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Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

J.M. Martin (Editor),

Glen Cook (Introduction)

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What Members Thought

Apr 04, 2015 Michael marked it as to-read · (Review from the author)

Shelves: anthologies-i-ve-contributed-to

I'm going to be adding comments as I read each story. And I may not read them in the order of the book. I'm going to skip around a bit. First and foremost I wanted to comment on the really amazing quality of the book - the layout and images for each story are fabulous, great job to Ragnarok for this fine book that I'm proud to have a story in.

Foreword by Glenn Cook - I liked it, he has a tendency to ramble a bit and get off topic but I do agree with him about what makes rogues and grey character ...more

25 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2014 S.E. Lindberg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sword-sorcery-group-authors, reviewed-by-se, sword-and-sorcery

Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy

Blackguard Theme: This collection is largely Dark Fantasy. As the subtitle says, this not just about Assassins--there are plenty similar lawbreakers featured: Thieves, Smugglers, and Mercenaries. As J.M. Martin clarifies in his introduction:

Blackguard, by the way, is actually pronounced ‘blaggard,’ as in haggard. The term seemingly originated from scullions and kitchen-knaves, in particular those in courtl

...more

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Jan 17, 2016 Joseph rated it really liked it

Full disclosure: If you flip through the "Roll Credits" section at the back, eventually you'll find my name -- I backed this on Kickstarter back in 2014 or so.

Having said that, I am of ... questionable ... virtue when it comes to Kickstarter -- I tend to back lots of anthologies and magazines &c., which I may or may not subsequently read (or even actually have any intention of reading). But this was a remarkably strong anthology, and I would've felt that way even if I hadn't pitched in up front. ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 Greg (adds 2 TBR list daily) Hersom rated it it was amazing

Blackguards is pretty damn awesome!
I've always felt that most anthologies are only as good as their foreword and this one was written by GLEN COOK!! Nuff said. I also enjoyed the introduction by J.M. Martin. Mr. Martin really makes grimdark fans feel included, like were a family of sorts or maybe more like a band of outlaws. :)
Speaking of grimdark fans, Blackguards is the "must have" anthology if grimdark is your genre of choice.
As with the any well-done anthology, the reader should finish it ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2018 Peter rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, anthology, sword-and-sorcery, short-story

Like every anthology a mixed bag, but overall some great stuff.

Some of the stories I like best:

Cat Rambo's story takes place in a Planescape like setting I enjoyed very much (for a story set in the same universe check Beneath Ceaseless Skies)

The Egil & Nix story by Paul S. Kemp delivers some old school swords & sorcery.

Jon Sprunk's "Sun and Steel" had a nice Black Company feel too it.

Mark Samyle's "Manhunt" made me want to visit his world again.

Of course, like with every anthology there were so ...more

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Feb 04, 2016 S.E. Lindberg added it · review of another edition

Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. MartinS.E. Lindberg rating: 5 of 5 starsBlackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy:: This collection is largely Dark Fantasy. As the subtitle says, this not just about Assassins--there are plenty similar lawbreakers featured: Thieves, Smugglers, and Mercenaries. As J.M. Martin clarifies in his Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. MartinS.E. Lindberg rating: 5 of 5 starsBlackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy:: This collection is largely Dark Fantasy. As the subtitle says, this not just about Assassins--there are plenty similar lawbreakers featured: Thieves, Smugglers, and Mercenaries. As J.M. Martin clarifies in his introduction:
"Blackguard, by the way, is actually pronounced ‘blaggard,’ as in haggard. The term seemingly originated from scullions and kitchen-knaves, in particular those in courtly caravans who were in charge of the pots, pans, utensils, and the conveyance of coal … one could extrapolate that a ‘blaggard’—also ‘blagger’ in some texts—is a ‘rag-tag deceiver with grandiloquent habits.’"
Crowdfunded Gateway: Anthologies often function as a way to speed-date authors. Want to get acquainted with those who write about a theme you crave? Then find a thematic anthology and shop around! The Sword & Sorcery genre spawned from short stories; for many decades anthologies needed no classification. But in the last few decades, within the dark fantasy genre associated with S&S, there has been a move toward themes—which is great (i.e., Rogue Blade Entertainment’s Rage of the Behemoth and Heroika 1: Dragon Eaters come to mind). Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues provides a whopping 27 stories—24 of which are linked to established series. The “Roll-Credits” section in the end is designed to link readers to the authors they just liked. Classy. This book was launched via Kickstarter and Ragnarok Publications delivered a solid product. Me? I was just a Bung Nippers level supporter, but am still part of the band wagon and proud to be acknowledge in the contributor section.Variety: A menu of 27 entries starts off with ~4 female protagonists, which was unexpected and enjoyable. The range of characters and milieu is truly broad. There is surprisingly little redundancy. As mentioned above, the Sword & Sorcery genre was influential: Michael J. Sullivan and Paul Kemp offer duos reminiscent of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar “Fafred and Mouser”; and Jon Sprunkseemed to write a pastiche/fan-fiction of Glen Cook’s The Black Company. Many are tales of betrayal and grim situations; the most impactful was Peter Orullian ’s "A Length of Cherrywood" which was uber-dark, but very well written--this story is one you’ll enjoy reading once, and then never again. Not all these are grim. There are several comedic entries, the funniest for me wasRichard Lee Byers’s "Troll Trouble" which had me laughing out loud. There are several others that have the protagonist as savior/hero, or the target of blackguards; Kenny Soward’s "Jancy's Justice” was one such which also offered a bit of steampunk/gnome technology. The last several entries really cast the net: James Enge casts Odysseus as a blackguard, Lian Hearn provides some Japanese inspired darkness, Snorri Kristjansson offers Viking flare, andAnton Strout brings a psychic- sorcery into contemporary art crime.Personal Favorites: S.R. Cambridge’s "The Betyár and the Magus" blends magic into western-European history—great characters and setting. Equally entertaining & well written was Shawn Speakman’s dose of druidic/Celtic lore; his "The White Rose Thief" made me aware of “Rosenwyn Whyte” a musician with a dark past which I am anxious to read more about. Tim Marquitz ’s "A Taste of Agony" got me intrigued about the “outlaw, eunuch assassin Gryl”, even though the story’s mission was obscure. Anthony Ryan’s "The Lord Collector" offered it all—an intriguing world of assassins, dark magic, and interesting characters.Art: The cover art by Arman Akopian is nicely done and representative on the book’s contents (yes, there are plenty of female protagonists). Interior art for each of the stories is bonus flare, well done by artists Orion Zangara andOksana Dmitrienko ...more

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Nov 05, 2016 Jason Waltz rated it really liked it

Shelves: anthologies, fantastical, keeper, own

The largest book of rogue-filled action tales I have ever read let alone seen! Worth its cost and weight. Some rather good tales throughout, surprisingly fewer than expected that I'd label 'grimdark' - most the tales I enjoyed best seemed to be in the first half to middle; the latter half was fine, just not as exciting, and holding pretty much the single tale I disliked. And that, my friends, is pretty darn good odds in any anthology, but especially in one filled to the brim like this. Cover and ...more

3 likes · Like · see review