City of Kings

by Rob J. Hayes

War makes monsters and corpses of us all. For generations the blooded have ruled the Wilds, cultivating a lawless frontier and bleeding the good folk dry. The Black Thorn, once the most wanted outlaw the world has ever seen, is set on stopping them, and bringing an end to the great game that oppresses them all. Crucible is the only blooded fortress left, but not for nothing is it called the City of Kings. Its defences are unbreakable, its walls unassailable, all built so one hundred can hold back a thousand. Worse yet, the Black Thorn is running out of time and there are darker things hiding underground, looking to turn the city into a tomb.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, War, Military Fiction, High Fantasy

426 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2018

About the author

Winner of Mark Lawrence's 3rd Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) with Where Loyalties Lie

Rob J. Hayes has been a student, a banker, a marine research assistant, a chef, and a keyboard monkey more times than he cares to count. But eventually his love of fantasy and reading drew him to the life of a writer. He’s the author of the Amazon Best Selling The Heresy Within, the SPFBO-winning piratical swashbuckler Where Loyalties Lie, and the critically acclaimed Never Die.

Reviews

[James Tivendale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of City of Kings in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Rob J. Hayes for the opportunity.

After having thoroughly enjoyed Hayes' Best Laid Plans duology I jumped at the chance to read City of Kings early - which is set in the same world. The action here follows the events of Hayes' The Ties That Binds trilogy and features many characters from those books. That being said though it acts as a complete standalone. I've not yet read the previous trilogy but still found City of Kings to be a fast-paced and thrilling grimdark adventure with intense levels of brutality. For readers who are familiar with his earlier tales, I can tell there are lots of nuggets and little intricate details throughout regarding characters, relationships and the world which will probably delight.

Rose and her husband The Black Thorn have united the Wilds against the noble Blooded houses. In fact, only 3 of the great Blooded families still remain and they are holed up within a giant and impenetrable fortress. Although Black Thorn was previously one of the most notorious and infamous criminals even seen, it's Rose that 'wears the trousers' in the relationship and leads the army. Rose is pregnant and wants her enemies eradicated before her child is born. Her advisors insist it is impossible to take the city in that timeframe but Rose will not heed that advice and that's where the narrative really begins.

My favourite element of City of Kings was the characters. There are five point of view perspectives and I'm pretty certain all were main characters in The Ties that Bind. As it was my first time being acquainted with these players, I was relieved that after a couple of chapters I felt like I really knew them which highlights Hayes' skill at creating interesting, exciting, and colourful bastards to follow. Example characters are as follows:
* A scarred axe-wielding, one-eyed, three-fingered warrior who was once most wanted criminal in the wilds
* A traitor noble who betrayed his father, the leader of the Blooded army. He is essentially a drunk spy who reminded me as a mix of Tyrion (ASOIAF) and Jalan (The Red Queen's War). He always had a quick quip on his tongue and a drink in his hand but is braver than people give him credit for and he also has some strange powers that are only briefly touched on here. He was my favourite character.
* A small but intensely loyal female assassin who previously had parts of her face burned away by witch hunters
*A warrior tribesman who abandoned his fellow brothers and now at every turn they want him murdered. He is an expert bodyguard and has some interesting powers where he can see auras. Almost like a mood ring - a colourful haze will float around people he looks at and he can sense intentions, feelings, and sometimes predict what will happen next following this.

These players may sound like utter scumbags or bastards you'd love to hate and honestly, they are but throughout my reading experience they were incredibly likable and I found myself rooting for them even when they were doing some horrendous actions and deeds. However much you care for the characters though, in this wicked world every single member of the ensemble is expendable. All the perspectives presented are from Rose's side of the army as they are looking to take hold of the city. It creates great affinity with the players but I believe it would have been interesting to see what a character or two within the city walls were thinking about their plight, scenario, and current position in the war.

This is the 6th book within Hayes' First Earth Saga (excluding The Bound Folio which is a short story collection.) The created world is so detailed and seems like a character in its own right. There are layers upon layers of depth, back histories, and past dramas/ friendships/ hatred that leak from the pages organically. The world building never seems forced or unnecessary. In addition to one of the bloodiest wars imaginable that borderlines on genocide City of Kings also features giant trolls, Drurr necromancers, and the undead. I actually wanted to see more of this side of the narrative but I analyse that they are here because they are brutal, it's a fantasy world but also that Hayes' may be presenting to readers that the humans are the real monsters. Hayes has created a giant world in his First Earth books yet here it is mainly set around the city. No places visited in Best Laid Plans are seen here and I imagine that this is more streamlined than his other works where characters are often in different locations across the relevant maps.

Hayes writes some of the darkest and most brutal fiction around and he's upped the ante even further here. Events and actions are often terrible and bloody but Hayes' smooth prose and elegant descriptions heighten the scale of horrendousness. The pacing is excellent, the writing is fluid and the chapters are shortish which adds to the 'just one more chapter' bug.The latter is one of the reasons I devoured this tale and Rob's other stories in a handful of days. City of Kings is thrilling, exciting and gruesome. Mostly unpredictable with a few twists that utterly blindsided me but I did predict one or two events before they happened including a loss of a limb scene. I don't rate this quite as high as Rob's Best Laid Plans trilogy as I loved the originality he presented with his pirate mixed with magic, witch hunters, and monsters setting. Alongside Blackwing, The Fifth Empire of Man was my highest rated book of last year though. This is more from the Game of Thrones school of fantasy, albeit far more brutal which isn't a bad thing, I personally just love complete uniqueness and originality in my fantasy at the moment more than anything. However, if I'd read his previous trilogy and knew the complexity and vastness of his overall created world then that might not be the case so this rating is subject to change as and when I approach his previous books. After recently winning the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off it seems like Hayes is going from strength to strength and is an expert in consistently releasing high quality works.

The ending is utterly shocking and brutal. I'm pretty certain it made my author friend and fellow reviewer C.T. Phipps cry like a little child! It all wraps up nicely but does sprout a few threads of where the action could go next as I think Hayes is planning at least another trilogy in his First Earth saga. This tale runs concurrently with Best Laid Plans as at the ending one of the characters says that he is off to help Drake in the pirate war. City of Kings is simply a great dark fantasy tale featuring war, betrayal, monsters and utter bastards that will bludgeon the scene into submission. Hayes is my favourite grimdark author that's currently writing.

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

4+ roundup and extra credit for this extremely high-quality indie release.

The closest comparison is Joe Abercrombie's writing. In fact, this story reads a little like The Heroes + Best Served Cold + Red Country got rolled into one action-packed narrative. See for yourselves: the plot takes place just over a few days, in a fantasy setting with a strong western flavour with a powerful female protagonist driven by a revenge agenda.

I enjoyed the pacing, the characters and the worldbuilding. This is a first Rob J. Hayes's novel for me and it was lots of fun. I also picked up on the adventuring/D&D module flavours - that made my experience even better.

