The cliff hanger ending is a good way to keep the reader hooked. There’s some interesting revelations in regards to Jalan’s family which helped build his character (when he didn’t immediately jump back into cowardice). The Liar’s Key takes all of this foreboding and builds on it, adding some new information while still being its own story.

The plot is interesting, Snorri wants to open the door to the underworld, Jalan doesn’t, he wants to go home and, as we all know from The Broken Empire trilogy and the first book, dark powers are rising. Snorri is still awesome and I liked the addition of Kara, a völva (a witch) and Hennan, a young orphan whose age Jalan can never quite determine. Just when you think he is going through some character growth, he steps back and does something cowardly and it makes him all the more interesting to read about. Yes, he is a coward, incredibly self-serving, vain, sex obsessed and would rather run away from a fight than face it but, at the same time, he is funny and he usually ends up stepping up and doing something good. I suppose that is why Jalan makes such an effective protagonist.

You can really feel for Jalan in those moments, even when you spend a lot of the book exasperated by his narcissism and cowardice. The main story is interspersed with Jalan dreaming of past events, including The Red Queen in her younger days being rather badass and bloody and finding out what really happened to his mother, which is rather tragic and very sad. Snorri is determined to use Loki’s Key to retrieve his dead wife and children, almost to the point of obsession and Jalan is still determined to not put his life on the line most of the time. The Liar’s Key pushes the story forward in a fun and entertaining way. He has Loki’s key – now all he needs is to find the door.Īs all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws, the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his – the key to the underworld - so that his dead subjects can rise and rule. For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hell to bring his wife and children back into the living world. And although the North may be home to his companion, the warrior Snorri ver Snagason, he is just as eager to leave. Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the longed-for luxuries of his southern palace. Summary: The Red Queen has set her players on the board… Which then comes back round to bite him in the arse and so kicking off the plot with him, Snorri and Tuttugu heading back south joined by two new characters, Kara and Hennan with Loki’s Key. The Liar’s Key picks up from the end of Prince of Fools with what Jalan knows best: shagging around.

The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence