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alguienmescucha's review against another edition
4.0
Este libro fue exactamente lo que esperaba, y cumplió con todos los puntos. Una historia que es una combinación entre una aventura de Dungeons & Dragons y The Witcher, con la oscuridad, el humor, y la aventura que todo esto puede contener.
Me encantó el personaje de Tam, y como va creciendo junto a la banda. Es una protagonista digna de su libro, y amé que fuera la barda del grupo. Creo que no hay nadie mucho mejor para contar la historia de la banda.
Me reí mucho con las intervenciones de Roderick y Brune. De hecho, creo que Brune fue el personaje sobre el cuál más disfruté el arco de desarrollo. Me sorprendió hacia dónde fue la historia en este sentido, y creo que le agregó un extra de profundidad al libro súper interesante.
Otra cosa que hace muy bien este libro es hablar de diversidad. Desde el primer capítulo nos encontramos con personajes que son discriminados por todo el resto del mundo por su especie. Con personas temidas y hasta quizás odiadas. Y conocemos sus personalidades, sus ambiciones, sus sueños. Cada uno de ellos se va abriendo hasta que es claro por qué todos y cada uno pertenecen a la banda más respetada en toda la Tierra Salvaje. Realmente conectás con seres que no son perfectos, o que son realmente discriminados por el resto de la población. Y vemos como, en cada ocasión, sus compañeros inmediatamente saltan a defenderlos. Porque Fábula es el lugar donde todos van a pertenecer. Fábula, es el lugar donde son invencibles.
Si quieren conocer una historia de Fantasía, con narración muy rápida y donde pasa absolutamente de todo, les recomiendo que se acerquen a Gamon, y este libro del bien.
Me encantó el personaje de Tam, y como va creciendo junto a la banda. Es una protagonista digna de su libro, y amé que fuera la barda del grupo. Creo que no hay nadie mucho mejor para contar la historia de la banda.
Me reí mucho con las intervenciones de Roderick y Brune. De hecho, creo que Brune fue el personaje sobre el cuál más disfruté el arco de desarrollo. Me sorprendió hacia dónde fue la historia en este sentido, y creo que le agregó un extra de profundidad al libro súper interesante.
Otra cosa que hace muy bien este libro es hablar de diversidad. Desde el primer capítulo nos encontramos con personajes que son discriminados por todo el resto del mundo por su especie. Con personas temidas y hasta quizás odiadas. Y conocemos sus personalidades, sus ambiciones, sus sueños. Cada uno de ellos se va abriendo hasta que es claro por qué todos y cada uno pertenecen a la banda más respetada en toda la Tierra Salvaje. Realmente conectás con seres que no son perfectos, o que son realmente discriminados por el resto de la población. Y vemos como, en cada ocasión, sus compañeros inmediatamente saltan a defenderlos. Porque Fábula es el lugar donde todos van a pertenecer. Fábula, es el lugar donde son invencibles.
Si quieren conocer una historia de Fantasía, con narración muy rápida y donde pasa absolutamente de todo, les recomiendo que se acerquen a Gamon, y este libro del bien.
canaanmerchant's review
4.0
I did enjoy book one despite some of my original skepticism that was maybe unfairly colored by my general dislike of the music scene it parodied. What could have been the same same joke over and over again turned into a story more thoughtful than others prepared me for.
Here in book 2 the shtick is mostly dropped except to help the world building rather that set up a joke. There’s still plenty of humor for sure but time is taken to help tell a story and reveal more about the characters who have an interiority not based on instrument puns.
The other thing is while book one made me cry in the beginning this one made me wait until the end.
Here in book 2 the shtick is mostly dropped except to help the world building rather that set up a joke. There’s still plenty of humor for sure but time is taken to help tell a story and reveal more about the characters who have an interiority not based on instrument puns.
The other thing is while book one made me cry in the beginning this one made me wait until the end.
sourrose's review
3.0
Unfortunately I didn't like this one as much as I did Kings of the Wyld. I do not like the way Eames writes women, especially young queer women. He might just be more fitted to write from the perspective of middle-aged men, who knows. The jokes in Bloody Rose also regularly fell flat, emotion didn't always translate well, and stakes felt too low in the first half. The second half definitely carried the book.
I'm still looking forward to see what the third book will bring, but for now, I'll keep recommending Kings of the Wyld to people (it's genuinely a fun read), but I'd say they needn't necessarily bother with this one. Still glad I finished it, though.