A true indie wonder that you would struggle to tell apart from a big budget commercial release. So kudos to the author and his team.

So if you are in a mood for grimdark-ly fantasy blockbuster - I got a splendid recommendation for you ;)

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Rose has decided that she will become queen of the Wilds or die trying, and the Black Thorn is dead set on doing everything in his power to keep his heavily pregnant wife happy. For the most part, this story takes place over the course of a week as Rose and her Thorn lead their army of misfits in a siege of the last city holding out against Rose’s reign. Her goal is to take the city before her daughter is born, and to slaughter the remaining blooded families hiding within the walls. The problem? The city is impenetrable. But Rose will accept no excuses, even legitimate ones, and she will have that city, even if every man and woman fighting for her is slaughtered in the process.

This is a standalone novel in Hayes’s First Earth, the setting for his The Ties That Bind trilogy and his Where Loyalties Lie duology. While I haven’t read the first trilogy, I loved Where Loyalties Lie. It was definitely grimdark, which isn’t my favorite genre, but I absolutely adore pirates. And Hayes created some great ones. Where Loyalties Lie was filled with an eclectic cast of miscreants who would all stab you for a cookie, but they were likable and endearing just the same. The duology also featured a varied plot with some intricate twists. It’s among my favorite self-published works.

In City of Kings, Hayes once again gives us a cast of likable but morally bankrupt characters who you can’t help rooting for even as they commit travesties. I enjoyed them, but I feel that I would have enjoyed them even more had I read The Ties That Bind first. While this is indeed a standalone novel, it features characters from this trilogy. I never felt lost while reading, but I did feel that I was missing out on some deep history between various characters. I highly recommend reading that trilogy before picking up this book. I’m kicking myself for not doing so; don’t make my mistake!

As I wrote earlier, this entire book is about a siege and roughly takes place over the course of a week. Almost the entirety of the book is one giant battle scene. There were small breaks in the fighting here and there, but I would say a solid three quarters of the book is comprised of descriptive action scenes. I’m a lover, not a fighter, so this was a lot for me. Thankfully Hayes is very good at writing action scenes in a way that maintains my interest, but I do have to confess to feeling some battle fatigue myself by the final pages.

“War makes monsters and corpses of us all.”

I have never seen a catchphrase on the cover of a book that captures the content of the story within quite so aptly. Remember earlier when I mentioned that grimdark isn’t my favorite genre? Well, this was one of the grimmest, darkest things I’ve ever read. First Earth is a world of almost unrelenting bleakness, and in this tale I didn’t have swashbuckling pirates to distract me a bit from that bleakness. I did have Anders, who provided a bit of comedic relief, but he was facing down horrors of his own, so even that humor had an edge to it. The story was just too dark for me to fall in love with.

However, it was an engaging story well told, full of interesting characters living in a fascinating world, albeit a dark one. And if you happen to be a true fan of the grimdark genre, I strongly believe that this book will work extremely well for you. It’s a story dark and dire and full of daring deeds, and will have you rooting for people who will never be heroes. Once again, I suggest that you read The Ties That Bind first before diving into this one, but if you don’t, City of Kings will definitely whet your appetite for Hayes’s First Earth and have you running to check out the rest of the book set in that world.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when you find out after traveling with a bunch of people you took to be lovable antiheroes that they were, in the end, just plain evil? This is an interesting question that doesn't often come up in grimdark despite the fact it is a series based around the principle of there being no good people and only various shades of black. One instance this happened with me was the FIRST LAW TRILOGY where Glokta, after being one of the most fascinating sympathetic characters for two books, eventually revealed himself to be irredeemable.

CITY OF KINGS is a story about the Blackthorn and his little cadre of antiheroes: Henry, Rose, Pern, and others. These are the antiheroes assembled in the original TIES THAT BIND trilogy that have since gone on to bigger and better things. In those stories, the Blackthorn is a famous bandit who has developed an oddball band of misfits that tended to fight people worse than themselves. Events propelled them from being a group of exiles and criminals into group capable of fighting the local nobility (called "The Blooded.").

The Blackthorn and Rose have established a vast army and taken themselves to a revolution that has one goal and one goal only: to eradicate all of the Blooded in the Wildlands. They have destroyed countless houses and armies with a final siege necessary to bring them total victory. However, each day they fight is another one where their army will fall apart.

The story isn't whether the Blackthorn or Rose will win in the end. They've already effectively won the war even if the besieged have unearned self-confidence they'll win. No, the issue is what will winning do to them and their relationships.

Rose wants to exterminate the Blooded, kill them and their families regardless of age, sex, or creed. The Blackthorn doesn't care because he loves Rose and will do anything for her. Henry follows the Blackthorn regardless of what path it takes them. Anders is just as happy to be on the winning side despite being Blooded himself and Pern believes he's still a better person for fighting with them than against them.

For me, this book's heart is the question of what happens when antiheroes cross lines that can't be uncrossed and where someone who has been previously part of a band of lovable rogues will fall when that happens. Rob Stark lost half of his army when the Karstarks were punished for murdering Lannister children. Sanodr Clegange remained sympathetic despite killing the Butcher's Boy. Yet, where will the audience fall when their protagonists do something monstrous? The biggest shock for some characters is that there was a line at all and they have permanently, irrevocably severed many friendships they once had.

Rob J. Hayes remains one of the best writers of grimdark fantasy around and should always be mentioned with Erikson, Lawrence, Abercrombie, and Morgan. He is a master of making compelling and memorable characters that always capture your attention. His protagonists cross real lines, however, and the reader will be left to judge for themselves whether any of it was justified or the protagonists were monsters needing to be put down. Its an argument even they have at the end.

The ending of this novel is powerful, disturbing, and very well written. The impact wouldn't be nearly as strong if not for the fact I'd read multiple books with these characters building their friendship and bonds before they were torn apart. I'm glad it's finally out.

9/10

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was super excited to pick this book up after having read other books by this author and knowing I enjoyed the world. This is set following some of the characters from the Ties That Bind series but there's also some overlap with the Where Loyalties Lie books in terms of timeline and characters. However despite that you can start with this book and it will more than likely make sense as a first book. You'll just more from it if you have read the previous ones.

This story follows a siege and conquer of a city where the last Blooded are hiding. The city is surrounded by Rose and the Black Thorn and their army. However, even though they have the numbers everyone knows the fortress they surround is the best in the world for defense and trying to conquer those within will be a big job.

Rose and Thorn are characters I've net before so I liked following their story as it continued. Along the way you get to know Rose and Thorn a little better, along with their comrades like Pug, Henry, Anders and more. I think that this book is a little brief on characterisation as it's pretty short, but what there is worked well.

Overall, this was a fun story with some pretty dark attempts to seize the fortress and many changes of direction. It's a simple idea for a story but it works and it has heart and it's brutal throughout. 4*s from me.

