antonism's review
4.0
4 / 5
As always, I will avoid going into describing the synopsis of the book, you can read that up there ^. Instead, I will go straight into my review. Since this is the 3rd book of a trilogy, I will assume that whoever reads this has already read the previous 2 books. Quick summary?: If you liked the first 2 books, then you know that you need to read the last one!! There are of course some changes compared to the previous two as both Lawrence and his main character grow and mature but it is definitely a very good finale of an amazing trilogy and well worth reading!
Format:
In my e-book version, the book had 392 pages. It contained 54 chapter (+prologue) which were rather short (ranging from 5 to 20 pages long) and easy to read, usually ending in some short of tiny cliff-hanger that made this book a page-turner. There was no map included but that seems reasonable considering the actual localization of the whole series. Lawrence also decided to include a “the story so far” chapter at the beginning to help readers’ memories with important events and an “afterthought” chapter at the end with some comments on the series. I found both of those extremely interesting and useful and I wish more authors did the same.
Characters:
Characterization is starting to become one of Lawrence’s strong points. The main character of the book, Jorg, continues to grow and mature and this is depicted clearly both on Jorg’s thoughts and his actions. Contrary to his actions as a child and later as teen, Jorg now thinks more, considers actions and effects and acts more effectively. There’s more control and more sense of direction That is not to say that he is becoming blunt; on the opposite Jorg is sharper, more decisive and definitely more resourceful than ever before.
There are many secondary characters as well, some of whom we already know from previous book and some new, that feature quite prominently from start to finish. However, none of them ever take the central stage from Jorg, not even Chella who has her own chapters now and then. This is clearly a Jorg-centric book but considering the plot I find this totally justifiable and expected.
Plot & pacing:
It’s always hard to talk about the plot when reviewing the ending of a trilogy without any spoilers so I will refrain as usual to go into much detail about it. As in previous books, there are two main time points: the current time and one five years ago. Initially there’s no urgency but not before long the pace picks up and there’s a lot of tension in every chapter. Suffice to say that a lot of unexpected things happen as is wont mostly due to Jorg’s totally unpredictable character. One could say that there are plot twists if there was a standard plot to be expected, but this book manages to surprise the reader often, sometimes with happenings and events in the present and sometimes with fascinating revelations in the “past”-chapters.
One minor complain I have is with the ending that it felt a little less than what I was hoping for. To avoid spoilers, I will just say that I was expecting an ending with much grander scope and encompassing effects that would ripple in the future. Also, in my opinion the ending was a bit short and felt rather rushed.
Writing:
Lawrence is a very competent writer and it shows easily! Before you raise an eyebrow let me explain. He is not Gene Wolfe or Mervyn Peake or like some nobel-level writer. What I mean is that his writing does exactly what it’s supposed to do in the best of ways; to tell a genre-fiction fantasy story that is easy to follow and makes the reader eager to read. I like how Lawrence’s descriptions are never too long or too short, how his dialogues flow smoothly, are easy to understand and always feel realistic (and if you’ve been following my reviews, then you know I’m very particular about written dialogue!).
In my review of the second book (click here if you want to read it), I had a minor complain about some quite graphical scenes which were a bit jolting to me. I’m happy to admit that even though there are strong scenes in this book as well, they didn’t feel as nasty as I was worried about.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is a worthy finale of an amazing trilogy. A very interesting and intense book with all the characteristics that made the first 2 books so interesting but without being one of the same and tweaked in a new light with a much higher page-turning factor! As a trilogy, this is surely an amazing one and I highly recommend it to fans of gritty fantasy!
4 / 5
As always, I will avoid going into describing the synopsis of the book, you can read that up there ^. Instead, I will go straight into my review. Since this is the 3rd book of a trilogy, I will assume that whoever reads this has already read the previous 2 books. Quick summary?: If you liked the first 2 books, then you know that you need to read the last one!! There are of course some changes compared to the previous two as both Lawrence and his main character grow and mature but it is definitely a very good finale of an amazing trilogy and well worth reading!
