THE GREY BASTARDS

RELEASED 21 June 420 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Jonathan French Publisher Orbit Books

Novelist Mark Lawrence has run the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off competition for three years now. The Grey Bastards topped his pile in 2016, and a mainstream publisher grabbed it. It’s easy to see why. This ribald book about a half-orc society enjoys believable characters and confident world-building.

It’s set in Wild West-style badlands where Grimdark versions of fantasy staples such as halflings and centaurs populate the land, along with half-orc patrols who prowl like biker gangs-cum-Texas Rangers. Our story follows Jackal and his hoofmates. Against a backdrop of clan politics, they uncover a mystery involving corruption, rape and magic.

We all understand that the views of a character aren’t those of the author. If you dislike hearing women dismissed as “gash”, however, brace yourself before reading. The dialogue overflows with casual bigotry and vulgarity, its vocabulary reflecting earthy camaraderie. This muscular locker-room banter makes you wince... but feels real. Kudos to French for making the Bastards sympathetic despite their brutish culture and obsession with sex and violence. Even the hogs they ride have charm.

Jackal’s struggle is both exciting and moving, and plot revelations roll out at a perfect pace. The sequel cannot come soon enough. Dave Bradley