The Grey Bastards

by Jonathan French

Book Overview

" A] fantasy masterwork . . . a dirty, blood-soaked gem of a novel that reads] like Mad Max set in Tolkien's Middle-earth."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Jackal and his fellow half-orcs patrol the barren wastes of the Lot Lands, spilling their own damned blood to keep civilized folk safe. A rabble of hard-talking, hog-riding, whore-mongering brawlers they may be, but the Grey Bastards are Jackal's sworn brothers, fighting...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525572449
• ISBN13: 9780525572442
• Release Date: June 2018
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

An Amazing Story with Believable Characters

I grew up reading stories inspired by D&D (particularly the Drizzt series), and adored every single fantasy book I could get my hands on. Of these, I always enjoyed the stories with unlikely heroes the most. So naturally, I was drawn to this book. In this book, there are no heroes. Not really. And it's all the better for it. For a book about half-orcs and wizards, it's more Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings. The characters aren't bad people, but they're certainly not out to save the world, either. At its core, it's a story about people trying to save their own little corner of the world, and still have it be worth saving in the end. The people just happen to be half-orcs. Without spoilers, it left me genuinely uncertain of the best choice in the end, because every person in the story made a good case for their side of the issue. This was a great book, and maybe even the best one I've read this year.