This month at the Classics Club the monthly question is:

What about modern classics? Pick a book published since 2000 and say why you think it will be considered as a “classic” in the future.

This is a tough question because I have a number of books that I could think of in terms of future classics.  So, it was undoubtedly a question that provoked a bit of turmoil for me!  And, I think my choice may seem irregular being a grimdark fantasy series – however, fantasy has a large place in the classics and this is one of the ways that it’s being revamped giving it a darker edge and more modern feel.  I’m not going to go into a deep and meaningful essay here – I’ve given my points in brief and I’ve chosen a recent fantasy trilogy that I really enjoyed – let me know what you’d choose please!

I’m going to go for the Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence (Prince, King and Emperor of Thorns).  Below is my reasoning:

1. Firstly, and most importantly, I loved this series.
2. I had a number of candidates for this.  I love The Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear, for example, and think they will definitely become classics, however, the Patrick Rothfuss series isn’t finished yet so I don’t think I can reasonably put it forward – and in this respect the same goes for The Stormlight series by Brandon Sanderson and The Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch.  I’m sure they’ll ALL be classics but they are as yet unfinished.
3. Three is a lucky number – three books in this series and three books in Lord of the Rings!!   You just have to love a trilogy. Yes?
4. New to me – grimdark is relatively new to me and I would say Mark Lawrence was my first introduction.  Another reason for me feeling all the love for this series.  Now, I realise that there are other series written in a similar style, but, like I said this is the first for me.
5. I like the way that Jorg grows up as the series progresses.  I also like the style of jumping back in time to see some of his earlier memories.  You might think this would take you out of the story but it’s actually a great way to find out his back story without a huge info dump or writing the story in a more traditional timeline style.
6. It’s very well thought through in such a way that when you reach certain stretches of the story and things are revealed they definitely have the ‘wow’ factor.
7. Jorg – I do like this character.  Okay, he’s not your typical hero – in fact he’s all anti-hero.  But you will end up in his corner.
8. I think there’s a fine line between too much detail and not enough.  Now, I love Tolkien but some people think he’s overly descriptive (not I).  I think the Broken Empire succeeds in a good balance between character development, plot and world building.  It’s easy to imagine the setting and the places which all seem very familiar but with a twist.
9. The three books in the series have been on mine (and plenty of others) ‘best of’ lists come the end of the year.  I like all three books.  There was no ‘middle book’ syndrome.  In fact, I would say that the books got progressively better!
10. It’s the classic Good vs Evil – I mean, you wouldn’t necessarily call Jorg ‘good’ but in terms of this story he’s definitely the lesser of two evils!
11. I would reread this – if and when I ever got the time! And I think that’s a good indication of a book’s real worth – if you’re prepared to reread it!
12. I think it would also make a very good readalong for people who want to have more detailed discussion because there’s no shortage of things to talk about!

So, what would your choice be???