Mark Lawrence: The Girl and The Mountain (review)

On Abeth there is only the ice. And the Black Rock.

For generations the priests of the Black Rock have reached out from their mountain to steer the ice tribes’ fate. With their Hidden God, their magic and their iron, the priests’ rule has never been challenged.
But nobody has ever escaped the Pit of the Missing before.

Yaz has lost her friends and found her enemies. She has a mountain to climb and even if she can break the Hidden God’s power her dream of a green world lies impossibly far to the south across a vast emptiness of ice. Before the journey can even start she has to find out what happened to the ones she loves and save those that can be saved.

Abeth holds its secrets close, but the stars shine brighter for Yaz and she means to unlock the truth.

To touch the sky, be prepared to climb

Buy the book in Hardback

Buy the e-book

 

Review

This is one of the books out this year that i sent begging emails to review, i mean its Mark Lawrence, if you review fantasy you would have to be nuts not to be begging for a copy. Thankfully for me Mark himself took pity on me  and sent me an advance copy…. and just wow, its everything i expected and anted and more…

Yaz and her friends return, we left them ascending back to the ice after their exploits under it, what lay ahead ware the priests of the black rock, the wind, the cold and their new weakness to the cold brought on by the flourishing of their powers. This book see’s old friends perish, new friends appear, battles with old enemies and a better understanding of who and what they are, we finally get inside the blackrock and see what the priests have been up to as our team can even try to start the endless trudge across the ice in search of the green which is their hope.

As always Mark Lawrence blends his stunning world building with his real heartfelt characters, how an author can bring miles and miles of white ice bound scenery to life so well just astonishes me, but the secret is in the people he has crossing it and the very real dangers they face, as a reader you feel spell bound and on the edge of the seat for the whole journey… a journey that ends in (while not unexpected) such a way to really warm the heart and melts the last of that ice that grips you tight during the book…. what comes next, honestly I have no idea! Mark Lawrence has such a fantastic ability to blend magic and science into a plot that i’m never not amazed with the plot twists and turns, and that is the mark of a true great of the genre.

A MUST read for the year… in fact i guarantee that you will read and reread, its just so good.

(Parm)

Mark Lawrence : Dispel Illusion

 

Dispel Illusion (The third book in the Impossible Times series)

Sometimes being wrong is the right answer.

Nick Hayes’s genius is in wringing out the universe’s secrets. It’s a talent that’s allowed him to carve paths through time. But the worst part is that he knows how his story will end. He’s seen it with his own eyes. And every year that passes, every breakthrough he makes, brings him a step closer. Mia’s accident is waiting for them both in 2011. If it happens then he’s out of choices.

Then a chance 1992 discovery reveals that this seeker of truth has been lying to himself. But why? It’s a question that haunts him for years. A straw he clings to as his long-awaited fate draws near.

Time travel turns out not to be the biggest problem Nick has to work on. He needs to find out how he can stay on his path but change the destination. Failure has never been an option, and neither has survival. But Nick’s hoping to roll the dice one more time. And this new truth begins with a lie.

Review

Somehow Mark Lawrence always manages to surprise me, having reviewed books for about 30 years you do find at times that you get a little jaded with the same ideas reworked, but there are still authors out there who manage to write something new and surprising, something that has you guessing, that challenges the mind, that entertains and takes you on a journey out of your own head. Mark Lawrence seems to manage to do this with every single book he writes, and Dispel Illusion is right up there with the best he has written.

The book challenges your understanding of time and space and paradox, whilst at the same time pulling you into the simple world of friends and love. Impossible times has all the hallmarks of a major TV series, there is so much in it that at times i felt that the book was just skimming the surface of possibility for the series, the multiverse, the avoidance of paradox and the use of D&D to explain and navigate some of the key elements of the plot was just genius.

This final book in the series had me guessing all the way to the end how the author would tie up the story, how we could have a satisfactory ending, one we could enjoy and believe, and he managed it beautifully…

With all the heavy and detailed books i read in Historical fiction and Fantasy, its been amazing to read a series that is highly entertaining, incredibly complex with time travel and paradoxes and also at the same time so simple and easy, real life friendships and love that we can all relate too… its one of my fav series and one for everyone to read because its genre free….

Very Highly recommended

(Parm)

Mark Lawrence: Holy Sister (Review)

Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory.
Mark Lawrence lives in Bristol and 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. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.
Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

 

 

Nona Grey’s story reaches its shattering conclusion in the third instalment of Book of the Ancestor.

They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman.

