Eric Lewis's Blog, page 4

18th Century Court Smallsword

This is getting ridiculous. I can’t stop myself from buying antique swords! When it comes to expensive habits smokers ain’t got nothing on me. This one is an 18th-century court smallsword, probably from the continent and estimated to be from about 1730 but nothing else is sure. I got it on Ebay but it passed through at least one legit auction house so I don’t think it’s a fake, though the wire grip looks suspiciously nice so it might be a replacement.

As smallswords go, this is a really small one, such that when I first received it I wondered whether it was made for a child. The finger rings are so small I can’t get my fingers through them, but the dimensions are well within the historical ranges so I can’t complain. There’s some very nice etching on both sides of the blade clearly done by hand, but it’s otherwise not ostentatious. The small clamshell guard seems to be silver or steel with some aggressively-cleaned patina, and the blade had patches of oxidation along the length but not badly.  It came with a leather scabbard that has a repair patch and a dent in the chape but still fits. I’m assuming this is a dress sword meant to be worn at court, so it might be at a reach disadvantage in a duel. The edge is not sharp, but this isn’t unusual since these swords aren’t meant for cutting at all. There’s some damage on the edge along some of the length of the blade, but this is most likely due to clumsy handling or foolishness at some point. The only thing about it that really disappoints me is that like all my antique swords, the grip is slightly loose, and it moves relative to the blade. I specifically asked the seller if the fittings were tight and if there was any movement and I was explicitly told no. Here are the stats:

Total length 86cm (34″)
Blade length 71cm (28″)
Grip length 8.4cm (3.3″)
Blade width 1.75cm (0.7″)
Blade thickness 0.5cm (.2″)
Weight 351g (0.78 lb)
Balance 5cm (2″)

It was actually too sunny to take pictures outside today, and there would’ve been too much glare so I had to take them inside. Here are the pictures:

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The sequel to The Heron Kings is officially happening

I really should say a sequel rather than the sequel, since The Heron Kings’ Flight is, like the first book, a standalone story, set about a hundred years later with all new characters. This is the story I first began to write years ago around 2006-2008 as a grad student, writing in bits and pieces in cafes on weekend mornings as the cliche goes, with no plan, outline, experience or expectation of publication. I eventually wrote 200,000 words of rambling, incoherent mess that was never going to go anywhere.

In 2014 I decided to set it aside and start over with another, similar story. I wrote a brief outline to keep myself on track with a few key anchor scenes mostly already formed in my mind. About a year and a half later the first draft of The Heron Kings was finished, and after four more years of rewriting, revising, editing, cutting, querying and rejections, the book came out last April, released by the small publisher Flame Tree Press. No one paid any attention and fewer than none bought it. Still, I remain immensely grateful to my editor Don and my first agent Nathan.

Emboldened by this most unlikely of outcomes, I returned to that first dusty old mass of wordage I had strung together with spit and bailing wire years before, and thought that just maybe, with the meager skills I had somehow managed to pick up since then, I could rework it into something that might see the light of day. I felt I owed it to the characters, whom I feel I know better than almost anyone in real life and who very much served as prototypes for the characters in The Heron Kings.

I was shocked at how quickly I did it. I have written several short stories in the interim, mostly ripping off chapters of The Heron Kings for ideas but sometimes projecting forward in time beyond the initial setting of medieval-level Argovan into a kind of steampunk early industrial style. You can read some of these stories on my short fiction page and some of my favorites are “The Heron King” (singular), “Illicit Alchemy”, “A Hard Peace” and a few others I haven’t managed to get published yet. These provided fertile ground for the new version of the novel, with which I was able to introduce at least one speculative element so that I could more plausibly call it fantasy. I kept a lot of text from the first version, and it struck me that there’s a lot of youthful intensity there that I know I couldn’t reproduce today. But I was able to use some of my increased technical ability to try to bring the best of both of those worlds to the final version. Around the same time that The Heron Kings came out, I finished a revised draft of the sequel with the working title The Heron Kings II. I sent a polished draft to my editor, and he said he liked it but I never heard anything definitive for eight months. I was concerned that it would never get published, since sales of The Heron Kings were anemic at best. I was completely prepared to go through the process of self-publishing, though it would’ve been very expensive.