Format:
In my e-book version, the book had 392 pages. It contained 54 chapter (+prologue) which were rather short (ranging from 5 to 20 pages long) and easy to read, usually ending in some short of tiny cliff-hanger that made this book a page-turner. There was no map included but that seems reasonable considering the actual localization of the whole series. Lawrence also decided to include a “the story so far” chapter at the beginning to help readers’ memories with important events and an “afterthought” chapter at the end with some comments on the series. I found both of those extremely interesting and useful and I wish more authors did the same.
Characters:
Characterization is starting to become one of Lawrence’s strong points. The main character of the book, Jorg, continues to grow and mature and this is depicted clearly both on Jorg’s thoughts and his actions. Contrary to his actions as a child and later as teen, Jorg now thinks more, considers actions and effects and acts more effectively. There’s more control and more sense of direction That is not to say that he is becoming blunt; on the opposite Jorg is sharper, more decisive and definitely more resourceful than ever before.
There are many secondary characters as well, some of whom we already know from previous book and some new, that feature quite prominently from start to finish. However, none of them ever take the central stage from Jorg, not even Chella who has her own chapters now and then. This is clearly a Jorg-centric book but considering the plot I find this totally justifiable and expected.
Plot & pacing:
It’s always hard to talk about the plot when reviewing the ending of a trilogy without any spoilers so I will refrain as usual to go into much detail about it. As in previous books, there are two main time points: the current time and one five years ago. Initially there’s no urgency but not before long the pace picks up and there’s a lot of tension in every chapter. Suffice to say that a lot of unexpected things happen as is wont mostly due to Jorg’s totally unpredictable character. One could say that there are plot twists if there was a standard plot to be expected, but this book manages to surprise the reader often, sometimes with happenings and events in the present and sometimes with fascinating revelations in the “past”-chapters.
One minor complain I have is with the ending that it felt a little less than what I was hoping for. To avoid spoilers, I will just say that I was expecting an ending with much grander scope and encompassing effects that would ripple in the future. Also, in my opinion the ending was a bit short and felt rather rushed.
Writing:
Lawrence is a very competent writer and it shows easily! Before you raise an eyebrow let me explain. He is not Gene Wolfe or Mervyn Peake or like some nobel-level writer. What I mean is that his writing does exactly what it’s supposed to do in the best of ways; to tell a genre-fiction fantasy story that is easy to follow and makes the reader eager to read. I like how Lawrence’s descriptions are never too long or too short, how his dialogues flow smoothly, are easy to understand and always feel realistic (and if you’ve been following my reviews, then you know I’m very particular about written dialogue!).
In my review of the second book (click here if you want to read it), I had a minor complain about some quite graphical scenes which were a bit jolting to me. I’m happy to admit that even though there are strong scenes in this book as well, they didn’t feel as nasty as I was worried about.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is a worthy finale of an amazing trilogy. A very interesting and intense book with all the characteristics that made the first 2 books so interesting but without being one of the same and tweaked in a new light with a much higher page-turning factor! As a trilogy, this is surely an amazing one and I highly recommend it to fans of gritty fantasy!
4 / 5
tvislife's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
5.0
Phenomenal end to a phenomenal series. By God, am I going to miss little Jorgy!
Like the previous books in this series, this final one is full of murder, mayhem, and things that will make your skin crawl. And yes, I loved every minute of it. Even though I found it a satisfying conclusion plot-wise (The Dead King and the references to the Builders and their goals finally make sense to me), I do still wish we had more time with Jorg. His characterization had a fascinating progression, and the people he surrounded himself with were delightfully mysterious and intriguing as well—I want books from Makin, Katherine, Miana, and Rike’s POV (although I’m guessing Rike’s would just be “where’s the loot” over and over). I’m not ready to leave this world, but so happy I got to experience it.
