Prince of Thorns: Mark Lawrence: 1 (The Broken Empire) - Softcover

"Prince of Thorns is the best book I've read all year...[Lawrence] pulls you in and doesn't let go."--Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Skull Throne

"This is a lean, cold knife-thrust of a novel, a revenge fantasy anchored on the compelling voice and savage purpose of its titular Prince. There is never a safe moment in Lawrence's debut."--Robert Redick, author of The River of Shadows

"Dark and relentless, the Prince of Thorns will pull you under and drown you in story. A two in the morning page turner."--Robin Hobb, author of Assassin's Fate

"[A] morbidly gripping, gritty fantasy tale."--Publishers Weekly

"Vivid...smooth and compelling...gritty and full of wonder. This book is brilliant."--Galaxy Book Reviews

"Disturbing, beautiful, chaotic, poetic, haunting, exhilarating."--Fantasy Faction

"Without a doubt the most original and most memorable fantasy debut of 2011. It's difficult to imagine how another book could top this one."--RisingShadows.net

"2011 is turning into another year for impressive genre debuts, but at this point Prince of Thorns is arguably the most impressive and stunning...Highly recommended."--SFFworld.com

"Defies the conventions of epic fantasy by invoking them only to take a savage delight in tearing them apart."--Locus

BOOK ONE IN THE BROKEN EMPIRE TRILOGY

“Prince of Thorns deserves attention as the work of an iconoclast who seems determined to turn that familiar thing, Medievalesque Fantasy Trilogy, entirely on its head.”—Locus 

When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king...

It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose.

But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?