No cleverness, didn't grab me.

I found this irritating. I liked some parts of it, and I might have liked it more if it wasn't following Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.



As it is, I found it pretty shallow. It's a standard revenge plot, with some poor world building in a standard Medieval fantasy setting, without any sense of the wider world, history or politics of the land. The hook is supposed to be that it's dark because it has an antihero rather than a hero.



I didn't dislike it because the antihero enjoyed killing people, I disliked it because he was a 13 year old and a massive narcissist. He thinks he's the best thing ever, and considering that he inexplicably manages to win every fight with a full-grown man despite his age and size, and every plan works perfectly, I suppose he is. There is no sense of struggle, no real cleverness to the story. He simply succeeds at everything without difficulty even though he shouldn't be able to, and has no modesty or self-doubt. He's not the wily, scrappy underdog, he's a godmodder.

13 people found this helpful

Brilliantly dark story, fantastic narration

Bought this audio book on a whim and it is easily the best audio book I have heard. Brilliantly complex, and often dark, characters brought to life by the excellent narration of Joe Jameson. An excellent cross between medieval epic and fantasy adventure. Highly recommended.

13 people found this helpful

How cool is the narrators accent? Loved it!

Twisted and gruesome, but extremely entertaining. It's great to find a book that expands the boundaries of what is acceptable... I find that I want Jorg to win, even with his twisted and warped sense of morality. Actually in his world - where everything is just a game - he somehow seems the right saviour for it all!

11 people found this helpful

Impossibly young disgusting psycho boy the novel

While the writing style is fast paced and evocative the entire central premise of the book is impossible to invest in as a reader.

The main character is a sociopath who kills and rapes people for no reason - the very opening scene of the book demonstrates this. In one scene he talks about how consensual sex instead of gang-rape is a novelty.

Added to that is the fact the main character is merely 13 at the start of the book and yet acts completely detached from that age. There is no real hint of childhood anywhere in the character.

His exploits also seem to be a bit too fortunately or "flying by the seat of his pants" yet portrayed as genius strategy that always miraculously go right by some fluke of events.

However despite this is has to be said that the writing and first person point of view combined with excellent narration make it almost listenable. Almost. Instead it just makes you wish for a bath to was the gross off.

The book is apparently set in a medieval post-apocalyptic Europe and yet everyone seems to have a racist or at least "novel" reaction to anyone not white. Considering the books treatment of women it also starts to stink a little of inherent racism.

And the books treatment of women... oh dear. Possibly the worst of any fantasy book I have ever read. They seemingly exist primarily as objects to rape according to this book. The number of female characters is tiny and none are present for more than a few pages. Despite plenty of opportunities the book fails to include women in any meaningful role other than as very temporary objects to motivate the main character. The book comes away stinking a lot of sexism. A lot.

It's a shame as there's a good writing style, some nuggets of interesting world-building, and great voice work. But unlike Game of Thrones where character motivations are understandable and engrossing Prince of Thorns reasoning is sociopathic and just plain gross.

10 people found this helpful

Mindblowing

Utterly unique, utterly compelling. The best fantasy in years.

The story bounces back and forth in time which can be confusing. It works, though.

Jorg is the strangest, most charismatic character I've ever read. He's depraved, despicable and thoroughly charismatic. You'll bleed for him and in the end, love him.

Without spoiling too much, Prince Jorg is a young man who witnessed the murder of his mother and brother and then absorbed the indifference of his father. He broke away and renounced everything of his former life except the drive for revenge.

His life is being manipulated, though, by magics that entered his world. His world is a strange dytopian version of ours. The hints suggest that it's our world in the future, destroyed by tinkering of mankind with fundamental science.

There's a joyful exuberance about the book that will have you 'turning' pages. I couldn't listen fast enough!

Very, highly, completely, ,firmly recommended!

8 people found this helpful

A Royal delight

Where does Prince of Thorns: Broken Empire 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If you liked Game Of Thrones you'll have no problem getting to grips with this, it's right up there with the likes of GOT, and anything by Joe Aberchrombie and Conn Iggulden

What was one of the most memorable moments of Prince of Thorns: Broken Empire 1?

The opening sequence is spell binding

Have you listened to any of Joe Jameson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

FIrst listen to Joe Jameson, but already downloaded the next in the series

Any additional comments?

The Story moves along at a fair pace, with plenty of twists and unexpected moments to keep you interested along the way. The versatile narration lends to the overall experience and you may find yourself loosing time or making excuses to just listen for a while longer.

7 people found this helpful

Prince of Yawns!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Hardcore fans of the genre, I suppose. I never really used to read any fantasy but after Game of Thrones, I got the taste for a bit more of the same. After working through the 'best fantasy' lists I enjoyed 'The Name of the Wind' 'The First law' and a lot of other good books. After a while, I was starting to get the sense that I had already had the fillet steak as far as fantasy books are concerned and had reached the leaner cuts. This was the scrag end and probably a fitting sign off from the genre.The character is one dimensional and fails utterly as an anti hero. I wondered if it had been written by a 12 year old boy, as it is, effectively, about an angry 14 year old boy who is 'dead hard' and does what he likes and can beat up the grown ups. No wit to it at all. Maybe its harsh to judge it against the best of the genre, but I would give it a miss unless you are a die hard fantasy fan.

7 people found this helpful

Thank you for a great book!

I've been a member here for over six years but never wrote reviews before. Yet having just finished Prince of Thorns: Broken Empire 1, I felt I had to say few words.

I started this book three times. First time around I thought this just wasn't my cup of tea. Second time around I thought it was just a bit too dark, too violent for me. Third time I just kept on going and by the time I reached chapter 5 I was hooked. By the time I reached chapter 7 I was in love with the style of writing and the narration. One of the best audiobooks I heard so far and can't wait to start the second book. Thank you so much Mark Lawrence and Joe Jameson!

7 people found this helpful

Deserves to be Heard

Jorg isn't the most likeable character but I enjoyed this book so much I downloaded the next immediately. The story rolls along at pace. Beautifully written, yet dark and relentless. Very well narrated.

7 people found this helpful

Cold and brilliant

I was advised to read this book by a friend who knows me well and did not have any expectations. However, after 5 minutes in the Audiobook I was hooked - the narrator playing to his strengths and living the characters. Fantastic storyline twists and clever use of phrases and words rather than blatantly stating facts.

5 people found this helpful