The trilogy follows the life of Jorg Ancrath as he goes from scorned prince to Emperor; using whatever means necessary.

[1] Prince of Thorns, was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Award for "Best Fantasy 2011", a David Gemmell Morningstar Award Finalist in 2012 and short listed for the Prix Imaginales (Roman étranger) in 2013.

"[3] King of Thorns was also one of Barnes & Noble's "Best Fantasy Releases of 2012",[4] and a David Gemmell Legend Award Finalist in 2013.

Emperor of Thorns was published in August 2013 and was on The Sunday Times Bestseller list.

[7][8] In 2013, an unabridged audiobook version of Emperor of Thorns was released by Recorded Books and is also narrated by James Clamp.