Helpful Score: 1
The other reviews are accurate - this is about a young, brilliant anti-hero that does morally repugnant things. You could say he's a lot like a young Hannibal Lecter (without the cannibalism.) He's a genius and sociopath. Occasionally he does feel empathy for others but he barely recognizes it.
The setting is interesting - similar to the Shannara series in that it's post apocalyptic and society has fallen to a medieval state. Technology is there but it's become unfamiliar and mostly deteriorated. Often its difficult to understand what the character sees is actually our modern infrastructure and things in it such as elevators, cables, etc. Ruined skyscrapers have become castles.
The books aren't long reads so I am going to finish the trilogy but it's far from my favorite fantasy series.
The setting is interesting - similar to the Shannara series in that it's post apocalyptic and society has fallen to a medieval state. Technology is there but it's become unfamiliar and mostly deteriorated. Often its difficult to understand what the character sees is actually our modern infrastructure and things in it such as elevators, cables, etc. Ruined skyscrapers have become castles.
The books aren't long reads so I am going to finish the trilogy but it's far from my favorite fantasy series.
Helpful Score: 1
When your protagonist rapes a woman after destroying her village within the first few pages of a book, you better go to extraordinary lengths to make the character worth following for the next few hundred pages- let alone a multi-book series. Prince of Thornes, while well written and offering some intriguing twists on the fantasy genre, doesn't really do it.
Certainly not for lack of trying. Lawrence brings a cast of loathsome and often amusing characters and puts them in a pretty well imagined world that offers the possibility of secrets and adventures. But Jorg, the "hero" of the series, is hard to root for from the very beginning unless you like your anti-heroes very, very dark (and 14 for some reason). And at a slim 336 pages we really don't get deep enough into the world to care what's going on. Lawrence also relies on the deus ex machina to get his characters out of waaaay too many situations therefore bleeds the tension out of most of the book.
As to the physical book, while the cover art is really good- Ace seems to have blown their budget on the cover- the book itself is cheaply printed and the map in the front is too small and not detailed enough.
Overall can't really recommend Prince of Thorns.
Certainly not for lack of trying. Lawrence brings a cast of loathsome and often amusing characters and puts them in a pretty well imagined world that offers the possibility of secrets and adventures. But Jorg, the "hero" of the series, is hard to root for from the very beginning unless you like your anti-heroes very, very dark (and 14 for some reason). And at a slim 336 pages we really don't get deep enough into the world to care what's going on. Lawrence also relies on the deus ex machina to get his characters out of waaaay too many situations therefore bleeds the tension out of most of the book.
As to the physical book, while the cover art is really good- Ace seems to have blown their budget on the cover- the book itself is cheaply printed and the map in the front is too small and not detailed enough.
Overall can't really recommend Prince of Thorns.
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -
It was difficult to figure out why this novel doesn't quite work. It had lots of potential, and I wanted to like it. The writing is strong. The brutality didn't bother me. (I don't see why it would bother anyone who has read & enjoyed anything like 'Game of Thrones.') I could even have overlooked the author's inexplicably poor choice to make his anti-hero 14 years old, which is completely unrealistic given the character's attitudes and behavior and how others respond to him. However, the narration is oddly uneven, almost as if an incompetent editor cut out all the parts that were needed for continuity. There seemed to be no thorough, cohesive vision for the story as a whole.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -
It was difficult to figure out why this novel doesn't quite work. It had lots of potential, and I wanted to like it. The writing is strong. The brutality didn't bother me. (I don't see why it would bother anyone who has read & enjoyed anything like 'Game of Thrones.') I could even have overlooked the author's inexplicably poor choice to make his anti-hero 14 years old, which is completely unrealistic given the character's attitudes and behavior and how others respond to him. However, the narration is oddly uneven, almost as if an incompetent editor cut out all the parts that were needed for continuity. There seemed to be no thorough, cohesive vision for the story as a whole.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -
It was difficult to figure out why this novel doesn't quite work. It had lots of potential, and I wanted to like it. The writing is strong. The brutality didn't bother me. (I don't see why it would bother anyone who has read & enjoyed anything like 'Game of Thrones.') I could even have overlooked the author's inexplicably poor choice to make his anti-hero 14 years old, which is completely unrealistic given the character's attitudes and behavior and how others respond to him. However, the narration is oddly uneven, almost as if an incompetent editor cut out all the parts that were needed for continuity. There seemed to be no thorough, cohesive vision for the story as a whole.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -
It was difficult to figure out why this novel doesn't quite work. It had lots of potential, and I wanted to like it. The writing is strong. The brutality didn't bother me. (I don't see why it would bother anyone who has read & enjoyed anything like 'Game of Thrones.') I could even have overlooked the author's inexplicably poor choice to make his anti-hero 14 years old, which is completely unrealistic given the character's attitudes and behavior and how others respond to him. However, the narration is oddly uneven, almost as if an incompetent editor cut out all the parts that were needed for continuity. There seemed to be no thorough, cohesive vision for the story as a whole.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
I doubt I'll be reading the next book in this series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by Lawrence, as I did appreciate the writing. Perhaps he's like wine and cheese: gets better with age.