I'm still looking forward to see what the third book will bring, but for now, I'll keep recommending Kings of the Wyld to people (it's genuinely a fun read), but I'd say they needn't necessarily bother with this one. Still glad I finished it, though.
rwatkins's review
5.0
Amazing. Overall: 4.5/5 (22.5/25)
If you like action-fantasy, enjoyed Kings of the Wyld, or miss messy episodes of Behind the Music, maybe wishing it involved fantasy adventure parties instead, then give this book a read. Follows a nepo baby adventurer and her band, trying to prove herself better than her father, and all she's willing to risk. Another excellent read from Eames!
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 4.5/5
The main plot involves Rose trying to outshine her retired father in the rock-star adventuring lifestyle. This means bringing down a beast of legends and fighting another monster horde. But what she's willing to risk to rise above her father's fame might be too much. There are a few twists that were a bit obvious, and the repeated threat of yet another horde, but otherwise it was an enjoyable action story right down to the very last chapter.
Characters: 5/5
Bloody Rose is Gabe's daughter, but don't tell her that. She is willing to risk everything to escape his shadow and become her own legend. Her internal arc involves rearranging her priorities and this matches with the external plot/arc perfectly.
Tam is Rose's new bard, off on her first adventure. Through her eyes, the seedier side of rock-star living is witnessed, innocence lost, and the dangers of adventuring made evident.
Freecloud is still with Rose, loyal to a fault, putting her needs above all else. His internal struggle revolves around split loyalties between Rose and another person important to him.
Cura is the band's summoner and Brune is the muscle with a druidic tilt. Cura is the broody loner, with Brune being a bit more complicated.
There are a LOT of cameos from Kings provided, which I will gripe about slightly under Style, but the characters themselves are great!
Setting: 3.5/5
I liked what got added to the world at large, but still wanted more creativity, lore, and details for the wider world.
Inkling summoning I've seen before, but it was so vivid and awesome in scope with Cura and her tattoos, plus the personalized aspect to her and the magic was fantastic.
The inclusion of the drug Leaf, named weapons with histories and a few in-world myths sprinkled about were also solid additions. Ialso liked seeing new places, specifically the northern lands.
But I wanted more history and context for why the Agrians and Han's horse-riders have such ingrained hatred of one another. More new and interesting lore, explanations and details. Instead, there is a lot of repeating legends, myths and stories already told in Kings, or continuations and updates on such information, and that took up so much focus, there wasn't room for a lot of new facts about this world. It kept delving into familiar territory and I wanted a little bit more expansion into the new.
Style: 4.5/5
The prose is still humorous and fun to read, while also being emotional and descriptive when needed.
The pacing is a little slower than in Kings, but I would still consider it fast-paced, especially nearing the climax.
There is a LOT of fan-servicing for Kings of the Wyld readers in this book, to the point where it sometimes interrupted the flow and pulled me from the story. Cramming so many characters, stories, references, returns and mentions to the previous book disrupted the story being told at times, and took page space from adding to the world with fresh, new information, characters and lore. It felt excessive, and the only style choice of Eames I wasn't on board with, but a major one.
Themes: 5/5
Despite covering such familiar territory in plot, characters and setting - the themes are very different from KotW but just as strong. Trying to carve your own name, no matter the cost, is at the heart of the story and was beautifully explored. The vices of rock-star life, including drugs, sex, music, and internal band conflicts is weighted with becoming a close-knit family/party through living, touring, fighting together and seeing one another at their best and worst. These lowlights and highlights were easy to connect to, empathize and sympathize with, and relate to. Any experience with a band, military unit, or other workspace with few boundaries and close-living conditions will understand.
If you like action-fantasy, enjoyed Kings of the Wyld, or miss messy episodes of Behind the Music, maybe wishing it involved fantasy adventure parties instead, then give this book a read. Follows a nepo baby adventurer and her band, trying to prove herself better than her father, and all she's willing to risk. Another excellent read from Eames!
Minor Spoilers Below.
Plot: 4.5/5
The main plot involves Rose trying to outshine her retired father in the rock-star adventuring lifestyle. This means bringing down a beast of legends and fighting another monster horde. But what she's willing to risk to rise above her father's fame might be too much. There are a few twists that were a bit obvious, and the repeated threat of yet another horde, but otherwise it was an enjoyable action story right down to the very last chapter.
Characters: 5/5
Bloody Rose is Gabe's daughter, but don't tell her that. She is willing to risk everything to escape his shadow and become her own legend. Her internal arc involves rearranging her priorities and this matches with the external plot/arc perfectly.
Tam is Rose's new bard, off on her first adventure. Through her eyes, the seedier side of rock-star living is witnessed, innocence lost, and the dangers of adventuring made evident.
Freecloud is still with Rose, loyal to a fault, putting her needs above all else. His internal struggle revolves around split loyalties between Rose and another person important to him.
