Kings of The Wyld

Where to start? I downloaded this audiobook purely off the 4.4 rating on Goodreads and my burning need for a decent fantasy fix after too long lingering in some very deep sci-fi. I didn’t know what to expect, and I was fully prepared to use Audible’s very relaxed return policy as I have on several other titles that I’ve bought without any research. However, to say this book was worth the price tag (or Audible credit in this case) would be like saying stumbling over a suitcase full of cash was a spot of good luck. Off the bat, if you’re a fan of Diskworld, you’ll probably love this book. Imagine a Pratchett-esque world but with blood, swearing, and a writing style that consistently makes you forget the hundreds of puns and sometimes silly nature of the world and buries you in the narrative of the characters and their journey. That is what Kings of the Wyld is, and by Odin’s beard, didn’t I bloody love every moment of it.

The book doesn’t do a huge amount of world-building as it relies on a veritable mountain of fantasy staples that we all know and love. Now, this is usually a pet-peeve of mine, being a staunch believer in originality and having a strong distain for the overuse of common fantasy architypes (don’t get me started on those pointy-eared, over-used, dead-eyed banes of good fantasy writing: the elves), but Kings of the Wyld uses those very hatreds of mine as the buck-shot that blasted away my expectations. Tropes are turned on their heads, habitual fantasy idiocies are pointed at and made fun of, and common sense is piled on in sarcastic spades as our characters weave their way through a world that is familiar yet spun in a way that is both endearing and intriguing.

Now, onto the book itself (absent any spoilers, of course). The story follows an ex-adventurer whose old band leader is trying to, as the book often says with perfect comedic timing, ‘get the band back together’. And yes, this does lead to a plethora of old-school music related puns that had the rock-loving adolescent I used to be either giggling or giving myself a self-aggrandising pat on the back for picking out a reference. As you are introduced to the old members of Sage (the name of the band of heroes), you somehow feel like you know each of them already, like you’ve read their previous exploits in your childhood and they are now coming out of their retirement just as much for you as they are to save the day. The book ticks all my boxes. Well-paced? Check. Well-rounded characters? Check. Brilliant action scenes? Check, check, checkerdy-check. A witty and often dark sense of humour that tickles me in the special way that you would usually have to pay some shade person down a back alley for? You’re damn straight that’s a check. Beyond all this, there was one moment in the book that stuck out for me, a moment where the sappy sod that hides within my bones felt the tear ducts well up at the beautiful portrayal of brotherhood, comradery, and heroism that makes me actually feel something. Only manly things, mind. Big old manly feelings with a side-order of chest hair and beer.

In short, I loved this book, and if I were able, I would bear its children. It came out of nowhere and slapped me in the face with some of the best writing I’ve found in years with one hand and then socked me in the jewels with a fist-full of laughter with the other. If I could someday write half as well as Nicholas Eames has here, I think I could die a happy man. This… is a damned good book.

As for narration, Jeff Harding does a hell of a job. There are a lot of gritty characters in this book, and Harding’s portrayals makes you almost feel the gravel in your own throat. His use of accents is great and the sense of genuine danger he can portray in a character from just a few words is spectacular.

Personal rating: 5 stars

Professional rating: 4.5 stars

Like the way I write a review? Then you might like the way I write a novel. Link to my debut novel below, or for more info on my book click HERE.

Buy 'The Sage's Lot (Blood and Balance, Book 1)' here!