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A review by barb4ry1
The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
5.0
I like to think that I’m tired of violence and bloodbath. But then, when I try to remind myself the best books I read in few months the violent ones are usually on top. Damn.
The Grey Bastards has been sitting on my Kindle for almost two years (I bought it a moment before or just after it won SPFBO 2016). I was planning to read it multiple times but after I get caught in feverishly burning through 48 SPFBO 2017 books, I needed a break.
So, here I am trying to review the book. Not an easy task.
I loved it.
And disliked at times.
And then loved even more than before.
Jackal is a half-orc living with his brothers and sister of the Grey Bastards “hoof” in the badlands that separate the human kingdom of Hispartha from the lands of the orcs (called Thicks). They ride hogs with massive tusks they call affectionately barbarians. The bond between hog and hogseman is strong, surprisingly so. Sometimes you may feel that riders will mourn their mounts more than their brothers.
The Grey Bastards hoof plays an important role in stopping Orcs incursion. Jackal is interested in taking over the hoof as their chief – plague-ridden Claymaster seems to make a lot of strange choices lately.
Ambition, though, isn’t enough to make the wish come true, especially that there are more forces at work and Grey Bastards hoof is interesting to the seemingly jovial wizard.
The plot starts out small, but as we follow it, it organically turns into something big, complex, convincing and terrifying. The events turned in unexpected and exciting ways.
World-building is impressive. The world is huge and rich and yet the narrative never falls into info dumping. Instead, the details are an important part of the story and unraveling some of the mysteries. In other words, the world develops as the story unfolds. We start with strong action and strong conflict and when we start to care about the characters details are added and they feel important.
Characters are great and most of them grew throughout the story. I can see and understand this book won’t become a favorite one for feminists. It’s filled with profanity and offensive language – if you want to count, you’ll be able to list literally hundreds of fucks, an abundance of dick jokes, quim and cunny licking and referring to women as bad warmers. My first reaction to all of this was ambiguous. Maybe even a bit negative. And yet, after a while, the story engaged me so strongly I simply didn’t care. I was laughing and despairing together with hoof members. I may have checked if I can get a hog. And if there’s no moving tar in the area.
Before reaching for the book, remember that half-orcs are sex-obsessed creatures and sexuality defines their lives. Women are treated as objects. Some explicit scenes are here. So be prepared to be offended. But also be prepared to discover that everything starts to make sense after a while.
The book is dark and brutal, it’s unlike any grimdark book I ever read. I’m not surprised that a publisher came for it. Mr. French, I’m impressed. You’ve got a remarkable talent and a vision that left my imagination aglow.
Also, when I'll finally buy a rancho I'm getting a pig and I'll call it Ugfuck.
The Grey Bastards has been sitting on my Kindle for almost two years (I bought it a moment before or just after it won SPFBO 2016). I was planning to read it multiple times but after I get caught in feverishly burning through 48 SPFBO 2017 books, I needed a break.
So, here I am trying to review the book. Not an easy task.
I loved it.
And disliked at times.
And then loved even more than before.
Jackal is a half-orc living with his brothers and sister of the Grey Bastards “hoof” in the badlands that separate the human kingdom of Hispartha from the lands of the orcs (called Thicks). They ride hogs with massive tusks they call affectionately barbarians. The bond between hog and hogseman is strong, surprisingly so. Sometimes you may feel that riders will mourn their mounts more than their brothers.
The Grey Bastards hoof plays an important role in stopping Orcs incursion. Jackal is interested in taking over the hoof as their chief – plague-ridden Claymaster seems to make a lot of strange choices lately.
Ambition, though, isn’t enough to make the wish come true, especially that there are more forces at work and Grey Bastards hoof is interesting to the seemingly jovial wizard.
The plot starts out small, but as we follow it, it organically turns into something big, complex, convincing and terrifying. The events turned in unexpected and exciting ways.
World-building is impressive. The world is huge and rich and yet the narrative never falls into info dumping. Instead, the details are an important part of the story and unraveling some of the mysteries. In other words, the world develops as the story unfolds. We start with strong action and strong conflict and when we start to care about the characters details are added and they feel important.
Characters are great and most of them grew throughout the story. I can see and understand this book won’t become a favorite one for feminists. It’s filled with profanity and offensive language – if you want to count, you’ll be able to list literally hundreds of fucks, an abundance of dick jokes, quim and cunny licking and referring to women as bad warmers. My first reaction to all of this was ambiguous. Maybe even a bit negative. And yet, after a while, the story engaged me so strongly I simply didn’t care. I was laughing and despairing together with hoof members. I may have checked if I can get a hog. And if there’s no moving tar in the area.
Before reaching for the book, remember that half-orcs are sex-obsessed creatures and sexuality defines their lives. Women are treated as objects. Some explicit scenes are here. So be prepared to be offended. But also be prepared to discover that everything starts to make sense after a while.
The book is dark and brutal, it’s unlike any grimdark book I ever read. I’m not surprised that a publisher came for it. Mr. French, I’m impressed. You’ve got a remarkable talent and a vision that left my imagination aglow.
Also, when I'll finally buy a rancho I'm getting a pig and I'll call it Ugfuck.