INTERVIEW: Mark Lawrence

Speculative Book Review is proud and fortunate to have the opportunity to interview one of this year's up and coming debut authors. Mark Lawrence is the author to one of this week's latest fantasy novels releases and one of this year's most anticipated books, Prince of Thorns.

Speculative Book Review- Since this is your debut novel, I would like you to take a moment and let everyone know a little more about you, can you give our readers a quick introduction?

Mark Lawrence- Sure, I’m a research scientist in my 40’s. My mother read me Lord of the Rings when I was seven, and I’ve been hooked ever since. About ten years ago I moved to the States and creative outlets (mainly RPGs) dried up due to lack of time and opportunity, so I started writing short stories and sharing them on online groups. I got a taste for it and wrote ‘Prince of Thorns’ in many little pieces in the dead of night.


SBR- Why should The Prince of Thorns be the next book everyone reads?

ML- Will my publisher kill me if I say I don’t have a good reason? Nine times out of ten the reason I read a book is because a friend said it was good. The remainder usually fall to snap decisions in airports, or classics that I feel I should read and normally end up enjoying despite the fact that technically it’s education. Maybe they should read ‘Prince of Thorns’ because you like it and they trust your judgment?


SB- Your novel has a lot of death and combat, what research, if any, did you do in order to write those events?

ML-I watched a lot of fantasy films (most of them terrible, truth be told) and read a lot of fantasy books. Does that count as research? I also have a talent for collecting random bits of knowledge and find it comes in handy when writing.


SBR- Who did you base the character Jorg on? He seems to be a cross between Machiavelli and Alexander the Great.

ML- The original and broad inspiration was ‘Alex’ from Burgess’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’. I wanted to write about someone violent and destructive who appeared to have no redeeming features save a charisma sufficiently compelling to keep the reader turning pages until the story took hold.


SBR- Which character in the Prince of Thorns was the most difficult/easiest to write?

ML- I don’t recall agonizing over any of it. I guess I just started typing and let it happen. When you have an intriguing character and set them loose on the page, I find they gather story to them and it’s a case of following where they lead. At the time I was writing Prince of Thorns real life was the difficult side of things, and writing an escape.


SBR- Which character from the Prince of Thorns do you identify with the most?

ML- Different parts of me identify with different characters, none of them are close to being a copy of me. Maybe Lundist and Makin. I may occasionally imagine acting like Jorg, but I’ve an overactive imagination. I’m the sort to freeze in the headlights in a real crisis rather than slice my way to the most efficient solution without care for the cost.


SBR- What is the most satisfying aspect to writing?

ML- For me it’s knowing I nailed a scene, knowing it will matter to somebody. If I read it back and it affects me, then I generally know that sooner or later somebody is going to tell me that it really got to them. And I love that. Knowing I captured something timeless on the page. That sounds too grandiose. I’m not writing the stuff of ages here, it’s just a fun tale of swords and sorcery, but I like treading on the edge of what great writers must feel and getting my tiny thrill of it.


SBR- Prince of Thorns is your debut novel and the first in the Broken Empire trilogy, can you give a peek at what to expect in the sequels?

ML- I wrote Prince of Thorns as a stand-alone novel and I hope it can be enjoyed that way. What you won’t get in the sequels is more of the same. Prince of Thorns is a discovery, Jorg turns fourteen and catches up with his past. What comes next is about the future, about Jorg the man rather than Jorg the boy.

SBR- In your novel, Prince of Thorns, it seems as none of your characters are safe, a lot of my favorites came to a violent end, how do you decide who lives and dies in your series?

ML- I’m not a planner – I start each chapter with no real idea where it’s heading and just start typing. Characters who wander too near to the edge of cliffs … fall off.


SBR- What authors/works have most influenced you and what type of influence (e.g. good/awful) were they?

ML- I had a long break from fantasy and only really got back into it when I picked up ‘A Game of Thrones’ by George RR Martin. He opened my eyes to how good fantasy could be, how well it could be written. Recently I’ve been reading more fantasy but my time is very limited, I have a job, writing, and a disabled little girl to look after. The books I’ve enjoyed recently have been by Martin, Hobbs, and Peter Brett. I expect I’m more influenced by modern classics though.


SBR- What are you currently reading and what is in your to-read pile?

ML- Currently I’m reading ‘The Bad Mother’s Handbook’ by Kate Long. I knew her at University. My to-read pile is huge and contains all manner of fantasy authors whose works I should try, not least because people keep saying I write like one or other of them. Top of the pile are Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, and Brent Weeks.