[Mihir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read full review over at Fantasy Book Critic

Overall rating = 4.5 stars

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: City Of Kings is Rob J. Hayes' next spectacular fantasy title after his SPFBO win early this year. This book is a standalone title focusing on the Black Thorn, his queen Rose and their gang as they try to conquer a city. This book while being a standalone entry is part of the author's grand plan for his world called the First Earth Saga. Simply put The Ties That Bind trilogy was the first foray. The Best Laid Plans duology was the next wave which illuminated another aspect of the world (the high seas and the pirates). City Of Kings is the next chapter in this dark world and while it is a standalone, the overall story line and characters would be better appreciated if one reads The Colour Of Vengeance (book II of the Ties That Bind trilogy) or the entire Ties That Bind trilogy beforehand. Also in terms of chronology this book is set alongside the Best Laid Plans duology. The epilogue of Where loyalties Lie & the first couple of chapters of The Fifth Empire Of Man (Elaina Black’s POV) serve as a prequel to this story and its ending is set just before the main climatic events of The Fifth Empire Of Man.


The story begins with a prologue wherein both the would-be conquerors and the Blooded clans attempt an unsuccessful parley. The peace attempts foiled, lead to the preparation of the siege of the city-fort called Crucible by Black Thorn and his army. Crucible is the home of the Brekovich clan and their head Niles Brekovich (think a Tywin Lannister like figure). However the Wilds have been now claimed under the leadership of The Black Thorn. What most folks don't know, is that the real brains & steel behind his rule is his wife Rose. Betrim "Black Thorn" Thorne is extremely happy with this arrangement as it leaves all the mental heavy-lifting, scheming and planning to Rose while he gets to fight which is more his sort of stuff. We meet again with the rest of his crew and since this is also set after the events of “Pre-emptive Revenge” [the short story featured in the GrimDark Magazine# 9], there have been some big personnel changes.

Henry is always present as Betrim's right dagger, still sharp and murderous as ever with even more scars. But her partnership with Pern has given a stable edge to her sharpness and she's even more deadly for it. Pern Suzku has been declared a Honin (after the events seen in The Colour Of Vengeance) and he can't seem to escape his fate from his Haarin clan. They will do everything to make sure Pern finishes what he couldn’t do before. There's also Anders who serves more than one master but is finally about to get to one up on his dad (the aforementioned Niles Brekovich) and the rest of his family. There are a few other new faces who have come aboard Rose's campaign to unite the wilds and this will be the final push to unite the wilds.

The story is set over a period of a week and it's a bloody one at that. Infact I would say that this book has outdone all of Rob's preceding titles in terms of action, blood, plot twists, and resolution. City Of Kings is the last book for a while in the First Earth saga and this standalone title has a solid finality to its ending. Talking about why I enjoyed this book, starting with the characters: Betrim, Rose, Anders, Henry, Pern are all fascinating personalities and even after two-three books featuring the aforementioned characters. Rob J. Hayes manages to keep them multi-faceted and it's still refreshing to read about them. There are newer personality dimensions to be discovered and older problems surface. This is brought refreshingly to the fore as we get to see characters arcs play out (beginning from The Colour Of Vengeance) and there’s a finality to all of their personal arcs.

There's also the plot pace and twists which keep this story from appearing as a staid one or even a stereotypical siege storyline. What I mean is that most readers expect certain tropes in a siege story and the author conveniently sidesteps them. Things get very, very intriguing and even bloodier than I ever expected (this after the savage climaxes of both The Ties That Bind trilogy and The Best Laid Plans duology). But to even hint at them lie spoilers so I will be silent... Safe to say while this is a siege storyline, events that occur are far, far more complex. Beginning with the underlying question that has been lurking throughout the previous five books, why are the dead returning as zombies all over the place?

Rob's world is a dark one and it's safe to say that it isn't a fair one. However because of his incredible writing, it's a world that I want to read more and more about. The mysteries which are present get revealed in small increments and there are bigger questions arising. Each of the previous books have revealed at the mystical background about the world and the players into the mix. We get another solid indication of one side in this book. It becomes apparent how big of a game the author is playing with his readers as the First Earth saga unfolds. The next series will be a trilogy set within the kingdom of Acanthia and is most likely set a few years after the events of The Fifth Empire Of Man and City Of Kings.

What didn’t quite work for me, possibly next to nothing! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it brings to close a lot of events that have been in motion from the author’s debut. To a certain degree, I think while this is a standalone story that can be enjoyed by readers completely unfamiliar to Rob’s work. I honestly feel readers will enjoy it the most if they read it after the Ties That Bind trilogy. So this IMHO isn’t a through & through standalone and that’s my only negative about this incredible read.

CONCLUSION: City Of Kings is a brutal story for its characters, the readers and for all the people mentioned within. It spares no punches (emotional, or literal) and truly showcases what happens before a regime change. How brutal it can be and how much of an iron will is needed to bring this about. In this regard there's one character who truly shocks and this is in spite of knowing their past deeds. Credit to the author for pushing the envelope even when he knew that the readers might not agree with his characters actions. City Of Kings truly cements Rob J. Hayes as a writer that combines epic and grimdark fantasy in the best possible way.

[The Nerd Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well holy hell this was a good book! 5+.

The Nerd Book Review

Rob Hayes recently won SPFBO for his novel Where Loyalties Lie, a book I really enjoyed. Hayes is a grimdark author who I think does a better job of walking that fine line between using the right amount of vulgar language and sex and going too far better than any other author in the genre. There's a swagger to his characters that makes me enjoy them even if they're assholes who will kill at the drop of a hat.
What surprises me the most about how much I loved this book is that I'm generally not a huge fan of fantasy novels where a large part of the book takes place during battles and this book has to be 50/50 or higher battle scene. I'm usually completely happy when a battle scene takes a few pages and then we get to the aftermath. I find battle scenes chaotic and one of the few times I am taken out of the movie in my mind when big maneuvers are being described. This novel embraces that chaos and is told from individual character's POV during the battle scenes. Each character is concerned with staying alive and I was able to feel the confusion that they felt as they were in a press of bodies during a real battle.
City of Kings is a standalone novel, if I'm correct, set in the same world as all Hayes' earlier Pirate novels. It is set across the world and has different characters for the most part. I admit I haven't read everything in this world and it seems like there might be one or two characters who are in other books.
Rose and her husband Black Thorn are on the cusp of conquering The Wilds from the nobles who have ruled with impunity for the last several hundred years. Their army is camped outside of the city of Crucible, the last remaining stronghold of The Blooded. Rose was once a prostitute and Thorn an outlaw who met when thorn visited Rose's brothel and he chose Rose. They had been the leaders of an outlaw gang for some time before they began to raise an army and overthrow the Blooded. The book takes place over a relatively short time frame and is told from multiple POV charactes.
Rose is the woman in charge of the army and has a burning hatred for the Blooded. She is 9 months pregnant during the seige so she is unable to do any fighting herself.
Thorn is a hulking man who fights with a giant wood axe and is described as having 3 fingers on his left hand as well as only his right eye after the left side of his face was burned badly during some prior incident. He is married to Rose and is completely devoted to her. He's supposed to be the leader of the army but is under no illusions that this isn't all the result of Rose.
Anders is actually the eldest son of Niles Brekovich, the biggest and baddest of the Blooded. He is an alcoholic and coward but is relatively charismatic and has a strange power that I'm guessing we learn more about in the previous novels. He defected years previously when he was disinherited by his father and had been a member of Rose and Thorn's gang from before they began their insurrection.
Pern Suzku reminds me a lot of the Seguleh in the Malazan series. He is an amazing swordsman and is driven by honor. He previously let a man he was supposed to be guarding (Rose's brother) be killed by Rose and Thorn because of how bad the man was but it dishonored his clan and he was thrown out. His clan is actively trying to kill him to send his soul to the afterlife to protect the man he failed to protect in this life. He is very conflicted about what he has done as honor had been the most important thing to his life.
Henry is a woman whose nickname is Henry the Red because of all of the killing she has done. She likes to fight using knives so she can feel the blood on her hands. She and Suzku have an unrequited love that has never been acted on. She is a complicated character who is also a vicious killer.
The book is brutal and violent and definitely not for children. I stopped reading for a little while several times because I was feeling so anxious about what was going to happen, Hayes had written such intense scenes! Bad things happen to characters I grew to love even though they aren't necessarily shown in the most sympathetic light. This book alone has put the rest of his library much higher on my TBR list and I can't wait to see where he goes from here.

