Unlike many other reviewers, I did not read Mark Lawrence’s previous “Broken Empire” trilogy before picking up “Prince of Fools.” This was one of those books that I picked up on a whim after seeing it several times in the bookstore. The fellow gracing the cover looked interesting and the premise laid out on the back of book sounded promising, so if nothing else, I was hoping for a fun ride through Lawrence’s take on a fantasy world. And I got it. “Prince of Fools” is easily one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time and delivered on all of the fronts that, in my opinion, make a good novel. Spoilers follow.
Prince Jalan Kendeth is the third son of the Red Queen’s third son, tenth in the line of succession with little hopes of ever sitting on the throne…but Jalan is ok with that. He doesn’t have his eye set on ruling Red March – he’d rather enjoy less ambitious pursuits: spending his family’s money on drinking, gambling, and worming his way between the legs of any woman that will have him…and with the title of Prince attached to his name, the pool of willing bed partners is practically unlimited. The only real problem in his carefree life is the massive debt he owes to one of Vermillion’s most dangerous crime lords. Oh, and the Silent Sister, the unsettling old crone that advises his grandmother that everyone except for him can’t see. His grandmother has also become interested in stories of a Dead King raising armies of undead and a door that leads to death, but those are just rumours, right?
Following his escape from a death trap set by the Silent Sister to kill one of those Unborn his grandmother is so obsessed with, Jalan finds his fate magically intertwined with that of Snorri, a fierce Norseman set on rescuing his family from the undead up North. Jal has no choice but to accompany him, encountering grave dangers, narrowly avoiding getting caught up in political matters, and slowly realizing that he and Snorri are just pieces of a long game with potentially deadly consequences…and the Red Queen, his own grandmother, is one of the key players.
The story is very enjoyable. We open to Jal desperately fleeing the brother of the noble Lisa DeVeer, his most recent lover, and it never slows down from there. Even with the grim backdrop and the serious threat that looms over them, Jal’s always getting up to something that makes this a very colourful, exciting experience. It’s an engrossing tale that succeeds in completely snagging the reader and pulling them in. These days, most of my reading is done either while working out, while neglecting other tasks (housework, work, other hobbies), or by staying up later than I should into the night, so books tend to take me a little longer to finish than they used to. “Prince of Fools” took four days, and it only took that long because I forced myself to occasionally stop reading to resume those pesky chores. The story is so interesting, the twists so intriguing, that I couldn’t bear to leave Jal and Snorri and return to the real world. It’s been a good while since a book has engaged me so fully, but this novel had me from page one, through their travels and the exciting climactic battle up North, Snorri’s heartbreaking revelation of what happened to his family and Jal’s misadventures, all the way through until I finished the last page. And I was very sad to turn that final page and realize that there weren’t any more. It’s good that I chose to come into this when the other two books in the trilogy are already out; it’s a story that sticks with you when you’re done and leaves you wanting for more…having to wait a year for the next one would be torture.
The book actually contains two elements that I’m generally wary of in fantasy novels: Evil with a capital E and a lot of travelling, but Lawrence gives his story so much detail that I was surprised to find myself enjoying their travels and gradual discovery of the antagonist. That’s not to say that the author is wordy or overindulgent in his descriptions – quite the opposite! Lawrence uses his adjectives carefully to flesh out his world, painting the scene in precise brushstrokes, giving it enough definition to make it come alive without dominating the prose. The world is possibly explained in fuller detail in the author’s first trilogy, but it appears to be our world many years after some catastrophic event has wiped out our modern technology, the survivors having had to rebuild from nothing and eventually leading to the medieval-esque setting portrayed in “Prince of Fools.” There are some amusing nods to things we view as commonplace that no one in Lawrence’s world knows much about, let alone has seen (for example, Jal imagines a train as a fearsome monster). There’s definitely a dark, gritty aspect to the setting, but it’s not pronounced enough to characterize the book as fully “grimdark” and is instead used as more of a flavouring. It’s a low magic world, so the Silent Sister and the Dead King are incredibly frightening in their abilities, and finding anyone who knows anything about the spell binding the two protagonists is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s a fascinating world that fits the story and Lawrence characterizes it well without bogging the plot down with pages and pages of description.
I also want to take a brief second to commend the author on his use of flashbacks to tell Snorri’s tale. Since the book is told from Jal’s point of view and having Snorri’s story is essential to the overall plot, I thought that Lawrence handling it as he did was brilliant. It would have been easy to just have Snorri spout exposition to summarize what he’s been through, but instead the author chooses to have us be taken fully into the Norseman’s past in a third person narrative that Jal is also supposed to be listening to. I was a little skeptical the first time it was used, but it ended up really working as a way to weave these two plots together without drowning us in exposition.
I had also been a little concerned about being lost since I haven’t read the “Broken Empire” trilogy, but it ended up not being an issue. Jalan and Jorg (the main character from the first trilogy) almost cross paths once, and it’s pretty hilarious…but enough is explained that you’ll get it even if you haven’t read Jorg’s books. Otherwise, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything pertinent to the story in “Prince of Fools.”
My singular complaint is how easily the duo is able to obtain information. As I mentioned above, magic isn’t exactly commonplace in this world, and finding people who know anything about it can be quite a challenge, or so Jal makes it seem. In actuality, they seem to bump into people with knowledge relevant to their plight pretty easily. I guess one could argue that the spell is leading them to these individuals and I could also see why the author wouldn’t want to devote pages to the pair wandering about looking for information, but it just felt a tad too convenient. It’s a minor quibble, however, and the book was paced so well that it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the novel.
So, are you one of those people that groans whenever they come across the romance that seems shoehorned into every single novel? I am. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that “Prince of Fools” features no romance. Yup, you read that right: there is no relationship drama in this book. Shocking, right? Jalan is a very successful seducer of women, and he manages to charm many a young lady to his bed in these pages, but there’s absolutely no cliché of him falling in love with any of them. The primary relationship is the burgeoning bromance between Jal and Snorri. They start as unwilling travel companions and end as friends, and Lawrence takes great care in showing us how they gradually get there. It’s so refreshing to come across a book that’s more interested in developing a platonic friendship than it is shoving a romance where it isn’t needed. It’s actually a difficult to put into words how bloody delighted I was when I realized that this was all going to be about the unlikely friendship between a prince and a Norseman as they face a huge threat together. I only hope that this continues through the next two books.
What really makes “Prince of Fools” stand out is its characters. Prince Jalan is very different from the heroes we’ve come to expect from fantasy. He’s not virtuous or brave, nor is he interested in putting his life on the line for the greater good. Nope, our protagonist is a spoiled young man (twenty-two, I believe) who lives for the shallower pleasures of life: drinking, placing bets in the fighting pits, and seducing women…and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He did a brief stint in Red March’s military and, through blundering from one battle to another in his desperate attempt to “retreat” from the enemy, has earned himself the distinction of the Hero of the Aral Pass, a title that makes him a hit with the ladies, but he’s glad to have that part of his life firmly behind him. He’s a self-professed coward whose first instinct upon running into trouble is to run away (screaming sometimes, no less), but he sees no shame in this since it keeps him alive and able to continue enjoying his existence. Despite all of this, he’s an insanely likable character, possibly because he’s so honest with himself and isn’t under any illusions when it comes to his tendencies. He usually knows what the right thing to do is, he just often doesn’t want to do it because it’s easier or safer to run away, lie, or otherwise leave the problem to someone else. Jal doesn’t want to be involved in this adventure and is only dragged along because the spell won’t let him leave Snorri’s side. And he definitely grows through the experience. It’s fun watching him develop throughout the course of the story and we’re there for every step of it. That’s not to say that he’s become a straight-laced protector of morality by the end. He realizes that there’s more to both himself and life than whiling away the days in taverns, but he’s still going to enjoy his pleasures when he can. Jalan is a wonderful main character, different from what we usually see and chock full of personality.
Jal is also the ideal narrator for this tale. The book is written in the first person point of view, and I’ve always maintained that this perspective is best utilized when the point of view character either has an interesting voice or a unique bias. Jalan has both. He’s delightfully sarcastic, sometimes a little scathing, and his witty commentary often adds a lighthearted tone to a rather dark scenario. He always has some sort of comment on whatever is going on and it’s usually pretty entertaining. His view of himself is usually a tad self-deprecating, but he’s confident in the abilities that he has and is well aware of the ones he doesn’t…he also has priorities amusingly straight, which are of course Prince Jalan, Prince Jalan, and Prince Jalan. I was especially pleased to see that Jal’s take on events can be a bit biased; that is, he’s so good at lying that he sometimes ends up believing his own lies over the truth. He also has the tendency to blank out during fights and has to be told of his actions by others, even sometimes not being able to remember scuffles we witnessed through his own eyes. Lawrence has used this perspective to absolute perfection and I often felt like I wasn’t reading so much as being told the story by Jal himself, which is exactly what I want from a novel in the first-person. So well done, Lawrence, well done.