SBR- Aside from your own novel, Prince of Thorns, what series/standalone should people be reading?

ML- Well George Martin and Robin Hobbs hardly need my support, so I’ll say ‘The Emperor’s Knife’ by Mazarkis Williams, coming out this autumn, the first of a trilogy but entirely satisfying as a stand-alone.

imeSBR- Anything you would like to add or perhaps shamelessly plug?

ML- I’m certainly shameless, but I have nothing else to plug.

I guess I’d like to add that the fact ‘Prince of Thorns’ has been so well received thus far and going to be published has come as a great surprise to me, exceeding all my expectations. If it were all to go away tomorrow, I would still count myself immensely lucky to have put a book on the shelves and to have been part of the story.

Speculative Book Review would like to thank Mark Lawrence for taking the time out of his busy schedule to sit down and answer our questions. Prince of Thorns comes out today in the US and 4 August in the UK.

REVIEW: Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Publishing Information: Hardback; 336 pages (373 pages in ARC)
Publisher: Voyager; 4 August 2011
ISBN 10: 0441020321
ISBN 13: 978-0007423293
Series: Book one of The Broken Empire
Copy Provided by publisher
Reviewers Tyson and Yagiz

Synopsis: "The thorns taught him a lesson in blood...

Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."

Once 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's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or 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."

TYSON

Prince of Thorns first grabbed my attention when I saw the cover. A hooded warrior amid a battlefield strewn with the recent dead. While we have seen a lot of our mysteriously hooded figures, this one really drew me in. Then I read what the book was about and I had a really good feeling that I was going to enjoy whatever was contained within the pages of the novel.

Prince of Thorns does its best to tell two stories. One that progresses the story and the other tells us how our hero came to be. Jorg, our protagonist has not had an easy life. It starts out with all the pleasantries of one noble born, but quickly veers to a life of death and mayhem. Jorg's most formative years should have been spent under the expert tutelage of the king but instead he has gone seeking revenge and has learned from the worst of mankind. He is ruthless and will use anyone to further his personal goals. He is not a warrior, but a killer. He is not above sacrificing his own men if it means a quick means to his aspirations. I found myself really liking Jorg even when he was at his most terrifying. The way his mind works was both entertaining and impressive. I could imagine how his own men, who towered over him, would stay on their toes lest they became the next corpse. The fact that some of his men stood at seven feet tall and never turned their back on him, for fear he would take their head spoke volumes.

A few other characters were also very interesting. Rike and Makin. Rike was is described as a massive killing machine with little or no morals. I saw him as a juggernaut and it was interesting to see how he interacted with Jorg throughout the book. Makin was another character that I liked. He was the white knight that had screwed up and was doing his best to guide Jorg and make up for his past errors. To a certain degree they exemplified the two sides of Jorg's personality and they also complimented him very well. There is a large cast of characters that are apart of Jorg's group known as the Brotherhood and many of them stand out. Since it starts out as a large group many of them go unnamed and it was one of my minor complaints. Lawrence has a lot of death in the pages of Prince of Thorns and they take place on both sides of the battles. Many of the brotherhood die and it doesn't really impact the story simply because they are a name or empty suit and nothing else. We only learn their names when they fall in battle. Of course Lawrence does manage to kill off a many of the secondary characters as well. No one is truly safe in Prince of Thorns but many of the early deaths do not mean much as they were never introduced in the first place, which loses its dramatic impact.

The world building is interesting. We never understand just where in time the story takes place. Many famous books and authors are mentioned (IE: Shakespeare, Plato, etc.) and we are told the roads were built by the Romans long ago. We are also told of a great battle that wiped out the mighty nations that once were. While I do not want to spoil the big surprise that comes along the towards the end of the book we do learn more about when the book takes place, but we are still not told specifics, which I thought was a major plus. The majority of the novel has little to no magic. However, towards the second half of the novel it becomes more prevalent and it was a nice change of pace. While I was perfectly fine with there being very little magic in the beginning; however, when the magic does comes out, it is done very well and only adds to the story as it unfolds.

Prince of Thorns really flows. The chapters are rather short and there is not much time for the action to take a breather. There is plenty of hack and slash within its pages, but at the heart of it is Jorg's personal quest to reunite the empire to its former glory and he does not care how he does it or who he must crush under his heels to attain it.

Prince of Thorns is not what I consider a very gritty book, but it certainly is bloody. While there is a lot of death contained within its pages that is just the surface there is a lot going on behind the scenes which is what really drove the story. Jorg has a plan and it is great fun to see how it unfolds. The problem that I have with the novel is that its sequels are not available. The Prince of Thorns is a bloody good time and I plan to stay with it as the series continues. It is sure to be one, if not the, best fantasy debuts I read all year. Lawrence's Prince of Thorns reminds me of Joe Abercrombie, the character'smorals are ambiguous and never safe from their demise. Highly recommended.

