The holidays set me considerably behind on posting book reviews, so I am playing catch-up. My first of three belated reviews is Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.
Emperor of Thorns concludes Lawrence’s The Broken Empire trilogy, a series that has grown stronger with each installment. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth that, many centuries after a nuclear holocaust – called the Day of a Thousand Suns – now resembles a fantasy version of Medieval Europe. The rulers of a hundred fragmented kingdoms are preparing to convene in the capital of this now broken empire, Vyene (Vienna), as they’ve done every four years to try to elect a new emperor. Yet in a hundred years, no one has secured enough votes to wear the crown.
It is against this backdrop that the series protagonist and antihero Jorg Ancrath, now king of seven kingdoms, sets off for Vyene to become emperor. Joining him are his friend and protector, Sir Makin, and their group of fellow brigands, all of whom are now knights in Jorg’s service. Jorg’s young wife, Miana, pregnant with their child, soon joins them after surviving an attempt on her life by a papal assassin.
Their journey to Vyene occupies about half the novel and includes an unexpected rendezvous with Jorg’s prior love interest, Katherine. Jorg is also being pursued by Chella, the sensuous necromancer who appeared in the last two books. Chella even becomes a viewpoint character in this story, and through her scenes, we learn more about the terrifying Dead King, one of the trilogy’s more shadowy antagonists. The Dead King is also headed for Vyene in what will become the series’ ultimate battle.
The remainder of the novel alternates into a flashback set four years earlier, concluding Jorg’s adventures in the Horse Coast (Spain) and Afrique (Africa) that began in King of Thorns. The flashback storyline is as compelling as the main story and a bit more interesting. In it, we learn more about the ghosts of the Builders, the architects of the nuclear cataclysm, who live on as “data echoes” in the machines they created. Jorg discovered one of those ghosts, Fexler Brews, in the prior flashback, and book three completes his tale. The story of the Builders’ ghosts is intertwined with the novel’s central tension: magic itself is tearing at the fabric of the world. One faction of these ghosts wants to put an end to it by causing a second nuclear holocaust. Yet Fexler Brews has a different plan – one that could save the world – and Jorg is the key to its success.
Jorg’s character arc comes to its completion in this novel. The ruthless sociopath of book one is evolving into a more tactical, more thoughtful, and less evil character. He is still as ruthless as they come, but for three books I’ve invested in this character whose story concludes with a final twist. Lawrence nails the ending, crafting a fitting, if unexpected, conclusion for The Broken Empire’s memorable antihero.
Overall, I really enjoyed the series. I’ve also enjoyed Lawrence’s second series, The Red Queen’s War, which runs parallel to this one. It’s set in the same world, and events in one series spill over and have a significant impact on the other one. I feel safe saying The Broken Empire is a grimdark fantasy classic, not to be missed by fans of the genre.