to a twelve-year-old bride, a marriage arranged to secure a military alliance. That alliance is desperately needed against the Prince of Arrow, whose overwhelming army is about to lay siege to the Haunt, Jorg’s castle in the Renar Highlands, where he has crowned himself king. The Prince of Arrow is prophesied to heal the Broken Empire, and any lord who refuses to bend the knee earns his wrath. He is also married to Katherine, the object of Jorg’s desires from the first novel, which complicates matters further.
What unfolds on Jorg’s wedding day is an exciting series of skirmishes and battles that showcase his cunning and cleverness. But that’s less than half the story. Much of the novel plays out in flashbacks to four years earlier, beginning when Gog, one of Jorg’s leucrota companions and a favorite character from book one, nearly sets the Haunt aflame with his growing pyromantic powers.
Hoping to help Gog control his abilities, Jorg and his outlaw brothers set out in search of a notorious fire mage. This quest leads to the first of several thrilling set-piece conflicts, including a rematch with the necromancer Jorg fought in the first book, and the looming threat of the Dead King, who has claimed the necromancer as his bride. Along the way, Jorg also tests his own necromantic abilities, gained during his prior adventures, in one of the book’s best scenes.
Earlier in the flashbacks, Jorg encounters Katherine in a graveyard near his childhood home of Crath City. What happens next is a mystery that unfolds through the rest of the novel. Jorg commits an act so terrible it drives him to madness, forcing his loyal companion, Sir Makin, to bring him to a mage who traps the memory of the event in a magic box. Jorg is told never to open it, but like Pandora, he cannot resist. Each time he cracks the lid, a little more of the truth is revealed, until the devastating secret is finally laid bare. It’s a shocking twist, transforming the novel into an unexpected, tragic tale.
Interwoven with these flashbacks are entries from Katherine’s diary, discovered by Jorg in the prologue. They chronicle her life from the end of Prince of Thorns to the siege on Jorg’s wedding day. These entries make Katherine a significant viewpoint character, adding dimension to the narrative even though the rest of the story is told in Jorg’s first-person voice.
Overall, King of Thorns is a gripping grimdark fantasy, full of adventure, brutal and thrilling battles, and a setting steeped in rich and imaginative worldbuilding. The mystery locked in Jorg’s memory box and the slow reveal of its tragedy provide the novel’s emotional core. Best of all is Jorg’s arc: he earns a measure of sympathy and edges closer to redemption, though whether he’ll ever achieve it remains uncertain. Either way, I can’t wait to see how it all concludes in what promises to be an epic finale, Emperor of Thorns.
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