Jonathan French (1)

This follow up is just as good as the first (The Gray Bastards), maybe even better. I freaking ate this book up! The plot is just as tightly woven and the stakes are even higher in this installment. Plus the story is told through Fetch's eyes instead of Jackals and that adds a whole new dimension to this story (Fetch is my homegirl). Gritty, action packed, and filled to the brim with insane world building, this series is only getting better. I legit cannot wait for the next one (for real - show more there better be a ton more in this series!). The True Bastards takes places months after the last book and opens with the bastards trying to survive away from their stronghold with Fetch as hoof master. Since the Kiln burnt down, they are having to make do in the frail town, Winsome, and they are trying to reinforce it as quickly as possible to keep themselves safe. The only problem is; food is near impossible to come by, morale is low, and there is a terrifying pack of laughing dogs that wants nothing more to scale their walls and eat everyone. PLUS Fetch is still trying to rid herself of a sickness while still remaining strong for the hoof. The story quickly takes off and is one action packed adventure filled with fighting, fucking, and more fantastical enemies and allies. Soo freaking good! show less

Now THIS is the reason I read. Years and years, weeks and weeks, tossing away story after mediocre story. And then… every once in a while… you strike gold.

It hits all my right buttons. It’s got good characters, good writing, good pace and plotting, good worldbuilding. And it has all the pluses and premiums I like–twists, irreverence, sex and violence, humor and levity. It’s full of friendship and love and adventure. A flawed main character who makes mistakes, does the best he can show more with the knowledge he has, but gets his goalposts pushed back. There are wizards and humans and monsters (even slimes, which seem to be in every RPG). If you like the lore of Warhammer, but don’t want to go down a rabbit hole, this is the book to read. But everyone in this story is having fun.

In every story, 99% of the time, the characters hate what they’re doing. I guess that’s the nature of the beast of storytelling, but it gets repetitive. Bruce Wayne doesn’t want to be Batman, but he feels it’s the only way to honor his parents. Hercules doesn’t want to have to do all these labors but the gods are forcing him. Scrooge is a grinchy old miser, but he doesn’t like it. It doesn’t make him smile.

So when you find characters who actually like what they’re doing, I latch on. That’s why I like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Mario, Spider-Man, Kermit the Frog, Iron Man, Buffy. These are all people who like what they’re doing. They joke and slap each other on the backs. They’re half-friends and half-family. show less

I freaking loved this!!!! It's high fantasy meets Sons of Anarchy and it couldn't be any cooler. Legit, this is one of the most unique and exciting fantasy books I've read in a while. It's gritty, raunchy, bloody, funny, and action packed. The characters are amazing, the world building is unmatched, and the plot is tightly woven together. This better be the beginning of a long series, because after a journey like this, I AM ALL IN! I want more! Jackal is a member of the Grey Bastards one of show more the nine hoofs who lord over the lot lands. They're barbaric half orcs and proud of it, they live in the saddle and die on the hog. Jackal has long had his sights set on the leader's seat and when the Grey Bastards weak willed leader lets some savage orcs live after an attack, Jackal is furious. He's got rampaging blood lusty centaurs, ravaging orcs, the sludge man, and some dumb ass frails (humans) to contend with before he can try for the leaders seat, but that doesn't slow his roll. He's got ladies to screw, enemies to kill, and Grey Bastards to laugh with. One hell of a book!!! show less

This was so good! If you like your world-building imaginative and gritty, your characters unapologetically brash, your plot fast-moving and epic, and don't mind some salty language, this book (and hopefully the entire series) delivers. It is simply terrific. Yes, there is plenty of adult language, but I never found it gratuitous; it fit perfectly well with the characters and their hard lives, and if anything it added to the world-building and set this book apart from most mainstream fantasy. show more Sure, many (most?) of the male characters are incredibly misogynistic boors, and that can be tedious and cringey at times, but that is the world these people inhabit: it feels fitting. This book reminds me a lot of the old [a:Ramsay Thorne|209429|Ramsay Thorne|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]/[a:Lou Cameron|350702|Lou Cameron|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] "Captain Gringo" ([b:Renegade|23474650|Renegade (A Captain Gringo Western Book 1)|Ramsay Thorn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414596634l/23474650._SX50_.jpg|43066070]) adult westerns: trashy and filthy, but well-written and incredible swash-buckling fun. show less