Signor Finzione

I've picked up on a massive bunch of stuff every time I've re-read the series. It's the most deep/complex series I think I've ever read. I think I'm a bit short to wield Dragnipur. A good old Kethra knife might be more my cup of tea . . .

Review: 'Emperor of Thorns' by Mark Lawrence (Broken Empire #3) The path to the throne is broken – only the broken can walk it. The world is cracked and time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days. 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 no matter who stands against 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. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don’t follow me. Follow me, and I will break your heart. Readers should consider these words as a warning. Jorg will indeed break your heart, and not in a way you can anticipate. We’ve followed him through over ten years of his life. We’ve lived his journey from the storm-struck thorns to the throne of Renar. And still he continues to surprise us, in good ways as well as bad. Jorg is now aged twenty, and the Hundred have been summoned to a Congress wherein the empire’s kings and their advisers will meet to decide the matter of the next emperor. The throne has sat empty for over a hundred years, but of course Jorg plans to remedy that with his secret knowledge, stalwart companions and unique brand of tact and diplomacy. “I’ve been to Congression before, Makin. I know what games they play there. This year we’re going to play a new game. Mine.” In addition to the upcoming Congress, however, an even bigger challenge awaits, and the broken empire must prepare itself for the biggest threat to humanity since the Day of a Thousand Suns: the invasion of the Dead King’s armies. Emperor of Thorns follows the format we’ve become accustomed to: flashbacks from years earlier interposed among the present-day storyline in a way that creates suspense, builds tension and reveals key pieces of information at critical moments. However, there is a new addition: a third-person account of the necromancer Chella, a character who was central to the storyline of the previous book but was only ever seen from Jorg’s point of view. This particular addition made for some interesting insights into her character, as well as giving us inside information about the Dead King and his legions. However, I didn’t really engage with her chapters well enough to be able to sympathise with her character, and was a little bit glad that her chapters were few and far between. Some of my favourite parts of the Broken Empire trilogy are the tales of the road, and we are treated to a fair few of them here. Typically grim yet delightful, these anecdotes about Jorg’s younger days with his road brothers serve a higher purpose here than in previous books, as they are used to reveal more to us about Jorg’s tragic and twisted childhood. Secrets that were only partially revealed or hinted at before – such as Jorg’s burning hatred for the clergy – are now fully unveiled in ways that will undoubtedly cause discomfort in most readers. Lawrence continues to display a penchant for putting the ‘dark’ in ‘dark fantasy’, but somehow the horror and violence is never simply gratuitous: rather, it’s used to deliberately manipulate the reader’s emotional response and force us to acknowledge that his protagonist has been brutally moulded and pushed to similar violence by these horrific external events, rather than just because of his “dena”. Another great aspect of this book was the scale: we are shown much more of the broken empire than ever before. King of Thorns varied between the rocky highlands of Renar, Maladon in the icy north and the fetid swamps of Cantanlona; Emperor of Thorns follows Jorg even further, from the lifeless wastelands of the Iberico (the dangers of which range from fires to dogs) to the desert city of the mathmagicians, from the silent horrors of flooded ghost towns to the affluent city of Vyene. We’re continually provided with great narrative variety and haunting yet spectacular imagery. The writing is, as always, a joy to read. There are so many amusingly casual turns of phrase, as well as the frequently poetic musings of Jorg’s internal monologue and the brilliantly integrated hints of both past events and things to come. Another of my favourite aspects of the books has always been the delicious clues about the true nature of the broken world. There are plenty of those clues here, my personal favourites being the hilariously sanctified “guardian” of the Gilden Gate, the martial teachings of “Lee”, and of course the ironic original function of the empire throne itself. All in all, Emperor is a spectacular finish to a brilliantly original fantasy series. Does Jorg find redemption? You’ll have to read it and find out. Think you’ve guessed how it’s all going to end? I can guarantee that you haven’t. My rating: 4.5/5

Well, I do make a pretty amazing home-made chicken soup . . . and usually make enough of it to feed 5,000 . . .

