The Broken Empire Trilogy

The Broken Empire Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy of novels written by American-British author Mark Lawrence.

Plot Summary

Prince of Thorns (ISBN 978-1937007683): Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.^[1]

King of Thorns: To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the world in blood…

The land burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings fight for the Broken Empire. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.

A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds. Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king.

Faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan^[2]

Emperor of Thorns: To reach the throne requires that a man journey. Even a path paved with good intentions can lead to hell, and my intentions were never good.

"The Hundred converge for Congression to politic upon the corpse of Empire, and while they talk the Dead King makes his move, and I make mine. The world is cracked, time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days, the future so bright that those who see it are the first to burn. These are the days that have waited for us all our lives. These are my days. I will stand before the Hundred and they will listen. I will take the throne whoever seeks to thwart me, living or dead, and if I must be the last emperor then I will make of it such an ending.

This is where the wise man turns away. This is where the holy kneel and call on God. These are the last miles, my brothers. Don't look to me to save you. Don't think I will not spend you. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don't follow me, for I will break your heart".^[3]

Follow me, and I will break your heart.

Characters

• Jorg Ancrath- The main protagonist of the series, Jorg endures many emotional and physical traumas throughout the series leaving him deeply damaged, resulting in his largely being unfeeling to the suffering of others. Willing to hurt or kill anyone in his quest to ascend to the throne of the Broken empire. Jorg runs away from his father and his home, after the brutal murder of his mother and younger brother, coming to lead a band of vicious outlaws known as the Brotherhood.
• The Nuban- One of Jorg's most loyal followers, deadly accurate with his powerful crossbow, little is known about him to the point that very few even know his name, "the Nuban" being a reference to his inky black skin. Rarely among the brotherhood Jorg thinks highly of him, commenting that he is (morally)better than them all.
• Rike- Rike is a notably large and bloody minded member of the Brotherhood, who seems to be both primarily and exclusively motivated by gaining loot, not even being motivated by Jorg killing is brother. Rike is quite simple and when pressed the only redeeming quality for Rike that Jorg can think of is "he's big.".^[4]
• Sir Makin- Before becoming a knight, Sir Makin was a notorious outlaw, sacking cities and burning down cathedrals. He sometimes criticized Jorg's plans by stating that he didn't actually have them. Sir Makin is incredibly skilled with a sword and has the best sense of humour out of all of Jorg's 'road brothers'. He is arguably Jorg's closest friend.
• Red Kent- A highly skilled and deadly warrior, Kent gained the title "Red" after being found by the brotherhood covered in the blood and gore of seven patrolmen. Red Kent is troubled by his past but will always remain loyal to the few friends that remain.^[5]

References

External links

• Mark Lawrence Homepage