[Hiu Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob J. Hayes is an author with a lot of eyes on him at the moment. Fresh off of winning the 3rd annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off with his piratical fantasy Where Loyalties Lie, Hayes returns to that world with this stand-alone story.

I should mention that prior knowledge of the other books in Hayes’ First Earth Saga is not required to read this story. On the contrary, if you’d like to see if Rob’s books are up your alley but aren’t quite so sure about committing to a trilogy or a duology, City of Kings could be a decent starting point.

The plot of this story pretty much begins and ends with the siege of the city of Crucible. Crucible’s defences are pretty comprehensive to say the least, and those in the know suggest that it would take a very prolonged siege to starve out the city.

Unfortunately, Rose—The pregnant wife of notorious outlaw “The Black Thorn”—demands that the city must fall before her child is born. This narrows that timescale from months to days, and to hell with the cost.

The cost, of course, being the lives of her soldiers.

Rose is a very interesting character. I’m not particularly sure that such a character could exist outside of a grimdark novel, but here she is pretty much at the shriveled, black heart of the story. She’s… ambitious. She’s also cruel, calculating, and willing to go to extreme measures to get what she wants. In short, she’s everything that a grimdark fan usually looks for in a protagonist.

While The Black Thorn is the face of the attacking army, and he’s the one that most soldiers are familiar with or owe their loyalty to, he isn’t the man in charge. Rose is the one who runs this show, and that’s made very clear right from the prologue.

The fact that we have a woman protagonist who very much embodies the expected characteristics of a male grimdark MC makes for some very interesting conflicts. Soldiers don’t leap to carry out her orders. At least, not at first. The fact that she’s pregnant causes the people around her to treat her as something fragile, no matter how competent she repeatedly proves herself to be.

I have to admit that I didn’t really connect with her the way I have with other characters in the past. She intrigued me, but she didn’t really excite me. This might just be a case of “your mileage may vary”, but it could also be that for much of the story, her motivations aren’t really made clear. She wants the city of Crucible, but since I didn’t know why she wanted it, I found it hard to relate.

This ambiguity kinda clouded my enjoyment of the novel. Things happen just… because. There were a few subplots which kinda fizzled out, and a few reveals that came with no real foreshadowing. At least, none that I could see. However, it could be a possibility that these scenes were nods to the wider world of the First Earth Saga. Having not read beyond this book and Where Loyalties Lie, I can’t say for sure.

And on that note, despite my grievances about motivations, this world is pretty fucking cool. Sometimes things don’t need a reason to happen. In fact, it’s a pretty common theme in many grimdark novels that sometimes shit just happens, and there’s nothing to do but deal with the fallout.

City of Kings has trolls, swarms of undead, and an apparently evil species called the Drurr (which I gather is important to the overarching story of the First Earth Saga). The worldbuilding here, especially for a stand-alone novel, is great. On top of that, Rob J. Hayes can write a hell of a battle scene, and he manages to tie these scenes into the viewpoint character in a way which makes each of them subtly different.

Beyond Rose and the Black Thorn, there is quite an entertaining cast of “secondary” point-of-view characters. There’s a dishonored bodyguard, a scar-faced little murderess, and a drunken would-be patricide who is just a delight.

I’m hesitant to say any more about these characters, as they strike me as the types who do better when introduced in the context of the story. But rest assured, they are quite wonderful.

As a whole, this is a book which I feel many grimdark readers will enjoy. It has a brooding, resigned tone with lots of well-written violence. The plot is perhaps more of a focus than the characters, but they still manage to shine when given the chance.

If you’re a fan of dark books with darker worlds, this could be the one for you.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5/5

Hayes set the bar high with Where Loyalties Lie. I was curious if he would outdo himself in near future. Let's see.

City of Kings is set in the same world as Hayes' other books and while focused on characters introduced in his previous series, it works as a standalone. Rose and Black Thorn are a power couple, but in reality, it's pregnant Rose who holds the steering wheel. She wants to become the queen of Wilds and everything goes according to plan until her army tries to conquer Crucible - the City of Kings. Its defences are unbreakable, its walls unassailable, all built so one hundred can hold back a thousand. 

Unfortunately for her soldiers, Rose is adamant about breaking Crucible's defences before she gives birth. A slaughter ensues. Thousands of people die. I like morally ambiguous characters. I'm fine with anti-heroes. I'm not ok with power-hungry idiots, though. And Rose behaves like one. Failure is not an option for her and a price to pay is irrelevant. Rose is, undoubtedly, a strong and charismatic heroine but I don't care about her. Additionally, I fail to see how senior, battle-hardened generals yield to her will despite her questionable choices. Are they so afraid of Black Thorn? 

Black Thorn is a fearless warrior who used to be a cruel outlaw. He wants to make his wife happy. Even when it requires sacrificing thousands of people. Sweet. I'll be honest - I don't feel this couple's dynamics. Intellectually, I can see it. Emotionally, I just don't relate to them.

The same is, unfortunately, true for other characters. There was no one I could relate to in this book. Anders is a funny fellow, and he's stolen the show in many places. He does have charm and wit and some of his scenes were hilarious. And yet when you see him for who he is (a coward, a drunkard, a traitor), he's as despicable as almost every single character illustrated on the pages of City of Kings.

On the other hand, all characters share difficult and violent pasts. One can assume that characters' behaviour may be treated as an exploration of how trauma can affect a person, cutting them out of the world, instilling violent fantasies of revenge, and leaving psychological wounds that linger long after the physical trauma had healed. 