Like the previous books in this series, this final one is full of murder, mayhem, and things that will make your skin crawl. And yes, I loved every minute of it. Even though I found it a satisfying conclusion plot-wise (The Dead King and the references to the Builders and their goals finally make sense to me), I do still wish we had more time with Jorg. His characterization had a fascinating progression, and the people he surrounded himself with were delightfully mysterious and intriguing as well—I want books from Makin, Katherine, Miana, and Rike’s POV (although I’m guessing Rike’s would just be “where’s the loot” over and over). I’m not ready to leave this world, but so happy I got to experience it.
antigonus's review
4.0
A great trilogy. First part is very awkward moving from one major plot point to another. It doesn't allow for a smooth read. But there is a solid reason behind it. The story & characters just keep getting better from there. Some scenes will never leave you. My favorite part is the final third of book 2. The writing is simply outstanding.
Highly recommend this trilogy. Regardless of whether you end up liking it or not, it is very unique and hence deserves a read by any fantasy fan.
Highly recommend this trilogy. Regardless of whether you end up liking it or not, it is very unique and hence deserves a read by any fantasy fan.
randomprogrammer's review
3.0
weakest of the three books. I didn't mind the ending but it was quick and I felt could have been better. series is still worth reading.
jaymeks's review against another edition
3.0
I generally liked the book, but I honestly felt it was too long and drawn out. Reading all 3 novels within a month, the plots and arcs all played well off of each other, but I think this book could have been 2 instead of the 600 pages that it was.
And the only other beef was the part about little Will. Being a new dad, most of me was pulling for Jorg to pull out of everything somehow and just raise his son. I know it wouldn't have worked, but that's what was pulling me and that's what I wanted.
So, because of that, I was torn on this book.
And the only other beef was the part about little Will. Being a new dad, most of me was pulling for Jorg to pull out of everything somehow and just raise his son. I know it wouldn't have worked, but that's what was pulling me and that's what I wanted.
So, because of that, I was torn on this book.
marianina's review
5.0
-Review on the whole series-
I read a translated version of Prince of Thorns years ago and I absolutely loved it, thought it was a masterpiece. It doesn't really take much to excite an angsty pre-teen and that book probably had more than that. Once I finished it, however, I realized that the rest of the series hadn't been translated (and to this day hasn't still, not sure the publisher is doing great?). The pain! The agony! I had emailed the publisher and would refresh their page every other day for new releases. Mind you, I'm so very glad I didn't read the whole series back then, for it would have not been gentle on my edgy little soul.
And so I return to finish what I've started, with my newly obtained skills of comprehending the English language. Re-reading the first book was a joy! I was certain that the series would fly by in exciting reading sessions that would leave me grinning and (not so) guiltily rooting for this charming bastard of a protagonist. I wasn't wrong, at least until the end of King of Thorns. I closed that book with remarkable enthusiasm (and how could I not after the epic gun scene? Holy cow).
Then, however came the last one, Emperor of Thorns. During the first chapters, the hard realisation of how violent and dark and twisted what I was reading was hit and it put me in a terribly sulky mood. Every event in the story left me feeling such sorrow and dread that I had to close the book every 2-3 chapters. The biggest pause must have been on the first mention of King Olidan's death, partly because of the shock and partly of the fear for that poor baby's life.
The ending though? I declare bamboozled. Changed my opinion. The moment I was happy again reading about uncle Rike I realized how invested I was and how excellent the story telling. I have not had a book play with my emotions like that in a very long time and I am charmed. Amazing work.
On a more technical part! I barely have any complaints. The different timelines were excellently executed, the writing was beautiful, the characters very strong. I had my time of feeling annoyed by the plot and the fact that the author kept driving it into dead ends from which he could escape only with extreme situations coming in like a deus ex machina, but I found that it was eventually explained by the Builders' theory on will (lazy or genius?). One thing that I'm pretty bitter about is Sim's death. I really wanted to see something more of him, when even Maical got a whole scene on his death!
Anyway, the overall experience was great and I'll probably continue with the next trilogy soon. Thank you, Mr Lawrence!
