Kings of the Wyld

By: Nicholas Eames

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

A retired group of legendary mercenaries get the band back together for one last impossible mission in this award-winning debut epic fantasy.

"Fantastic, funny, ferocious." -- Sam Sykes

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best, the most feared and renowned crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk, or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help -- the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It's time to get the band back together.

Critic reviews

"George R. R. Martin meets Terry Pratchett."—Buzzfeed Books

"Kings of the Wyld is gritty but not grim. It was a blast to read, from start to finish. The boys are getting the band back together, and woe be to anyone who stands in their way. Magic swords, broken promises, and some of the craziest action you're likely to read this side of the Wyld. Reading this book made me want to grab a sword and set off on an epic quest."—Christopher Paolini

"A fantastic read, a rollicking, page-turning, edge-of-your-seat road-trip of a book. Great characters, loveable rogues that I genuinely cared about and all manner of fantastical monsters. All spiced with a sly sense of humour that had me smiling throughout. Wonderful."—John Gwynne

"A comedy, an adventure tale, a consideration on growing older, and a sendup of fantasy conventions, all at the same time. It also has heart. In short: it rocks....I finished this book in one night. If I could, I'd see the tour, and buy the t-shirt. Instead, I'll have to content myself with waiting for the sequel, and reading it again."—B&N SF & Fantasy Blog

"Brilliant debut novel... Eames has cranked the thrills of epic fantasy up to 11... Moreover, the plot is emotionally rewarding, original, and hilarious. Eames clearly set out to write something fun to read, and he has succeeded spectacularly."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Fantastic, funny, ferocious. Hugely recommended. Read it now."—Sam Sykes

"Absolutely awesome. If the Beatles held a concert tomorrow (with all the necromancy required for that to happen), it still wouldn't be as good a 'getting the band back together' story as this. Full of heroes, humor, and heart."—Jon Hollins

"Nicholas Eames brings brazen fun and a rock & roll sensibility to the fantasy genre."—Sebastien de Castell

"A fantastic epic fantasy! Just the right smidgen of tongue-in-cheek to work wonderfully. Go read."—Django Wexler

"An absolutely outstanding debut . . . [It has] all the heart and passion that great fantasy can bring in the hands of a master."—Myke Cole

"Kings of the Wyld took me back to my Dungeons and Dragons days. It has well-crafted characters long past their best but still fighting, non-stop fantasy action and welcome touches of humor. Great reading!"—Ian Irvine

"A promising, fast-paced debut that balances classic quest fantasy with modern sensibilities and liberal doses of humor. Huzzah!"—Alex Marshall

"An outstanding debut which will make you laugh and cry and hold your breath. This is a book that has it all."—K. J. Parker

Locke Lamora Meets the Blues Brothers

Any additional comments?

Like a world class chef took my comfort food and turned it into a thousand dollar a plate meal.

A TL;DR: After 200+ books, this is the first one that is truly like Lies of Locke Lamora, except I like this one more.

This is a tale of a group of buddies that were great back in the day, nay, the greatest group of mercenary heroes in the land. Now, however, families and middle age have set in with the group having gone their separate ways. This was likely how it would end if not for the band's (oh yes, that is the pun and joke that drives this whole tale) frontman showing up on the doorstep of the protagonist of this tale, Slow-hand Clay. Of course, to get the band back together, they have to convince the Crazy wizard, the murderous thief turned king, the stone cold killer that was imprisoned, and maybe a bard that won't die first. Oh and if they do get the band back together, they have to avoid old enemies, old friends, a forest where dang near everything wants to kill you, and up and coming new bands!

Are you sold yet? No? There are bunny rabbit eared elves that are total jerks, a vicious fascinating world, and cunning (crazy) plans (dumb luck) to get them out of all those things when the greatest enemy is they are just getting too old for this [crap].

Do you like adventures? Humor? Wonderful tales? Interesting worlds? The Blues Brothers? Gentlemen Bastards? Silly wizards? Terrible odds that are defeated in actual believable ways? Then I recommend this book to you.

PS: It says this is part of a series, and I hope it is, but this book is effectively stand-alone.

Awesome

Great book. Solid characters, interesting world, good story and, best of all, freakin' hilarious. If you want a fast paced, but solid fantasy entry that'll make you laugh (and experience other emotions), look no further. Excellent first novel that I fully recommend, and doubly so if you have any affection for bands and/or rock-n-roll (but totally not necessary).

Great audiobook

If you like gritty dark fantasy, with a bit of trolls and dragons etc. this is for you. They make mercenaries seem like rock bands. Very fresh idea.

A good fun book.

I normally don't go for the fantasy style books, but I am really glad I did this time. I was expecting something serious and dark but when the first jokes started coming in. I was completely blindsided with laughter. I don't know if it was because I was expecting something different or it was really funny, but I like to think it was really funny. So if you want some good laughs and a tale of old friends getting back together. Check it out, I had a good time.

Rock n roll lifestyle in a medieval fantasy world

What looks like it's going to be about nostalgia is really a commentary on aging and watching the world change around you. Aging rock-star-esque warriors come out of retirement and get the band back together for one final hurrah.

Of note: Kings of the Wyld is about the journey, not the destination. It takes nearly 1/2 of this huge book to get the band back together and most of what time remains after that to reach their goal. This is more or less a road trip novel.

Amazing narration. I don't recognize this narrator but I"ll be sure to look for him in the future.