Bloody Rose: Hard-Rocking Epic Fantasy Sequel That Goes to 11
A band is a family.
In Kings of the Wyld, the first book in Nicholas Eames series following mercenary bands who defeat monsters and battle in the arena for fame and glory, the band is a group of men, broken by life in various ways, on a quest to recapture lost glory.
Bloody Rose
Paperback $19.99
Bloody Rose
In Stock Online
Paperback $19.99
In the second, standalone novel set in this world, Bloody Rose, the band is looking to live up to the deeds of their predecessors, and carve out a slice of glory for themselves.
In the second, standalone novel set in this world, Bloody Rose, the band is looking to live up to the deeds of their predecessors, and carve out a slice of glory for themselves.
The elevator pitch for this series—what if mercenary bands in a fantasy world existed and operated after the fashion of rock bands in our world?—only threatens to obscure the depth within them. To stretch the metaphor, it’s not all about the glam costumes and power chords; you’ve really got to listen to the lyrics. Neither of these tales would have half the resonance they possess if they were only about the surface trappings of fame. The first book is about getting the band back together, yes, but it’s really about the impossible choices the warriors make to support each other, one last time, to go out as legends without compromising themselves.
Bloody Rose is about a much younger group of characters discovering glory doesn’t look the same when you’re the one being glorified. In the end, the band learns that glory is about doing the best they can to keep faith with each other, even through failure and tragedy, even against impossible odds.
Thematically, these novels sound weighty and serious. They’re not. They’re high-octane thrill rides, with one splashy action battle sequence after another, with the stakes ever-rising, until the final countdown, during which our heroes risk it all with the fate of a world on the line. Get that one wrong, and there will be no encore.
Those who’ve read the preceding volume will recognize some of the situations and minor characters who pop up here, but those who haven’t can jump right into Bloody Rose and its fine cast of new players, each of whom signed onto the band for something different.
Tam, our bard viewpoint character, is a teenager looking to join the best band that will have her, determined to live up to the legacy of her late mother. She dreams of attaining the same level of fame her mother did—at least before her untimely death.
Through a series of fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) events, Tam ends up as the bard for Fable, led by the titular Bloody Rose, the daughter of one of the first novel’s major players, and that books motivating factor (though it turned out she didn’t so much need rescuing). As another daughter of an icon, Rose is bound and determined to make a name for herself, by her own terms.
Kings of the Wyld
Paperback $19.99
Kings of the Wyld
In Stock Online
Paperback $19.99
The other band members include Brune, a shapeshifter with an uncertain control of his power; Cura the Inkwitch, and Freecloud, last of a magical people. Like Rose and Tam, each of them has something to prove, and a need for the found family it provides.
The other band members include Brune, a shapeshifter with an uncertain control of his power; Cura the Inkwitch, and Freecloud, last of a magical people. Like Rose and Tam, each of them has something to prove, and a need for the found family it provides.
Brune is an exile from his people, who are themselves in danger from the humans who took over this magical world, and massacred many of its magical creatures. Deciding which side deserves his loyalty will be no easy task. Cura is a damaged soul who feels she’s unlovable, and in convinced that, anyway, love means nothing—except, deep down, she too needs the band. She and Tam share an attraction that confuses them both, but Cura is resistant to a love affair, especially given the short life-span of most of Fable’s bards (a problem that also plagued Saga in the first book—think of the problems Spinal Tap had keeping a drummer.) Freecloud is Fable’s oldest (and, incidentally, prettiest) member. He knows how fickle fate can be, and won’t let it come between him and his family, and that includes Rose and the band, as well as some other relatives.
Eames skillfully weaves these internal journeys in-between incredible action set-pieces, none more memorable than a seemingly disastrous fight against a mythical creature on the shores and the surface of a frozen lake, a defeat that seems to break the band into pieces—but it takes place only halfway through the book, which means there’s plenty of time for a comeback.
And a hell of a comeback it is: the final battle amplifies the stakes for each individual member of the band, entwining there fates with that of the entire world. In the end, it’s impossible to stop someone from chasing their dreams. Tam might not get exactly what she wants, but if she tries, she just might find… Well, you know.