Nicholas Eames truly knocked it out of the park in that regard.

The characterization was by far my favorite facet of this novel. It sure did for me! It's hard to put a label on such a work, for one minute it's moody grimdark and the other it's laugh-out-loud hilarious.

I believe that if you grew up listening to heavy metal and hard rock, this book might speak to you even more. As is the case with music today, with so many people complaining that it's not as good and authentic as music from the 70s, 80s, or 90s, the new mercenary companies of Eames' universe are competing against one another to live up to and ultimately outshine the bands from the past. And the fact that mercenary bands are idolized like rockstars gave this novel its unique flavor. For example, the meanest badass antagonist has bunny ears. Nicholas Eames doesn't take himself too seriously, which is why Kings of the Wyld is so much fun to read. Hence, he has a number of surprises up his sleeve. But à la Abercrombie, the author enjoys subverting said tropes and play with readers' expectations. In essence, the plot often felt like an Advance Dungeons and Dragons campaign being played out. Most of the elements have been seen and done before, over and over again. The worldbuilding is nothing special and can be decidedly generic at times. It's time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk - or a combination of the three. So just buckle up and enjoy the ride, for Kings of the Wyld is a real treat!Ĭlay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best - the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld. However, it is the most fun you'll have reading this year. Martin's A Game of Thrones, or Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World, or any other work of speculative fiction that turned out to be a game-changer. Kings of the Wyld is not a work akin to George R. Given all the rave reviews and the fact that it's supposed to be the kind of book Terry Pratchett and Joe Abercrombie would have written if they had ever collaborated on a project, my curiosity was piqued in earnest.īased on all the praise it has garnered, some readers might have lofty expectations that this novel simply cannot live up to. I've been meaning to read Nicholas Eames' King of the Wyld for quite a while.

The band kings of the wyld