Anna Smith Spark (Mark Lawrence) Books in Order

This page is for Mark Lawrence readers who have heard Anna Smith Spark described as grimdark and are wondering what that really means. The short answer is that her books are brutal, strange and often beautiful in the same breath, and they wrestle with many of the same questions about violence, love and power that run through Lawrence’s work.

Spark’s Empires of Dust trilogy, starting with The Court of Broken Knives, follows a mercenary company hired to topple an emperor in a crumbling, decadent city. Among them is Marith, a young noble with a past he cannot escape and a talent for killing that pulls people toward him even as it destroys them. The story swings between battlefield mud and glittering palaces, and it never lets you forget the cost paid for glory.

Where Lawrence’s Broken Empire trilogy tells Jorg’s rise in tight first person, Spark moves between multiple characters and leans harder into impressionistic, sometimes feverish prose. Armies clash, cities burn and gods intrude, but you are always close to the interior lives of people trying to make sense of what they have done.

Beyond the core trilogy, Spark has written standalones such as A Woman of the Sword and A Sword of Bronze and Ashes. These often focus on older women, veterans and mothers who are dealing with the long aftermath of wars and bargains struck in their youth. If you appreciate the way Lawrence comes back to the scars his characters carry, these later books push that instinct even further.

On this page you will find her novels arranged in order, short descriptions of what each one offers and suggestions on where to start depending on which Mark Lawrence series you love. Whether you want another scorched earth rise to power or a quieter story about living with the ghosts of a past campaign, there is an Anna Smith Spark book that will speak to that mood.