BOOK REVIEW: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

I picked up Kings of the Wyld after a recommendation from a friend and I couldn't be happier that I listened.

This wild romp by author Nicholas Eames boasts the humour of a Joe Abercrombie novel combined with the high fantasy of a dungeons and dragons campaign.

Featuring a loveable cast of characters, who might be past their prime, but that doesn't make them any less enticing to follow. In fact, it makes them more so. The has-been hero isn't a plot often found in fantasy, but Eames makes it work so well that you can't help but clamour for a prequel novel that will likely never happen.

Clay Cooper and the gang are eccentric, affable, grumpy, and tired. A perfect mix for heroes full of character, who jump off the page and stay with you.

In fact, that goes for nearly all the characters in Kings of the Wyld. It goes without saying that, most of the time, action tends to be well-written in fantasy. That isn't any different here. But it does mean that you need that extra something to stand out. Kings of the Wyld's characters and humour give it that something.

I struggle to find much to fault with Kings of the Wyld, other than to say that the ending felt a tad rushed and that I wanted to spend more time in the wyld itself. But they aren't major criticisms by any stretch. Give the ending more time to breathe and this would have been an easy five-star read.

4/5