Superb ending to a fantastic trilogy. Mark Lawrence really outdid himself with Emperor of Thorns. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so this will be vague.
Emperor of Thorns follows our (anti-) hero Jorg of Renar, NOT Ancrath as he caravans to Vienne. There he is to join other kings and representatives who will vote for a new emperor. The vote takes place every four years and it has been a very long time since the Broken Empire was whole. Jorg intends to change that.
Meanwhile, we have our previous ancillary characters (No Spoilers) moving in the background as the plot of all three novels converges. Emperor of Thorns is a little more science fiction than the other two Broken Empire novels but the transition seems natural and unforced. Finally, there is one hell of an ending that I did not foresee at all. WOW!
I REALLY liked this entire series and this book was the best of the bunch. It would get 4.5 stars if I could do that but falls just short of a fifth. I don’t quite love it and I’m not sure why but I recommend this to anyone who likes darker fantasy. Like I said in my review of Prince of Thorns- in a sea of (equally nice) indie rock, this series is a refreshing glass of Black Sabbath.