But finally, last week, I received the completed, fully-signed contract for the book, which will be called The Heron Kings’ Flight. I wasn’t sure about the placement of the apostrophe, since although it’s clearly correct it always looks clunky on a book title. But that’s what Don suggested and I was happy to defer to his better judgment. The contract says (c)2023, though I’m hoping that’s just a placeholder and we can make it come out in 2022 or even maybe late 2021 if I can push things. But considering the glacial pace of publishing, that’s not very likely. So we’ll see. I hope this book is better received than the first, since it’s much less grimdark and gruesome, though it still has its moments. You can read a draft of the first chapter here.  I assume the cover will be almost identical to the first one, but in the meantime I put together a quick and dirty teaser poster using Canva, GIMP, and good old MSPaint:

And after this? Well I haven’t written much of a third book, since what would be the point if the second never sees the light of day? But you can read an early draft of the first 1200 or so words here. Tentatively titled The Heron Kings Rampant, it would be set in the same time period as the short stories I mentioned above.

That’s all the information I have for now. I’m so glad that this story that I’ve had in my head for so many years will finally have some kind of life, and I remain beyond grateful to all the people who’ve helped me along the way, though critiques, query reviews, beta reads, engagement on (anti)social media, purchases and book reviews. I’m also grateful to the many who didn’t believe in me. They were equally…motivating.

I will post updates when there are any. Until then may the gods light your path, and darken your enemy’s.

 

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Model 1784 French Dragoon Sword

Well here’s my latest vastly overpriced sharp and pointy purchase! This is a Model 1784 French Dragoon’s saber made in 1831 in Klingenthal. This is pretty long for a single-handed sword, with a lot of reach from horseback. It has a very nice scalloped brass shell guard with additional bars extending to a knucklebow. The grip is either bone or wood, polished with twisted wire wound into the ridges. It comes with a steel scabbard with brass accents. On the whole it’s in pretty good shape, though it’s clear some parts have been replaced at some point, and there’s about 1mm of motion in the hilt. Here are the stats:

Total length 102cm (40.3″)

Blade length 89cm (35.1″)

Grip length 10.5cm (4.15″)

Blade width 2.9cm (1.1″)

Blade thickness 0.9cm (.35″)

Weight 1016g (2.25 lb)

Balance 13cm (5.1″)

So as you can see, this is a surprisingly light sword for its size, though it’s very forward-balanced for powerful cuts. Looking along the back it seems insanely thick, but it tapers immediately into a deep fuller before widening to the secondary bevel. Also, there’s even a second fuller that begins about 8 inches from the guard, making it even lighter. The blade narrows to a lenticular section about 4 inches from the tip for thrusting. All this gives it a light weight but maintains a good cutting balance. It’s actually tough to control in one hand, especially indoors, but a sweeping cut from horseback would carry a lot of power with not a lot of weight.

The blade is mostly clean for its age, and I’m certain it’s been aggressively cleaned at at least one point. However it’s still decently sharp. Not razor sharp, but definitely not factory blunt, which implies to me that it was actually issued and carried once upon a time. It still has its original leather washer at the base of the blade, or at least one that fits, though it’s dry and stiff with some green coloration.

The spine is stamped with the inscription Mre Rle de Klingenthal, Mars 1831 Sa. indicating that it was made by the Royal Manufacture of Klingenthal in March 1831 in Saxony. The fact that the inscription is hard to make out further tells me it was harshly cleaned, removing some of the contrast.

The metal at the end of the grip is much redder in color than the rest of the guard, as is the wire wrap, indicating that this part was replaced at some point. There are also extra pieces of wood or bone added at the bottom of the grip like they’re supposed to be spacers to make the new piece fit better. There’s also a rectangular block on the pommel where the tang is peened, and there’s also a little movement here. So it was definitely repaired, but I certainly can’t tell whether it was done during the sword’s normal usage life or later.

