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Mark’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Mark’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Mark Lawrence’s Followers (56,695)
1,822 books
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4,333 friends
3,878 books
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950 friends
1,218 books
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849 friends
148 books
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24 friends
6,013 books
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223 friends
438 books
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33 friends
3,407 books
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2,771 friends
1,841 books
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156 friends
More friends…
Mark Lawrence
Goodreads Author
Born
in The United States
Website
Twitter
Genre
Member Since
November 2010
URL
https://www.goodreads.com/marklawrence
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Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)
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published
2011
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75 editions
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King of Thorns (Broken Empire, #2)
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published
2012
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5 editions
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Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1)
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published
2017
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43 editions
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Emperor of Thorns (Broken Empire, #3)
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published
2013
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5 editions
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The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1)
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published
2023
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27 editions
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Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #2)
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published
2018
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2 editions
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Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)
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published
2014
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45 editions
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Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #3)
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published
2019
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4 editions
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The Liar's Key (The Red Queen's War, #2)
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published
2015
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33 editions
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One Word Kill (Impossible Times, #1)
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published
2019
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8 editions
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Mark Lawrence
is currently reading
Mark Lawrence said:
"
Now out in the US & UK.Watch me show off all the editions!
Signed a few copies of the standard edition recently...
I've written a DARK book here!
Here's the cover reveal, along with an interview with the artist!
https://thatthornguy.com/2025/10/21/i...
Th ...more "
Mark Lawrence
is currently reading
Mark Lawrence said:
"
Missing Pages is finally ready 😮 Don't forget the short stories!
All the Library short stories, plus a new one (Tabula Rasa) in one ebook, paperback, or hardcover.
Go get it!
Cover art by Tom Brown - check him out:
https://mothfestival.wordpress.com/co. ...more "
Mark’s Recent Updates
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Mark Lawrence
and
5 other people
liked
Laurel's review
of
Daughter of Crows (The Kindness Academy, #1):
"Beautiful and disturbing
I love that the hero is a middle aged/elderly woman, someone typically invisible to society. Themes around aging, regret, and chosen vs blood family, all wrapped up in a kick ass fantasy novel. Looking forward to the next." Read more of this review » |
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Mark Lawrence
has read
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A comment on my review of Ready Player One made me remember this book. In 1982 I won a school prize for exam results and they gave me a book token then presented the books I bought with it to me on stage. I went to Foyles IIRC, which at that time was ...more |
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Mark Lawrence
and
6 other people
liked
Netty's review
of
The Book That Held Her Heart (The Library Trilogy, #3):
"This book was very bittersweet. Beautifully written and as much as I wish certain parts had gone a different way, I know they were necessary to the story. The way this book tied in real events to help tie in the finale was one that I greatly apprecia"
Read more of this review »
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Mark Lawrence
and
3 other people
liked
C.M. Silverstein's review
of
Tabula Rasa (The Library Trilogy, #1.4):
"Mildly insane and a lot of fun!"
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Mark Lawrence
and
2 other people
liked
Sage's review
of
Daughter of Crows (The Academy of Kindness, #1):
"Gritty, dark, deep characters. I was unnerved by this as much as I loved the richness of it, and am looking forward to the next book."
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Mark Lawrence
has read
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Picked up my copy of this at the hospital charity shop for £1. Been here every day (and some nights) for 6 (now in 7th) weeks with my disabled youngest daughter. [image] I'm not an enormous fan of sci-fi, despite my degree in Physics, maths-based Ph.D, ...more |
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Mark Lawrence
has read
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I feel there should be a few more authors on the Goodreads listing - it's just Joanne Harris and me at the moment! I have a Snorri story in this one (a Red Queen's War character, but the story can be read as a standalone). ...more |
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Mark Lawrence
rated a book it was amazing
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Book 3 in #SPFBO champion Justin Lee Anderson's fine series! For me, despite the fact that Book 1 (The Lost War) won the SPFBO contest, beating 299 other self-published fantasy novels, book 2 was better, and book 3 is the best of the lot so far. These ...more |
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Mark Lawrence
rated a book it was amazing
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So, this book was entered into the 2019 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off contest #SPFBO For more about the contest, go here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2... The book was a semi-finalist but also awarded "Senlin Safety Net" status which, among o ...more |
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Mark Lawrence
rated a book really liked it
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I rated this 5* from memory of reading the trilogy (as it then was) back in the late 70s. [image] I now have this illustrated big-fat-book that collects all 6 of the Earthsea novels in one volume and I plan to read them all soon. I've read the first 4 ...more |
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“Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you.”
