Best Mark Lawrence Books
Mark Lawrence writes darkness the way other fantasy authors write light — as something essential, not decorative. His Broken Empire trilogy, beginning with Prince of Thorns, announces its intentions immediately: a morally compromised antihero narrating his own brutal rise through a post-apocalyptic medieval world that doesn't flinch from what that actually looks like. Lawrence's prose is lean and menacing, his plotting constructed around revelation — the kind of worldbuilding where the full picture only clicks into focus pages before the end. His Book of the Ancestor series, starting with Red Sister, shows the same razor craft applied to a young woman's journey through a martial convent, with a warmth that surprises readers who came in expecting only grimness. If you want fantasy that takes moral ambiguity seriously, builds to genuine payoffs, and trusts you to keep up, Lawrence is one of the genre's sharpest practitioners.
Where to Start with Mark Lawrence
- Best entry point → Daughter of Crows
- Start the Book of the Ancestor series → Red Sister
- What readers keep coming back to → Prince of Thorns
- Highest rated by readers → Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor #2)
Best Mark Lawrence Books
- 1
Grey Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 2
More about this pick
At Sweet Mercy convent, Nona Grey must choose between becoming a warrior, spy, mystic, or dedicating her life to prayer. Lawrence deepens his world while raising personal stakes.
★ 4.35 Goodreads (38.6K ratings) - 2
Holy Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 3
More about this pick
The Book of the Ancestor trilogy concludes with Nona Grey's final trials as the Corridor narrows, ice advances, and enemies attack the empire from both sides.
★ 4.30 Goodreads (31.8K ratings) - 3
Emperor of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 3
More about this pick
Lawrence concludes his anti-hero's journey as Jorg Ancrath faces both political rivals and undead armies in his quest for ultimate power.
★ 4.22 Goodreads (58.0K ratings) - 4
King of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 2
More about this pick
Lawrence's antihero prince faces the weight of his crown as past sins and present enemies converge in a tale where throne-winning was only the beginning.
★ 4.18 Goodreads (71.0K ratings) - 5
Red Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 1
More about this pick
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, girls with ancient blood gifts learn to kill in service of faith, but Nona Grey's rare talents may reshape their dying world.
★ 4.16 Goodreads (63.4K ratings) - 6
Prince of Fools
The Red Queen's War • Book 1
More about this pick
Lawrence shifts perspective from Jorg's ruthless ambition to Jalan's cowardice, following a hedonistic prince reluctantly dragged into adventure by magical compulsion and an unstoppable Viking warrior.
★ 4.05 Goodreads (35.5K ratings) - 7
Prince of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 1
More about this pick
What happens when you make a teenage sociopath your protagonist? Lawrence creates the most morally complex antihero in fantasy, following Jorg's blood-soaked path to reclaim his birthright in a post-apocalyptic medieval world.
★ 3.83 Goodreads (124.2K ratings) - 8
Daughter of Crows
The Academy of Kindness • Book 1
More about this pick
Survivors of a merciless academy become divine instruments of vengeance, trained to punish those even gods fear to confront. Lawrence builds a mythology around institutionalized justice and carefully crafted monsters.
★ 4.24 Goodreads (278 ratings) - 9
Unbound
Annwn Cycle #The Dead's Revenant • Book 1
by Shawn Speakman, Terry Brooks, Seanan McGuire, Mark Lawrence, Anthony Ryan, Tim Marquitz, Brian Staveley, Michael J. Sullivan, John Marco, Peter Orullian, Kat Richardson, Sam Sykes, Kristen Britain, Mazarkis Williams, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Harry Connolly, Delilah S. Dawson, David Anthony Durham, Jason M. Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Joe Abercrombie
More about this pick
Complete creative freedom yields twenty-three original tales spanning fantasy's full emotional spectrum. Some stories will devastate you while others demand late-night page-turning in this unthemed anthology.
★ 3.96 Goodreads (1.0K ratings) - 10
Unfettered III: New Tales
The Chathrand Voyage #Thasha's cure for cabin fever • Book 3
by Shawn Speakman, Tad Williams, Naomi Novik, Megan Lindholm, John Gwynne, David Anthony Durham, Callie Bates, Jason Denzel, Carrie Vaughn, Deborah A. Wolf, Anna Stephens, Patrick Swenson, Ramon Terrell, Peter Orullian, Terry Brooks, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, Delilah S. Dawson, Mark Lawrence, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Todd Lockwood, Cat Rambo, Robert V.S. Redick, Ken Scholes, Scott Sigler, Anna Smith Spark, Marc Turner
More about this pick
Benefits medical debt relief while showcasing original tales from Brandon Sanderson, Naomi Novik, Terry Brooks, and other genre luminaries.
★ 3.98 Goodreads (571 ratings) - 11
Unfettered II: New Tales
Gunnie Rose #0.0 - The Gunnie
by Shawn Speakman, Naomi Novik, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Michael J. Sullivan, Janny Wurts, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Mark Lawrence, Seanan McGuire, Peter Orullian, Aidan Moher, Erin Lindsey, John A. Pitts, Anthony Ryan, Scott Sigler, Django Wexler, Rachel Caine, Sarah Beth Durst, David Farland, Terry Brooks
More about this pick
Fantasy's biggest names—Sanderson, Butcher, Brooks—donate original stories for charity, resulting in an anthology that reads like a who's who of modern genre fiction.
★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.1K ratings)