Okay, enough talk. On to the pictures!

 

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Some characters from The Heron Kings created in Hero Forge

Thanks to the crappy weather yesterday I pretty much stayed inside enjoying thick-cut bacon sandwiches, rye & Benedictine cocktails, and messing around on Hero Forge. This is a tool for D&D gamers and other like fans to design and order their own semi-custom character models as game pieces or whatever. I’ve never played board RPGs and don’t have much interest in them, but I was wondering how accurately I could render some of the main characters from The Heron Kings. Here’s what I came up with using little effort and the limited options available:

 

Ulnoth

The clothing options are very game-fantasy, so it was impossible to make just plain old tunic and chausses for any character. This is the closest I could come. The reddish hair is about right but there’s too much beard- no stubble options. Not too bad, though.

 

Taurix

The top and bottom clothing options are separate, but there’s no option for full-length mail. I was able to give him his long sable cloak, though. Pretty accurate, though I’d like to add a mix of gray into the beard.

 

Alessia

It was easier to find outfits for the characters before they joined to form the Heron Kings, so here’s Alessia before she got rid of her cumbersome gown. She’s got lots of medicines to  offer for healing your wounds, but keeps a blade ready, just in case…

 

Corren

Corren undergoes a lot of changes throughout the book as he loses his soldier’s kit, his wild hair and a lot of muscle mass. Here he is in his livery and gambeson while still in Pharamund’s army, taking some archery practice without realizing how useful it’ll be soon.

 

And here are some characters from the (as-yet untitled) sequel:

 

Phynagoras

Behold, the Emperor of Kings! He’s initially clad in saffron robes in the book, but the only robe options were either too fantasyish or too ragged. This is a good representation of the kind of warm-weather outfit he might wear in Bhasa before invading Argovan.

 

Linet

Linet was one of the first characters I ever wrote, way back in grad school, and she hasn’t undergone too many changes since then. Here she is with bow at the ready before a campfire, still wearing her traveling backpack. I wanted to put all members of the Heron Kings in simple tunics but with enough variation to make them unique, and unfortunately the only choice includes a rope belt. We’ll just pretend it’s leather.

 

Eyvind

Eyvind is my other soldier character, and I put him in a gambeson as well. Here he could be sparring with sword and buckler or fighting to defend a bottle of the mysterious Vrril. I gave him a small goatee only because again, no option for stubble. Also a little earring he probably bought in Ólo from a Pelonan merchant after payday.

 

Aerrus

My other primordial character. A sarcastic, vicious little rogue, he’s as good at laying traps as at chasing down assassins. I dressed him quintessential green and brown ranger garb. There’s no option for chausses, so here I improvised by adding breeches and simply coloring his legs gray to simulate fitted woolen hose. Too clean-shaven but again, say it with me, no stubble option, and he’s way too young to look like Gandalf.

 

 

 

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We Men of Ash and Shadow by HL Tinsley

Am I starting to go overboard with the props? Maybe, but it’s too much fun…

We Men of Ash and Shadow is the debut novel from HL Tinsley, and is a grimdark industrial fantasy that grips you hard from the beginning and tosses aside all notions of hope or redemption, until it doesn’t.

John Vanguard is a protagonist of the type you might recognize from works of similar style- a cynical killer consumed with sins form his past and utterly convinced he has no future. After the trauma of leaving his comrades to die in a war years before, he now ekes out a living in the slums of the prison-like industrial city D’Orsee as a paid assassin for the corrupt officer who runs things from afar. Vanguard is saved from being completely despicable by the fact that his targets just happen to be the worst of the worst of humanity. He’s aided by the uncanny ability to remain unnoticed by anyone until he wants to be. Whether this ability is magic or just a talent is left ambiguous, which I personally love. But when the corpses of the city’s guards start washing up in the river at the same time as a prominent citizen disappears, Vanguard is drawn into a deeper plot with broad political consequences. The appearance of another major character named Tarryn, someone with similar stealthy abilities, could mean a new ally or something else. As the story unfolded my opinion of him changed not once, but several times.

