Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • King of Thorns: Broken Empire 2

  • By: Mark Lawrence
  • Narrated by: Joe Jameson
  • Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,034 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
King of Thorns: Broken Empire 2 cover art

King of Thorns: Broken Empire 2

By: Mark Lawrence
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Many Are the Dead cover art
The Iron Wolves cover art
The Primal Hunter cover art
The Ember Blade cover art
Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella cover art
Ruritanian Rogues: Volumes 1-3 cover art
The Shadow of What Was Lost cover art
Sword in the Stars cover art
The Midnight Sea cover art
Red Rising (Part 2 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
The Last Airship cover art
New Spring cover art
Son of the Black Sword cover art
A Demon in Silver: Book One of War of the Archons cover art
Unfettered cover art
Unbound cover art

Summary

The second book in the Broken Empire series, Lawrence takes his young anti-hero one step closer to his grand ambition. To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the world in blood…The land burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings fight for the Broken Empire. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them. A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds.

Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king. Faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan.

©2012 Mark Lawrence (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Without a doubt the most original and most memorable fantasy debut of 2011. It’s difficult to imagine how another book could top this one." ( RisingShadows.net)
"This is a lean, cold knife-thrust of a novel, a revenge fantasy anchored on the compelling voice and savage purpose of its titular Prince. There is never a safe moment in Lawrence’s debut." (Robert Redick, author of The Red-Wolf Conspiracy)

What listeners say about King of Thorns: Broken Empire 2

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    699
  • 4 Stars
    264
  • 3 Stars
    58
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    716
  • 4 Stars
    147
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    591
  • 4 Stars
    224
  • 3 Stars
    68
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

"He said", "she said" - ad nauseum

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes! - the constant "he said", "she said" every time any character utters a word. More than any other book I've listened to, this is really intrusive and annoying, especially since the narrator is so good with the different voices he uses that there is really no need for the endless use of "he said". I wish the audio producers would pay more attention to the specific requirements of their publishing medium - it really does come close to ruining an otherwise excellent production.

What did you like best about this story?

Thoroughly engaging and inventive story - medieval neo-noir hybrid?

What about Joe Jameson’s performance did you like?

Excellent voice modulation and intonation - a pleasure to listen to his interpretation.

Could you see King of Thorns: Broken Empire 2 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

The ex-footballer Roy Keane would make an excellent Prince - a highly intelligent, borderline psychopath.

Any additional comments?

The writing itself is a step above the usual fantasy fare where the expression tends to be weak, it really is a well-written book, I just wish the translation to audio book had been carried out more smoothly!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic unique and unrelenting

Fantasy is always about the hero, the good and honest man saving the day. This book gives us a window into the Machiavellian nature of men and how it would be if we lived through them.

If you need any push to buy this audiobook let this be it, you will not be disappointed and don’t expect to stop listening until it’s over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

.

Could do with less Katherine. I need to reach 20 words to send this so here you are. Is this good enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Excellent world, rest getting even worse

The main character is, admittedly, no longer aggravatingly annoying and sad at the same time (cf. my review of Prince of Thorns), so the book was a lot easier to get through. It continues the investigation of the world I find absolutely fascinating, which is why I continue to rate it this highly. On the other hand, though, while the character is less awful, the story and pacing have really gone rather downhill.

Where the first book tried to present a coherent story with the right mood, escalation and resolution (that I just didn't care about), the tension the start of this book builds up gets resolved about halfway through. The story then tries to claim it was building up to something else all along, but really just limps along until the end.

With this book as much as its predecessor, my recommendation stands: read it only if you're curious about the world. The rest is really not worth your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the first in my opinion

I am glad I stuck with this trilogy, as this book was probably one of my favourite listens of 2013 so far

Story – 4.5/5

King of Thorns is a vast improvement on the first in my opinion; growing and maturing the main character Yorg into someone who is more believable. He still has a good portion of ruthless and inhuman personality so he still holds true to the anti-hero element of the trilogy.

Running throughout the book are multiple time frames, similar to the first book. It really stands out in this one though, as the main timeframe arc is a big, impossible to win, battle. There are plenty of unexpected turns in this battle though, and all of the background on the lead up to this battle and the characters is given in the intertwined back flash chapters.

Where this story really blew me away though was in the final few chapters, which every good book should do. If you like epic battles and war strategy like I do, this one will not disappoint. I can’t wait for the concluding novel.

One of the small drawbacks of the book was that some knowledge/actions were very convenient. If ever I think this throughout a novel, I can’t help but wonder if it is down to poor planning/writing on the author’s part. Not that it deterred my enjoyment though, just one of the only things stopping it getting 5/5


Performance – 4.5/5

Joe Jameson was also a big improvement in this novel. His young, high sounding voice suited the narration in the mind of Yorg nicely again, and he did a good job distinguishing all of the characters in his acting. Where he improved was upon his scene setting. If Yorg was in a sticky situation, you felt concerned for him, as if he was actually in danger, unlike with the first book.

Overall – 4.5/5


Apologies for the star ratings not matching the written review, I am forced to round halves on Audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not for me

Although the story is good it took some getting over the references to rape in the first book. I managed only because it was not described it was more referenced. The rest of the story was good though and so I continued with the second book. I got as far as the chapter where a dog has each of its legs broken with a hammer and is set on fire. Described in the most horrific detail. I’m sure it’s a very good book, but it is not for me,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

better than the Prince of thornes!

the main man is much more likeable in this 2nd book. he has more empathy, there is a reason and wait until the ending to see whether this will continue into the 3rd

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story but..

I like the story, but the accent he gives Katherine sounds cringe to me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Broken empire Broken King

To be fair Jorg was broken long before this book but his secrets break and remake him leading to greater opportunities for mischief and misdeeds

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Easy to follow

given there are over 40 chapters this allowed me to listen during my commute to work on a daily basis. Great book and can't wait for the 3rd.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!