It's a violent, gruesome book and Hayes holds nothing back. Some scenes displayed savage cruelty that didn't sit well with me. On the other hand, good action scenes force the reader to turn the pages making it a quick read. The events develop at a breakneck pace, and strong twists and turns keep the reader at the edge of a seat.

There's plenty of battle scenes many fantasy readers will love. Personally, I'm not into large-scale battles - they tire me. But here, they're done very well and I'm sure others will be enthralled in them.

In the end, I think it's a good standalone book that will appeal to many fantasy readers. I didn't give it four stars because of lack of connection with the characters, but it's hugely subjective. If you'll be able to take a breath between the outpourings of gore and violence, you'll appreciate this effective, deeply unsettling and violent siege story.

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Sirvinya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy in exchange for review. Though, honestly, I had planned to buy it anyway upon release after enjoying The Best Laid Plans duology so much.

City Of Kings is set in the same world as The Ties That Bind and The Best Laid Plans, though this is a standalone.

Aside from the prologue, this takes place over the course of just 6 days. There's definitely an element of running out of time running through this. Due to the differing perspectives with different people working towards different things and working through the night, there is a lot that happens. There is a lot of plot packed into this book! Even though there are a lot of threads, everything is very tightly plotted. Everything is important to the forward movement of the plot.

I have read the Best Laid Plans duology but not the Ties That Bind trilogy, but I definitely plan to. There are past events that I know are important to the characters in this book. However, while I haven't read these past stories, the friendships, the relationships, the trust between these characters was immediately believable and clearly solid. It felt as though I was seeing the result of years of buildup of these relationships and everything felt as though it had grown organically. I do look forward to their past stories!

The characters were absolutely incredible. They were well structured, multilayered and complex. No one felt flat. Black Thorn and Rose have a really solid feeling relationship. They're in charge of the army trying to bring down the city of Crucible but Rose is actually the one in charge. It's obvious that the Black Thorn absolutely adores her.

Henry is probably my favourite character. She's loyal to Thorn, absolutely vicious and considers a knife in the neck an adequate way of saying "hello". Yet when she shows some vulnerability, it's shocking and heartbreaking.

However. This book moves along with the realisation that these people, no matter how much we enjoy their banter, their friendships and stories, are not good people. It would be a completely sensible book if it were told from the perspective of the defenders of the city, fighting against an invading army. No one person in this world is entirely good or entirely bad. Everything is awash in shades of grey. And that makes it all the more compelling. When events later on in the book (and this book has one hell of an ending) take a turn for the truly horrifying, you can't turn away because you understand these characters, their motives and their justifications. The characters are simply just built that well.

The world City Of Kings is set in is incredibly detailed and expansive. It's building book by book and there's always so much more to discover. It's growing organically and again, I can't wait to see what we have discovered in The Ties That Bind.

It's a dark and gritty world and it went to places I really was not expecting. It does not glamourise war at all. It's dirty, confusing, dangerous and exhausting. Characters are tired and worn out after only fighting for a short time, when it feels like hours to them. It's a confusing mess of gore and bodies and it's all painted so vividly.

The pacing is unrelenting throughout, especially in the second half of the book. There's so much going on and the short chapters really help push things along. Even in the spaces where the characters get to catch their breath, nothing really slows down.

The style of writing is crisp and precise with a wonderful amount of detail. The world and characters are vivid and real feeling and the whole book overall was a delight to read. I really am excited to keep following Rob J Hayes and see where he takes us next in the First Earth.

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is set in the same world as The Ties that Bind series, as well as the Best Laid Plans duology, I’ve only read the first book in both of those series, but I was able to enjoy this book all the same since this is designed to be a stand-alone novel.

There are two main characters, Rose and The Black Thorn and they’re actually married, but this isn’t a romance novel by any means.

Rose is the mastermind behind a new uprising in The Wilds, the Blooded Families have been ruling The Wilds for a long time and it’s lead to suffering on a massive scale. The Wilds almost feel like The Wild West from the America’s, but there are enough differences that it doesn’t really qualify as a Western. The Wilds are the frontier, it’s the furthest north anyone’s been settling and it’s a rough life. There are many abandoned villages and towns that have been left to rot since people have been taxed into poverty, forcing them to move on and leave their homes behind. The Blooded, of course, are the ones that instituted these tax hikes and don’t care in the least who is left to starve to death – which is why there’s a growing force to get rid of them.

Rose has managed to gather a small army together and has been hacking and slashing her way through The Wilds unseating one Blooded Family after another. She does offer a peace treaty with Niles, the last leader of the Blooded Families, but he’s a rude sort of fellow who called her a whore and dared her to try. So, she tries. She and her husband Betrim, aka The Black Thorn aka The Guardian of the Wilds have set up a siege outside of Crucible, the last standing fortress of the Blooded Families. They are pitching tents, digging ditches, and getting ready for the long haul. The Crucible has been considered to be impenetrable, and The Black Thorn knows most of all how difficult this siege will be because at one point he was imprisoned behind those walls, and was of a mind that only the daft and mad would take on a fortress of that size and magnitude. But, there he is, some years later trying exactly what he thought was insane just a few years ago.

There’s a secondary problem however, the undead are on the rise and no one knows why. Blood runes started surfacing across the Five Kingdoms several years ago, and with them came the undead – also known as Shamblers. The Shamblers, like their namesake suggests, shuffle along mindlessly until they find a target and then go charge after them in a blind homicidal rage. They are stupid but also dangerous in numbers, as The Black Thorn finds out with his regiment. You don’t turn if you get bitten, it’s not a disease but rather Necromancy that brings back the undead. You do however have to behead them to get them to stop, thrusting a spear into them isn’t going to do you much good.

I liked Betrim/Black Thorn more than Rose, and I think it’s because he was less full of himself. When asked about tactical advice he admits he’s just a soldier who does best when swinging an axe, and that he isn’t knowledgeable when it comes to wartime strategy. He knows that he’s limited based on his nonexistent education as well, he doesn’t know how to read, and his grasp on counting and numbers is equivalent to a kindergartner. He isn’t bloodthirsty, he just does what needs doing even though it turns his stomach. He really does not like killing kids, but he will if he has to. He inspires loyalty and awe, but he doesn’t let it go to his head. He’s a grey character for sure, but he settled better with me than Rose.

Rose is his opposite, she wants power and is determined to see herself crowned as Queen of The Wilds. She wants ALL of the Blooded Family members dead, she’s incensed that Niles spat back her offer of peace and wants to carry out her threat of deposing him at all costs. She can make unreasonable demands of her followers and subordinates, telling her husband that she wants the Crucible to fall as soon as possible, preferably before her baby is born (which is very soon). She’s a forceful woman who doesn’t make requests but rather makes demands. She also puts up with a lot of shit, women here aren’t treated well, and being called a whore is the least of her problems.

