kryptyd

I recently finished The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French. I'm a strange person whose favourite genre of books is fantasy, but yet I'm extremely picky about them and don't like most of 'em. This was a great book. Firstly, it's got orcs, and I love orcs. It's described on the front cover as being a "foul-mouthed fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of Joe Abercrombie". That is reasonably accurate, but I prefer this book to Abercrombie's stuff. I do like JA, but he is slightly too cynical for my blood. The Grey Bastards, like Abercrombie's stuff is set in a harsh world, and written with a modern sensibility. But it's more good-hearted. I don't mind dirt, filth and violence, as long a book's heart is in the right place.

I found it an extremely addictive read, with lots of characters I loved and rooted for. All the characters, including the baddies, had complex and believable motivations. It also had several great female characters, despite being a typically male-dominated sexist fantasy type society. One of the races is this book is centuars, which is unusual. Insane, dreadful ones.

You don't need to be a pervy-orc-fancier or anything to enjoy this book. You should read it. :)