The worldbuilding of this book could more properly be called citybuilding, since it takes place almost entirely within the sealed walls of D’Orsee. This gives it a claustrophobia-inducing quality, making it easy to feel the desperation of the inhabitants, smell the stink of the slums and feel bloodthirsty eyes following you from its shadows. That’s the impression from the poor section, at least. There are more upper-class districts which are sharply divided from the rest, which is always a nice recipe for revolution. A map would have been helpful, even a basic one like in Priest of Bones. We do very quickly get a sense of the power players in this part of the city- the respected bartender who’s reached the legendary age of sixty, the tough as nails whorehouse madam, the gang leader who’ll cut your throat for fun, the avaricious club owner.  All these characters and others besides paint a portrait of a seething city on a knife’s edge, which can be knocked into chaos with little extra provocation. There is a lot of telling done, especially in the beginning, and a bit more dialogue might help flesh out the setting more vividly.

The book is suffused with clever turns of phrase which move the plot forward with delightful snarkiness, which is something I always appreciate. Even in sections with a lot of exposition and little action, the reader can always count on the most colorful way of relating information. Even so, there’s a lot of imagery and plot packed into every page. This is a very fast-paced book, maybe a little too fast in some cases, as I didn’t always get a sense for who some characters really were before moving on to something else. The chapters are quite short, and though this could be a detriment to other styles of book (looking at you BH&KJA!), in this case it fits the action and pace, and makes it easy to pick a spot to stop and take a breath. In terms of style I was actually reminded a little of Glen Cook, but in Cook’s case his style (at least in the Black Company) is so clipped I had trouble following what was going on. That wasn’t the case here, though you do have to pay attention.

There’s a good bit of head-hopping in this book, and having grown up reading Dune multiple times this didn’t really bother me much. But there were several occasions where I had to reread a line to work out who was saying what to whom, who was thinking what, and this might throw off some readers. POV discipline is something I’ve had to learn the hard way, so I can sympathize, but I hope future volumes will be a bit more restrained.

The plot builds quickly to a not-quite-conclusion, clearly setting up the conflict for the next volume in a series. There’s a vague middle ground separating enemies and allies, and some characters switch between the two which helps keep the tension high. This story did a wonderful job of presenting characters with real moral ambiguity, and not just “everyone is bad and everything sucks and that’s it the end.” Paralleling this, there’s a good illustration of how mob rebellions are very unpredictable, and who they follow can depend on nothing more than who manipulates them first or best. I won’t spoil the ending, but there were several antagonistic characters, and I wish more of them had been taken care of by the end of this book. But it sets up high expectations for the next volume. This was a quick and entertaining read, and I await the next entry in the Vanguard series with interest.

 

HL Tinsley’s website: https://htinsleywriter.wordpress.com/

 

Pairs well with: Alaskan Brewing Co. 2015 Smoked Porter

Who knew the darkness in your own soul could be so tasty? This is a ‘vintage’ smoked porter from Alaskan Brewing, and yep, that’s a five year old beer. Disgusting, you say! Nope. At 6.8% ABV, this beer ages like wine. I’ve talked about rauchbier before, and the only genuine example I’ve had tasted like liquid summer sausage, and not in a good way. This version dials it back to just the right level. The beer pours very dark, obviously, with minimal head that dissipates quickly and very little carbonation. The aroma is dark and slightly sweet with heavy smoke and a little bit of chocolate or coffee undertone. The malty, faintly meaty taste is a bit lighter on the smoke but not by too much, making it the perfect level for me personally. It has a bittersweet flavor with 45 IBUs and a short toasty finish. I bought this bottle refrigerated but purely by chance it sat out for about half an hour before I opened it, and the temperature then was just about perfect for all the flavors to come through. The city D’Orsee in We Men of Ash and Shadow gives off a greasy, smoky, industrial vibe, so it pairs very well with this beer.

