Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

Posted by Anonymous

Reviewed by: Andrew Zollman

What I Read: Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

Find It @YCLD: Here! 

What It's About: The Red Queen is feared not for who she is but who she brings. The kings of the Broken Empire hold a fear like no other of what she can bring upon them. The Red Queen fights the long war. She works in secret against the other powers behind nations. Her greatest weapon is however The Silent Sister. She is unseen and most don’t know she exists until it is too late. The story follows the Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth. He’s a drinker, gambler, a seducer of women and one of the only men able to see The Silent Sister. Jalen or ‘Jal’ is the Tenth in line for the throne and is content with his role as a minor royal. For all his life he’s pretended that the hideous crone is not there. Unfortunately for Prince Jalen, war is coming. An undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal, thinks it’s all a rumor—that nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.

After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior named Snorri. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell that now bind them together, they encounter grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way. Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.

What I Thought: The first in the series of the Red Queen’s War, I really enjoyed the creativity at play between the characters and how they think through their almost impossible situations. The action and adventure is edgy and gritty and not at all for the faint of heart. If you like adventure, magic, and dialog filled with intrigue and heart, this is a story for you.

Like Mark Lawrence’s first series ‘The Broken Empire’, he relies on presenting the reader with a smattering of pieces of a puzzle for the reader to put together as they go through the story. You will pick up little hints and tidbits here and there to lead you to the final goal of the character, but I bet you still won’t guess the ending with all that help. Have fun with the story and get to know the characters, the Red Queen’s War is long and it’s always going to be a bumpier ride than you are first lead to believe.

Readalikes: Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence | The Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien

Or look this book up on NoveList!