The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

by Jesse Bullington

Overview

In this black comedy of horrors set during the Dark Ages, two brothers steal and kill to survive in a land infested with supernatural evil.

"Dark, funny, profane, erudite, bawdy, and wickedly original." —New York Times–bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer

Hegel and Manfried Grossbart may not consider themselves bad men—but death still stalks them through the dark woods of medieval Europe.

The year is 1364, and the brothers Grossbart have embarked on a naïve quest for fortune. Descended from a long line of graverobbers, they are determined to follow their family's footsteps to the fabled crypts of Gyptland. To get there, they will have to brave dangerous and unknown lands and keep company with all manner of desperate travelers—merchants, priests, and scoundrels alike. For theirs is a world both familiar and distant; a world of living saints and livelier demons, of monsters and madmen.

The Brothers Grossbart are about to discover that all legends have their truths, and worse fates than death await those who would take the red road of villainy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316071925
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	467
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jesse Bullington spent the bulk of his formative years in rural Pennsylvania, the Netherlands, and Tallahassee, Florida. He is a folklore and outdoor enthusiast who holds a bachelor's degree in History and English Literature from Florida State University. He currently resides in Colorado, and his blog, as well as fan art, news and exclusive content can be found at www.jessebullington.com.

Editorial Reviews

Fantasy debut plunges viscerally into the depths of medieval nightmare. Hegel and Manfried Grossbart are sincere (albeit highly unconventional) Mariolaters as well as murderous grave robbers. The German siblings travel across 14th-century Europe toward Egypt, where they believe a multitude of rich infidel tombs await them. Along the way, they confront plague-bearing demons, assorted other evil creatures and treacherous locals. Gaining enemies wherever they go, they beguile their journey with heavy drinking and profanity-laced, profoundly heretical theological debate. A dementedly vengeful farmer whose family the Grossbarts slaughtered follows in dogged pursuit. Deeply rooted in history and folklore, the novel is both earthier and far more cynical than the original versions of Grimms' fairy tales; it's a perverse Dark Ages anti-Candide, drenched with bodily fluids-blood, vomit, semen and plague bubo discharge, among others. Whether readers enjoy this amusing, skillfully distasteful experience depends on the strength of their stomachs and the extent of their tolerance for intimate acquaintance with unpleasant characters. Discomfiting, disgusting and at times as grotesquely pleasurable as picking at a scab.

Kirkus Reviews