― Prince of Thorns
― Prince of Thorns
“We die a little every day and by degrees we’re reborn into different men, older men in the same clothes, with the same scars.”
― King of Thorns
― King of Thorns
Polls
Final Poll for series starting 4/1/23
Shadowmarch series, 4 books by Tad Williams, starting with Shadowmarch
Book of the Ancestor trilogy by Mark Lawrence, starting with Red Sister
Topics Mentioning This Author
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Reality: Forthcoming books for August 2011 | 34 | 101 | Aug 01, 2011 07:22PM | |
Fantasy Book Club:
It's time to nominate our October book
|
104 | 451 | Sep 30, 2011 05:31AM | |
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SciFi and Fantasy...:
Dark Fantasy Nominations for February
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77 | 148 | Jan 11, 2012 07:55PM | |
| SciFi and Fantasy...: February Fantasy Theme: Anti-Hero | 23 | 227 | Feb 01, 2012 06:22AM | |
| The Sword and Laser: B&N Best Fantasy Books of 2011 | 10 | 193 | Feb 03, 2012 07:47AM | |
| Fantasy Book Club...: Best of 2011 Lists | 13 | 129 | Feb 04, 2012 05:47AM | |
| Fantasy Aficionados: B&N Best Fantasy Books of 2011 | 3 | 102 | Mar 09, 2012 03:00PM |
“Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.”
― Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature
― Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Dune
― Dune
“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
― The Fellowship of the Ring
― The Fellowship of the Ring
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― The Fellowship of the Ring
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― The Fellowship of the Ring
The Cool Kids' Fantasy Club
— 1804 members
— last activity 16 hours, 54 min ago
A group to chat about SFF books. Authors and readers welcome. I might post about my books and the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off too. I plan on maki ...more
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 327533 members
— last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Fantasy Book Club
— 2451 members
— last activity Jun 12, 2026 11:41PM
For readers of Fantasy, monthly book discussions and other fun stuff! We hold nominations on the first Saturday of the month, the poll opens the fo ...more
Dragons & Jetpacks
— 2570 members
— last activity 5 hours, 43 min ago
A book group for all those who love sci-fi and fantasy. We read three books per month, one from each genre, plus a carefully curated moderators specia ...more
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
— 42798 members
— last activity 32 minutes ago
Hi there! SFFBC is a welcoming place for readers to share their love of speculative fiction through group reads, buddy reads, challenges, ...more
/r/Fantasy Discussion Group
— 6753 members
— last activity Jun 04, 2026 07:36PM
A place for readers/contributors of Reddit's /r/Fantasy subreddit to discuss books from the genre and see others' book lists and recommendations. ...more
SFF Chronicles
— 81 members
— last activity Feb 09, 2015 12:04PM
A group for members of the SFF Chronicles forum
Grimdark Fantasy
— 2063 members
— last activity May 08, 2026 11:15PM
This is for fans of what has been coined Grimdark Fantasy. This includes books by authors such as Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, George RR Martin, Sc ...more
The Broken Empire Universe by Mark Lawrence
— 90 members
— last activity Apr 27, 2019 06:27PM
For anyone who has read books from The Broken Empire Universe and wants to discuss them. GRs: Mark Lawrence Author's site Unofficial website The Br ...more
Knights of Draconic: A Fantasy Book Club
— 116 members
— last activity Dec 30, 2014 05:13AM
We are the Knights of Draconic! A bunch of people with a passion for fantasy books! We will do all things fantasy! Roleplaying for the younger members ...more
Comments (showing 8-57)
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Great writer, even greater man. All the best, Mr. Lawrence!
