A review of the first installment of Mark Lawrence’s new trilogy and an interview with the author himself.
Some readers look for a selfless hero in their epic fantasy reads.
Prince Jalan Kendeth ofPrince of Foolsis not that hero.
To say that escalated quickly is an understatement.
Theres an undercurrent of magic throughout the story.
Its not overdonethese characters cant solve their problems by saying a few well-chosen words.
The Sisters spell consists of two parts, both light and dark.
Its an interesting play to have Jalan cursed with the good side.
Healing others is not something he really wants to do, especially since it requires a physically demanding cost.
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Theres something very refreshing about this book.
I really enjoy the way it was written.
Even disgusting scenes, like Jal landing in human dung during an escape attempt, are composed beautifully.
That said, its not too lofty and ornamental.
Each sentence serves a purpose and you arent stuck reading a description of a place for paragraphs without end.
The action scenes are very clearly written, so theres no confusion as to what is happening.
Lawrence made the undead creepy again.
These are perhaps the creepiest of all the challenges our characters face.
They are reanimated dead brought back to life by twisting the unused potential of unborn children.
I told you it was creepy.
For its darkness, the book is not all doom and gloom.
Plus his conversations with Snorri are often a delight.
I do wonder if the Builders in the past will have more of an effect on Jals story.
Actually, lets see what the author has to say about some of my questions.
Did you know when you started theBroken Empireseries that youd write another in the same universe?
InPrince of Thornsyou have a marauding, power-seeking teenager.
Here youve got a man who avoids battle and cheats the system whenever he can.
Everyone likes a bit of variety.
What is one of your favorite quotes from the book?
Humanity can be divided into madmen and cowards.
My personal tragedy is in being born into a world where sanity is held to be a character flaw.
That one seems to sum Jal up for me.
What do you hope readers will take away fromPrince of Fools?
What are your favorite geeky obsessions?
Its all writing and doing author stuff on facebook/twitter/forums.
I manage to read about one book a month, all fantasy these days.
Every now and then Ill mainline a TV series.
Before that it wasBreaking Bad.
What would you like to see more of in fantasy/science fiction?
My books breaking sales records.
Other than that … Im pretty happy with whats out there.
Would you like to plug your website?
Im nearly half way to a million hits, so I guess its not all bad.
Mark Lawrence, thank you very much!Mr.
Lawrences blog can be foundhere.
Prince of Foolsis available right now wherever fine fantasy books are sold.
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