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)

Huge pauses between sentences

I couldn't get past the first hour. There are huge pauses between sentences, up to 2 seconds. Because of that there's no flow whatsoever in the storytelling. I wasn't thrilled about the content, either, so I'm returning this one

Infuriating narrator

The constant mid-sentence pauses makes this unbearable. I couldn't get more thank an hour and a half in before I just gave up.

It sticks in your head.

No one can tell you whether you are going to like a book or not. When I read the first few pages of this book, I had this sinking feeling that I was really going to have to TRY to like it. The first person narrative felt eccentric and the protagonist felt archetypal and narcissistic.

But it just kind of got under your skin. Not after a few chapters. Right away. It's like when you're watching a TV show and you can't put your finger on why you like a character. Not in the labored foreshadowing-of-redemption kind of way. But because they scratch an itch or make you think.

THEN I whispersynced over to the audiobook and it all just clicked. I've had audiobooks before that were more enjoyable than reading the book, but this was different. This was like the voice actor shed light on the character and made the narrative voice feel 'right.' Suddenly it wasn't a borderline annoying teen with daddy issues - it was Alex from Clockwork Orange, except now he's a sellsword fighting witches, or whatnot. Yeah, I know, it's kind of crude/rude to compare one character to another, so don't go running away with that analogy. That's just how it was perceived by me.

Prince of Thorns is rough and dark and super melodramatic in a medieval film noir kind of way. I can understand why some people don't like it. But I also kind of think it's bound to have a cult following. I'm still not sure whether the book is truly good or not, but putting it down is hard and I think about it all the time, like a disturbing dream I wish I hadn't woken up from.

Narrating drives me crazy with the pauses

Ugh you’ve got to be kidding me. Narrator suuuucks. I don’t have time for this.

Love it or Hate it!

This is a well written book; however, it has a very morbid story line and dark characters. I did not enjoy.

I only suggest this book for those who like their fantasy stories on the darker side.

Just Couldn't Finish

I feel like this might turn into a good series if I could just get into it, but I just find myself avoiding listening to it and turning to other media. I got 3.5 hours into it (about a third of the way through) and stopped.

I just can't get past the main character. This is a thirteen year old sociopath that is so precociously world-weary that he is able to bully grown men, hardened criminals without batting an eye. In fact, that is all he seems to do. He's not inconsistent (a major pet peeve of mine), he's just absurd. I understand the concept of an anti-hero. This seems to be what the author is going for. I am not above rooting for the bad guy. This protagonist is just so utterly annoying. I keep hoping for the actual protagonist to come along and smother this character in his sleep so that the real story arc can begin. No luck so far.

As to the reading... it seems ok. Clamp seems to play the main character pretty well. He pauses a bit mid-sentence making for a disturbing rhythm.

An anti-hero that is hard to align with

I have read and listened to a lot of fantasy books and I have no issues with anti-heroes as lead characters; however, Jorg just isn't an interesting character and I was never able to get behind him. At 9 years old Jorg experiences a terrible trauma as his mother and brother are killed while he is helplessly caught within the thorns of a nearby briar patch. His father, the king, is unwilling to risk war with Count Renar, who is behind the murders, and he basically agrees to put the matter aside in exchange for some economic concessions. This shapes Jorg into a monster bent on revenge against both Count Renar and his father.

Jorg becomes the leader of a band of thugs at the age of 13 and the book is experienced from inside his mind. That is a dark place and frequently Jorg envisions ruthlessly killing those he interacts with. Sometimes those thoughts are converted to action and sometimes they aren't but they are constant. Jorg frequently kills men 3 times his size through an improbable series of events and he quickly furthers his agenda against his father and Renar. Eventually it is uncovered that there are more powerful individuals behind the scenes who manipulate key people as pieces in a giant game of thrones. Jorg himself discovers that he is being manipulated and he adds his puppet-master to his list of targets.

Now I love a good revenge tale more than most and I'm willing to let questionable behavior slide in the name of revenge on those "who deserve it" but this book never got me there. Jorg is too young, has no redeeming qualities at all, and the improbable events are just too unbelievable. There is also nothing truly unique about the fantasy world although the book does get interesting at times it doesn't really last.

This isn't a terrible book but I still suggest that you pass on this one. If you want to listen to dark, gritty fantasy or root for an anti-hero then there are much better choices available. I give this 2.5 stars only because James Clamp did a decent job on the narration and his performance kept the story moving along. It just never wound up where I wanted it to be.

Narrator was too distracing, couldn't get into it.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Fans of Christoper Walken

What do you think your next listen will be?

Nothing narrated by James Clamp.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of James Clamp?

Simon Vance, or Michael Page; hell, I'd even give my shy three year old niece a try.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Unfortunately I can't give a proper review of this book because I honestly stopped listening after ten minutes of the narrator giving a ten second pause after each comma, and thirty after each period. It just completely obliterated the flow of the story, and while this may have been fun to listen to Christoper Walken reading this, with this narrator an this book, it just completely lost me.

No F**king Unicorns

Any additional comments?

If you are looking for friendly talking dragons, and Happily Ever After this book is NOT for you. Violent, dark and brooding. Reminds me of books by Brent Weeks and Joe Abercrombie. I am downloading the second book now. This one was a bit short for my taste.

I'LL DIE WHEN I'M READY

DREAMS TELL A MAN WHO HE IS.
This story is told in first person, by a guy who loves to hear himself talk. I might have liked this better if written in third person. At times I just wanted the kid to shut up. I am always weary of people who brag about themselves. Tell me they are smart, honest or tough. It usually ends up being the opposite. This guy was tortured at 10 years old and now at 14, he is a bad ass, okay we get it, now let's get on with story, shall we. The first half of the story is all about convincing you that this fourteen year old is a bad ass. He even kills without warning his own followers, sometimes because their looks irritate him. I fail to understand how you can get a group of guys to follow you if they never know when you are going to kill them next. I listened to all of this and there are glimmers of real writing, but it is surrounded by double talk. The second half of the story reads more like Conan the Barbarian. The late middle part of the book, where he is under the mountain and fights necromancers, is the best part of the book. When he is doing something and not talking about doing something.

I SWALLOWED THE NIGHT AND THE NIGHT SWALLOWED ME
I always feel it to be a cheap trick to do a lot of double talk. A lot of people seem to think it clever and you even it see it in some of the classics, but this guy does it constantly. I DON'T LIKE TO BE ANGRY, IT MAKES ME ANGRY. ALL OF A SUDDEN IMPOSSIBLE ODDS, SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE. YOU LOSE THE GAME AND WHAT DO YOU LOSE? YOU LOSE THE GAME. IN A REAL FIGHT AND MOST FIGHTS ARE REAL. EVEN AS THEY LEFT ME, THE WORD SOUNDED HOLLOW, CHILDLESS.

AND IF PEOPLE CALL YOU KING, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE.
Probably the biggest fact that you comes out of this story, is that kings are nothing but the biggest bully on the block. That is how they get started and then it is nepotism from then on.

I'M A SOLDIER (reviewer) AND THAT'S THE END OF IT.