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A review by songwind
The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence
5.0
Note: I listened to this series as audio books, so my spellings of names may be inaccurate.
The Story
Once again, Mark Lawrence makes us root for a horrible human being by making them witty, charming, and in the middle of important events.
The story picks up not long after we left off in [b:Prince of Fools|18693743|Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)|Mark Lawrence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385072473s/18693743.jpg|25595312]. As usual, Jalan has spent time in the wrong bed at the wrong time and it's come to bite him in ass. Snorri is making preparations to set sale to see the witch Skilfar, to ask her how he can use Loki's Key to open the door into Hel.
What follows is one part adventure, one part travelogue, one part slapstick comedy, and a healthy portion of fleeing for their lives. The book ranges from the far north to the Florentine banking town of Omburtide.
Lawrence makes use of one of his signature devices, the story-within-the-story, to great effect. First as Snorri relates what happened while they were split up, and later as Jalan has reason to learn about the past of his family.
More things come to light about the Broken Empire, the forces and people that manipulate it from the shadows, and its possible fate. Jalan continues to grow as a person due to his experiences, though he does go kicking and screaming.
I found the ending to be awkward. While listening, I couldn't remember for certain if this was going to be a trilogy or duology, and near the end I thought the entire story was nearly over. Just when I thought we'd entered the final resolution, the story jerks abruptly back into motion and then ends.
Despite this small complaint, the book was extremely entertaining, and I am looking forward to seeing where we go next.
The Performance
Tim Gerald Reynolds could produce an audio book of an OSHA safety manual and I would listen to it. 'Nuff said.
The Story
Once again, Mark Lawrence makes us root for a horrible human being by making them witty, charming, and in the middle of important events.
The story picks up not long after we left off in [b:Prince of Fools|18693743|Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)|Mark Lawrence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385072473s/18693743.jpg|25595312]. As usual, Jalan has spent time in the wrong bed at the wrong time and it's come to bite him in ass. Snorri is making preparations to set sale to see the witch Skilfar, to ask her how he can use Loki's Key to open the door into Hel.
What follows is one part adventure, one part travelogue, one part slapstick comedy, and a healthy portion of fleeing for their lives. The book ranges from the far north to the Florentine banking town of Omburtide.
Lawrence makes use of one of his signature devices, the story-within-the-story, to great effect. First as Snorri relates what happened while they were split up, and later as Jalan has reason to learn about the past of his family.
More things come to light about the Broken Empire, the forces and people that manipulate it from the shadows, and its possible fate. Jalan continues to grow as a person due to his experiences, though he does go kicking and screaming.
I found the ending to be awkward. While listening, I couldn't remember for certain if this was going to be a trilogy or duology, and near the end I thought the entire story was nearly over. Just when I thought we'd entered the final resolution, the story jerks abruptly back into motion and then ends.
Despite this small complaint, the book was extremely entertaining, and I am looking forward to seeing where we go next.
The Performance
Tim Gerald Reynolds could produce an audio book of an OSHA safety manual and I would listen to it. 'Nuff said.