Audio Book Review: Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

So, I (Garrett) finally just concluded the Broken Empire series and I have to say, I've got some mixed feelings swirling around my head. What makes this an interesting review is the fact that I read the first two and listened to the last one. This gives me a very interesting complex. Problem being, I think the written books are MUCH better than the audio versions. And sadly, I think it may have ruined the brilliance of the last novel for me.

The audio version comes in at a total of fifteen hours and four minutes and is read by Joe Jameson. We start out following one of my favourite antihero's ever, the violent, narcissistic, (insert more negative adjectives) Jorg Ancrath who covets The Imperial Crown for no reason other than to do something he has been told he can't.

I'll avoid spoilers, so that's all the plot talking I'll do. Just know it is a very wild ride, and their is some twists and plot turns that will leave you speechless. And I had those moments. Moments when my ears were focusing with every scrap of listening capability they could muster, but there were too many other times when my mind was wandering. And on a three hour drive, with nothing but the sound of someones voice to keep me company, that speaks volumes.

Performance wise, I thought Joe Jameson did a decent job. His voice is pleasant, without being magical. But his task was probably made a lot harder because I'd read the first two, and thus I had developed my own voice and personality for each of the characters. Then to hear someone else setting the tone and flow, it can make it quite hard to adjust to internally. For instance would I put an inflection on some of the words Joe did or would I pause at this point in the story? No in a lot of places. But this is a hard thing to accomplish, because it's kind of like reading a book and then seeing the movie, which all avid readers know rarely compares to the brilliance of a good read. And for me this felt the same.

I guess I'd just describe the whole audio experience as flat. The vibrant writing of Mark Lawrence just didn't pop off the page, figuratively speaking of course. There were a few analogies and similes that had me scratching my head. A couple that seemed to have very modern references, and while that is also part of Mark's world, they still managed to throw me out of the fantasy perspective which isn't something I'm inclined to enjoy. Also, Chella's chapters were a real letdown for me and, why I understand the need for them, I personality just really didn't like having to drag my ears through the mud to get to the gold.

What is done well is the intertwining of each of the plot points and that really comes across as masterful. Especially when you have a sprawling story and only three books to accomplish the task. Jorg also has to be one of the most brilliant characters ever written, and not just in the fantasy genre. He has all the traits we decent humans despise, yet Mark manages to write a character you like and more importantly, feel sympathetic towards.

The final scenes were done very well. Everything came together and I think the vast majority of people would walk away thinking it was with a great ending *cough* "Joe Abercrombie." *cough*.

Overall, I'll give this a 3/5. Enjoyable, but nothing more than that.

And for comparison sake The Prince of Thorns (read) I would give a 5/5 and the King of Thorns (read) a 4.5/5. Hopefully that helps sum up the audio book experience.

The audio version is available at Audible.com