The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.

Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.

Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war. The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her. A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.

Holy Sister completes the Book of the Ancestor trilogy that began with Red Sister and Grey Sister. A ground-breaking series, it has established Mark Lawrence as one of the most exciting new voices in modern speculative fiction.

 

Review

What can i say about this series and this book? whilst not my favorite of his characters, It’s the best series he has written and ballsy as hell for a guy to write a female protagonist, and one that takes no crap what so ever. The last book of a series is always bitter sweet, the conclusion of the time you have invested in the world and the character, yet the culmination of an excellent story, and you hope not the life of the main character.

Holy Sister was always going to be bloody, the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west after all, assassins abound, the emperors sister is a cold hearted bitch set on betrayal, the Scithrowl are as many as the Nadir Hordes in Legend and led by one of the most powerful people alive and none of that even touches on the Durn.

This book is told from 2 different times lines, from the end of the last book and also now 3 years ahead, it takes us on both journeys to see how we get to the end, to see what was learned, when and how, to see the pain and suffering each of the novices/ nuns have to endure. we learn painful lessons on the ice and finally get more of an insight into the magic of the ancestors.

The culmination of the book as you would expect is the big finale, the battle, who will win? the rampaging hordes or the beleaguered forces of the Empire, TBH morally you only really root for the empire because of Nona and her compatriots, lets face it most of the Snr people in the empire are self serving back stabbing political climbers and rich nobility, with almost no redeeming qualities.  So who should win the fight for the dwindling resources of the world?

What engages is as always the sacrifices of the nuns, the friendships, the loyalties, the ties of youth enduring despite past conflict. Mark Lawrence has woven his threads so well we are all bound to the characters and their fate.

I can’t add much about what happens because id kill someone if they spoiled it for me, suffice to say no matter who you are, keep a tissue handy for the end of this book, it will pull the heart strings of even the most hard-hearted. This is a book full of drama, excitement, heroic deeds and nasty back stabbing. It will make you gasp at the twists and turns and it will make you cry at the inevitable losses. what more can you ask for.

Brilliant ending….. although… do i sense that we may see more one day ??

(Parm)

Series

Broken Empire
1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
2. King of Thorns (2012)
3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
Mark Lawrence 2-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
The Complete Broken Empire Trilogy (omnibus) (2014)
The Secret (2015)
The Broken Empire (omnibus) (2016)
Road Brothers (2017)

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2014)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)
3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)
Red Queen’s War collection 3 books Box set (omnibus)(2018)

Book of the Ancestor
1. Red Sister (2017)
2. Grey Sister (2018)
2.5. Bound – A Book of the Ancestor Short Story: Short Story (2018)
3. Holy Sister (2019)
Book of Ancestor Books 1-2 (2018)

Impossible Times
1. One Word Kill (2019)
2. Limited Wish (2019)

Girl and the Stars
1. The Girl and the Stars (2020)

 

 

Mark Lawrence: One Word Kill (Review)

Mark Lawrence

Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory.
Mark Lawrence lives in Bristol and 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. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.
Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange yet curiously familiar – man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help – now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

Challenge accepted.

Review

I had no idea what to expect from this book, but its Mark Lawrence, i’m sure he can make his shopping list funny and engaging to read.

What i do know is that it would need to be good, as i’m sure many of you know i had taken a sabbatical from books and reviewing for personal reasons, but i’m back, and the first book back had been Dark Forge by Miles Cameron (see the blog for review), its astoundingly good. So i sat down with the expectation of a Mark Lawrence read ahead, but also that worry that it might get the book hangover from Miles Camerons Dark Forge.

I’m happy to say not, this book stood out all on its own, it takes you in right from page one, draws you into the den of the geek, the world where introverts rule, and yet in their own space there are a multitude of personalities and needs, these guys are no different from anyone else, just maybe shy and at the same time smarter than average, they live on their imagination, and the world of D&D gives scope to that intelligence and imagination.

One word kill blends that imagination into a mind bending reality of time and space and paradox, and at the same time is wrapped around a heart rending tale of childhood mortality with the main character suffering from cancer. This part really hit home with me given that about a week before i got the book i myself was diagnosed with a form (treatable) of cancer, but the emotions were something i could relate to despite the age difference between the character and myself, especially as the book is set around the time i left school, making the character about my age.

