Prince of Thorns

Much better than expected. Normally a book starting off with rape and child murder doesn't go well afterward, but this gets better with every page.

The world it is set in is very interesting as well. It is definitely Earth, due to references to Plato and Jesus...but it might be the future? Really want to continue the series. Really enjoyed it.

I had previously heard lots and lots of things about this book, how shocking and dark it is, and thus went into reading it somewhat warily. In truth I wasn't as shocked as I expected to be, and felt that all the brutality and violent behavior of the main character and his band of bandits left me cold, actually.

The 14-year old Jorg of Ancrath experienced the murder of his royal mother and his younger brother while hanging in a thorn bush when he was 9 years old, which left him seeking vengeance from that day on. At 10 years old he leaves his home with a group of bandits and over the years becomes their leader as they sack, rape and pillage their way across the lands. But there's magic at work, and Jorg finds out that his will is not always his own.

Prince of Thorns is a short book, and I found myself glued more to it than I thought I would be. Told from the first person perspective, Jorg at no point becomes likeable, but I found myself interested in the world that seems to be a dystopian western Europe that has now a feudal system. Especially the magic used was interesting, and the hints that there is a bigger plot at work. There's something to say for a book with zero likeable characters that still makes you want to turn the pages to read more.