I liked the hardcore sociopathism of the first story - that is what made that book more than a boy's growing up in a fantasy world. the violence isn't there - and if it is, it's not 'random' or excessive like it was in the first book - thereby losing most of the 'shock' value that was in the first book. This one tries to have a similar style, but. If you tried reading those and like them in theory but have had trouble getting into them, I would highly recommend this series. These remind me so much of The Book of the New Sun tetralogy but far more entertaining and accessible. It's mostly more of the same, while adding to Jorg and Katherine's respective depth as characters.Īnd I said it when I read the first book and I'll say it again. I found myself liking her character quite a lot. Katherine appears in the story mostly through first-person diary entries, which are actually quite good. Even if they're only small doses compared to a well-adjusted human being, they are definitely a sign of growth and change.

Enough to know regret, and enough to understand loss and remorse. The writing was beautiful, the small glimpses into the history of the world are great, and Jorg is as always an entertaining badass who takes no shit from anyone, only now he actually has grown up a bit. It's up to the reader to believe how much of Jorg is 'nature vs. Were they really his own? Or was he guided by others for most of his life? Is he really the reprehensible man we all know because of who he is, or because he was molded that way? Ultimately we don't know.

Jorg's personality and decisions are called into question.

The world-building and how magic can exist when these books take place in a post-apocalyptic future is more thoroughly explained. This book is, in almost every way, better than the first.

King of thorns by mark lawrence