Even with the fantastic reality bending idea of the book, its highly relate-able , the characters are almost people i knew back then and now (if they had known back then that geek will inherit the earth they may have been more outgoing lol….) but maybe not themselves. Given i had read so little and was easing back into it, this book was devoured in very short order. I couldn’t put it down, and as i was opening my own business at the time i needed to sleep, but it had an insistence that i keep turning the page that i read the next bit. I have to say i was hugely impressed, while a totally different read to Miles Cameron it was up there in quality of writing and story, and so in my top books for 2019 so far.

If i had to make a comparison, while the stories have no similarity, this reminds me of when David Gemmell wrote White Knight Black Swan, a total break away style, and yet one of his most engaging reads.

I highly recommend this

(Parm)

Series

Broken Empire
1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
2. King of Thorns (2012)
3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
Mark Lawrence 2-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
The Complete Broken Empire Trilogy (omnibus) (2014)
The Secret (2015)
The Broken Empire (omnibus) (2016)
Road Brothers (2017)

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2014)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)
3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)
Red Queen’s War collection 3 books Box set (omnibus)(2018)

Book of the Ancestor
1. Red Sister (2017)
2. Grey Sister (2018)
2.5. Bound – A Book of the Ancestor Short Story: Short Story (2018)
3. Holy Sister (2019)
Book of Ancestor Books 1-2 (2018)

Impossible Times
1. One Word Kill (2019)
2. Limited Wish (2019)

Girl and the Stars
1. The Girl and the Stars (2020)

 

Mark Lawrence: Grey Sister (Review)

Mark Lawrence was born in Champagne-Urbanan, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He says he never had any ambition to be a writer so was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, THE BROKEN EMPIRE, has been universally acclaimed as a ground-breaking work of fantasy. Following The Broken Empire comes the bestselling RED QUEEN’S WAR trilogy. The BOOK OF THE ANCESTOR trilogy, in an entirely new setting, commences with RED SISTER in 2017. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.

Second novel in the brilliant new series from the bestselling author of PRINCE OF THORNS.

In Mystic Class Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy Nona must choose her path and take the red of a Martial Sister, the grey of a Sister of Discretion, the blue of a Mystic Sister or the simple black of a Bride of the Ancestor and a life of prayer and service.

All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the ambition of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a blade, and the vengeance of the empire’s richest lord.

As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she has sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pull of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.

And in all this only one thing is certain. There will be blood.

Review

I LOVE this series, Mark Lawrence is one of the most exciting writers in the fantasy genre.  Yet when i started this book i worried if he could reach the heady heights of Red Sister, and for a little while at the start of the book i felt that worry coming to fruition, the book while containing the wonderfully vivid and imagined world and characters of Red sister, seemed to be just a continuation of nun training, with a little angst over the death of a friend…. I worried, what was going on? was this book two doldrums, a filler?…. but then the threads of the beginning of this book started to come together the angst and training made sense, Nona’s enemies and the church’s enemies start to coalesce, The big players in the SIS start to show their hands.

Grey Sister took flight and soared after about 50 pages, my doubts were washed away, what was left was breathless breakneck writing of the highest quality. I don’t want to drop any spoilers, so excuse some of the vagueness…. but by now some of the novices have some truly astounding abilities it would be very simple for Mark Lawrence to have them carve up whole armies, he manages to neutralise those abilities with cunning, guile and astounding twists, pitting the girls against some truly terrifying opponents, he introduces some new beings that leave you guessing all the way through and i believe we will understand more in the next book, we have a league of assassins, we have regal plots, the inquisition, the whole world teeters on the edge….. and at the center of the storm is Nona.

The last part of this book is so beguiling and breathtaking that i was actually holding my breath, the run away finale so completely absorbing that i was shattered when i had finished reading, and my copy has creases where i was gripping the book so hard.

Grey Sister better than its Red predecessor?… hell yes! I’ve never been so tired and so captivated in a fantasy book.

BUY THIS BOOK

(Parm)

 

Series

Broken Empire
1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
2. King of Thorns (2012)
3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
Mark Lawrence 2-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)
The Complete Broken Empire Trilogy (omnibus) (2014)
The Secret (2015)
The Broken Empire (omnibus) (2016)
Road Brothers (2017)

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2012)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)
3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)

Book of the Ancestor
1. Red Sister (2017)
2. Grey Sister (2018)

Novellas

During the Dance (2014)

Mark Lawrence: Red Sister (Review)

Mark Lawrence

Mark Lawrence was born in Champagne-Urbanan, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He says he never had any ambition to be a writer so was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, THE BROKEN EMPIRE, has been universally acclaimed as a ground-breaking work of fantasy. Following The Broken Empire comes the bestselling RED QUEEN’S WAR trilogy. The BOOK OF THE ANCESTOR trilogy, in an entirely new setting, commences with RED SISTER in 2017. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.

