Book Series :: The Broken Empire

Well. Geez. I know who is getting my vote for the John W. Campbell Award this year. And the David Gemmell Morningstar Award.

I’d heard so much about Mark Lawrence‘s PRINCE OF THORNS (Amazon). In fact, I’d heard so much that I was starting to fall into the “There is so much hype that it is bound to be terrible” camp. I finally caved and went out and bought the novel. And holy crap… wow. Didn’t catch that the first time? Let me restate that. Holy Fraking Crap! This novel was AWESOME!
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Once I’d finally managed to get past my irrational dislike of anything with hype attached to it, I gave Mark Lawrence‘s THE PRINCE OF THORNS (EBR Review) a read. You may remember from that review that I was completely and utterly blown away. It was just soooooo good. Then the sequel, THE KING OF THORNS (Amazon) showed up in my mail box.

I may, or may not have wept from the joy I felt. Then I may, or may not have babbled excitedly at my wife while thrusting the book in her face. She may or may not have wondered why she married me.
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I think it’s pretty rare for an author to end a series in a strong and convincing manner. Be it ten novels or two, it just seems like I’m nearly always let down once I get to the end. When I first read Mark Lawrence’s PRINCE OF THORNS (EBR Review), you’ll remember that I was completely blown away. In terms of dark and gritty fantasy, it was pretty close to the top of the list. I was worried when KING OF THORNS (EBR Review) arrived in my mailbox. It couldn’t possibly live up to the first book. Except it did. Then I received the final book in the series, EMPEROR OF THORNS. I didn’t even start reading it right away (hence the delay in this review), because, stupidly, I didn’t want to be let down. Again, how often does an author blow it? Pretty frequently.
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