I think it's that I mostly read fantasy and don't generally like books set in the "real world", which is the same reasons I don't really read any contemporary crime novels or anything either. Anything that resembles real life makes me bored. It's the same with films: there are a few romantic comedies I like (Love Actually, The Holiday, Bridesmaids), but generally it's not what I'd choose to watch. Also, most chick-lit I've read has all revolved around shopping and romance, which are really not my thing. But, I can see how the book you just reviewed has some different elements to it, which makes it seem more interesting than most chick-lit you see on the shelves. Funny what you said about changing the title/cover - maybe I'll accidentally buy it somewhere under the name "Curse of the Body Snatcher". Please become my neighbour? I'm the same. Where we live it sort of seems to be an unwritten rule that you don't talk to your neighbours (I thought it might have been a "reserved English" thing). By the way, thanks both of you for making me really hungry!

Thanks for the recommendation! I love zombie movies but have only just started discovering the books.

I don't really read much chick-lit, but 'Could it be Magic' sounds kind of interesting. Chick-lit novels usually put me off with the cheesy blurbs, and the front covers that all look the same (I swear they all use the exact same font!) Nice review.

Hi Marie, and welcome!

Thanks for that Tim - what an awesome signing. Two of my favourite authors! It's a shame I probably won't be able to make it down. I'll try though . . .

When I read it and got to the point where it all clicked, I went back to the beginning and read it from the start again. I found myself saying "ahhhhhhh, THAT'S what that means" the whole time. Manchester isn't that far from Cambridge. I'll hunt you down.

Great review! Glad to hear you managed to make it to the end and still enjoy it. It's a pretty attractive-looking book, I have to say. Is it written in 1st person or 3rd? Don't worry, Gaia, the only names I recognised were Richard III and Henry VII.

I'd probably still start with GotM, since the series continues pretty smoothly after it up until MT. I just mention MT because a lot of people give up on Erikson altogether after failing to enjoy the beginning of GotM, whereas if they'd then given MT a go as well I don't think they'd have the same problem. Sorry if that's a bit garbled. Well said! Agree with everything, especially that having to re-read Midnight Tides can't do any harm. GotM is the first in the series; the 'problem' is that a lot of people find the first 200 pages or so difficult to read since it doesn't explain everything right away. Midnight Tides is the fifth book in the series, but in it we meet brand new characters, and it's set a little before the events of GotM. The stories from both books merge together in later books in an awesome way. I think you'll be fine starting with GotM, though. Tim, no worries! The 'signor' was a deliberate choice when I joined the forum. I found that on previous fantasy book forums my opinions were dismissed as less important because I wasn't a man. I realised pretty quickly that there was no need for it on here because everyone's ace. Sorry for the confusion; I'm not a naturally deceitful person, I swear. I don't think I can change the username, and I don't mind being referred to as 'he' anyway - anonymity is kind of fun, I suppose. (I hope that comes across in a non-creepy way.)

Character-wise: I love it in fantasy novels when you have characters of dubious morality and a really entertaining internal monologue. Joe Abercrombie is brilliant for this: Sand dan Glokta (a crippled torturer) and Logen Ninefingers (a barbarian berserker) are both a bit on the dodgy side yet have highly likeable personality traits, and their points of view are alternately hilarious and heartbreaking to read. Setting-wise: It has to be a world completely separate from our own. For me, books = escapism, which is why I like fantasy. It's boring enough scraping a normal living in our world - why would I want to read about other people doing the same? (I read the first Harry Potter book when I was 10 - let's just say I cried a bit when I didn't get my Hogwarts acceptance letter on my 11th birthday).

That's great! I look forward to reading your reviews. Quick note: you can start with either Gardens of the Moon or Midnight Tides. GotM is book 1, but MT begins a brand new story arc that doesn't tie in with other events until later (MT can also just be read as a standalone novel - and a brilliant one at that). I found it fun too, but I think I would also have appreciated having someone to clarify certain things I was unsure about. 'Says who'? Don't pretend you wouldn't have to be physically restrained from entering any discussion about Malazan . . .

I second Poppyshake's recommendation of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Pseudo-Victorian, pseudo-historical fantasy, but very realistic in the way it's written. It's unlike anything I've ever read before or since and it's fantastic!