The world building, like in many other Rob J Hayes books is very well done, there are no long info dumps in the narrative or in the dialogue, everything is drip fed organically over time. I liked the hints at other cultures, Black Thorn has a member of his regiment who was once Haarani, and their culture states that if you are sworn to protect someone in life, and fail, you are honor bound to kill yourself and serve the person you failed in death. He purposefully let his charge, Swift, die because he felt he was unworthy of protection – so he also refused to kill himself, and now his tribe is hunting him down and he’s forced to kill them one after another.

The pacing and writing was also well done, like in other Rob J Hayes novels it’s fast paced and doesn’t let up much, there’s always something going on. The writing was clean and to the point, and the dialogue felt real and unforced.

Audience:
Darker stories
Multi POV
Grey Characters
Seige
Undead
Not for people who don’t like cursing. 151 fucks given in this book!


Ratings:
Plot: 12/15
Characters: 12/15
World Building: 13/15
Writing: 13/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 8.25/10

Final Score: 82/100 – solid 4.1 stars, recommended

[Rob Hayes]

Did you know City of Kings has been longlisted in the BookNest 2018 rewards? You can vote now for your favourite trad pub, self pub, and debut titles of this year.

http://booknest.eu/component/k2/Award...

[Rebekah Teller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to beta read City of Kings, and I can definitely say it works as a standalone novel. Despite not having read previous books with these characters, I was able to feel connected to them and genuinely cared about their fates.

Rob Hayes does an excellent job of balancing action, intrigue, and character development. He filters in details from their past exploits, so you definitely have a sense that these characters have been through a lot together, but here they are on a new mission: to conquer the impenetrable walls of the City of Kings.

This is a siege story, with many battle scenes, offset by subtle moments of taking risks and finding fortitude. The author brings an artful quality to some really horrifying scenes that are both ruthless and beautiful. There's a lot at stake in this book—on both sides of the walls—and it builds to an excellent climax on a grand scale.

The story genuinely surprised me in the end. I did not accurately predict who would or would not survive the book. Though we find resolution in most of the storylines, there are certainly seeds planted for future problems to arise.

City of Kings is an exciting and dramatic read I recommend to all fans of dark fantasy.

[Jordan (Forever Lost in Literature) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find this review at Forever Lost in Literature!

Rob J. Hayes is an author who has been on my radar for quite a while now, largely because of his most recent SPFBO 2017 winner, Where Loyalties Lie. I've not yet had a chance to pick it up yet, but I was recently contacted by Rob J. Hayes in regards to his latest release, City of Kings, so I happily jumped at the opportunity. City of Kings acts as a standalone, but it takes place after the events of Hayes' Ties That Bind trilogy and I'm sure having read the previous trilogy would have made this book even more enjoyable than I found it. That being said, I still really enjoyed this book!

The strongest point of this book, for me, were the characters themselves. Rose and her husband the Black Thorn steal the show from the start and I had a great time learning more about their personalities and relationship dynamic. Rose is a force to be reckoned with and is fueled by her vengeance, which makes for truly exciting time because she will stop at nothing to get what she deserves, not to mention the fact that she is pregnant while doing. I'd also just like to note here that this one of the only (?) fantasy books I've read where one of the main female protagonists is pregnant throughout the duration of many of the events of the book, which was a fascinating dynamic. The Black Thorn is large, highly capable man who was once an infamous outlaw, but is now largely preoccupied with supporting his wife and enacting vengeance on her behalf. These two make a really interesting couple, but I loved their interactions and seeing how they worked together, whether they agreed on something or not.

In addition to Rose and the Black Thorn, we also follow the POVs of Henry, Pern, and Anders, all of which bring their own unique flair to the bunch. I will admit that I felt a bit lost at first because I could tell that most of these characters had been explored quite a bit in the previous trilogy and I was surely missing out on knowing the background of their characters. However, once I got into the groove of things I really started to get to know the characters more and those issues went away. I do still think I'll pick up the previous trilogy at some point, though, because I'd love to explore more of this world and story. Another point I wanted to make about all of the characters is that they all easily fall on the grey scale of things, which adds much more intrigue to them and also makes them more compelling to follow. Some of them come across harsher than they actually are, but I'd be hard-pressed to really consider any of them good. I have no problems with this, because dodgy morals almost always makes for a good read. The only real issue I had with the characters is that I didn't particularly feel fully invested in any of them, and while I enjoyed reading about them and learning more about them, something just kept me at a bit of a distance from really feeling connected.

The events of this book take place after a war where almost all of the Blooded have been destroyed, save for a nigh impenetrable city that has yet to be cracked. This is where Rose's main motivation sets in, as her goal is to finally rid the land of all the Blooded before her child is born, including women and children alike if necessary. The entirety of this book actually takes place in a fairly short amount of time, but it ever lagged much and I was always engaged with the story itself. There are a decent amount of violence battles and other scenes that I was a bit uncertain about at first since I often become bored or tired of extensive battles, but Hayes is an astoundingly talented writer that made every single part compelling--I almost feel bad for ever doubting him in the first place.

I loved exploring the world in this book, as well. Since I haven't read the other trilogy, I falsely believed this to be a rather low fantasy setting in the beginning, but slowly more and more fantastical things started happening and creatures appeared and I realized that this was every bit the strong dark fantasy I imagined. Hayes has done a great job creating an exciting and detailed world that I enjoyed exploring and that has made me very interested in finally getting around to reading his other works.

Overall, I've given City of Kings four stars! Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy with plenty of action and well-written battle scenes.

*I received an ARC of City of Kings courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review is here, on my blog!~ :)

I seriously loved the Best Laid Plans duology, and so I was quite excited to crack this one open and fill my eyeholes with it.

In this story, we have the Black Thorn, and his wife Rose, who are on a mission to take over the area of this world known as the Wilds. It’s pretty much them vs the blooded, who are somewhat like the nobility here, and they’ve eliminated all but 3 of the blooded families and taken their cities. Those 3 families are all holed up in one big fortified city known as Crucible, and Rose and Thorn and their forces are pretty much putting it under siege. Very short siege. Because Rose is very, very pregnant and she is determined to take this city before her child is born. Some of their people, like Pern Suzku and General Verit are looking for alternate ways into the city from underneath through a system of caves, and dealing with some decidedly creepy and dangerous shit in said caves. Things like trolls, and necromancers.

But mainly, there’s fighting. Plenty of fighting.

Though this story takes place in the same world as The Ties That Bind series, and mentions characters from the Best Laid Plans duology as well, it is actually a standalone. Even despite nearly every character in this book having had a part in The Ties That Bind, I didn’t feel completely lost on who someone was… though at times I will admit to feeling like there was a fair bit of backstory I really wish I was in on, because characters will at times reference events that I assume happened during that storyline. It’s all stuff that was not necessarily pertinent to this particular bit of story, but all the same, all of these characters have history. A history I don’t know. I will soon though, I hope! :D

This book started out with a bang, as the story begins pretty much right in the action, but I’ll admit that it took me a little while to orient myself into the world. Nevertheless, I found myself reading into the wee hours before too long, and by the middle of the book it was becoming harder and harder to put it down. By the end it was a lost cause, and I was reading it either while, or in lieu of anything else I needed to do.

