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Prince of Thorns, the debut novel my Mark Lawrence, follows the story of Jorg, a Prince with a particularly mean streak.  At the age of nine, Jorg watches as his mother and brother are brutally murdered.  He then embarks on a quest for vengeance.  It ‘s a story that has been told, and told successfully, many times.

I think that one thing is clear, Mark Lawrence has a way with words and uses them compellingly to set scenes.  But I also think one other thing is also very clear – in Prince of Thorns, that same talent is not used to give depth to the characters or the overall plot.  Prince Jorg is about as one-dimensional as they come.  His gratuitous callousness is never truly counterbalanced with a desire to feel sorry for him (which would have given him other dimensions he so sorely needed). Read more…

A good Monday morning to these new twitter followers!

Jeff Joseph Author‏@author_jeff

Author of the Romantic Thriller THE TRIALS OF VIRTUE http://amzn.to/yrbBOX Working on my next book series available 2012. Learning is a continuous process!

Patrick Satters‏@Patrick_Satters

Passionate #fantasy #author, who tries to surprise the reader with originalty and unexpected plot twists. Working on his debut novel Fateful Bet [Project Title]

Andy Lucas‏@Rysamoke

Husband, father and eternal optimist! I write novels, poetry & screenplays. Love my wife/kids, horses, dogs, motorcycles and visiting USA/Canada.

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Linda Poitevin‏@lindapoitevin

Author of The Grigori Legacy, where police procedural meets angel mythology. Wife, mother, gardener, coffee snob. Twisted sense of humor. Prone to random tweets

Melissa Foster‏@Melissa_Foster

Mom to 6, author @TheWomensNest addict LOVE mint chocochip, brownies, books, being happy☼ helping others #WLCAuthor #ShareTheLove4authors @FosteringSucess

E.C. Belikov‏@ECBelikov

Sci-Fi Writer. Gamer. Amateur MMA fighter. Geek. Изучаем русский.

Murray Hunter‏@DalastKimbasabi

Im still doing things people gave up years ago. Also educator, entrepreneur, researcher, farmer, hack of a runner, wannabe philosopher, & author.

David Taylor‏@DSTaylor1

The only wannabe author on Twitter, who doesn’t know how to use Twitter (well actually I think I’ve got the hang of it now!)

Lisa Bouchard‏@Lisa_Bouchard

Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction writer living in New Hampshire. I wake up ridiculously early to make sure I get work done before the kids get up.

Christine Nolfi‏@christinenolfi

Contemporary fiction author of Treasure Me, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge and Second Chance Grill.

Jayde Scott‏@JaydeScottBooks

Author of the Ancient Legends series. I follow back and unfollow everyone who doesn’t follow back. No kidding!

Hurlock Oxford‏@hurlockkvemz3

 

Stacy-Deanne‏@stacydeanne

Award-winning novelist of crime fiction, mysteries, and romantic suspense. The Season of Sin Available now!http://www.stacydeanne1.wordpress.com

Joseph Mitchell‏@JosephMitchell_

I write scifi/fantasy. I love computers and gaming and other nerdy stuff. I make computer animations as a hobby, and I’m also a lifelong movie fan/geek.

German Sanchez ‏@Germanrsanchez

German R. Sanchez is the author of the imaginative book, I Dream In Haiku and is planning to write more Haiku books. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B59V4M/

ELLIE‏@ghsel

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life#TeamFollowBack

Steve Umstead‏@SteveUmstead

Science fiction author of top-rated Gabriel Trilogy. Semiprofessional swim-up bar tester, maniacal iPhone user. NEW Gabriel: Zero Point: http://amzn.to/GZPtw

Brandon Charles West‏@fortoldon

Author of the Scarlet Hopewell series of books for young adults, including Scarlet & the Dragon’s Burden. Father, firefighter and avid reader

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Jennifer Chase‏@JChaseNovelist

NOTE: Released in 1998, the first story of Karigan G’ladheon has since spawned three more books with the latest, Blackveil, released in February 2011

Warning: May contain spoilers!

Green Rider is considerably better than the last book I read and reviewed, Vengeance by Ian Irvine. The debut novel by Kristen Britain written more than a decade ago tells the story of Karigan G’ladheon, a runaway school girl who gets caught up in the events of a plot to overthrow the King of Sacoridia. She is pursued by those desperate to keep the conspiracy a secret after making a promise to a dying Green Rider to deliver a message of great importance.

The story bounces between the points of view of several other characters, but Karigan is indeed the main character of the story and most of the focus is on her. Most of the character development of Karigan is through her evasion of danger and getting out of tight spots. There are points in the story where things seemed out of sorts. Unfortunately, one of these points is near the beginning when Karigan stumbles upon the Berry Sisters. The whole encounter seems to have just been placed into the story and dropped out of thin air to land with a thud. The impression I was left with was that the entire chance meeting was a tedious way of discussing some back-story elements, particularly concerning the nature of the world’s magic as well as provide convenient and simplistic ways to help Karigan escape from danger later on. The entire episode left me drained in a manner than was reminiscent of Karigan after using her broach for its power of invisibility. It gave me a good reference point to draw on to sympathize with the main character at those points.

I honestly almost did not push on with reading the story because of this point. But I did. The story gets better as it moves on through a myriad of dangers Karigan faces to complete her quest as well as her struggle with not wanting to be the Green Rider everyone else seems to think she is or should be. The story borders on Karigan escaping from too many unlucky situations however, but it does tread the line just enough to not become wholly unbelievable. Some things like the however Anti-Monarchy Society seem to be just thrown in as filler and are dwelled upon too much for their minor role in my opinion. Also, the story seems to drift a little towards the end, especially during the final battle with the symbolism of a board game that makes its appearance several times throughout the book.  Although there are quiet a few pleasant twists.  Even if some of the foreshaddowing as to where the author wants to go is not all that subtle.

If you want to read a typical coming of age fantasy story with some unique elements and a hero struggling to come to grips with her inescapable fate, Green Rider could be up your alley. The plot is certainly believable enough. I give Green Rider three and a half stars.