Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jul 31, 2013 Patrick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-series, reviewed

I love a good anti-hero. I love characters who are not only total badasses, but willing to make questionable decisions for their own gain or for what they perceive to be the greater good. And despite all this, they're somehow still lovable. Be it a fantasy star such as Elric or Croaker or even a television protagonist like Walter White, anti-heroes tend to be much more interesting or complex as compared to their goody two-shoes heroic counterparts.

In Prince of Thorns, we are given just that. Bu ...more

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Mar 09, 2015 Daphne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: quest

This was a great first in the series for me. I honestly can't wait to continue it on. It felt gritty, violent, and ultra-realistic. So many fantasy books avoid the horrible reality that war is, and this one grabbed it, and was honest about how nasty war is. I'll be continuing this series for sure. ...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Arushi rated it really liked it

Shelves: grimdark

When Jorg was nine, his mother, the Queen and his younger brother were murdered in front of him, while he hung helpless in briar thorns. Thus started this tale of revenge that turned into a quest to conquer all the kingdoms and win the Hundred War.

Now, four years later, he leads a band of bloodthirsty cutthroats and is on the path to taking everything as his own. He says he will be King by the time he is fifteen and he works towards it by playing the game. The game we saw in A Song of Ice and Fi When Jorg was nine, his mother, the Queen and his younger brother were murdered in front of him, while he hung helpless in briar thorns. Thus started this tale of revenge that turned into a quest to conquer all the kingdoms and win the Hundred War.

Now, four years later, he leads a band of bloodthirsty cutthroats and is on the path to taking everything as his own. He says he will be King by the time he is fifteen and he works towards it by playing the game. The game we saw in A Song of Ice and Fire is played here, but only one person is truly a player, because he uses everyone else as a piece. It is beautiful and morbid and infinitely cruel yet just as fascinating to read about this Prince as he moves around, murdering, pillaging, slaughtering, but always with a method to his madness.

The whole book is written from Jorg’s POV and his take on everything makes it an amazingly wicked read. It may be just that its been forever since I read a book whose protagonist was an anti-hero, but still, it is beautifully done, and no, no one wants to redeem anyone, least of all Jorg himself. I think this sums the angst angle up:

“It’s (evil) what I am, and if you want excuses, come and take them.”

This was so refreshing. I didn’t want him to be some sap who turned to good, who was all angsty and guilty and he. was. not. The Prince of Thorns is consistent in his character. He is what he is, and if you cross him, he will kill you no matter who you are. If it serves his purpose, he will kill you, and if you annoy him, he will probably kill you. No, he won’t even care afterwards, though he might remember, depending on the fact if the info has some use to him.

It is that kind of absolute ruthlessness that this thirteen (almost fourteen) year old Prince has, and it is this that he will use to unite the Broken Empire. The Broken Empire which I am pretty sure is Europe, a few thousand years from now, after we destroyed most of our world by unleashing nuclear weapons on each other.

The book keeps moving between the present, and the past (four years ago) when Jorg initially left his father’s castle for revenge. The plot comes out beautifully and the story is nicely layered. Jorg carries it all, but other characters also shine through.

Definitely a book I would recommend, for I am now rushing to close this so I can go read Book 2 in the series. ...more

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