Kings of the Wyld

If you're anything like me, you've always wondered what the love child of fantasy and rock and roll would look like (haven't we all?). Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames is an action-packed, magic-slinging, comedic fantasy that follows a band of mercenaries on their reunion tour of the land. It doesn't take itself too seriously–if you couldn't tell by the rock music theme–yet manages to deliver a surprising depth of character and emotion.

I'm not sure if this is a fantasy story with a rock and roll theme or a rock and roll story with a fantasy theme. Either way, Kings of the Wyld is full of musical and pop cultural references. Outside of that, it takes place in a pretty cool high fantasy world.

Monsters and critters of all kinds exist in this world, and the deadly Heartwyld is home to just about all of them. Traveling bands of mercenaries try to make a name for themselves by touring the Wyld and winning gold and glory. Nowadays, though, young whippersnapper mercenaries don't do things like they used to.

As an added bonus, there's an ancient race of majestic humanoid beings with pointy rabbit ears and flying skyships.

We see the story through the eyes of Clay Cooper, a former legendary warrior who's getting on in years. Apart from being a well-written character, he fights with a shield! How often do you see that in fantasy?

The rest of the band is just as interesting. The frontman, Golden Gabe, has a knack for public speaking and wields a magic sword stolen from the rabbits that can carve a door between worlds. Mattrick is now a king, but he's a fat drunk who wants nothing more than to get away from his wife. Moog is a kooky wizard who sells magic viagra to fund his research into an incurable disease. And finally, there's Ganelon, who just might be the mightiest warrior in the world if he wasn't currently turned to stone.

When the story begins, Clay is living a quiet life in a remote village with his wife and daughter. One day, his former bandmate Gabe approaches him asking for his help in saving his daughter, who is trapped in a city being attacked by a legion of monsters. Clay reluctantly accepts, but only because he has a daughter, too.

Thus begins the attempt to reunite Saga, the band that used to be one of the most famous in the land. As they slowly recruit their former bandmates to their cause, it becomes apparent that none of them are the fearsome warriors they once were.

There's a lot of action and comedy in this book, and it makes the pages fly by. The descriptive passages are fairly brief and usually humorous. The prose isn't particularly poetic, which is probably appropriate for the tone of this book.

If you like action-comedies or heist movies where the first half is recruiting the various team members, this might be the book for you. If the idea of a rock and roll fantasy appeals to you, you'll really love this book. The pacing is quick, the tone is fairly light, and it's just good fun all around.
On the flip side, the rock music analogies might be too heavy-handed for you. It can come on a bit strong at times, which you may or may not like. It doesn't try to take itself too seriously and can be a bit self-aware.

Overall, I came into this expecting a good time and was not disappointed. There's a surprising amount of character depth and emotion throughout the book, which can serve as a nice contrast to the humor.