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A review by peridactyl
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
4.0
(I'm trying to do a thing where I review every book I read in 2016, and seeing as how I'm about to read [b:King of Thorns|12891107|King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #2)|Mark Lawrence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322539112s/12891107.jpg|17382436], I figured I'd better give a short summation of my thoughts on the series'--and Mark Lawrence's--debut.)
I'll start off by saying: I liked it. I really did. I did quite a lot of research as to the general consensus that readers have had for this book, and it's rather polarised. Put simply, people seem to either enjoy it, or they curse it as the work of the devil. Truthfully, if the devil wrote a book I'd probably read it out of curiosity. So, naturally, the controversy surrounding this book made me all the more eager to read it! ;D
I have to say this: I loved the plot. Say what you like about deus ex and plot armour, but it was a good plot and a good story. I'm highly squeamish and I enjoyed it!
I've always held onto the belief that in order for a book to be enjoyable, the reader needs to be given a reason to like or care about the character in some way. This is the sort of book where the protagonist reads more like an antagonist, and yet despite not being expressly likeable, Jorg's character and story is still compelling. A reader undeterred by the mentions of rape in the first few pages (come on people, it's so minor, and it's not like it's advocating rape) cares about Jorg not because he deserves to be cared about, but because without him there is no story. He is both the driving force and the eye of the storm. That's how I feel, at least.
As for the writing itself, the tone and atmosphere fits the character and plot--something which I consider to be very important. Especially since this book is written in first person, the narration style adds to the general impression of Jorg's character.
Given that I almost immediately went and requested the second and third books from the library (and now have them sitting on top of my shelf, waiting to be read), I can pretty safely conclude that I enjoyed Prince of Thorns. I can hardly wait to see what happens in the rest of the trilogy, and I really look forward to reading Lawrence's The Red Queen's War trilogy, as well.
(Well... this ended up being more detailed than I expected, given that it's been nearly a month since I actually read the book. Ah well.)
I'll start off by saying: I liked it. I really did. I did quite a lot of research as to the general consensus that readers have had for this book, and it's rather polarised. Put simply, people seem to either enjoy it, or they curse it as the work of the devil. Truthfully, if the devil wrote a book I'd probably read it out of curiosity. So, naturally, the controversy surrounding this book made me all the more eager to read it! ;D
I have to say this: I loved the plot. Say what you like about deus ex and plot armour, but it was a good plot and a good story. I'm highly squeamish and I enjoyed it!
I've always held onto the belief that in order for a book to be enjoyable, the reader needs to be given a reason to like or care about the character in some way. This is the sort of book where the protagonist reads more like an antagonist, and yet despite not being expressly likeable, Jorg's character and story is still compelling. A reader undeterred by the mentions of rape in the first few pages (come on people, it's so minor, and it's not like it's advocating rape) cares about Jorg not because he deserves to be cared about, but because without him there is no story. He is both the driving force and the eye of the storm. That's how I feel, at least.
As for the writing itself, the tone and atmosphere fits the character and plot--something which I consider to be very important. Especially since this book is written in first person, the narration style adds to the general impression of Jorg's character.
Given that I almost immediately went and requested the second and third books from the library (and now have them sitting on top of my shelf, waiting to be read), I can pretty safely conclude that I enjoyed Prince of Thorns. I can hardly wait to see what happens in the rest of the trilogy, and I really look forward to reading Lawrence's The Red Queen's War trilogy, as well.