 

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BookBub listing gives The Heron Kings a boost

So sales of The Heron Kings have been in the tank since release, and after complaining to my publisher’s marketing head they got it listed as a daily Ebook deal on BookBub. This is a mailing list that sends out links to deeply discounted or free books. It has a pretty big number of subscribers and typically gives those books a bump in sales. The Kindle and Nook versions of The Heron Kings were marked down to 99 cents/pence last week and listed by BookBub on September 24th. The effect was temporary but very nice- it ultimately shot to #277 in the Kindle store overall, #56 in Fantasy and #4 in Action & Adventure Fantasy! It also snagged a 5-star review at last.

 

Of course it has since begun to sink back down quickly, but I’m hoping it’ll stay high enough for long enough to appear in those lists of recommendations you get whenever you click on something similar. All hail The Algorithm I guess. I have no illusions about making any money on this thing; I just want it to sell well enough that the publisher will consider also doing the sequel, which I’ve already written and sent off to my editor back in May…

 

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Bibliotheque Des Philosophes Chymiques, Tome II (1678)

Bibliotheque Des Philosophes Chymiques Tome II

I recently purchased my first rare antique book! Not just antique as in 18xx- I bought an 1870 edition of Plutarch for like $30 back in college. This book is from 167freakin8! 342 years old, and in great shape. I won’t say how much I paid cause I think it was way too much. The book is the second volume of Bibliotheque Des Philosophes Chymiques, a compendium of important alchemical and philosophical texts. The first volume was published in 1672, and revised editions were republished in 1740. The author is believed to be Willliam Salmon, an English professor and writer.

I dont speak French, let alone 17th century French, so it’ll be a bit of a process even getting bare descriptions of each section. I’ll post the pictures now and update the text as I can.

This edition in French was printed by the company of Charles Angot in Paris. It’s about 4 x 6 inches, and bound in leather over board with gilding on the spine and marbling on the endpapers as well as the head, foredge and tail edges. I don’t know enough about bookbinding to say more than that, but here are some pictures!

 

 

The divisions on the spine contain red leather that’s a bit faded, but still noticeable:

Also some marbling of the leather cover, and a little bit of wear & tear:

Really handsome marbling. The practice dates to the 15th century in Europe, but really took off in the 17th century. Here it’s done both on the inner covers and the edges:

Here you can see the fine detail of the gilding. It’s still in good shape, and mostly it’s only worn away where the cover itself is:

Title Page. They really liked long titles pack then. If you have a more accurate translation, please let me know!

LIBRARY OF [CHEMICAL] PHILOSOPHERS,

SECOND VOLUME.

THAT CONTAINS FIVE TREATISES

stated on the other page, and newly translated.

With Notes & various Lessons,

A Latin Letter on the Book entitled

ICON OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY.

A Preface on the obscurity of Philosophers, & on the Treatises of the Volume, & their Authors.

And a Table of Materials.

By Mr. S. Doctor of Medicine.

AT PARIS

Charles Angot, Saint Jacques Street,

at golden Lyon.

1678.

WITH ROYAL PRIVILEGE.

 

Preface. Thanks for writing all over my precious antique, Barbette! How rude. Basically, the preface talks about how if alchemists wanted everyone to understand their art, they could’ve put it all down and made it easy to understand.  Right, because modern chemistry textbooks are just so crystal clear. But to protect their jobs they cloaked it in allegory, mysticism and philosophy. Which is what a lot of this book is. Spoiler alert.

 

The first part of the book is The Seven Chapters, or The Seven Golden Chapters of Hermes Trismegistus.  This is a mostly philosopical text rather than a practical alchemy one, with lots of metaphor and allegory concerning the fabrication of the “Philosopher’s Stone” substance. I managed to get my hands on an English translation, and it’s largely incomprehensible Bible-like verse.

