Lawrence, Mark- Prince of Thorns(The Broken Empire #1);Informal Buddy Read:Starts November 13 2014

[Claire]

NancyHelen Wrote".It is interesting also how the author has combined a fantasy world with a real one. Jorg reads Plutarch, for instance, and yet the world he is existing in is definitely not ours. "

Yeah, but I'm not sure I like it. I mean, it's like a medieval world. And here they mention Nietzsche. It feels like an anachronism.

[Nancy]

I'm still struggling through. I just don't like Jorg. I feel like someone ought to give him a good slap. But I am only a third of the way through, so perhaps he discovers a little more maturity as the books goes on. Yes, I understand he is traumatised by the death of his mother and brother, but as was stated, hundreds of other people have experienced that too but haven't gone out on a revenge-filled killing spree. But I'll read on.

[Cynthia]

NancyHelen - I would agree with Kristin. Keep reading and Much Will Be Revealed! All kidding aside, I hate to see people stop reading halfway through when the last parts of the book put many things into perspective.

Of course, I always assume that the anti-hero has something good deep down inside or else he'd be the villain and someone else would be our protagonist. I don't know why my natural cynicism falls aside when I open a book, but I'm much more forgiving in my fantasy life.

[Vi]

I finished it a couple of days back and I'm still a bit torn about.

NancyHelen, like others said, read through. There are certain twists that explains a bit of what Jorg did.

Not-serious spoiler:(view spoiler)[ His family is really dysfunction. What a father?!! Yeah, your son is like a madman. But to kill him?!! (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Ok, so Corian modified his memory. But does that explain his raping? Not to me. Even if the setting is medieval and all that, he's still only 14. I can accept he was damaged, undergone a trauma but that doesn't mean he had to be rapist. I feel like the author had added it as a shock value. I can get behind the revenge plot somewhat but not behind a rapist. This is my major peeve in the story. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not sure if I want to continue the series given my issues with Jorg.

[RachelvlehcaR]

Vi, I have this one a 3 star because I had some issues with it but I also enjoyed it. I heard the books get better.

[RachelvlehcaR]

This is my view of Jorg. (view spoiler)[ This book is about his point of view. Not only that he has witness a great deal of traumatic events during his young life. He is in a patriarch society and it's survival of the fittest. He said that he could have been weaker due to the challenges in life, especially with his family and witnessing it. Instead he said he wasn't going to and to harden up. He sure did. I could see him making himself doing things to make people fear him and for him to be top dog. He made sure he was high on the pecking order and did all of it to make sure he wouldn't be picked on or double crossed. His plan was for to be kind by 14 and Emperor by 15. He is cruel and harsh, like when he telling his story about how he nailed the priest in the head and it changed the way the priest was. I was like wow. Yeah it's shock value. I liked it and am looking forward to him messed up world. It's just my take on it all. (hide spoiler)]

[Nancy]

I will keep going - thank you everyone for the encouragement.

Cynthia, I agree with you about giving up halfway. It also makes me sad when people do. I almost always finish a book I've started even if it takes me a while. I hate leaving books half-finished. They have to be absolutely dire for me to do so. I could probably count on one hand the number of books I have left unfinished, confident I would never go back to in the last 10 years.

Reading on then!...

[Amanda]

Chapter 13
(view spoiler)[
I love the scene where Jorg and the Nuban first meet. He may say he had other reasons to free the man, but I think he still has some compassion left in him. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

Just finished.
I actually ended up liking it quite a bit. It's the type of epic fantasy that I love.

(view spoiler)[
I understand Jorg better now that we know that not all his brutality was his alone.

I didn't expect his father to try to kill him. I knew that he wasn't a good person, but I thought that his heir would be important to him. He's made a big mistake.

Also: WHY DID THE NUBAN HAVE TO DIE?! I loved his character! (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

Oh! One more thought.
Chapter 33
(view spoiler)[
At the top of the Great Stair and outside the vault...was that a computer? (hide spoiler)]

[Vi]

Amanda, (view spoiler)[Yes, I was like, was that a computer?! I think it was though the whole thing about the spirit was making me think.

I'm glad you liked it - I just can't get past the rapist part (even given whatever justification - time period etc.) If atleast he repented a bit.. but no. It's just not something I can dismiss easily. At this point, I'm totally not interested in continuing the series. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

Vi,
(view spoiler)[
I agree. It is very hard to like him or any of his friends because of the rape. If it had continued throughout the book I would have just abandoned it.

It helped me to see him with the prostitute and know that she was his first willing woman. I got to thinking that he grew up and hit puberty while he was with a band of mercs and rape was a normal thing for them. He would have learned that from them.
It absolutely does not excuse it, of course, but I think it made me understand him a little better. (hide spoiler)]

[Snowtulip]

NancyHelen wrote: "I'm still struggling through. I just don't like Jorg. I feel like someone ought to give him a good slap. But I am only a third of the way through, so perhaps he discovers a little more maturity as ..."

I'm with you NancyHelen, I've yet to find one redeeming quality in him. I just finished Chapter 14, I will continue in hopes of more from Jorg, especially since it sounds like pieces start to fall together.

[Snowtulip]

Amanda wrote: "Chapter 13

I love the scene where Jorg and the Nuban first meet. He may say he had other reasons to free the man, but I think he still has some compassion left in him."

I liked that scene too, especially since it really helped me understand how he could be leading this group of brothers at 15...that keeps boggling my brain. Need to leave my modern agist views behind ;)

[Snowtulip]

Kristin wrote: "I'm up to Chapter 26 now. I actually really like this book and I don't think Jorg is as bad of a person as we think. At least I'm hoping there's even more to his story that we were made to believe...."

I get the feeling that this is what Jane means as well.

[Snowtulip]

Vi, I just finished last night (view spoiler)[and I don't think I like Jorg enough to continue the series either, he did have someone else exerting some control over him, but we saw his personality prior to Corion and it didn't seem like he was going to be an apologetic type of person for his deads...he did leave his uncle for dead when he left. (hide spoiler)]

[Nancy]

Well, here I am, over two months later, and I have finally finished this book. I can now see what you all mean - how things get explained at the end. In that way, I think the author was very clever. He really created an evil character in Jorg who you couldn't help hating, but when you saw why, it almost became understandable. Forgivable? I don't know. My problem was I found it just so hard to read (which is why I left it for so long) because of my inability to feel any empathy with the main character.

However, by the end, I quite enjoyed it. I probably won't read any more. Fantasy isn't necessarily my cup of tea, so something which is fantasy has to be really good for me to want to read on. This is a solid three star read, but not much more.

[Snowtulip]

It was definitely hard to read NancyHelen! I have to find something redeemable in the main characters, but just don't have it in me to read any more of this series.

[Nancy]

Snowtulip wrote: "It was definitely hard to read NancyHelen! I have to find something redeemable in the main characters, but just don't have it in me to read any more of this series."

I completely agree. Even if I don't like them, I still need to feel some kind of empathy. I didn't get that with Jorg. I am grateful that the book ended in a way that you don't really have to read the next book if you don't want. I think I would have been even more annoyed with it if it had ended on a cliff hanger.