There is fighting and many, many fucks were given, just like there was in the Best Laid Plans series, and while Rose and Thorn and company weren’t exactly as likable to me as Drake and Keelin were, I still enjoyed myself quite a bit here, mainly due to some of Rose and Thorn’s crew. My favorite character in this one was probably Anders, because even while being a hopeless drunkard, he’s full of snark and attitude. He’s more or less a spy, but he is a former blooded, and technically the son of the man in charge of Crucible. He may not be nobility anymore, but you can still see a bit of that in him, especially in the way he speaks, which is far more noble sounding than anyone else. There is also something about him that is special. Very, very special, and I want to know more!

I also really liked Pern Suzku, who is a dishonored bodyguard who failed to guard the body he was assigned to and now his entire clan is after him for it. He is part of a warrior race or clan who value honor more than a whole host of other things. It felt like something along the lines of a samurai. Not going to lie, he was pretty much Himura Kenshin in my mind. Except with… y’know… more cursing and killing dudes. >.>

There is a good deal of gore and brutal violence in this book, and while not all of it is described in detail, there are still events that made me stop for a second and just say ‘…wow. That just happened.’ Pretty much the last quarter of this book is fucking boooonkers. But, within the world that this story takes place in, and with the tone of the novel from beginning to end, it all fit. This world is not a great place, and The Wilds are not a great place within it either. Those are two truths that really show in this novel. But, all the same, there were enough light-hearted bits that the dark bits didn’t make the whole thing a depressing slog. There is hope, at the end. There are characters who go their separate ways. There are…. things that were hinted at around the end of this one that absolutely mean I will read the next book that takes place in this world, and the next, and the next.

This review is based on an advance reader copy. :)

[Miriam Michalak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking read from Rob J. Hayes.
In this standalone book set in the First Earth world we rejoin Rose & The Black Thorn as they endeavour to rid the wilds of the last of the blooded folk. And they go about it in the most bloody of ways. War is a dirty business! Parts had me cringing and others cheering and I devoured the book in a few hours. Fast paced with fabulous characters.
This work can be read without having read any of the other First Earth books but I'm glad to have read the Ties the Bind trilogy as it enriches the reading experience.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few months ago, I had the chance to read Never Die, also by Rob J. Hayes. That had been my first book by him and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Needless to say I was looking forward to reading City of Kings, also by Hayes, a book that I received through the TBRindr program.

This story occurs over several days as one army, led by Rose and the Black Thorn from The Wilds, lays siege on the supposedly impenetrable walled city of Crucible (also known as the City of Kings). Rose, who is expecting their first child any day, wants to crush the last remaining stronghold of The Blooded, a group of families that have ruthlessly imposed their will on The Wilds for far too long.

Unfortunately for Rose’s army the city is surrounded by two sets of walls with the inner set even stronger than the outer one. The army of the city is well trained if outnumbered, but is willing to do their part in saving the city. And there are other obstacles as well.

In order to help Rose and the Black Thorn, they have help from some old friends and new allies to take the city. Most significant of the supporting characters is Anders (who would rather be nursing a bottle of any available alcohol than facing anything looking like danger). In many cases, the story rises and falls on his unwilling shoulders, either with his sass, his silver tongue or his connections. There are times when he is the most loveable, and then others where you want to wring his neck just moments later. Honestly, there is a bit of Tyrion Lannister flavor with the guy.

I am a sucker for well written, morally grey, conflicted characters with a lot of depth. Score some bonus points for me if “good guys” must do awful things or “bad guys” must do what is “right”. For these reasons I loved the Black Thorn. He is a grizzled, fearless warrior with a reputation that stretches even further than his extensive resume. Only now, he is no longer an outlaw but the commander of this army, and dealing with a very pregnant wife, neither of which he has any confidence in doing. He felt like someone who could easily fit into the worlds of Abercrombe’s First Law books or Eames’ The Band books (and that’s a great thing as far as I am concerned).

I also love subtle world-building (as compared to no world-building or massive data dumps or unnecessary details). This book hit the sweet spot for this type of subtle world-building, describing the sensory experience of close combat, poor conditions, death, oh, and pregnancy. It very much felt like you were immersed in the conflict. The dialogue and pacing also felt very natural.

There are plenty of violent and intense fight scenes. It’s not for the squeamish. Some of these were even with creatures such as trolls and the un-dead.

This was a very entertaining book (if not a little gory) and I easily recommend it for anyone looking for a well done siege story that does well to focus on the people involved and not just talking about swinging swords and catapults. Well done Rob. 4.2 / 5 stars!

[Chip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is essentially Hayes' version of (Abercrombie's) The Heroes. It's a standalone, battle-driven novel set in the Ties That Bind world. Rose and the Black Thorn are on a mission to rid The Wilds of the blooded families who have repressed the natives for a long time. I won't get into much of what happens (you need to read this) except to say it's at times hilarious, scary, bloody, and sad.

Rob has firmly entrenched himself as my favorite author (Sorry Joe and Mark). He manages to put so much personality in each character that it's frankly amazing.

Highly recommended!

[Joseph Vanucchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best

I love this world and the characters in it. Always seems like the author paints a very vivid picture, and not just with battle scenarios...at least for me there were quite a few laugh out loud moments...Anders usually. Oh, and it's good to see the word "murderess" get it's due thanks to Henry! (in fact I just had to add it to my kindle's library). Highly recommend all these books, and just realizing all that's happened so far I'm about to re-read some

[Jon Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, but I have questions! They may have been answered in other books but I have a horrible memory and read a lot.

Here's one (I marked it as a spoiler): How is Anders able to raise the dead?

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob J. Hayes continues to do an impressive job, creating and further refining an ever expanding world in this series, complete with devastating losses, while balancing and reassuring renewed hope continues. He threads this needle, through events continuing to happen, while describing harrowing, ghastly and truly frightful battles raging. Hayes details these life changing events, through an engaging cast of characters that I can relate to and in a world I feel immersed in. Hayes exceeds expectations by writing in exquisite, although at times, excruciating detail to further this encompassing epic. Expectations met again and exceeded. Work well done, Mr. Hayes, well done.

[Eleanor Frisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book through TBRindr. The book focuses on a pregnant, ruthless woman named Rose and her husband the Black Thorn as they execute a siege of the city of Crucible with the goal of overthrowing the noble-blooded overlords of the Wilds. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a gritty, grimdark book with lots of battles and deeply flawed characters.

The best thing about this book is its ensemble of distinct and multi-dimensional characters and the dynamic between them. Two characters in particular—Anders and Henry—intrigued me. They are in constant struggle with their flaws (cowardice and alcoholism, anger and violence), and wondering whether they would overcome those flaws drove me to keep reading (but no spoilers!).