 

This is a short dialogue between two people about preparing the Magisterium, a form of the Philosophers Stone. It has specific instructions but is once again couched in riddles and metaphor.

 

This is a long interrogation by a king named Khalid of a hermit he encounters, who is a philosopher called Morien. Morien relates the fundaments of Hermeticism through a very Christian religious filter. Several aspects of alchemy are mentioned, but again the operations are related very ambiguously.

 

 

 

This is a very long section that includes many of the writings of Geber, aka Jabir ibn Hayyan, an 8th century Arab scientist. His works cover a large variety of subjects including alchemy, chemistry, mysticism and philosophy. I’ll have to go through this more carefully to give a meaningful description.

There’s a fabric bookmark included, woven into the binding at about the halfway point of the book. It’s completely intact and in good shape.

 

Supposedly a doctor who was personal physician to the Polish queen moved to Paris to join the university medical faculty after she died. After reading the first volume of this work he sent his own writings on alchemy to Salmon, and this letter in Latin is Salmon’s reply, which he included in volume two.

 

Some handwritten notes added at some point in the last few centuries.

 

 

 

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Spotted in the Wild

This is just a quick post that no one will read but is important to me. One of my goals in my Cyclopean quest to get The Heron Kings published was to see it on a real, honest to gods bookshelf, in a real store somewhere. Call me a whore for validation, whatever. Today I spotted not one, not two, but three copies of my book in the Science Fiction / Fantasy section of my local Barnes & Noble! Wedged in between some other obscure, completely unknown authors

King of Assassins by RJ Barker

Just in case anyone thought I didn’t also own a katana.

King of Assassins is the explosive concluding volume of RJ Barker’s epic Wounded Kingdom trilogy. Whatever you were expecting from this climatic book, I think it’s safe to say you’re going to be getting much, much more than you bargained for. This is a masterful conclusion to a thrilling series, tying in threads of plot and character from the two previous books you might’ve thought long forgotten, and showing the sting of betrayal from both sides.

Girton is now a man entering middle age, no longer moody and sullen yet taking on the sense of world-weariness that grips all of us eventually. This makes him more relatable, but not to the point of excusing his role as someone who commits murder, however reluctantly, for his king or his hypocrisy in raging when the violence turns against his own. The Tired Lands are a cruel place blighted by the scourge of magic that Barker has painted with colors at once dark and vivid. The setting by now feels familiar and lived-in, which was by necessity not the case in the previous volume, Blood of Assassins. This lets us delve right into the plot without having to be reoriented in the world. I generally appreciate inciting incidents happening as close to the beginning as possible, and here the book doesn’t disappoint.

Our old friend King Rufra, now older but no longer quite as friendly as kings tend to get, is making his bid for the high kingship in order to bring much-needed reforms to the whole of the Tired Lands. But in the vicious, decadent capital Ceadoc, his royal entourage seems out of its depth with a new level of byzantine threats and plots around every corner. When Rufra’s family is attacked by an unknown assailant, Girton vows to discover the killer and avenge fallen friends. What seems at first a straightforward election campaign among the powerful claimants becomes a web of murder and intrigue where old friends and enemies switch places with frightful ease. Or maybe it’s just that old enemies are replaced with bigger, worse enemies. Girton’s skills are stretched past their limits, and he must increasingly risk discovery of his taboo powers through use of magic to survive attack after attack. Old foes are back, along with new ones who would like nothing more than to eliminate the famous assassin.

As with the setting, the great thing about the final book in a series like this is that the characters are already fleshed out, and you can focus purely on development rather than establishment. There are new characters introduced here, sometimes at a rapid pace that one might struggle to keep up with, but they are just as rapidly built up so that their personalities, if not their true intentions, are realized. We also see the end result of several long-term relationships: Girton’s disappointment at the decayed relationship with Rufra, his master Merela Karn’s slow decline, and the surprising closeness with his old enemy Aydor. There are others, but they veer into spoiler territory. It’s an interesting study in parts on how, though people might fundamentally not change at their core, the way people relate to each other over time nevertheless can. It’s positively sad to watch Rufra rage at Girton, who has done such dark things in his service, and cautiously encouraging when a rival for the throne turns on a dime to become a most ardent ally.