Cura is the band's summoner and Brune is the muscle with a druidic tilt. Cura is the broody loner, with Brune being a bit more complicated.
There are a LOT of cameos from Kings provided, which I will gripe about slightly under Style, but the characters themselves are great!
Setting: 3.5/5
I liked what got added to the world at large, but still wanted more creativity, lore, and details for the wider world.
Inkling summoning I've seen before, but it was so vivid and awesome in scope with Cura and her tattoos, plus the personalized aspect to her and the magic was fantastic.
The inclusion of the drug Leaf, named weapons with histories and a few in-world myths sprinkled about were also solid additions. Ialso liked seeing new places, specifically the northern lands.
But I wanted more history and context for why the Agrians and Han's horse-riders have such ingrained hatred of one another. More new and interesting lore, explanations and details. Instead, there is a lot of repeating legends, myths and stories already told in Kings, or continuations and updates on such information, and that took up so much focus, there wasn't room for a lot of new facts about this world. It kept delving into familiar territory and I wanted a little bit more expansion into the new.
Style: 4.5/5
The prose is still humorous and fun to read, while also being emotional and descriptive when needed.
The pacing is a little slower than in Kings, but I would still consider it fast-paced, especially nearing the climax.
There is a LOT of fan-servicing for Kings of the Wyld readers in this book, to the point where it sometimes interrupted the flow and pulled me from the story. Cramming so many characters, stories, references, returns and mentions to the previous book disrupted the story being told at times, and took page space from adding to the world with fresh, new information, characters and lore. It felt excessive, and the only style choice of Eames I wasn't on board with, but a major one.
Themes: 5/5
Despite covering such familiar territory in plot, characters and setting - the themes are very different from KotW but just as strong. Trying to carve your own name, no matter the cost, is at the heart of the story and was beautifully explored. The vices of rock-star life, including drugs, sex, music, and internal band conflicts is weighted with becoming a close-knit family/party through living, touring, fighting together and seeing one another at their best and worst. These lowlights and highlights were easy to connect to, empathize and sympathize with, and relate to. Any experience with a band, military unit, or other workspace with few boundaries and close-living conditions will understand.
katieinca's review
3.0
Expecting to like this better than the first book, I liked it... about the same. I was excited to have a young, queer, female narrator, but I found that I actually missed the grizzled old guys. At least they had a good reason for being out on the road. Meanwhile, we keep noticing the horrible injustice of the treatment of "monsters" for arena fighting, but it's very on the side compared to our Big Quest and our Epic Battle. Too much listing and description for me, not enough character development. Points for good lines and interesting worldbuilding.
glrreid's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
willowwraithpress's review
4.0
Some time after the massive Horde of every fantasy demon/creature/evil being created by authors for thousands of years (see goblins, giants, chimeras, dragons, walking trees, etc.) is defeated by the old mercenary boys from Saga, a new Horde is growing, a bigger and badder one. As all merc bands are gearing up for said Horde, Saga’s leader’s equally famous daughter Bloody Rose and her band Fable are going in a different direction. Going on tour and then for dangerous job. But every good band needs a bard, in comes youngster Tam. Though unlike Saga the equivalent of say Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, Fable is straight out of the 80s and the glam rock and roll lifestyle of sex, drugs, and getting into trouble.
What works:
Picking up straight from Kings of the Wyld, Bloody Rose is an excellent follow-up story. Mr. Eames has an excellent writing style, and most importantly, his humor is his bread and butter. Like in Kings, I laughed out loud more times than I could count, he just has this awesome sense of humor and knows how to perfectly capture this humor in his protagonist POV. I will say, I thought Clay Cooper from Kings was a better POV than Tam in Bloody Rose as far as funny goes, but that’s because Clay has been around and seen things, so that gives him an edge. But the banter between the band is just as fun as it should be. These characters spend so much time with each other and they should have great jokes.
The episodic feel of Kings returns in Bloody Rose. I enjoyed it in the first book because it cuts down on that awkward traveling chapters that can sometimes slog down a book. Sure, this story revolves around the band “touring” but it still has a true episode set-up. The stops on the tour all build upon each other to build each individual character, the flow is good for this type of story. One thing that Mr. Eames did with Kings is that he builds to some grand event, then the next episode starts and there is a different explanation of what happens, such as Tam playing this amazing song to be named the bard of Fable. We get to the point Tam is about to play, then scene change to Tam already being named the bard. It’s a tactic that shouldn’t work, but in this type of story, yes it does.
