Literature Prince of Thorns
Having recently read the first book and being halfway through the second I am overjoyed to announce I love this series, and would recommend it to any lovers of fantasy literature who are old enough to drink. Just a warning up front, this is a dark book with distinctly unlikable characters doing unspeakable acts from literally the get go (read actually interesting). However I have found that the witty writing style from the perspective of the reprehensible yet darkly funny, Jorg and unorthodox ( without being confusing )story structure keeps this from overwhelming even those with weak stomachs and keeps you reading on, despite occasionally feeling dirty for doing so!
Plot wise, I will be brief to avoid spoilers: Prince leaves home after undergoing a traumatic event which mess him up to a ridiculous yet curiously believable level. He joins a band of outlaws and cut throats who are very well developed characterwise ( The Brothers) and rampages throughout the land, indulging himself in murder and pillaging, albeit with an eventual plan which becomes apparent. We learn of the Hundred Kingdoms and the fight for the title of Emperor. We learn that Jorg's father is a massive oink. We learn a little about Shadowy individuals with magical abilities plucking strings and pulling levers behind the scenes. Who manage this without seeming by the numbers villains.
Add a few monsters and some awesome shot outs to the world of today, which I won't spoil as many made me chuckle. And you have the Prince of Thorns! Just a quick mention of Jorg's evaluation of each character between chapters, an affectation which I love and would encourage more writers to use, as It prevented the usual run down of who's who for the first hundred pages, allowing the narrative to shoot ahead, and was frankly hilarious.
Literature 2/5, can't recommend in good faith
Dark fantasy is in these days, and Prince of Thorns is about as dark as you can get. The premise seems interesting enough: a (presumed dead) prince seeks power above all else to avenge the murder of his family. The book details his Start of Darkness and rise to power.
Prince Jorg Ancrath is the sole protagonist, and also the least likable character. This is a problem. His very first scene has him slaughtering a village of farmers, raping the women and then burning them alive for no reason whatsoever. This moustache-twirling brand of Stupid Evil seems like the perfect setup for an exploration on how Jorg came to be this way, but Prince of Thorns never delivers. There is no slippery slope, no descent into madness and cruelty - Jorg just becomes evil incarnate overnight. And from there on out, it's just evil followed by more evil, often without rhyme or reason.
These shallow attempts at shock value only serve to underline how much of a Villain Stu Jorg is. Despite being only 10 to 14 years old (depending on the timeline) his badass accomplishments simply stretch suspension of disbelief. Young, competent protagonists are common in fantasy, but Mark Lawrence takes it too far. Practically every other chapter Jorg intimidates or kills trained guardsmen, commanders, duelists, knights and other beefcakes twice his size and age. At the age of 10 he takes control of a gang of murderers, rapists, thieves and assassins. At the age of 14 he conquers an entire kingdom on a whim, with only a handful of men. And the entire book is like that.
The reason why Reality Ensues doesn't apply to Jorg actually gets explained in the book, albeit very late, and not in a particularly satisfying manner. Then there's the way it shamelessly rips off and hamfistedly references other (fantasy) literature. For example: Jorg refers to his ambitions as "playing the game of thrones". Cringe.
Then there's phrases like: "Is revenge a science, or an art?", "I'm not afraid of the dark", "I swallowed the night, and the night swallowed me" or - my favorite - "all the heat of [the day] couldn't touch the ice in me". Sad to say, but Prince of Thorns reads like an angry teenager's Power Fantasy.