Kings of the Wyld is the debut fantasy novel by Nicholas Eames, and it's awesome. In the universe of Kings of the Wyld, mercenary bands share the same status that rock stars have in our world. The story focuses on one of the most legendary merc bands of all time, Saga. When the story opens, Clay Cooper, one of the members of Saga is living a quiet life, settled down in the town of Coverdale with his wife and daughter. Out of nowhere, Clay's old bandmate Gage shows up begging for Clay's help. Gabe wants Clay to come with him to try and save Gabe's daughter Rose, who is trapped in a city on the other side of the nightmare forest, the Heartwyld by a gigantic horde of monsters. Initially reluctant, Clay agrees to go with Gabe and try to help, but first they're going to have to go and try to track down the other members of Saga if they're going to have any chance of getting through the Heartwyld and rescung Rose. It's time to get the band back together.
Kings of he Wyld is a great breath of fresh air in a time when so much fantasy seems to be of the more "realistic" or "Grimdark" bent. KoW is definitely not in that vein at all. The more rock and roll feel of the book is a nice change of pace. The overall story is a fairly standard, "Small, elite group tries to accomplish a seemingly impossible goal" storyline, but Nicholas Eames tells it wonderfully and shows that even something that could be considered a "trope" can be extremely enjoyable when it's put in the hands of a capable storyteller. Besides the fantastic action sequences all throughout the book, dialogue and the characters is what will really keep you engaged and reading. And KoW is chock full of great characters. Not just he main members of Saga, but many of the backup characters like Jaine and the Silk Arrows, Larkspur, Gregor and Dane, and even the book's main villain Lastleaf, and there are many more. Also, a great thing about the book is the fact that Eames has taken pretty much any monster a DnD fan could want to see and thrown it in here just for the fun of it. Plus, Owlbears. Yes, there are multiple Owlbear references in this book. That alone, in my less than humble opinion should win Nick Eames some kind of award.
Kings of the Wyld is simply, from first page to last, an awesome story. It's great to be reminded that a fantasy story doesn't HAVE to be realistic. Kings of the Wyld definitely isn't. There are Deus Ex Machinas and magical cheats peppered liberally throughout the book. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that Gabe, Clay or any of the other characters didn't use some fnatasy novel version of the Contra Code to get something done. Don't take that as a criticism. Sometimes fun is just fun, and a fantasy novel doesn't have to be serious and dour. One of the best things about Kings of the Wyld is the very fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's almost like reading a transcript of a great DnD session with your nerdy friends and that's spectacular.
Kings of the Wyld. The Boys are back in town. Go see 'em.
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5 Metal Hands out of 5.
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