A review by stacey_the_chapter_conundrum
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My Cawpile Score = 7.86/10 so this was a 4.25 star read for me! :)

I think that this did a better job of fitting into a more typical fantasy formula with it being more of a tension build up to a few big/key moments by giving the reader more and more information nuggets along the way instead of having the reader feel like they're putting together a big puzzle like in Prince of Thorns so I think most readers will prefer this sequel.  Personally, I missed all the little questions and reveals and preferred the style and pacing of the previous book though.

That said there were a lot of improvements here! The prose felt better, there were a lot of great character moments, the side characters got more attention and we got to explore and expand on some things from Prince of Thorns such as the world and the road brothers past story & group dynamic.

I felt that some of the ending here was a bit too convenient and that brought my rating down a bit but overall I really enjoyed this and I'm excited to jump into Emperor of Thorns. :)
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