Reviews with content warning for Racism - Prince of Thorns

Overall, this book was alright. I liked the main character Jorg for the most part; he had a distinct voice and an interesting enough backstory. Unfortunately, the other characters were not fleshed out to the same extent. In fact, most of them barely mattered at all and it was hard to care about them because they were just there. Jorg himself merely considered them pawns, and this was definitely reflected by the narrative. I think it would've been possible to give the side characters a bit more depth even while portraying that they are of little importance to Jorg.

The one thing I have nothing positive to say about is the plot. Most of the time, I had no idea what was going on, what Jorg was trying to accomplish or why I should even care about what he was up to at any given moment. It felt like Lawrence made the plot up as he went along - which is fine, some people just write like that, but the book could've greatly benefited from one more edit to make sure that all of the plot points are tied together more cohesively. As it was, it felt like the book simply jumped from scene to scene.

The world building was confusing to me, too. Many things that should have been established from the beginning were brought up much too casually halfway through the book, such as the clear confirmation that magic is real. Maybe I'm a bit spoiled by Sanderson's way of writing magic (which is absolutely brilliant), but I felt the book lacked any sort of explanation regarding its magic system. Even after finishing it, I don't know what magic can do, what it's limited to, etc.

The necromancers were introduced pretty much out of nowhere, too, and again, we learn nothing about them, except that they can control people? Maybe?

That aside, there were other aspects of the world building that I disliked, simply because they were not expanded on. The world seemed to be mostly based on the real one, as several philosophers were mentioned and Christianity exists, but it almost feels like those references are just thrown into the book to give that sort of medieval feeling that the author thought a fantasy book should have. Hopefully Lawrence dedicates some more time to the lore in the other books.

But, as I said, the book wasn't bad. It definitely wasn't great, and I'm not sure if I'd even recommend it, but I didn't hate it. I'll definitely read the other books to see how the story continues.

TL;DR: The main character is interesting and it's a fairly quick read. On the other hand, the secondary characters are not very interesting, the plot is not cohesive and hard to follow, the world building is lacking.

Content Warnings

thebetterstory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The Prince of Thorns is a well-written book about a deeply unlikeable main character that the author clearly, fully understands is so. Based on that, you probably already know if this is something you'll want to read.

The world of the setting is interesting without being bogged down by unnecessary exposition. Set in the future of our planet, it fuses fantasy with sci-fi elements while still leaning heavily into low-fantasy tropes. The book lets you know early on that something is up with its fantasy setting when the main character can reference Shakespeare and Sun Tzu from his studies, but figuring out how the ruins of our world have been built on is part of the pleasure of reading.

What isn't part of the pleasure of reading is Jorg. Jorg and his merry band open the story by setting a farming village on fire, hanging out watching the villagers they slit open die slowly, and raping their daughters. (Happily that last one isn't graphic, although expect it to get casually mentioned a few times with about the same level of interest as Jorg saying what they'd eaten for dinner that night.)

Incidentally, women in this book exist solely to be hot, raped, or die tragically. Sometimes in combination, like hot and dead, to spice things up. I came to this because I read and loved Mark Lawrence's later series, The Book of the Ancestor, which has phenomenal, mostly-female cast. The way women are treated here is like night and day, and while some of it can be chalked up to the POV character, that doesn't explain things like the utterly unnecessary, cringe-worthy scene where a pouty, giggling caricature of a sex worker who gets her jiggling ass used as a reading table and then croons over him being a prince, just so we know that Women Want Jorg. Great. There's also a weak attempt at a love-at-first-sight romance, with Jorg becoming instantaneously obsessed with his generically fiery step-aunt (who fits into the "hot" category, of course).

I can only assume that at some point between this and Book of the Ancestor that Lawrence realized his writing came across as sexist as hell and fixed it. Which is actually great! Good on him for improving.

Race is handled marginally better, in part because there are only two characters that read as non-white: Jorg's tutor from future-China, and the Nuban, from future-Africa. No, the Nuban never gets a name, and yes, he's the only one in the whole story who doesn't. They are, respectively, a Magical Asian trope and a Magical Negro trope, downplayed to fit in with the more realistic aspects of the setting. For better or worse, they're also two of the only likeable characters, just for not being inclined toward the casual murder of innocents. Both also

die tragically for Jorg,

but given the tropes you probably saw that coming.

