The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns & Emperor of Thorns
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library
Goodreads, Amazon UK
I've linked to the first book in the series, so no one accidentally stumbles into spoilers. 

I blogged about the first book, Prince of Thorns here. 

Goodreads summary of the first book: From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

What did I think of the series? It's a wonderful debut. It's brutal. Yes, there's rape. Lots of blood. Violence. It's grim. It's dark. And maybe for some it goes a bit too far. But I loved it!

The main character, Jorg, is an anti-hero, a broken child. He was once privileged and a prince until the day his mother and brother were brutally murdered before his eyes. Now, he must confront the horrors of his childhood to become a man and build a better future for himself. He's a fascinating character. I usually prefer the villain to the protagonist. Often in books and also on television. I particularly enjoy when an author dares to show us the villain as the hero. Jorg grows over the course of the series. He starts out with no redeeming qualities, but he's complex, layered and develops in interesting ways.

The ending seems to have caused some controversy among reviewers and not everyone is happy with how Lawrence decided to finish the series. I, however, thought it was brilliant.

Mark Lawrence's world is rich and beautifully crafted. It's a futuristic version of our modern world that has been destroyed. His prose is vivid and sort of poetic.

If you like villains, don't mind dark fantasy and some science fiction thrown into it, then give this one a try, it's worth your time, I promise.