Fantasy Book Critic: SPFBO Champions' League: Grey Bastards by Jonathan French

AUTHOR INFO: Jonathan French is the author of the Autumn’s Fall Saga and The Grey Bastards. His debut novel, The Exiled Heir, was nominated for Best First Novel at the Georgia Author of the Year Awards in 2012. His second book, The Errantry of Bantam Flyn, rose to #6 on the Kindle Norse/Viking Fantasy bestseller list, proudly sharing the top ten with Neil Gaiman. His newest work, The Grey Bastards, is best described as “Sons of Anarchy…with half-orcs” and is poised to be his biggest seller to date. The book is currently a finalist in The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #SPFBO. An outspoken advocate on the merits and future of independent publishing, Jonathan has led panel discussions at conventions such as DragonCon, TimeGate, and CONjuration. Recently, Jonathan had the pleasure of being featured in an episode of the web-series Retroblasting as a consultant on the cultural impact of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. You can find out more at www.jonathanfrenchbooks.com.

Publication Date: November 16, 2015 Publisher: Ballymalis Press Page Count: 442 Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback

LUCAS

I like to think I’m tired of violence and bloodbaths. But when I look back at the best books I’ve read over the past few months, the violent ones usually end up on top. Damn.

I loved The Grey Bastards. Then I disliked it at times. And then I loved it even more than before.

Jackal is a half-orc living among his brothers and sisters of the Grey Bastards “hoof” in the badlands separating the human kingdom of Hispartha from the orc lands (called the Thicks). They ride massive tusked hogs they affectionately call “barbarians.” The bond between hog and rider runs deep-so deep you might think they’d mourn their mounts more than their brothers.

The Grey Bastards play a crucial role in holding back orc incursions. Jackal is interested in taking over the hoof as their chief – plague-ridden Claymaster seems to make a lot of strange choices lately. But ambition alone isn’t enough to make that dream real - especially with other forces at play, and a seemingly jovial wizard taking a suspicious interest in the hoof.

The plot starts small but expands organically into something vast, complex, and terrifying. Events twist in unexpected, exciting ways.

The world-building is impressive - expansive and detailed without ever resorting to info-dumping. Every bit of lore serves the story, unfolding naturally alongside it. We start with action and conflict, and once we care about the characters, the world deepens and the details matter.

The characters are excellent, and most of them grow throughout the story. I can easily see why this book might not appeal to everyone - especially feminists. It’s full of profanity and crude language: you’ll find hundreds of “fucks,” a flood of dick jokes, plenty of “quim” and “cunny” references, and women often reduced to “bed warmers.” My first reaction was mixed, maybe even a bit negative. Yet, after a while, the story pulled me in so completely that I stopped caring. I laughed and despaired right alongside the hoof. I may even have looked up whether I could buy a hog, and checked for nearby tar pits.

Before you pick up this book, remember that half-orcs are sex-obsessed creatures, and sexuality defines their culture. Women are treated as objects, and there are explicit scenes. So yes, you might be offended - but eventually, it all starts to make sense.

The book is dark, brutal, and unlike any grimdark novel I’ve ever read. I’m not surprised a publisher snapped it up. Mr. French, I’m impressed-you’ve got remarkable talent and a vision that set my imagination ablaze.

Also, when I finally buy a ranch, I’m getting a pig - and I’m naming it Ugfuck.

MIHIR

The Grey Bastards in its previous iteration won the second edition of the SPFBO. The book wowed most judges with its harsh content within and a brilliant cover by Raymond Swanland. It’s a fantasy book that’s different in every sense of the word and was a finalist selected by the Bibliotropic blog.

The story begins with Jackal, a half-orc who is a member of the Grey Bastards (one of the eight hoofs *read gang/tribe*) which are present in the lot lands. The Grey Bastards are a group of nine half-orcs who take care of their region in the lots and are on tenuous relationship with most of the other lots. Our protagonist is Jackal who along with Oats and Fetching are doing ranging rounds and we discover their friendly yet competitive relationship with each other. Jackal is a person with ambition in his heart but he needs votes and a plan to dislodge the Claymaster (the head of the Grey Bastards) from the hoof’s chair. His best friends are Oats a thrice-blood (three fourths of an orc and human) and Fetching who’s is the only female half-orc ever to be a Grey Bastard.

Jackal’s plans are gestating however they have to take a backseat as he encounters a sorcerer who’s also akin to their kind. While reeling from this shocker, he discovers that they are soon betrayed by someone who has no reason to do so. Plus there’s the whole mystery of the elf girl who might hold the answers but is unwilling or unable to provide them. There’s also the undercurrents about the hoof leadership which leave Jackal a bit tenuous with his bid. Ultimately all of this will boil down to a few events upon which the history of the Lot lands will be laid bare as well as the injustice meted out by Hispartha that gets uncovered in this opening volume.

Here’s why I enjoyed this story so much, beginning from its unorthodox roots, having half-orcs as the main characters and having biker gang culture shown in a dark fantasy setting is very, very impressive. Kudos to Jonathan French for writing such a different story and having the guts to follow through and not take any easy routes with his characterizations, world history and even politics. This is a murky world and someone has compared it to the biker gang crime drama Sons Of Anarchy which I feel is very, very apt. The characters are mired in shades of grey, there are betrayals, scheming and lot of background/historical details which are slowly laid bare. This is very similar to the Sons Of Anarchy saga and also hearkens to David Dalglish’s Half-Orcs series (but with a lot less magic). Jonathan French’s creations are tortured souls who are just trying to find a semblance of peace, power and parity in their lives.

Let’s talk about the first strength of the book beginning with our protagonist Jackal and all the characters introduced within. Jonathan French makes each one stand out with their unique personas. Jackal is cunning yet not Machiavellian, Oats is steadfastly loyal but not farsighted. Fetching is vicious but not cruel in her ways. The Claymaster and the rest of the hoof mates are equally intriguing as are the various other characters introduced. All of these characters are heroes and villains in their own ways and even though we aren’t given everyone else’s POV besides Jackal, I felt that each and everyone could have been a strong lead protagonist. Secondly the bawdry nature of the story and characters is very true and is constant throughout the storyline. I liked this aspect and while it might not be for everyone, but for those who don’t mind a solid dose of darkness and cursing, this tale will fit right in.

Thirdly the world-building is done very well and what I mean is that the author slowly unveils the world (first the Lot lands and later on Hispartha). Also this world has other races such as Orcs, Centaurs, Elfs and humans who all are far away from the classical epic fantasy tropes and share the darkness imagined by the author. The Centaurs are bloodthirsty and have an interesting way to express themselves via one night (titled the Ravager's Moon). The Elves are contrarians and are also reticent enough to kill folks who disturb them. The Orcs are deadly and war-mongering, not to mention the progenitors of the half-orcs and I believe the readers will learn more as to how they view each other via the story. There’s also the cool aspect of the hogs who function as trusty steeds, deadly battle machines and just are fun to read whenever they are featured in the story. The pace of the story never slackens and the plot twists are not that frequent however they come and shake up the story vigorously. The new cover is pretty neat but I preferred the previous one by Raymond Swanland.

The only thing which I thought was the drawback for this story was that the world history wasn’t revealed quite to my satisfaction. This was a very personal observation as the author does reveal a lot but I felt that more could have been unveiled. Of course the author might be waiting to unleash more in the sequel and I can’t wait to read it.

CONCLUSION: The Grey Bastards is a brilliant gem of story that’s certainly not for every reader however I believe most SFF fans should read it. Jonathan French has to be lauded for his plot ingenuity, bawdry charm and vicious characters.