Although the world as a whole is familiar, the massive castle Ceadoc feels alien and threatening, almost like a great, silent, Lovecraftian character unto itself, with tension lurking everywhere. I got a sense of claustrophobia at times, usually just before some corridor-clogging attack. In contrast to the many outdoor settings of the previous book, this lends an appropriate foreboding quality to the story. Girton’s fear of drowning in particular becomes relevant and is used effectively. There comes a point, during a seemingly neverending parade of atrocities encountered here, where I begin to think, where can you possibly go from here? Oh, don’t worry sweeties, there’s always plenty more where that came from. It’s emotionally draining at times, but never in a way that makes the reader want to put the book down for long.

As with the previous entries in these mystery-within-fantasy stories, the reveals are rather back-loaded, so one might feel the pace begin to drag a bit in the middle. But this just sets up a rapid-fire of plot and action in the last hundred pages or so, which I read in one sitting here as with Blood of Assassins. In some small ways it returns to the dynamic of the first book, Age of Assassins, in which magic is both an antagonistic and protagonistic (is that a word?) force, and knowledge of its use is a weapon itself.

I hope I can say I’m not sorry to be leaving the Tired Lands after this; this is a world realized sharply enough to know that I’d never survive in it. I can’t describe the rest of the plot too much without giving it away, as one might expect in the final volume, but I can say that there is one climax that could only take place in this world.

…..…and then there’s another one, which will rip your heart out.

……….…and then there’s another one, which will stomp it into a slushy, purplish paste on the ground. You are a cruel, cruel man, RJ. In this genre, that might be the best compliment one can give.

 

Review of Blood of Assassins

RJ Barker’s website: RJBarker.com

 

Pairs well with: California Cider Company ACE Perry Cider

 

Not too much to say about this one. Seems the weather’s warmed up permanently, or at least for the rest of the season, and if you’re in the mood for something sweet and somewhat different, try out this “perry cider.” I was disappointed to learn that it’s not real perry (I really tried to find some, honest!), just cider with pear juiced added after fermentation. It’s not bad though. It’s sweet but not overpoweringly sweet, with a tartness alongside and a kind of candy-like vanilla undertone. At 5% ABV it’s easy drinking, maybe too easy to be frank, as it does down just like fruit juice. But it’s a good thirst quencher on a hot day. Perry is the drink of choice in the Wounded Kingdom trilogy, so it’s appropriate here, and really, the Tired Lands could do with a touch of sweetness now and then.

 

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The True Bastards by Jonathan French

 

The True Bastards is the follow-up to Jonathan French’s riveting first Lot Lands adventure, The Grey Bastards. This sequel expands on the story left partly unfinished at the end of the first book, but not in the ways you might expect.

This volume switches to the viewpoint of Fetching, now chief of the half-orc mongrel band that had been named the Grey Bastards before its calamitous destruction at the hands of its old chief and the scheming of the mongrel wizard Crafty. The previous main protagonist Jackal has gone off to search the world for the wizard, leaving Fetch to lead the survivors in a bid for survival in the harsh land of Ul-wundulas. As the first and only female chief she faces threats both external and internal, as well as a new enemy even more terrifyingly powerful and personal than the hordes of full-blood orcs that they guard a resentful human kingdom against.

The world-building of a second novel in a series has a tough needle to thread, and French has done a great job. You want to expand upon the setting in interesting ways, but you don’t want to throw too much at the reader such that it’s too hard to follow. This world feels lived in, with familiar characters returning (Hoodwink in particular is an even more terrifying badass), but with new ones added on top. We learn more about the orcs, much more about the elves and their strange ways, and especially about Fetch’s parentage. The humans are despicable as always, and I was actually a bit irritated at their depiction in this book as in the last one. But of course this is the mark of great narrative, since I actually forgot for a moment that it’s a work of fiction, and the species of the work’s author.