Author Website

Release date: April 6th 2017

“I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin”
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Review:

I’m not sure if i should be immensely grateful to Mark Lawrence or curse him soundly? This has been book 7 for 2017 for me, and i’m not sure i want to be in a position of thinking I’ve just read what is highly likely to be the best book i will read this year. But that’s the case, any other author is going to have to smack the ball way way out of the park to top this read.

I admit i’m a fan of Mark Lawrence’s writing, and I’ve given him high praise before, but even with my love of the wonderfully sarcastic Jalan and the brutally efficient Snorri, i could very quickly see them eclipsed by the characters of this new series. Who would have imagined that the antics of a bunch of young girls training to be warrior Nuns would be so well imagined? The world building in this book is phenomenal, Marks style as always is so subtle, the world emerges around you as you read, there is no conscious information drop, you see it and it develops through the eyes of the characters, with different view points and perceptions. The magic in the book is subtle and wonderful, a little bit shown then a bit more, each piece branching and dovetailing neatly into the next to weave a complex set of abilities and society of magic amidst a failing world. There are ever progressing tantalizing glimpses of where these people came from, making the book borderline Sci-Fi (careful there mark…. i don’t like Sci-Fi 😉  ) I feel this series has so much more to come, so many layers to the story and the characters that no matter the genre you read it can and will totally capture your attention and take you on an amazing journey.

I find myself wanting the use the phrase character growth, yet it seems redundant, we are following the early years of training and growing up of these girls, so there has to be character growth. yet it is carried out in a very real fashion, all the little interplay’s of friendship, politics, fun and pain are there, all the little interplay’s that children have but in a more brutal word with a harder set of rules and training, an uncompromising life for an uncompromising world.

This book and its lead character Nona will literally explode into your life from the first page, demanding your attention, needing love and protection and your time and devotion, and giving you none of those in return, but instead delighting you with her growth and achievements, her prowess and her misdemeanors. Mark Lawrence seems have managed to make a book that emotionally is the equivalent of raising your own warrior child.

Book 2 cannot come soon enough.

(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)

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2014)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)
3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)

Red Sister
1. Red Sister (2017)

Collections

Road Brothers Stories (2017)

Novellas

During the Dance (2014)

Mark Lawrence: The Wheel of Osheim (Review)

Mark Lawrence

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)

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2014)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)
3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)

 

Red Sister
1. Red Sister (2017)

 

Mark Lawrence: Liars Key (Review)

Mark Lawrence

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. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.

Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

The Prince of Thorns is his first published novel. It is the beginning of a projected trilogy following the fortunes of Honorous Jorg Ancrath.

Author Website

The Liar’s Key

(2015)
(The second book in the Red Queen’s War series)
A novel by Mark Lawrence

 

From the critically-acclaimed author of PRINCE OF FOOLS comes the second volume of the brilliant new epic fantasy series, THE RED QUEEN’S WAR. ‘If you like dark you will love Mark Lawrence. And when the light breaks through and it all makes sense, the contrast is gorgeous’ ROBIN HOBB The Red Queen has set her players on the board…Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the longed-for luxuries of his southern palace. And although the North may be home to his companion, the warrior Snorri ver Snagason, he is just as eager to leave. For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hell to bring his wife and children back into the living world. He has Loki’s key – now all he needs is to find the door. As all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws, the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his – the key into the world – so that the dead can rise and rule.

Review:

For those who have not read it, the Broken Empire series is an excellent fantasy series, one that take the reader right to the edge, page after page…. and yet i have found myself enjoying the Red Queens War much more, i cant quite pin down why, it may be the more general appeal of the series. I feel it spans a broader age spectrum? It may be the utter Britishness of the of the humour on the book? either way the characters rapidly win you over in this book, and then drag you along on a wild ride.

This is no fantasy that sets out to to give you a muscle bound hero or the slightly flawed hero, this series gives you an out and out unabashed coward, in the form of Prince Jalan, a character who while a coward has many redeeming characteristics. He is funny, heroic when there is absolutely no way out of it, and ultimately a friend to his direct opposite Snorri (well as long as the friendship doesn’t put him in danger), Snorri, a Viking, Huge muscle bound, deadly, and with courage enough for all, is the perfect foil for all that nervous cowardliness.

