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The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence


What a great read this turned out to be.  I was completely engrossed and fascinated.
Jorg Ancrath starts of as a young prince who wants to get his throne back, get back everything he has lost and most importantly get revenge and he is prepared to do anything to achieve his aims.
The thing is that Jorg Ancrath is a despicable violent bastard. He does things that should curdle your blood. But despite all of it, Jorg's voice is compelling. I couldn't help but put myself in his shoes. For most of the trilogy I was Jorg Ancrath even through his dastardly deeds(especially through his dastardly deeds). There was a part of me that couldn't help identifying with his ruthless streak of getting what he wants no matter what the cost. I have yet to find another character who embodies "The end justifies the means" more than Jorg Ancrath.
The world itself set on an Earth of the far future. (Similar to the dying earth series by Jack Vance and Book of the new sun by Gene Wolfe).It is intriguing to read about how the technology is described in terms of the fantastic. AIs become data ghosts and Skyscrapers become castles which are lived in and defended. There is magic in the world but it has the strangest sort of origins. The geography is good fun to decipher as well. The names of the continents and the countries have changed a bit (Africa becomes Afrique for example).
All in all its a wonderful trilogy. One of the finest I have read. The writing is crisp, clear, usually succinct and to the point, but almost in every paragraph Mark Lawrence lets loose a sentence, an observation of such beauty, such elegance that leaves one completely awed. I enjoyed rereading the lines,  playing with the words in my head. I also like that Mark Lawrence ended the trilogy on a high and finished things of because too often a story is streched too thin, so that it no longer retains its punch and impact. The series has absolutely perfect pacing. 
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