Mark Lawrence: The Wheel of Osheim (Review)

Mark Lawrence

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Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled.His day job is as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments.

The Wheel of Osheim (2016)
(The third book in the Red Queen’s War series)
BUY SIGNED LTD EDITION

All the horrors of hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued.

For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki’s Key is all that matters. Loki’s creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jal’s fortune back in the living world. Jal plans to return to the three Ws that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering.

Fate, however, has other larger plans….

The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it’s stopped. When the end of all things looms and there’s nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jal and Snorri face many dangers – from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue – but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim will exert its power. In the end it’s win or die.

Review

Mark Lawrence has already sealed his place as one of my annual “Must read” books, this series contains two of my fav characters in fantasy from the last few years. Snorri is the epitome of the coiled violence of the Norseman and Prince Jalan Kendreth, has always oozed sarcastic cowardice, this set of characters traits is still highly prevalent even in The Wheel of Osheim, even with the character growth.

When an author gets his characters so spot on its not always needed to have the characters change and growth, but the plot warranted something, the depth of action, places they go and the death they see means that something must change. This is where the real power of this book is, Mark Lawrence manages to keep all the power and impact of this series, and yet ends it with subtle changes to Jalan, changes that have powerful impacts on the plot. There are many subtle changes where his experiences have shaped him and Snorri has worn off on him, Jalan could almost be called heroic… if he didn’t have one foot on the sprinters starter blocks at all times prepared to run. Mark Lawrence always manages to imbue his writing with an air of witty dry humour that has the reader chuckling away, with a “oh that Jalan… he is a wag”… he is the Flashman of the fantasy world, always landing on his feet no matter the horrors what appear in his path, with the comparative story of Snorri that is so heroically melancholy this really is an amazingly blended plot.

This series is right up there in the pantheon of my fav fantasy reads… and Wheel of Osheim completes it in true style, a must read.

Highly recommended

(Parm)

Series

Broken Empire
1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
2. King of Thorns (2012)
2.5. Sleeping Beauty (2014)
3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
Mark Lawrence 2-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
The Complete Broken Empire Trilogy (omnibus) (2014)
The Secret (2015)
Road Brothers (2015)