Dan wrote: "Starting Red Sister, and with how I've been striking out lately I'm extra excited about it!Anyway, I look inside and wa-la, I even get an prependix! Thank you for that. And Mark, thank you for 1..."
Let's hope so!
Starting Red Sister, and with how I've been striking out lately I'm extra excited about it!Anyway, I look inside and wa-la, I even get an prependix! Thank you for that. And Mark, thank you for 10-page average chapters. So much easier to say "just one more"!
Sometimes you just know right away that a book is going to be good!
Ellie wrote: "Thanks for accepting my request!I am currently anticipating the receipt of Emperor of Thorns, I'm a little late to the party, I know.
The Turtle Moves."
Better late than never. Much better. I hope you enjoy the book!
Thanks for accepting my request!I am currently anticipating the receipt of Emperor of Thorns, I'm a little late to the party, I know.
The Turtle Moves.
Thank you Mark for accepting my friend request!
Admittedly I chose Prince of Thorns for the cover. I often choose my books in this manner. I am SO grateful for it. Fantastic read. Jorg is a very captivating character. I finished it today and immediately bought King of Thorns. I look forward to finishing the series. Thank you for your works. They are becoming a wonderful addition to my collection.
Thank you Mark for accepting my friendship request on Good Reads.
Thanks for accepting my friend request! Im looking forward to reading your books
Thank you Mark for accepting my FR:) I loved Prince of Thorns!
Clifton wrote: "Just started reading Prince of Thorns. Masterful!"Great to hear, Clifton. If you've finished it then remember that all authors are grateful for readers who take a moment to hit that star rating button!
Angela wrote: "I am so excited, I finally got to buy Prince of Thorns. It's been on my list for a while. I look forward to reading it."I hope you like it when you get around to it. A glance at your books indicates that it may be a bit of a culture shock!
I am so excited, I finally got to buy Prince of Thorns. It's been on my list for a while. I look forward to reading it.
Just started reading Prince of Thorns. Masterful!
hi Mark, I keep finding your reviews on the same books that catch my attention either I read or in my TBR pile, so I was wondering if you going to read the rest of the Gentleman bastard by Scott Lynch anytime soon, would like to see your reviews on it, it is getting better and more complicated btw, i am nearly half way through the 3rd one.
Thanks for accepting my friend request. Love your work.I hope to see a Croatian edition of the Broken Empire and Prince of Fools soon, for those unfortunate souls that don't read english. Looking forward to The Liar's Key.
Hey Mark thanks for accepting the friend request looking forward to discussing some great sff.
Thank you so much for adding me! Your work is amazing!
I finally read Prince of Thorns - great opening to a series!
Just started Prince of fools.Once again you have hooked me with the opening line.
Hello there! I am shamelessly posting my Facebook share here, I would be very grateful if you could follow the link to Mark Lawrence's Facebook page and like my doctored image for the Prince of Foolscompetition! Thanks in advance and don't forget to check out the other images that have been entered!https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
Mark wrote: "Marc wrote: "As much as I hate myself for pestering for spoilers but.....Will we ever learn the final fate of Chella.....her chapters surprised me as being one of the best parts of Emperor of Thor..."
Thanks for the response Mark
The Chella Povs were one of the strongest parts of the book for me, you took a character who was pretty much alien and in possession of no redeeming quality's and turned it around....she was but no means like-able but she at-least appeared human and worthy of some empathy on my part.
If she managed to someone survive her last appearance shes gonna be a pretty broken woman in the new world Jorg wrought.
Marc wrote: "As much as I hate myself for pestering for spoilers but.....Will we ever learn the final fate of Chella.....her chapters surprised me as being one of the best parts of Emperor of Thorns."
I don't know. All I can say is that I don't know what happened/happens to any of the characters after I stop writing. Whether I'll ever write more about any of them ... who knows? Not me!
Glad you liked the Chella, chapters.
As much as I hate myself for pestering for spoilers but.....Will we ever learn the final fate of Chella.....her chapters surprised me as being one of the best parts of Emperor of Thorns.
Hey, thanks very much for the add! I'm a huge fan (although you effectively crushed my heart at the end of Emperor of Thorns) but hey, you did warn us in the blurb. I wonder if that quote "..but do not follow me. Follow me, and I will break your heart" has a sneaky double meaning?
