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Mark Lawrence

(b.1968)

Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory.
Mark Lawrence lives in Bristol and is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. His day job is as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science … oh wait, it actually is'.
Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

New and upcoming books

October 2026

The Bookshop Book
(Library Trilogy)

March 2027

Daughter of Ruin
(Academy of Kindness, book 2)

Series

Broken Empire
   1. Prince of Thorns (2011)
   2. King of Thorns (2012)
   3. Emperor of Thorns (2013)
   The Secret (2015)
   Road Brothers (2017)

Red Queen's War
   1. Prince of Fools (2014)
   2. The Liar's Key (2015)
   3. The Wheel of Osheim (2016)
   3.5. The New World (2023)

Book of the Ancestor
   1. Red Sister (2017)
   2. Grey Sister (2018)
   2.5. Bound (2018)
   Book of Ancestor Books 1-2 (2018)
   3. Holy Sister (2019)
   The Devil You Know (2021)
   3.5. Thaw (2024)
   Tales of Abeth (2024)

Impossible Times
   1. One Word Kill (2019)
   2. Limited Wish (2019)
   3. Dispel Illusion (2019)

Book of the Ice
   1. The Girl and the Stars (2020)
   2. The Girl and the Mountain (2021)
   3. The Girl and the Moon (2022)

Library Trilogy
   1. The Book That Wouldn't Burn (2023)
   1.5. Overdue (2023)
   Returns (2024)
   2. The Book That Broke the World (2024)
   Missing Pages (2024)
   Tabula Rasa (2025)
   3. The Book That Held Her Heart (2025)
   The Bookshop Book (2026)

Tales of a Misspent Youth
The Red Queen's Ward (2025)

Academy of Kindness
1. Daughter of Crows (2026)
2. Daughter of Ruin (2027)

Novellas and Short Stories

During the Dance (2014)

Series contributed to

Wild Cards
The Visitor: Kill or Cure (2020)
The Visitor (2021)

Tor.Com Original
The Visitor: Kill or Cure (2020)

Books containing stories by Mark Lawrence

The Iron Code (2026)
Stories in Honour of David Gemmell
edited by
Ian Whates

Grimdark Magazine Issue #40 (2024)
(Grimdark Magazine, book 40)

Unbound II (2022)
(Unbound , book 2)
edited by
Shawn Speakman

More books

Mark Lawrence recommends

Dust of the Dead (2026)
(Tales from the Listening World, book 1)
Michael R Fletcher
"Michael Fletcher was a fine writer out of the gate, but with Dust of the Dead he's hit a new level. It's a wonderfully inventive tale with bags of imagination scattered in all directions, and exciting magic that manages to be both familiar and different at the same time. I expect excellent world-building from this guy but what really elevated it was the quality of the character work, tying everything together emotionally for a story I could really invest in on all levels. This is a tale that just works. Read it!"

Between the Dragons and Their Wrath (2024)
(Shattered Kingdom , book 1)
Devin Madson
"An exciting new author in fantasy."

The Hidden Legion (2023)
(Hidden Legion, book 1)
Snorri Kristjansson
"Snorri Kristjansson gives you the whole package."

The Hexologists (2023)
(Hexologists, book 1)
Josiah Bancroft
"Bancroft has returned to the page in force, deploying his crystal prose and razored wit around a tale that mixes whimsy and threat in equal measure. He's a gift to the genre."

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men (2022)
(Gael Song, book 1)
Shauna Lawless
"I really enjoyed the book. It's an excellent read."

The Martyr (2022)
(Covenant of Steel, book 2)
Anthony Ryan
"A master storyteller."

The Tempered Steel of Antiquity Grey (2021)
Shawn Speakman
"A wild ride on a horse that's part Star Wars, part Avatar."

Glass Rhapsody (2021)
(Songs of Sefate, book 3)
Sarah Chorn
"Sarah Chorn writes a passionate and vivid tale."

The Boundless (2020)
(Deathless , book 3)
Peter Newman
"An exciting new writer-sharp, compelling and original."

The Lessons Never Learned (2020)
(War Eternal , book 2)
Rob J Hayes
"One of Self Publishing's rising stars."

Crowfall (2019)
(Raven's Mark, book 3)
Ed McDonald
"Dark, twisty and excellent...Grimdark with heart."

A Time of Blood (2019)
(Blood & Bone, book 2)
John Gwynne
"Truly excellent."

Where Oblivion Lives (2019)
(Los Nefilim, book 1)
T Frohock
"A joy to read."

Priest of Bones (2018)
(War for the Rose Throne, book 1)
Peter McLean
"Charismatic and very more-ish."

For the Killing of Kings (2018)
(Ring-Sworn Trilogy, book 1)
Howard Andrew Jones
"Jones writes well, strong prose giving a good sense of setting and able to stir emotions without ever getting itself noticed.... but the real strength of the book is simply that it is fun to read."

Master Assassins (2018)
(Fire Sacraments, book 1)
Robert V S Redick
"The prose is spectacularly good. Your adrenaline will flow. Your emotions will be toyed with. You will find yourself drawn in, turning the pages and worrying that fewer and fewer remain. I read a lot of good books. Quite a few very good books. This is one of the rare 6-star series openers I’ve encountered."

The Armored Saint (2018)
(Sacred Throne, book 1)
Myke Cole
"Intelligently written, fun, and brutal in equal measures."

The Grey Bastards (2015)
(Lot Lands, book 1)
Jonathan French
"A filthy, charismatic and frankly excellent read."

The Incorruptibles (2014)
(Incorruptibles, book 1)
John Hornor Jacobs
"An exceptionally well writen book."

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