The other main character is Snorri, a fierce Norseman who will stop at nothing to get his family back. He’s pretty much the opposite of Jal: brave, ambitious, determined, and happy to risk his life if it gets him to his goal. While the spell filled Jal with light, Snorri received darkness and the advice of a demigod named Aslaug that attempts to steer him toward a more violent path. It’s an interesting struggle; Snorri is more than happy to be a Viking warrior when needed, but his nature isn’t to be cruel. If I’m going to be honest, he doesn’t really grow too much as a character…but, oddly, that really sort of works here. You see, Snorri strikes me as the kind of man who has already figured out who he is. He’s already undergone trials of personality and tests to determine the true nature of his character, and he’s both happy and confident with himself and his skills. He’s just trying to get back the life he once had, and given the outcome of that, I wonder wat the next book has in store for him. Snorri is an interesting contrast to Jal which makes their growing friendship (that bromance I mentioned earlier) all the more intriguing.
Aside from friendship, the other big theme between these two is bravery. Snorri is perhaps the embodiment of courage while Jal prefers to hide behind those bigger than him. Jal tells us over and over that he’s a coward, but his Viking companion is quick to point out that the prince constantly engages in acts more heroic than he gives himself credit for. In fact, it often seems like Snorri knows Jal better than Jal knows himself, and he’s intent on making the prince see his potential. Jal does wonder if he may be brave simply because he’s not afraid of being afraid as many other men are, but he’s quick to dismiss that idea and hide behind his safe wall of cowardice. By the book’s conclusion, Jal has realized that he’s more capable of brave deeds than he would have thought, something that readers likely will have realized already. It’s an interesting example of telling versus showing: Jal tells us that he’s a coward, but we’re often shown through his actions that this simply isn’t always true. It’s a great theme that aids quite a bit in the growth of the characters’ relationship as well as the characters themselves.
As a side note, their vastly different personalities result in some greatly amusing interactions. I would be happy reading a few hundred pages of these two discussing the weather, they’re that entertaining. Their conversations and banter are a large part of why I didn’t mind the lengthy travel; simply put, they keep it from being boring. These two are a real treat together and I look forward to seeing more of them.
Other characters pop in and out of the story. Most don’t receive a tonne of development simply because they don’t need it. They’re distinct enough to stand out and make an impression on both the characters and the readers, but don’t take any time away from the main characters. I personally really liked the personalities of the Vikings that accompany Snorri and Jal North, and most of the other figures are interesting enough. On a personal note, this is one of the very few books I’ve read to date where I liked all of the characters. I honestly can’t think of one that I hated or thought was poorly characterized, and someone who can be very critical of characters, that’s rare for me.
To sum it all up in one word: Wow! “Prince of Fools” had everything I enjoy in a novel: an intriguing premise, a unique world, fascinating characters, and good storytelling. It hooked me on page one and kept me along for the adventure to the end. Prince Jalan is the most entertaining narrator I’ve ever encountered and I loved that the author forewent a cliché romance to focus instead on a friendship. I’d never read any of Mark Lawrence’s works before this, but I think it’s time to change that. He’s easily become one of my favourite fantasy writers from this book alone. I give “Prince of Fools” five stars and would enthusiastically give it more if possible for being as close to the perfect book for me as I’ve come across yet.
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Reviews with images
Struggled to keep going
This was a hard Book for me to finish. There were so many times that I was so attempted to put it down but I didn't. And I still kept going hoping the pace would pick up. The whole book seemed to drag for me. There were points that seems like it was picking up speed, but it still drug on. It was interesting enough for me to continue with the book but I don't know if I will continue with the series.
Top reviews from other countries
Ben Finnigan
Great storytelling and brilliant writing...
Reviewed in Germany on January 19, 2024