Nevey Berry wrote: "Thanks for befriending me.I love your book cover."
Hopefully by now you've loved what's underneath too :)
Hudson wrote: "Hello Mark and thank you. I have just come back to fantasy after a very long absence and I am glad to be back. So far I have blazed through Martin, Sullivan and Hobb, Prince of Thorns is one of the..."Welcome back! I took 10 years off myself - George Martin's books dragged me back & Robin Hobb kept me in after that.
Hello Mark and thank you. I have just come back to fantasy after a very long absence and I am glad to be back. So far I have blazed through Martin, Sullivan and Hobb, Prince of Thorns is one of the next on my list, can't wait!Thanks also for your participation in the various groups and forums on Goodreads, as a fan I will tell you I really appreciate it!
I have to admit that if I had not have read your synopsis of prince of thorns I would not have guessed that the broken empire series was based in our own world in a different time period. I mean I was a bit weirded out over the way that 'spirit in the wall' was talking. But I still didn't realise. The fact actually makes me more excited to finally finish king of thorns and then start my copy of emperor.I mean the philosopher references did make me suspicious but i thought you were just trying to provoke a sense of deja vu.
Thank you for accepting my friend request, Mark. :)
I entered a contest last Christmas for a Bad "Elf on the shelf" picture. I was winning until all of a sudden these 4 other contestants jumped up 100's of voted in the last hours. I researched it and found out about proxy servers. Saw Elf
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/saw/image...
Mark. It is hard to win online voting contest. People cheat and use proxy servers to give themselves more votes. So you did not loose last time. "The Game is Rigged Man" Bodie -The Wire
You can actually hire companies from Asian countries to boost your online votes. Not to say you would ever do something like that. I just wanted to let you know what you are up against.
Just received Prince of Thorns in the mail! I'm looking forward to reading it.
Thanks for the accept!!I m so happy!!Your book is gonna be published in Greece soon!!!
http://www.chryssalisbooks.gr/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/%CE%95...
Just pre-ordered Empire of Thorns! Now I feel like I should have a sticker, or stamp or something showing it off... like they give us at the voting booth on election day.
Nick wrote: "Mark, thanks for adding me. Huge fan of your writing. Do you have plans to write any other novels within the Broken Empire Universe (after Emperor)?
Nick"
Yup - Just written one. Out 2014 if all goes to plan! Not a 'Jorg' book though.
Mark, thanks for adding me. Huge fan of your writing. Do you have plans to write any other novels within the Broken Empire Universe (after Emperor)?
Nick
Tim wrote: "Sorry Celyn didn't make it into the finals."robbed! I demand a recount!
Todd wrote: "Hey Mark, I'm a teacher always trying to hunt down good books. Do you have any children books that you'd consider must reads?"Sorry I missed this - I guess it all depends on the age. Many classics I loved seem too slow for modern kids (Stig of the Dump, Weirdstone of Brisengamen), Dahl still seems to work (Fantastic Mr Fox etc). My daughter _loves_ Lauren Child, especially the Claric Bean books. But there's no beating Wheel-Mouse vs All The Crazy Robots!
Hey Mark, I'm a teacher always trying to hunt down good books. Do you have any children books that you'd consider must reads?
Nevey Berry wrote: "Hello Mark,I wonder if you have a Twitter I would love to add you over there :) .
Nevey."
Sorry - missed this one! It's @mark__lawrence (2 underscores)
Dear Mark,It is an honor and real privalidge to connect with you here on GoodReads. The Broken Empire trilogy is quite remarkable and just wonderful, and as a fan of the fantasy genre as well i would like to thank you for being my friend.
Kind Regards
Lucinda x
Hello Mark,I wonder if you have a Twitter I would love to add you over there :) .
Nevey.
Thanks for the add! I'm from India and am a big fan of your work. The best moment for me in the book was the door with the artificial intelligence. I simply loved the whole concept. I can't wait for the second book! Kudos to you again, cheers!
Sep 21, 2023 06:12AM
Apr 29, 2025 09:04AM