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A review by rich__h
Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-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
4.0
Note potential spoilers for the first book in The Band series, Kings of the Wyld
Nicholas Eames follow up to his debut “Kings of the Wyld” with the next in “The Band” series, “Bloody Rose” is told from the perspective of Tam Hashford, the new Bard for the famous Fable band of mercs, several years on from the siege of Castia. Fable, headed by the famous Bloody Rose herself, with her husband, the famous swordsmith Free cloud,. The shaman Brune and the summoner Cura are heading East to fulfil a contract, their last contract, while everyone else is heading west to face the growing horde of Monsters looking to avenge their loss in Castia to Rose and her father the most famous merc of all, Golden Gabe.
Similar to the first book in the series the writing is well paced, it is character focused and plot focused at the same time, with the characters being the focus still. The lore, while leaning heavily on the first book is not insurmountable, so you can read it and not get lost in the storylines which haven’t been mentioned for a long time. The characters, while not complex, are generally not one dimensional, despite being in a fantasy world, with the style being based on rock music it is understandable and the traits characters show often have two sides to it, bravado is mixed with insecurity, crankiness with having past pains, it means no character comes across as too perfect. There is enough humour to keep you chuckling throughout, some is silly, some is more ironic, but none of it overtly takes one out of the story.
I loved the main character building, being based on the concept of the touring band (of mercs) you focus on the band’s characters and it makes you care about them, indeed I shed a couple of tears for and on behalf of the characters by the end. There is love and adult feelings without it falling into being trite or overly “spicy”, it feels organic. I also felt like the cast of characters was more diverse than the first book, less focus on middle aged men, and more focus on the more diverse members of the world of Grandual.
My criticisms are a the middle third of the book feels very much like the first book in the series, and despite it saving itself by the end with it being different, the main antagonist is very similar to the first book, and the saving everyone from a horde storyline is a rehash of the first book to an extent, there is a pivot to a different perspective and a different way of viewing it all, but there is a taste of “sameness” to it. Not that it's a bad thing as it's an entertaining storyline still, but I do worry what the third book will bring if they try to follow the first two in theme.
If you want a good fantasy story, set in high fantasy but one with enough links to the real world that you understand the characters, I would recommend the Band series, its in depth without being too heavy and impenetrable, the pair of books in the series are very good and I will definitely read the next instalment whenever Eames determines it is ready to be released.
Nicholas Eames follow up to his debut “Kings of the Wyld” with the next in “The Band” series, “Bloody Rose” is told from the perspective of Tam Hashford, the new Bard for the famous Fable band of mercs, several years on from the siege of Castia. Fable, headed by the famous Bloody Rose herself, with her husband, the famous swordsmith Free cloud,. The shaman Brune and the summoner Cura are heading East to fulfil a contract, their last contract, while everyone else is heading west to face the growing horde of Monsters looking to avenge their loss in Castia to Rose and her father the most famous merc of all, Golden Gabe.
Similar to the first book in the series the writing is well paced, it is character focused and plot focused at the same time, with the characters being the focus still. The lore, while leaning heavily on the first book is not insurmountable, so you can read it and not get lost in the storylines which haven’t been mentioned for a long time. The characters, while not complex, are generally not one dimensional, despite being in a fantasy world, with the style being based on rock music it is understandable and the traits characters show often have two sides to it, bravado is mixed with insecurity, crankiness with having past pains, it means no character comes across as too perfect. There is enough humour to keep you chuckling throughout, some is silly, some is more ironic, but none of it overtly takes one out of the story.
I loved the main character building, being based on the concept of the touring band (of mercs) you focus on the band’s characters and it makes you care about them, indeed I shed a couple of tears for and on behalf of the characters by the end. There is love and adult feelings without it falling into being trite or overly “spicy”, it feels organic. I also felt like the cast of characters was more diverse than the first book, less focus on middle aged men, and more focus on the more diverse members of the world of Grandual.
My criticisms are a the middle third of the book feels very much like the first book in the series, and despite it saving itself by the end with it being different, the main antagonist is very similar to the first book, and the saving everyone from a horde storyline is a rehash of the first book to an extent, there is a pivot to a different perspective and a different way of viewing it all, but there is a taste of “sameness” to it. Not that it's a bad thing as it's an entertaining storyline still, but I do worry what the third book will bring if they try to follow the first two in theme.
If you want a good fantasy story, set in high fantasy but one with enough links to the real world that you understand the characters, I would recommend the Band series, its in depth without being too heavy and impenetrable, the pair of books in the series are very good and I will definitely read the next instalment whenever Eames determines it is ready to be released.