Liars Key isn’t as dark as Prince of Fools, we still face a race against the undead/ unborn. But we start to unravel and learn more about the past that has led our two protagonists to this point, which great wheels are in motion, how the great politics work, and we get to enjoy the growth of Jalan and his friendship with Snorri and the rest of their group. This time the group travel south, back to and through Vermillion. Jalan learns about the red Queen, the silent sister and more of his family, and more than anything he gets angry, he learns about his mothers death, and this ignites a desire for revenge, all this tempered with his individual style of self preservation.

The more books i read by Mark Lawrence the more hooked i become on his style. Another wonderful comparison has been the ability to read this series alongside Joe Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea series. Both very different in style to their own other work, and from each other but both wonderfully compelling and absorbing. I cant decide who has the better series here…. but i think Mark is leading by pure dint of the dry humour of Jalan.

This is a series i very very highly recommend to readers of all books, don’t be tied by genre, this is exceptional writing, so pick up and oar and row the whale road with Snorri and Jalan, everything is set up for a fantastic book three.

(Parm)

Series

 

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

 

Red Queen’s War
1. Prince of Fools (2014)
2. The Liar’s Key (2015)

Mark Lawrence: Prince of Fools (review)

Mark Lawrence

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.

Product Description

 

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From the critically acclaimed author of THE BROKEN EMPIRE series comes a brilliant new epic fantasy series, THE RED QUEEN’S WAR.

The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire fear her as they fear no other.

Her grandson Jalan Kendeth is a coward, a cheat and a womaniser; and tenth in line to the throne. While his grandmother shapes the destiny of millions, Prince Jalan pursues his debauched pleasures. Until he gets entangled with Snorri ver Snagason, a huge Norse axe man, and dragged against his will to the icy north.

In a journey across half the Broken Empire, Jalan flees minions of the Dead King, agrees to duel an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath, and meets the ice witch, Skilfar, all the time seeking a way to part company with Snorri before the Norseman’s quest leads them to face his enemies in the black fort on the edge of the Bitter Ice.

Experience does not lend Jalan wisdom; but here and there he unearths a corner of the truth. He discovers that they are all pieces on a board, pieces that may be being played in the long, secret war the Red Queen has waged throughout her reign, against the powers that stand behind thrones and nations, and for higher stakes than land or gold.

Review

I consider myself to be a fortunate individual, I’m often sent books to read and review. I always hope to repay that trust of a review copy with something to say about the book. I’m not a critic however and will not review a book I didn’t like, which means not everything I’m sent gets added to the blog (just because I don’t like a book doesn’t mean it will not be amazing to someone else, eg, many love Harry Potter, me…cant stand them). So when I actually ask (well beg) for a book I really hope it’s a book I’m going to love, because otherwise it feels like a total let down to those lovely PR ladies.

All that preamble though is just background and flannel to wrong foot you, having read the Broken Empire series I was 99.9999% sure that this book was going to be excellent and that I would love it. Well having just finished it today I’m now 100%. I described it on twitter with its limited characters as “Prince of Fools is excellent: humour, Vikings, fighting, magic, Vikings, fighting, more humour, lots more fighting. Love it” .

That small description is it in a nutshell, The book centers on Jalan Kendeth a Prince of the realm, and a total utter coward, the author has done a wonderful job of transporting Harry Flashman from Victorian England to his own fantasy world, having read many attempted and failed copies of the humorous flashy it was wonderful to see someone finally pull off a witty, sniveling coward, but one with hidden depths…..when he has to save his own skin.

Enter his enforced partner and total opposite, the Northman Snorri, a big blonde viking, as brave as Jal is cowardly, a man haunted by loss. The pair are forced on a journey, one for the survival of his family and the other for the saving of his own skin. Wrapped in magic the 2 head north into the ice-bound wilderness……

If you have read any of the Broken Empire books you will already know Mark Lawrence is an excellent writer, combining a precise style with a clever depth of invention and world building (did you read his author bio? he is a bit smart), if you have not read any …well why not, go buy them now and this new book because its got Vikings, axes, swords, fighting, zombies …well undead but close enough.

Overall a highly entertaining, thrilling journey, funny, dark and fulfilling, for me one of the best fantasy titles I have read in quite some time. I have laughed out loud and wiped a damp eye, this story has it all.

Very highly recommended

(Parm)

Broken Empire Web site Link

1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
2. King of Thorns (2012)
3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
Mark Lawrence 2-Book Bundle (omnibus) (2013)

Red Queen’s War

1. Prince of Fools (2014)