Plot: 8
Characters:  10
Style 9

Overall 9.5/10

YAGIZ

Just like Tyson, I came across Prince of Thorns when I first saw its cover on one of the SFFWorld.com forums. I cannot remember where I read it but a study has shown that hooded figures are the most commonly used design elements in fantasy cover arts and Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns is no exception. However, this doesn't mean that its cover didn't have a good first impression on me. I clearly remember that I really liked the way that the young warrior stood in the middle of a battle field. In his stance, I felt an air of owning the battle field or being responsible for the atrocities. Maybe, with the help of the book's name, I thought he had the coldness of Damien Thorn of The Omen (Richard Donner's 1976 horror film).

The author, Mark Lawrence, uses first person narrative in his debut novel Prince of Thorns. His story unfolds through the eyes of Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath, son of King Olidan of the House of Ancrath. Given his status, Jorg probably never knew childish innocence but what he experienced during his childhood changed him forever and made of him a ruthless and remorseless teenager. As the protagonist, the author paints an interesting picture of Jorg's character that easily captivates the reader. Lawrence's style is easy to read and he balances the darkness of the story well with the special humour of some of the characters.

"Tell me, tutor, is revenge a science, or an art?"

Jorg's is not the only interesting character in the book. The Prince is surrounded by the members of his brotherhood and the involvement of some of them in the story is important enough to let the reader appreciate their diverse personalities. I especially liked the beginning of each chapter that starts with a brief explanation of who one of the brothers is.

The setting was the first thing that I wasn't completely satisfied with. It felt like medieval Europe and the main religion felt like Christianity however the author hinted at slight differences. Even though its name isn't mentioned explicitly, mentions of "Jesu", "Lord", "Almighty", "Forgive me father" and various Christian concepts such as the confession and the pope leave no doubt that the religion in question is Christianity. All these nameless hints and implicit assumptions left a bitter taste for me. I love historical fantasy that borrows its setting from real history, I love parallel settings à la G. G. Kay but I don't like these settings that the author never fully reveals and the reader can't really grasp. Hearing the names of Aristotle and Plato wasn't much of a surprise. Nor the names of places such as Persia, Indus and Roma. However mentioning the 19th century German philosopher Nietzsche totally confused me. And were there hints of modern science? Even more confusing!

The second thing that kept me off balance was the age of Prince Jorg. In most of the book, he acts much more mature than his 13-14 years. So I decided to forget about it and consider him as "just a teenager" without really thinking how young he really is. Then he became a memorable character displaying great humour and sarcasm.

"A knife is a scary thing right enough, held to your throat, sharp and cool. The fire too, and the rack. And an old ghost on the Lichway. All of the might give you pause. Until you realize what they are. They're just ways to lose the game."

The author synchronizes well the chapters dealing with flashbacks and the chapters telling the story at present time. Flashbacks give enough background information to fill in some gaps and to answer some of the questions in the readers mind, finally to arouse more curiosity.

"There's a door to death, a veil between the worlds, and we push through when we die. But on the Day of a Thousands Suns so many people had to push through at once, they broke the door. The veils are thin now. It just takes a whisper and the right promise, and you can call the dead back"

Despite a few things that kept my mind preoccupied, I really enjoyed Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns, especially after the point when Prince Jorg travels to Mount Honas. That's when the story becomes more interesting with stronger fantasy elements, which are almost too subtle until then. Throughout the book, there are some nagging questions on the reader's mind: "Who is he really? Who's behind this boy? What is the true source of evil, the source of the poison in Jorg's heart?" Lawrence's Prince of Thorns tells an unusual story because it is black, it is desperate, it is tortured, twisted and hopeless. This is a very strong debut novel, which will leave you looking forward to the next installment.

Plot: 8
Characters: 9
Style: 8

Overall 8.5/10

Memorable Quotes

"Hold a thing long enough, a secret, a desire, maybe a lie and it will shape you" - Jorg

"I could go with you Lady. I could take what you offer. But who would I be then? Who would I be if I let go the wrong that have shaped me?" - Jorg

"War my friends, is a thing of beauty. Those who says otherwise are losing" - Jorg

"You got responsibilities when you're a leader. You got a responsibility not to kill too many of your men. Or who're you going to lead?" - Jorg

***Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Mark Lawrence the author of Prince of Thorns.