A review by thebetterstory
Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence
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 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.
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
Spoiler
die tragically for Jorg,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
Moderate: Torture, Child death, and Gore
Minor: Rape, Racism, and Sexual assault