Prince of Fools
core novel 2014 The Broken Empire
Record
| First published | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.05 (35,960 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 355 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780425268780 |
Synopsis
The first novel of a new sequel trilogy set within the same fractured empire introduces Prince Jalan Kendeth, a cowardly, self-interested nobleman whose habitual instinct in a crisis is to run. Fleeing a magical assault meant for someone else, Jalan collides with Snorri ver Snagason, a Norse warrior traveling south, and the two are unexpectedly bound together by the same spell, unable to move far apart from one another. Snorri, whose family was taken from him by a notorious enemy, is determined to press on northward to attempt their rescue, and with Jalan unable to break free of the magical link between them, the reluctant prince finds himself dragged along on a journey the length of the Broken Empire, one that pulls the mismatched pair into schemes connected to the Red Queen herself as they search for a way to sever the bond.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Broken Empire
- Series: The Red Queen's War core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Mark Lawrence
Awards (verified)
- Readers' Choice Awards (Fantasy), 2014: nominated; Reader-vote nomination round, confirmed via the author's own announcement; did not win.
- David Gemmell Legend Award, 2015: nominated
Notes
- From the series record (The Red Queen's War): Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri (2014-2016), set in the same world and the same years as The Broken Empire trilogy, a concurrent companion narrative, not a sequel. Author-confirmed same world and either-order readability. Classified Core alongside The Broken Empire per the Riftwar/First Empire precedent for mainline companion sub-series.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Red Queen's War: position 1 of 3: next The Liar's Key (2015)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broken_Empire_Trilogy
- Mark Lawrence's official site
- https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Mark-Lawrence/Prince-of-Fools.html
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