Content warning (is this really necessary with grimdark?): this book’s world involves a sexist society that likes to call women all kinds of ugly, gender-charged names, which is unsurprising since that seems to be the case in almost every grimdark book I’ve read. But I appreciate the way Rob J. Hayes handles gender issues. First, the two leading women in the book (Rose and Henry) are also the most ruthless characters, so there is definite subversion of stereotypes going on. Second, everyone thinks the Black Thorn is in charge, but really his wife Rose is pulling all the strings. Which I am really hoping becomes the next super overdone trope. Finally, a good percentage of the soldiers are women, which was awesome and is definitely something I would like to see more of in grimdark!

If you like battles scenes, there is a particularly excellent one in this book from the perspective of Henry at the very beginning of the siege. It is one of the best battle scenes I’ve read and felt creepily authentic (like, it made me think maybe Rob J. Hayes has engaged in a siege of a city before?). I am generally not a huge fan of detailed battle scenes, but I loved this one.

Usually I find the beginnings of books are polished and that books start to unravel toward the end, because endings are hard. To my surprise, this book was the exact inverse. My only major issue with the book was the opening, and specifically, the pacing at the beginning. The book started out slow. I felt it took too long for the siege to heat up. It probably would have been more engaging for me if I had read other books by the same author set in this universe, because I think some of the characters appeared previously. (The only previous book I had read by Rob J. Hayes was Where Loyalties Lie.) That is why I’m giving this 4 instead of 5 stars. However, the book works as a standalone novel and is worth reading as such. And I am glad I kept reading and would advise readers to do the same, as the pacing really accelerates, and the ending was particularly well executed. It really wrapped things up nicely. So, overall, I would recommend this book, especially to anyone who enjoys grimdark.

[Julia Sarene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! The main characters really are what makes this special. A big but not very intelligent brute and a pregnant ex-whore who are on the way to rid the land of bad people and take over the rule. Some of the side characters are also simply brilliant! I want to go to the pub with all of them and drink myself stupid...
They really are my kind of people and I enjoyed every second I got to spend with them!

It's quite a bit dark, but not overly so. It has some big action scenes, but also lots of sitting around and strategic planning. It struck a nice balance for me between easy read and yet some politics and planning, grim but still hopeful. low life characters but still with the right intentions and a plot that had me hooked.

Definitely would recommend it! Also loved the audible narration, so if you're into audio, definitely give that one a look!

[Shane Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

R.J.H. is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

[Vicki Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is not for the feint hearted for certain! Or lovers of any of Haye's First earth characters as the death toll is certainly huge and he is definitely not afraid to do away with any of your favourites; it is true, No One Gets Out Alive! Absolutely brilliant, exciting, brutal, bloody, scary and will tug at your emotions; yes the ending made me cry.... Adored the return of characters I had loved in the Ties That Bind trilogy and to see how they have developed in the intervening years; they have certainly been through a lot and Hayes continues to subject them to horrific events in his First Earth world. I was surprised by places the plot went and as always, I am left with lots of how? questions and shock at what occurred in the space of just a few days, which is a good thing. The story never feels rushed and is full of action, epic battles and lots of exciting moments. Can not wait to read the next in the First earth series although I suspect Hayes will keep us guessing with the fates of many characters and what will happen in the end. Truly a fantastical book that I can not recommend enough to lovers of Grimdark fantasy!

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

In just two words - simply awesome. Full review here - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2019/09/...

[Amber Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I was being totally objective in this review I would have given a 5 star rating. Problem being that objective reviews are impossible.

This is not noob fantasy. This is a great writer with polished craft further exploring a world and characters that are fully realised. In fact, scrap characters, these are people. You can almost smell them (may want to breathe through your mouth sometimes). Apart from the odd troll and resurrection of the dead, I didn't have to suspend disbelief in the slightest.

There's tension, gore, mature philosophy, humanity laid bare like Hooke's dogs on the operating table. The fights come thick and fast.

Which only makes me more irritated that I didn't read the other 5 books in this world first! I suppose, technically, this is a stand-alone book. It has legs. Plenty of them. Enough to stand by itself. You can wholly understand it by starting at the beginning, and it's finished when you turn the last page. On the other hand, it was like sitting with a bunch of good friends who are all talking about that time they did that awesome thing, you know, with the army of demons, and you haven't the faintest idea what they are on about or why you haven't heard about this. I felt jealous every time an event was referenced that I thought should have been shared with me. I felt... left out.

Also, if I'm being honest, my tastes run a little towards having all this, and then that one huggable bunny character who is about to get minced in the machine along with all the gritty ones. The one who is too good for the brutal world and you're chewing on your shirt every time it looks like they are in trouble. DO NOT try and hug any characters in City of Kings. The least you are going to get away with is an elbow to the face.

Maybe if I'd seen some vulnerability in them, any at all, I would have been more horrified when the inevitable terrible things happen. The truth is though, none of them needed my sympathy. They were all 50 times tougher than I've been on the toughest day of my life and when all was said and done I knew the ones left over would just get on with it.

That doesn't mean this wasn't an interesting story. There wasn't a moment during the read that I wasn't eager to turn the page. The prose had a lot to do with that. It was neat and fluid and edited with a razor.

The upshot? I'm just going to have to go and read all the other bloody books, aren't I?

4.4 / 5 on my personal scale. I was fortunate to score an advance copy in return for an honest review, and it was a great bargain.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is intense. It is a stand alone, but the 6th in the author's First Earth world. It can be read on its own, but adds depth to the setting, and for some characters, it's a continuation of his previous series.

It reminded me of my experience with Joe Abercrombie's "The Heroes", which was the first JA book I ever read and which prompted me to read all of his other books. So if you haven't read Rob Hayes' books, this one will certainly compel you to grab all the rest just to explore First Earth and all it's unforgettable grimdark characters.

I can't stress enough how entertaining this book is at so many levels. It's full of fights, character growth, twists and turns and I cried at the end. Intense.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly superb

This would rate as one of my favourite books of the year to date (and I am just under my 100 goodreads target so that is quite a few). I would absolutely recommend to anybody that enjoys a well constructed story.
City of Kings continues to develop the story and character evolution so well established in previous books.
What I particularly enjoyed was how Rob managed to keep the storyline fresh, mixing up equal doses of humour with well constructed, plot development.
I'm really looking forward to the next part.

[Yury Ryzhakov · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say "It is only when we compare things, that we can appraise them". I don't know with which book I can compare "The City of Kings" - maybe only with other "First Earth" books by Rob Hayes.

So, it is harder but funnier; bloodier but more romantic; with a better prose and more good phrases. But with fewer demons. (There is no demons actually).

And the cover! Very accurately transmits the content.

I liked it more than "Best Laid Plans" I think, and even more than "Price of Faith". It was interesting and gripping, exciting and thrilling.

There is many good things in this book - action, drive, humour (Anders is back! In "Price of Faith" he was... not so good as in "Colour of Vengeance"). I liked Suzku - he got a sizeable part, and that was good.
Rose was great, and Thorn was even greater.

So, another "First Earth" story, and no worse than previous. In many ways even better.