King of Thorns  (The Broken Empire)
It’s been four years since Prince Jorg avenged his mother’s death by killing his uncle and taking his throne. In that time, the young prince has matured mentally and physically and has prepared his small mountain kingdom for war. Opening with the arrival of an army of more than 20,000 soldiers and Jorg’s hasty wedding to a young princess, the novel is split between the war in the present and lengthy flashbacks to earlier years; the source of the flashbacks is a mysterious copper box that Jorg keeps with him at all times. The box, which holds the king’s memories, is designed to keep his past safe from his dream-walking enemies. Lawrence masterfully builds tension here, using the few frantic days of battle as the framework for his larger story. Readers who first met Jorg in Prince of Thorns (2011) will cheer for the return of one of fantasy’s most violent, yet strangely likable, antiheroes, and those new to his story will find it easy enough to start here (but they will be eager to jump back to book 1). Set hundreds of years in the future after a disaster ended the time of the Builders, this is epic fantasy only lightly touched by science fiction, and the combination of dark fantasy, male characters, and plenty of violence makes it a perfect read-alike for fans of Brent Weeks and Joe Abercrombie. --Jessica Moyer--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.