As great as Clay Cooper was in Kings, it was all the rest of the bandmates that elevated the story. The same occurs here in Bloody Rose. All the bandmates are great in their own ways, but the best of the bunch is Cura that Inkwitch. Not only was Cura awesome, but the magic that Cura wields is very cool and imaginative. She has tattoos of crazy weird creatures that she can call forth to fight for her basically like summons from Final Fantasy. A giant flaming tree thing, an octopus-like warrior, a sparking flying horse-thing. Just really cool stuff. Very original. Also helped that Cura was awesome as well.
Brune, Freecloud, and of course Rose are each interesting for sure. Brune’s animal shapeshifter shaman was a cool arc. Him fighting the family concept of friends = family v blood family. Rose and Freecloud’s relationship is a good one, very loving but also two people who have some very different views on how things should go down. I also liked how Freecloud was the one to be all about settling down, typically many resolve to use the stereotype of it’s the woman who wants to settle down. So, that’s pretty refreshing.
Special shoutout to Rod the Pan-like character who is a total drunkard. He’s pretty damn funny.
What doesn’t work:
I won’t lie, it took a bit to get into the actual plot of the story. Tam joins the band as their bard and then they go on tour fighting monsters in a variety of different cities/arenas. These battles and fights and time in between does really set up the story and the characters, but I do think it did take a little too long to get truly going. After a handful of battles, touring, etc. you get a bit bored and ready for things to kick off.
I didn’t find myself as enamored with Tam as POV as I was with Clay in Kings. I think, for me, the fact that Clay was a reluctant POV drew me in as Tam fits the normal trope of young, inexperienced protag.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I enjoyed the story overall. It’s not as good as Kings of the Wyld, but I think Bloody Rose works so well because Mr. Eames is an excellent writer. The humor is top notch.
What works:
Picking up straight from Kings of the Wyld, Bloody Rose is an excellent follow-up story. Mr. Eames has an excellent writing style, and most importantly, his humor is his bread and butter. Like in Kings, I laughed out loud more times than I could count, he just has this awesome sense of humor and knows how to perfectly capture this humor in his protagonist POV. I will say, I thought Clay Cooper from Kings was a better POV than Tam in Bloody Rose as far as funny goes, but that’s because Clay has been around and seen things, so that gives him an edge. But the banter between the band is just as fun as it should be. These characters spend so much time with each other and they should have great jokes.
The episodic feel of Kings returns in Bloody Rose. I enjoyed it in the first book because it cuts down on that awkward traveling chapters that can sometimes slog down a book. Sure, this story revolves around the band “touring” but it still has a true episode set-up. The stops on the tour all build upon each other to build each individual character, the flow is good for this type of story. One thing that Mr. Eames did with Kings is that he builds to some grand event, then the next episode starts and there is a different explanation of what happens, such as Tam playing this amazing song to be named the bard of Fable. We get to the point Tam is about to play, then scene change to Tam already being named the bard. It’s a tactic that shouldn’t work, but in this type of story, yes it does.
As great as Clay Cooper was in Kings, it was all the rest of the bandmates that elevated the story. The same occurs here in Bloody Rose. All the bandmates are great in their own ways, but the best of the bunch is Cura that Inkwitch. Not only was Cura awesome, but the magic that Cura wields is very cool and imaginative. She has tattoos of crazy weird creatures that she can call forth to fight for her basically like summons from Final Fantasy. A giant flaming tree thing, an octopus-like warrior, a sparking flying horse-thing. Just really cool stuff. Very original. Also helped that Cura was awesome as well.
Brune, Freecloud, and of course Rose are each interesting for sure. Brune’s animal shapeshifter shaman was a cool arc. Him fighting the family concept of friends = family v blood family. Rose and Freecloud’s relationship is a good one, very loving but also two people who have some very different views on how things should go down. I also liked how Freecloud was the one to be all about settling down, typically many resolve to use the stereotype of it’s the woman who wants to settle down. So, that’s pretty refreshing.
Special shoutout to Rod the Pan-like character who is a total drunkard. He’s pretty damn funny.
What doesn’t work:
I won’t lie, it took a bit to get into the actual plot of the story. Tam joins the band as their bard and then they go on tour fighting monsters in a variety of different cities/arenas. These battles and fights and time in between does really set up the story and the characters, but I do think it did take a little too long to get truly going. After a handful of battles, touring, etc. you get a bit bored and ready for things to kick off.
I didn’t find myself as enamored with Tam as POV as I was with Clay in Kings. I think, for me, the fact that Clay was a reluctant POV drew me in as Tam fits the normal trope of young, inexperienced protag.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I enjoyed the story overall. It’s not as good as Kings of the Wyld, but I think Bloody Rose works so well because Mr. Eames is an excellent writer. The humor is top notch.
alexfisk's review
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hemaaram's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pandakiki98's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5