In a battle between Jorg and Jalan, who would win? Jorg would be a villain if he were in any other series but this one, while Jalan doesn’t want to be a hero, thank you very much. He wants a steady supply of wine. A tryst with Lisa DeVeer would also be welcomed. If not her, anyone else will do.
I feel all gamblers would throw their money down in support of Jorg, but I have a sneaky feeling that Jalan might just prevail.
But I jest, I do not really mean to pit our main characters against each other, I’m merely here to talk about these two trilogies and the fact that you should read BOTH because these series are so intertwined that they shouldn’t be separated.
Let me explain.
The Red Queen’s War is not a sequel series to The Broken Empire. Nor is it a prequel. In fact, the timeline is concurrent to Broken Empire – and indeed The Wheel of Osheim really shows us a lot of what is going on behind the scenes of Emperor of Thorns.
To me, not reading The Red Queen’s War is like not reading what Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are up to while Sam and Frodo are walking towards Mordor. These characters are inextricably linked and things that happen to one group impacts the other.
In fact, I’m going to propose a new reading order…
- Prince of Thorns
- Prince of Fools
- King of Thorns
- The Liar’s Key
- The Wheel of Osheim
- Emperor of Thorns
I’m sure this will be controversial – but it’s my blog and I can say what I want.
I’ll also add this. These two series are led by very different characters, each led by very different motivations. The books are a masterclass in PoV and tone. Jorg is grimdark, Jalan is more heroic (even though he doesn’t want to be). Jorg’s darkness will pierce your soul. Jalan will have you laughing when you least expect it. Warning to all audiobook listeners – the narrator is hilarious, especially for The Wheel of Osheim. The scene in the desert and the scenes with Jalan and his brothers when a battle is looming had me laughing very loudly whilst out walking. Some people from my hometown probably think I’m a little loopy.
Ultimately both these series are about how two men react to events running away from them and what they decide to do. Can someone with a dark heart ever do something for the greater good? Can someone who is a self-professed coward ever put himself in harm’s way? I feel very comfortable in saying that the greater story is in watching them both struggle and march ahead anyway.
And here, I guess, is another big point. The star of the show (after Jorg and Jalan) is the worldbuilding. I don’t want to give any spoilers – because I didn’t clock onto what the setting actually was until I was about halfway through Prince of Thorns – but the concept of a world becoming more magical, and thus more unstable, was riveting.
It almost ended up being the main antagonist. Sure, we have the Dead King, Edris Dean and The Blue Lady, but it is the turning of the wheel and the rate at which it is speeding up that is the true driver of chaos.
If you haven’t given either of these series a go – or if you’ve only read one of them – consider this your call to go ahead and read them all. If anyone reads to my new order, let me know what you think! And if anybody wants to do a re-read, I’d also be intrigued to see what you think of it.
Does it sound reasonable… or is the turn of the wheel leading me to make reckless suggestions?
Thanks for reading
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