I read a translated version of Prince of Thorns years ago and I absolutely loved it, thought it was a masterpiece. It doesn't really take much to excite an angsty pre-teen and that book probably had more than that. Once I finished it, however, I realized that the rest of the series hadn't been translated (and to this day hasn't still, not sure the publisher is doing great?). The pain! The agony! I had emailed the publisher and would refresh their page every other day for new releases. Mind you, I'm so very glad I didn't read the whole series back then, for it would have not been gentle on my edgy little soul.
And so I return to finish what I've started, with my newly obtained skills of comprehending the English language. Re-reading the first book was a joy! I was certain that the series would fly by in exciting reading sessions that would leave me grinning and (not so) guiltily rooting for this charming bastard of a protagonist. I wasn't wrong, at least until the end of King of Thorns. I closed that book with remarkable enthusiasm (and how could I not after the epic gun scene? Holy cow).
Then, however came the last one, Emperor of Thorns. During the first chapters, the hard realisation of how violent and dark and twisted what I was reading was hit and it put me in a terribly sulky mood. Every event in the story left me feeling such sorrow and dread that I had to close the book every 2-3 chapters. The biggest pause must have been on the first mention of King Olidan's death, partly because of the shock and partly of the fear for that poor baby's life.
The ending though? I declare bamboozled. Changed my opinion. The moment I was happy again reading about uncle Rike I realized how invested I was and how excellent the story telling. I have not had a book play with my emotions like that in a very long time and I am charmed. Amazing work.
On a more technical part! I barely have any complaints. The different timelines were excellently executed, the writing was beautiful, the characters very strong. I had my time of feeling annoyed by the plot and the fact that the author kept driving it into dead ends from which he could escape only with extreme situations coming in like a deus ex machina, but I found that it was eventually explained by the Builders' theory on will (lazy or genius?). One thing that I'm pretty bitter about is Sim's death. I really wanted to see something more of him, when even Maical got a whole scene on his death!
Anyway, the overall experience was great and I'll probably continue with the next trilogy soon. Thank you, Mr Lawrence!
scent_of_the_rain's review against another edition
4.0
This time I will start with the things that I didn’t like about this book. First of all I need to put a disclaimer here: In this book there is child sexual abuse, on page, it happens in flashback so it's not very detailed but if you are someone that may be triggered by this, keep it in mind please. That’s one of the things I didn’t like and the other is that someone has cheated on his wife in this book and even though is not entirely out of character I’m still disappointed. And I didn’t like both of this things is because they didn’t add anything to the plot or character development. If they weren’t there nothing would change, a part of me liking the book more. I’m fine with that kind of thing (in a book obviously) as long as it serves some purpose.
And now to the things I liked… pretty much everything else. The characters and world were written splendidly, nothing new there. And the twist (that saw coming pretty much from the start of this book, with all the not so subtle references to that one character, but still enjoyed very much) was great. The ending heartbreaking but I think it couldn’t end any other way. And the last chapter made me bawl my eyes for hours. I was crying even in my sleep. I was a wreck the next morning.
Miana, as always a badass. But the most surprising and marvellous thing was Rike at the end. This whole series has been an roller-coaster of emotions and enjoyed it so much I actually considering reading the Mark Lawrence’s Red Queen series.
And now to the things I liked… pretty much everything else. The characters and world were written splendidly, nothing new there. And the twist (that saw coming pretty much from the start of this book, with all the not so subtle references to that one character, but still enjoyed very much) was great. The ending heartbreaking but I think it couldn’t end any other way. And the last chapter made me bawl my eyes for hours. I was crying even in my sleep. I was a wreck the next morning.
Miana, as always a badass. But the most surprising and marvellous thing was Rike at the end. This whole series has been an roller-coaster of emotions and enjoyed it so much I actually considering reading the Mark Lawrence’s Red Queen series.
fitzsilvery's review against another edition
5.0
That ending..was the best ending of a book I have ever read. Closure without regret...beautifully told.