King of Thorns
David Gemmell Legend Award nominee 2013.
The second book in the Broken Empire series, Lawrence takes his young anti-hero one step closer to his grand ambition.
To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the world in blood…
The land burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings fight for the Broken Empire. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.
A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds. Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king.
Faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan.
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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