The main problems I had when I was studying were based around the fact that I was always doing something else alongside. E.g. during my undergraduate degree I was working part-time, and during my Masters I also did my PGCE (teaching degree) at the same time. All of that left little room for fun reading, especially the planning/marking involved in the teaching. I used to get so burned out from studying that the last thing I wanted to do was pick up a book, which is why I ended up playing so many of the games we were talking about - it just seemed like less mental effort. I was like you as a kid - I hardly left my room and always had a book in my hand. There was only one library near me and it was small, so I soon ended up borrowing the same books to read again and again. My school didn't have a library, and I never had enough money to buy more than a few books a year, which is why I re-read the ones I had so many times (and also why I started on my dad's Stephen Kings/James Herberts at a young age). Christ, I went all Charles Dickens then, didn't I? Or 'The 4 Yorkshiremen'. Good luck with your studies bobblybear! What are you studying?

I can see how it would be confusing to read in a second language, especially since so many of the words are the made-up names of races/characters/places. I got a bit confused reading it the first time because he'd mention in passing things like Jaghut, T'lan Imass and Tiste Andii (and loads of others) but not explain what they are: you only learn about them as the book continues. If you ever did try reading them again you could always ask questions on here - me and Steve would explain stuff.

The first two are on my 'TBR before Christmas' I've owned them for quite a while now, but the recent fuss about his new one made me want to start reading them. Good to hear it from someone who's enjoying them! I prefer a 'classic' fantasy setting (as opposed to urban fantasy). I like a completely fictional world, and do prefer swords and bows to guns (with the exception of the Powder Mage books, and one particular moment in the Broken Empire trilogy). Dragons are cool, and I do like to see fantastical monsters as well - although they seem to be few and far between these days. I think I prefer magic when it's part of the story but doesn't dominate. That said, I loved 'The Name of the Wind', where the main character spends much of the book at a magical university. BUT he does other stuff too, and the magic is just one part of him. Good questions! Maybe we should start a thread about this sort of thing (if there isn't one already)? Yeah, both my wishlist and my TBR are a bit out of control. I'm hoping to get a Kindle for/by Christmas, which will make it easier/cheaper to buy the books off my wishlist but will massively increase my TBR.

Ooo yes, Paris was good too. Very creepy!

I think the film is only good if you consider it as being unrelated to the book. I thought the book was ace, but the film really missed the boat with a lot of things. The book was great because there were a lot of distinctive stories and images: I don't want to be spoilery, but will say that my favourite tales were 'Dog Guy', 'Aircraft Woman in Swamp' and 'Japanese Computer Kid'.

I'll be sure to give them a read soon! I like to read good reviews of a book just before I read it - I find it whets the appetite. Hmm, thanks for the warning. At least it won't take me too long to read . . . Yeah, it's a bit of an obsession. I don't have anyone to talk to about it in real life so this is my only outlet . . . which is why I'm all "you NEED to read this so we can talk about it!" at every opportunity.

Here's a link to a good review of Gardens of the Moon: http://wildersbookre...steven-erikson/ The reviewer basically sums up the exact same experience I had when reading the first book, and explains very convincingly why you should persevere with Erikson's work.

Also the fact that they never rest. You may be able to outrun them, but at some point you have to sleep. While you're sleeping, they're still moving closer to you, step by step . . .

I have the Ketty Jay books on my Amazon wishlist! I've been eyeing them up for a while after seeing Ace of Skulls (?) recommended to me and will probably get them at Christmas time. The Rithmatist by Sanderson is on my TBR; will probably give that a go, and then if I like it I'll try Mistborn. Thanks a lot for the recommendations! So much fantasy, so little time.

The end of October, I think. I've still never read any Gemmell either!

I'm not sure, actually. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but I also used to re-read a lot of the same books again, and again, and again (I think I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix about 10 times in one month ). When I was at university I'd have to read around 30 books per semester (2 semesters in a year, so roughly 60 books) and then whatever I could squeeze in during the holidays. BUT it would take me longer to read those kinds of books as I either didn't enjoy them as much or had to read them really carefully and make notes as I went along for essays and stuff. University almost spoiled reading for me; although it did introduce me to a few great books that I might never have read otherwise. I'm reading a lot at the moment as I'm between jobs and don't have much else to do. I think I joined this site about 3 weeks ago and am on my 6th book since then, so I guess at the moment I'd be on track with you! Is 100+ a year normal for you?