It’s hard to describe the plot in subsequent novels without spoiling it, so the most I can say about it is that Fetch is first consumed with finding food and safety for the people under her care, while struggling with the burdens of leadership as well as a lingering disease brought by the confrontation in the first book. She also faces opposition to her position from the other mongrel bands and incursions from the human garrisons to the north, even as new foreign settlers with unknown intentions are spotted in the Lots. The first half of the book feels like a lot of setup, and even though it takes its time the pace is never slow. She then encounters a new gigantic orc that no one can defeat, adding to their woes. The second half more quickly ties up loose ends from earlier as well as from the first book. This includes some you didn’t even know were loose ends, which was surprisingly satisfying. There are also a few things set up which will presumably be addressed in the third book.

Another thing French does well is training the reader to expect things to go from bad to worse, so there’s always a feeling of suspense even outside the action scenes. The sense of tension in the sections dealing with the elves was particularly effective. Their strangeness and their magic give this foreboding feeling that’s like okay, now we’re safe and have food and even baths…this is too good to be true. Something terrible’s going to happen and these pointy-eared dudes are gonna be the cause of it, and you’re just waiting for things to go bad.

This entry is long compared to the last one. I thought I was going to say that this could’ve been broken into two books, but I don’t really think that after getting through it. Maybe some of the long tracts concerning Fetch’s self-doubt could’ve been tightened up. It’s not too bad, but it is something I’ve noticed particularly about subsequent books in series coming from Orbit. I also felt the ending was just a bit needlessly brutal. Maybe I’m a hypocrite with too much sensitivity to violence written by people who aren’t me, but the overwhelming strength of the mongrels compared to humans as well as the lack of much from the human POV made it seem just a little easy and over the top. Personal preference, really. I also had a big gap in time between reading the first and second half thanks to real life stuff getting in the way, so that likely affected my impression. I still think the most sympathetic characters are the hogs. Poor Little Orphan Girl!

This book succeeds incredibly well in the way that a second book of a series needs to, in that it expands on the story and characters and world that it introduced in the first while keeping the same feel and sense of progression while paying off what was set up. What you thought was story A-B-C, set within area 1-2 is revealed to be in fact story A-B-C-D-E-F expanded to area 1-2-3-4, thus giving the feeling of increasingly epic scale that makes the reader want to read more. The next entry is apparently to be titled The Free Bastards, and will I assume feature a much more explosive story set up at the end of this one.

 

Review of The Grey Bastards

Jonathan French’s website: JonathanFrenchBooks.com

 

Pairs well with: Dark Horse Brewing Rain in Blood Orange Pale Ale

 

Spring has finally arrived, though in some places you wouldn’t know it. The groundhog predicted an early spring, but considering it’s only been right 41% of the time that’s not necessarily a good thing. Warm days are popping in here and there, even if you’re on lockdown and stuck inside so you might not know it. Dark Horse Brewing’s Rain In Blood Orange Pale Ale is as good a choice as any for welcoming the season, assuming it’s one of those warm days. This is an orange-flavored pale ale, not an IPA. It’s got a moderate head and lots of carbonation, though I wouldn’t quite say too much for this kind of beer. It has a hazy orange color with orange and citrus aromas. Shocking, I know. Some malt as well. It has a delicate orange flavor with a light sweetness, not at all like a shandy or anything like that. It has a slight tang and little to no bitterness with 12 IBU. At 5.5% ABV with a light body it’s easy to drink and won’t knock you out too quickly. This is a good summer beer when you grow tired of the usual suspects, but you could likely crack one open now on the right day. Fresh oranges are one of the few pleasant surprises the characters in The True Bastards get to enjoy, so it pairs well with the bitterness of the rest of the book.

 

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