The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French – Review

Published: June 19, 2018

Publisher: Crown

Series: The Lot Lands #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

A raucous, bawdy, blood-soaked adventure fantasy debut that’s The Lord of the Rings reimagined by way of Sons of Anarchy.

Jackal is proud to be a Grey Bastard, member of a sworn brotherhood of half-orcs. Unloved and unwanted in civilized society, the Bastards eke out a hard life in the desolate no-man’s-land called the Lots, protecting frail and noble human civilization from invading bands of vicious full-blooded orcs.

But as Jackal is soon to learn, his pride may be misplaced. Because a dark secret lies at the heart of the Bastards’ existence–one that reveals a horrifying truth behind humanity’s tenuous peace with the orcs, and exposes a grave danger on the horizon. On the heels of the ultimate betrayal, Jackal must scramble to stop a devastating invasion–even as he wonders where his true loyalties lie.

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AT LONG LAST, AN ORC HAS BECOME A MAIN CHARACTER. Well, a half orc anyway. In what seems like 95% of fantasy books, your main character will be a human, an elf, or perhaps a fairy… that last 5% is where your orcs, dwarves, or other species come into play and you get some originality. The Grey Bastards is the answer to many fantasy readers’ dreams because not only do you get half-orcs, but you get full orcs, elves, giant puddingy leech monsters, and mad centaurs. It’s a mixed monster medley for sure.

In the Lot Lands live the half-orc hoofs, one of the few lines of defense between the constant threat of orc invasion and the humans of Hispartha. The Grey Bastards are one of eight hoofs remaining in these desolate lands and as the title would imply, this book is about them. Or rather it’s more about Jackal, because everything’s about him. He and his childhood friends, the thrice-blood Oats and Fetching, who has the dubious honor of being the only female rider, set off a chain of events that leads them in unexpected directions. He briefly picks up a sorcerer side-kick, faces down the pudding leeches in their dank swamp den, rescues an elf girl, and fights centaurs during the Betrayer Moon. This was a legitimately wild ride from start to finish.

The banter between the characters is top-notch and never has that stilted, scripted feel that some books have. I, for the most part, enjoyed the humorous parts and thought the more serious or emotional portions actual evoked emotion and never fell flat. The world building is also pretty cool, and I thought it provided the perfect amount of depth and detail for a first book. And by that I mean he wasn’t describing the carvings on the cornices, but the reader gets a good feel for the history, culture, and setting without being bored or overwhelmed. Oh, and have I mentioned that the mounts are actually war-hogs? Yeah, forget boring old horses, we get frikkin monstrous hogs that will gore you through with their tusks!!! I think they really suit the half-orcs, who are way too tough for traditional horses. And those centaurs that I mentioned above? Every time the Betrayer Moon rises they sweep through the Lot Lands in a mad, lustful fury slaughtering all who are in their path and only cease when the dawn comes.

This was an awesome book and I really shouldn’t be surprised because this was initially brought to my attention during one of the previous SPFBO runs. It makes me ridiculously happy that that event gets indie authors the recognition they deserve and several have been picking up deals with major publishers. If you’re into a darker sort of fantasy or are just looking for something that stands out from the crowd, then I would definitely recommend The Grey Bastards. Jonathan French has something special here and I can’t wait to see where he takes the story from here.