Prince of Thorns

By: Mark Lawrence

Narrated by: James Clamp

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Author Mark Lawrence has won over audiences everywhere with Prince of Thorns, his exciting debut novel.

Nine-year-old Prince Jorg is forced to watch as his mother and brother are slaughtered. Fleeing the palace, Jorg joins a bloodthirsty band of thugs. But he’s determined to take back what’s rightfully his, so he returns to the castle a few years later - unaware of the dark and powerful magic that awaits.

©2011 Bobalinga, Ltd. (P)2012 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“Vivid … full of wonder. This book is brilliant.” ( Galaxy Book Reviews)

Prince of okay

Any additional comments?

Book was okay, I at least finished it but when I did, I was done, I didn't want to go any further.

Wow! Surprized and glad I finally listed to this

I've been putting off this book for sometime, given the other review's descriptions of the dark, anti-hero.

They are very right; the main character is dark and an anti-hero. I almost stopped listening in the first 10min because he was such a B***rd.

But not shortly after I found myself rooting for him. It is an impressive work in that regard. The main character's condition begins to make sense and you begin to sympathize with him (I hope no one empathizes with him).

I liked it. I'm heading straight back to listen to the next book.

I'd say if you like dark/gritty this is your book--although, I'd say it is more dark that gritty.

I'd recommend it for fans of Game of Thrones, Blood Song, Dragon's Path, The left Hand of God, Black Company, or anything by Joe Abercombre

for angry male teenagers.

Like The Black Company this is a graphic novel trying to be a book. it's not boring, but it's melodramatic action with a lack of depth/lore.

okay...

hard to get into not so great character development, hard to stick to. audio was a little choppy at times probably won't move on to the next book.

the editing and pacing messed up the story

Unfortunately I do not believe this is a three star book. I believe it to be much better. The thing is that I listen to the audiobook. While James Clamp had a very nice voice, the pace and editing where off by a wide margin.

The protagonist was a brutal bloodthirsty child with no redeemable qualities. I have never heard of such a thing. So I was thrilled to pick this story up with my book group. Jorg was simply a demon spawn, unpredictable and brilliant. Though I began to wonder why the brothers followed him. A few liked blood and gold. Two loved him. But what about the rest? Usually in these situations it is one of two things. Pride or fear. They can't be proud of Jorg he is a monster and kills them when he wishes too. They can't fear Jorg because they outnumber him.

The past and present clashing swords made the story more interesting. Though a lot it seemed to be Jorg's self reflection which was a little much sometimes. Jorg repeatedly went through the same thoughts in his head. And honestly I don't know if it was the writing style or the audiobook that made me persistently loose my concentration. I felt there were gaps in the story but fear it was my daydreaming that caused them.

The author didn't give his readers much in the beginning. Ages or even good descriptions alluded me through most of the story. With Jorg being a teen I had just assumed all the brothers were of similar age. Though some were much older which made me more skeptical why they would answer to a child. One downfall I realized with a person such as Jorg is that he couldn't form an attachment with anyone so neither could I.

Not to sound sadistic but I enjoyed the brutality of it all. Jorg almost had a sickness it seemed. Doing whatever he pleased and didn't care if he killed someone else's mother even though he lost his own. The story became more alluring somehow. Scary even. Unpredictability is one of the scariest things in the world. If you know how someone will act you can adjust accordingly. But being face to face with a wild animal, do you fight or flee?

A solid fantasy novel elevated by a great reading

Prince of Thorns is a tale of a prince turned bandit leader and his journey of revenge. The main character is morally abhorrent but the quips and stellar reading make him easy to root for anyway. James Clamp captures Jorg perfectly and takes a good novel to another level. The filler characters in the bandit troop and Jorg's quips about them bring levity to a fairly dark novel. The plot is nothing revolutionary and generally unfolds as you would expect. The world building itself however is pretty interesting and was not the vanilla fantasy I expected.

The best anti-hero story ever.

Over 100 books in my library. This one nails it. Search no more. Your story awaits.

Amazing story about a Dark Prince

Great book. Although there were some parts where I did yawn, but when something catches my attention, it does so vigorously.

What to read waiting for the next from G rr Martin

Would you listen to Prince of Thorns again? Why?

Yes, there was alot of mysticism that all came together in the end. There is a bit of going back and forth between time period, clearly stated in chapter headings, but still a re-listen , after the whole series is listen to, seems to be in order.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The characters are hard to like, namely because at first introduction is set during the sack of a villiage , with all its violence and mayhem. While the story progresses you will hold back judgement, but the heroes in this tale are soiled with alot of blood.

Have you listened to any of James Clamp’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

James Clamp's performance was brilliant and made the story come alive. This is the first time I have ran across Clamp and he is now one of my favorites. A great listen.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There was a chapter in which the main character participated in a Tournament evemt that was well written & voiced by Clamp that was bloody and exciting.

Any additional comments?

Cormac McCarthy meets JRR Toliken, a great introduction book to a series that hold a lot of promise.

Unapologetic tale dense with character

Many people dislike this book because it is dark, and the main character is an anti-hero. Though I am not normally a fan of first person, I thought that it captured the dark mind of the main character marvellously. I found this book oddly refreshing, as the other cared nothing for having a moral or attempting to educate the reader on what is "right". The purpose of this book was to be a damn good story and that's exactly what it delivered. 10/10