So, all that being said, why read the book? Mostly for the strength of the writing and plot. The prose is readily readable and goes down smoothly, and the pacing snaps forward from plot point to plot point to keep you hooked. It is entertaining to see Jorg boast about how he'll accomplish this or that impossible feat and then follow along with his convoluted schemes to see how he manages it. He's a magnificent bastard to a T. And there are a few scant hints here and there in the book that he's heading towards becoming more likeable eventually, which drew me to try the next book in the series as well when I might have otherwise dropped the series here. I want more of this odd world, and I want to see if Lawrence can turn this violent, psychopathic child into someone worth caring about.

Content Warnings

farleighelse's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This story feels like an edgelord's wet dream. There are frequent references to things that are just never explained or further expanded upon, leaving the reader confused. The concept itself is interesting, but very poorly done, containing the bare minimum that would constitute a book and leaving the reader wanting more, in the worst possible way possible. One of the most childish and simplest books I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

Content Warnings

voxelbee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

pagesofash's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“What's it going to take for you to open that door? Gold? Blood?"
"Your name and password."
"My name is Honorous Jorg Ancrath, my password is divine right. Now open the fecking door.”

Jorg you murderous wry little bastard I fucken love you! You’re right up there with Galharrow in my list of all-time favourite characters.

“… I leapt from the saddle. Or got as close to a leap as a man in full plate can, which is to say that I chose where I fell.”

I imagine that anti-heroes must be hard to write; like truly scary horror, or comedy movies that make you laugh right up till the end, else we’d see more of them. Either that or there’s just not as much demand for a solid anti-hero as I think – perhaps I’m just a special kind of twisted for liking them so much?

Whatever the truth may be this is a fact, you will be hard pressed to find a better anti-hero then good ol Jorgie here. Er I mean bad ol Jorgie… He’s sarcastic, he’s intelligent, he’s murderously ambitious and motivated and he comes equipped with a serious lack of respect for the sanctity of life. Not to wax lyrically about one character but Prince of Thorns is what I’d consider to be a character driven story. It’s not that the plot isn’t interesting, it truly is, and it’s not that there aren’t other characters worthy of your admiration. It’s that if you remove Jorg from this story there wouldn’t be a story, it’s HIS story, cf: title, duh! Don’t go looking for multiple POV’s here, you won’t get them (can I get a hallelujah!?).

Jorg ricochets through these pages leaving all manner of chaos in his wake; everything from torn and bloody bodies to rape, and yes my dear children, even a little bit of cannibalism – which, “is in fact frowned upon in most societies”. So DON’T go reading this book if you’re afraid it will offend your delicate sensibilities. If I read one more review about how such and such didn’t like this because of the violence etc. I’m going to have get medieval on someone’s ass! Clearly if you feel that way then you shouldn’t have picked it up in the first place. There are plenty of reviews stating the type of content contained within, you have been warned and I have no sympathy for any idiocy resulting from such warnings going unheeded. Okay, rant over, where was I? Oh yes…

Despite the destruction he causes and his flat-out amoral actions you can’t help but root for him through every blood torn and mud smeared chapter. Perhaps it’s his backstory, perhaps it’s the subtle nods to something deeper in Jorg’s character. Perhaps it’s the savage company he keeps or the fact that the world he inhabits is full of hard cruel characters. All I know is he’s a funny little bastard who’s not afraid to gamble it all and I would never bet against him.

More than Jorg though I love this book for the writing and the world it depicts. It’s a nihilistic place but the Empire feels like it could still manage to be pulled back from the brink. I think that’s what I find so captivating, a world gone backward that feels like it could be brought forward again if only the right person had hold of the reigns. And whose to say Jorg isn’t the right person for the job? I love the wit and sarcasm that oozes off of every page and the atmosphere of a world so dark that hope is all it has left. Hope and a psychopath.

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