Review – Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

Remember Kings of the Wyld? What a blast that was. Laugh-out-loud funny, some epic fight scenes and what amounted to a trip down memory lane for many of us. If you’re expecting, or demanding, more of the same with Bloody Rose, you could end up disappointed. Sure, it’s set in the same world, bringing back a lot of the same characters and it’s a sequel of sorts, but in many other ways, it’s a very different book.

KOTW was very much about “getting the band back together,” a bunch of old dudes out for one last hurrah. Times were changing. Mercenaries were more interested in fame and fighting in arenas than going to the Heartwyld and fighting real monsters on their own turf. Roll forward six years or so and the arena scene is very much in vogue. It’s all about the money and the fame than the rush of surviving against perilous odds. There are some exceptions, like the titular Bloody Rose and her merry band of badasses, Fable.

They are an interesting bunch too. Rose is obviously the boss, but she’s a drug addict who feels like she lives in the shadow of her famous father (Golden Gabe, for those who don’t know). She has a young daughter, but fears the idea of motherhood, as her experiences of parenting were less than stellar. She also struggles with idea of losing her bandmates, and this holds her back on occasion. Freecloud, a druin, is Rose’s partner and father of her child, Wren. He’s an addict of another kind, so in love with Rose that he will do anything to keep her safe (often from herself). Brune is a vargyr, a shifter who turns into a bear at night. He can’t control his urges though, and often goes on murderous rampages. The gang do go off the beaten track to try and fix his problem. Cura is probably my favourite character, a summoner with a tortured past (we’ll leave it at that for now). Roderick is a satyr, and the band’s booker (manager). He’s a “monster” living (in disguise) among humans who abhor said monsters. Then there’s Tam, Fable’s new bard (a job with short lifespan) who tells us the tale of Bloody Rose and her crew. Pulled from relative obscurity as a barmaid in a small town, she feels it’s her lifetime dream to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join a band. Then she finds out that not all is as great as the stories say, but in other ways, it’s even better.

Then there’s the world Eames has created/reappropriated. It’s a D&D world with every fantasy or mythological creature you could imagine (even owlbears). The mercs are heroes, with each and every character class possible. It’s also a world of rock’n roll, with an 80s twist. We’ve got the hard partying heroes going on tour, drinking and fornicating and whatever else you can imagine. This is the Wyld, so of course there’s a horde in the offing, with a main baddie with their own sad backstory. Being Nicholas Eames, it’s also funny, although Tam brings a different sense of humour to Clay Cooper from KOTW. I still laughed my pants off on occasion.

If you want a criticism, it’s how many freakin’ people live in this world. There are so many mercenaries, how are they funded? “Real” people seem to be few and far between. It’s about the only thing that bugged me in the book though.

So, it’s not KOTW, it’s different, yet the same. This time it’s about friendship, love and loyalty, and all those fuzzy feely thingies, wrapped up in a sextet of tortured souls. Is it better than KOTW? Are apples better than oranges? That’s for you to decide. The author believes this may be his best book (I was there when he said it), and it’s not up to me to make that decision for him. Just read the darn thing.

5/5 Stars