Prince of Thorns
David Gemmell Morningstar Award nominee 2012.
Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled the weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother’s tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that’s true enough, but there’s something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse.
Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg’s bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father’s castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.
Prince of Thorns is the first volume in a powerful new epic fantasy trilogy, original, absorbing and challenging. Mark Lawrence’s debut novel tells a tale of blood and treacher, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.
“This is a lean, cold knife-thrust of a novel, a revenge fantasy anchored on the compelling voice and savage purpose of its titular Prince. There is never a safe moment in Lawrence’s debut.” — Robert Redick, author of The Red Wolf Conspiracy
Readers also enjoyed
Mark Lawrence
Mark Lawrence writes with the kind of precision that feels almost dangerous—he has a way of drawing you into worlds where every word counts, every moment is filled with tension, and every choice carries weight. His stories, as intricate as they are brutal, weave together a raw exploration of human nature, often set against landscapes both bleak and beautiful. Readers step into his books not just to follow a plot, but to feel something profound shift inside them.
Born in the UK, Lawrence's early life wasn’t shaped by fantasy novels or fairy-tale heroes. Instead, he grew up with a love for the real and the gritty, which led him to study mathematics and work in the world of technology. His transition to writing wasn’t immediate, but it was inevitable. After years spent in the heart of logic and numbers, Lawrence's creative side finally broke free, channeling his sharp mind into dark, poignant tales that capture the nuances of struggle, survival, and self-doubt.
The Broken Empire
The Broken Empire consists of three primary books, and includes two additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series The Broken Empire Universe
Reviews and Comments
amazing book had me desperate to get my hands on the next