Reviews

I went into this story not having the slightest clue what it was about, and discovered a ragtag group of brutish, misfitting characters. As events and misadventures converge we learn their back story, quite unexpectedly growing to like many of them. They are a coarse bunch, the lot of them, but I found myself rooting for them in the tricky circumstances of their own making. These are not nice people, but they end up being likeable.

We find ourselves with several POVs that twine together in a very neat and organic manner, which ends up going to unexpected places.

Often crude and coarse, sometimes to an extreme, there’s a big focus on 🦷 from some, and🍈 and 🍆 with a side order of 🪨 from most everybody else. The bluntness raised my eyebrows more from it being unusual in my reading.

Frolicking and Fighting might be a complete tagline for this adventure, but I was engaged from the off and never released from the compulsion to complete this episode. I am keen to continue reading the next few books in the series, which I immediately hauled upon reading an e-book copy of this first title.

lundos's review

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3.0

I really wish GR would use half stars. Anyway this is a 3,5 read if you like a rough grim dark fantasy setting. The world could easily be inspired by the old Warhammer one and the characters could have been inspired by Abercrombie.

The magic system is interesting and is set with a written component, but there are probably more in the next book.

There are three main characters and they are all different but funnily enough also sort of the same (especially the way they would like to die).

Just a caution. It's for everyone. It's very graphic fights/death, there's a lot of mistreatment, and people are generally not nice. At all.

mbs1236's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

gbdub's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

kitvaria_sarene's review

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4.0

I really enjoyed this one!

I liked all the characters, and I could not tell you which one is my favorite... They are no nice, shining heroes though, so if you're looking for a happy feel good story with normally sound heroes, this is not for you. If you on the other hand are looking for something a bit more realistic, gritty, and different, look no further! They were all perfectly individual, with different personalities and strengths and weaknesses, no cardboard cutouts.

The pacing was just right to always keep me engaged in the book - and the plot was really interesting and also kept me hooked. It starts of with different POVs who slowly start running together in the course of the story - and they take some paths you would not expect! I like books who are not predictable, so that was a big plus on my side.

I will definitely read more from Hayes in the future!

lvh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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