Monday 15 July 2019

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French



Paperback, 421 pages
Published June 21st 2018 by Orbit (first published October 16th 2015)
Series: The Lot Lands #1
Fantasy 
Own

I did not actually want to read this book, I was told it was so grimdark, and I am not a grimdark fan. But I have come to realise that I do like grimdark, just not grimdark where the main characters rape or laugh while buddies rape...yeah no thank you. And those are so hard to find cos it's not like glowing reviews say it.

But then I found it for free on this take a book, leave a book bookshelf my library has. I had to try it, if I did not care for it I could just leave it there for someone else to take. Cos I was curious, even if I again was told it was not for me since I was not a SoA fan.

Oh and there is rape mentioned. But as long as my main guy does not do it, I am fine. This is a shitty place, the intestines in a dung heap kind of place. Orcs come plundering, killing and raping. The children of such unions are killed, left to die or given to orphanages. And they used to be slaves, kept at brothels, used at servants or made to work in mines. Until they showed their worth and now some patrol the borderlands on hogs. 
This is the arse of the empire.

It is dark, they kill, they joke, they talk shit. And there is politic. Their leader is tired, Jackal feels like he is leading them astray. Then a weird wizard shows up, not to mention they find an elf being tortured (and you do not mess with elves.)

I did like Jackal, he does have honor in him, and with that I can follow him. The only woman worth mentioning is a fellow soldier, and I did not like her one bit, ugh, the next book seems to be about her, I despair.

Some neg reviews talk how there are no women and the only women in it are whores. Well, this is the shithole of the empire,what do you expect. I do not want my fantasy to be 50/50 Utopia. What on earth could happen there to be interesting? Let me read about a fucking disaster where I would not want to live. Where I'd rather just drown in a river instead.

I really enjoyed it and read it in a day. It was an easy read, I want more, and just fuck, it was a shitty place to read about. It makes you want to swear. So much, and snort.

Cover
Is this made with women in mind? Cos I approve

LIVE IN THE SADDLE. DIE ON THE HOG. 
Such is the creed of the half-orcs dwelling in the Lot Lands. Sworn to hardened brotherhoods known as hoofs, these former slaves patrol their unforgiving country astride massive swine bred for war. They are all that stand between the decadent heart of noble Hispartha and marauding bands of full-blood orcs. 
Jackal rides with the Grey Bastards, one of eight hoofs that have survived the harsh embrace of the Lots. Young, cunning and ambitious, he schemes to unseat the increasingly tyrannical founder of the Bastards, a plague-ridden warlord called the Claymaster. Supporting Jackal’s dangerous bid for leadership are Oats, a hulking mongrel with more orc than human blood, and Fetching, the only female rider in all the hoofs. 
When the troubling appearance of a foreign sorcerer comes upon the heels of a faceless betrayal, Jackal’s plans are thrown into turmoil. He finds himself saddled with a captive elf girl whose very presence begins to unravel his alliances. With the anarchic blood rite of the Betrayer Moon close at hand, Jackal must decide where his loyalties truly lie, and carve out his place in a world that rewards only the vicious. 

17 comments:

  1. It's great that even if you didn't want to read it, you had a good time with it

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    Replies
    1. I did want to read it, i just did not want to buy it, lol, I really thought it would not be for me

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  2. It's great that even if you didn't want to read it, you had a good time with it

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  3. Not my thing but sometimes I'll give things a try too.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    Replies
    1. I am glad it worked for me, and if it hadn't, eh, give it forward

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  4. I have this but haven't read it yet. And no 50/50 Utopia! I don't want women there just because there needs to be women. And I like the cover...

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    Replies
    1. I really like it too *whistles*
      Some are So for that 50 utopia, but what fun is that?

      Delete
  5. "makes you want to swear" lol. Yeah some grimdark I like but definitely in measured doses!

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    Replies
    1. Same, they are just so dark and rape, or I always manage to choose them

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  6. I can't read books that make rape seem acceptable. There's nothing sexy about rape. It doesn't make a "bad guy" attractive, it makes him a rapist, and not something/someone I want to read about. It's why I typically avoid the genre.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    Replies
    1. In this genre it sure is not meant to make someone attractive, the whole genre seems to e about reading about bad people doing bad things. You are not supposed to like them, but ugh, I do not want to read about that!

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  7. I was not a fan of Sons of Anarchy either. Too dark and I didn't like that Jace was a cheater on the supposed love of his life. Plus, like everyone got killed off. So awful. I caught snippets still when I stopped watching because my husband watched the whole series. The ending was so stupid! Anyhow, glad you enjoyed this. Yeah, main guy cannot be a rapist. :)

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    Replies
    1. Ugh, he did that? F that guy, I knew there was a reason I stayed away. ALso I do not want everyone to die!

      I tried to read this grimdark book once and the author told me after I had written a dnf thing about how I do not want the main pov to be a rapist that I was not supposed to like him, ok sure, but I still do not want to read about him

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  8. I'm not a fan of this type of story - never even seen SoA. I don't like books where the hero is actually a bad guy. But I've tried a few - liked one or two, hated the rest. Good for you for trying!

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    Replies
    1. I would not call this guy a baddie. he helps an elf he does not need to. He protects humans who despise him. :)

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  9. This sounds good but that place sounds terrible.

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