The Grey Bastards

A few minutes in and I’m already liking this one. A bit of blood, bad language, and unashamed nudity. It ticked all the masculinity boxes in a manner that was both entertaining and engrossing. The story follows a very eventful week or so in the life of a member of a hoof (tribe/clan/brotherhood) of half-orcs called the Grey Bastards, charged with patrolling their partition of land (the titular Lots) from raiding orcs. The world within which the Grey Bastards live is both believable and organic, something that brings a smile to the lore nerd and pedant I all to often become with universe building. You very easily come to understand how the current geographical and political situation came to be through amazing storytelling that is all show and very little tell, with the history of the land not just forming the backdrop upon which the story is told but playing a key part in the events to come. The novel itself is from the third-person perspective of Jackal, one of the Bastards with aspirations of claiming the chief’s spot, but things all take a turn for the unexpected when a half-orc wizard shows up. Adventure, bloodshed, brotherhood, and a fair bit of witty banter ensues. I really did enjoy this book.

Now, the story itself didn’t blow me completely away. I wasn’t subjected to nervous heart palpitations at any points and I wasn’t left desperately scrambling for the sequel, but I was never bored. Where this book really shone though was in the character development, specifically that of Jackal, Oats, and Fetch. The relationship between these three amigos felt truly real, with all the lumps and bumps that go hand in hand with lifelong friendships. Also, as mentioned, the world upon which our heroes tread is incredibly well thought out. Yes, it does do that pet-peeve of mine in using pre-existing races in orc, men, elves, and centaurs, but it does so in both novel and believable ways. Each faction acts as it would logically, each with their own flavour that allows them to tactfully avoid conforming to their race’s predictable tropes and leading to some truly original writing. And very importantly, at least from my perspective, there is plenty of fighting, both in the small and large scale. French has really thought about the tactics that would be employed by each faction when writing them and has integrated that into his work beautifully. Basically, the world he has built is entirely believable as a living, breathing landscape upon which we are merely spectators as one half-orc has a rather eventful few days.

The story itself is rich, filled with twist, turns, backstabbing, redemption, intrigue, and all that good stuff. Nothing that left my jaw hanging, but enough clever content that there was plenty that I never saw coming, something that I always appreciate. This is one of the fantasy books where there is no great evil looking to snuff out all life in a reign of darkness and blood (or at least not in this book), but rather there are just believable people acting for their own self-interest, and as in life, some of those people are manipulative arseholes with much darker agendas. These are the kinds of protagonists and antagonists that I love. Believable characters even in a make-believe world, and that is something that the Grey Bastards does very well. It hooked me enough that I’m looking forward to reading the next one, but I’m not cursing the gods for it not being out yet. An all-round good book with a lot of potential for the series and well worth a listen.

As for the narrator, solid performance. There weren’t a huge cast of characters to perform, so I wasn’t treated to the spectacular range, but everything he did do was on point. He could really get across a sense of bitterness in his characters, which considering how bitter and jaded most of them were, was a delight to listen to.  

Personal score: 4.0 stars

Professional score: 4.0 stars