Kings of the Wyld

By: Nicholas Eames

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

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.

©2017 Nicholas Eames (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"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)

"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)

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).

A lot better than I expected

Get this out of the way quick, there is a constant running joke/reference to mercenaries be like rock bands. I'm not sure why the author leaned in so hard on this and while it can be light hearted and fun sometimes, it is so prevalent that it becomes a bit heavy handed sometimes. In the end though I think it makes the story less intense and more enjoyable.

Completely strip that from the book, and you would still have a pretty d@mn amazing book. The main characters are all great, flawed, complex, different and each one you genuinely want to root for. Clay is about as good as they come to, with a constant struggle of righteous ness. The humor is genuinely funny, but it still has great emotional depth and a sincerity about it. Story arcs just about right, without being over the top on action, and hitting any stagnation.

This is HIGH fantasy, about as much as any book I've read, which isn't a positive or negative for me, just a call out.

I am really considering giving it a second listen, and I just finished this yesterday.

If you are okay with high fantasy and a little over the top running joke, then I can't recommend this book enough.

Enjoy.

It's pretty alright

Some good ideas and an interesting story but this book feels really full of itself. People online were constantly citing the humor as a notable positive but I didnt find any humor; just poor attempts at jokes.

It's fine. Not great but also not bad. Worth a read, just temper your expectations and don't take it too seriously.

Its all part of my rock 'n roll fantasy

Am I the only one to think of using that headline for this book? It's very fitting.

This is not a fantasy novel you read if you want depth and long drawn out lore and worldbuilding with character family trees and lineages to research, maps to pore over, etc. This is a callback to fantasy novels where it's all just about some rollicking barbarians breaking shit and hitting things with a sword. Drinking, carousing, fighting, loving, etc. At the same time, the twist is, (and the running joke throughout the novel) is that this fantasy universe takes a lot of cues from the history of American rock music and these mercenaries are "getting the band back together."

So, Clay Cooper and his friends used to be the baddest, toughest band of mercs the world had ever seen. They were legends in their own time and accomplished feats most thought to be utterly impossible. And then they retired. Now, they're all in their 50s, washed up and burnt out, until their old leader Golden Gabe, comes by with a request for one last journey into dangerous territory, that he can only trust his old bandmates to accomplish.

Most of the novel is the band coming back together, reconnecting, and rediscovering their old skills, but the latter part of the novel (and the most interesting in my opinion) mostly details their journey through the HeartWyld, which is this mysterious magical forest which is supposed to be the most dangerous place on earth, as it's filled with monsters and magic and cannibal tribes. The actual finale of the book, which I don't want to spoil, ended up being very quick and almost rushed in my opinion, but still satisfying.

The rock and roll references aren't too heavy, but they're still apparent in some places. They get attacked by a group of bounty hunters with their faces painted like KISS for example. This novel is fun. But don't let that distract you from the real emotional depth with some of these characters. As well as there being a really good core story about a group of washed up heroes trying to remember what made them so great in the first place. And Clay Cooper, the focus of the novel, is really the moral cornerstone of the whole thing, and an infinitely likeable character.

If you're just looking for a light, fun fantasy read, this would definitely get my recommendation. If you feel like you need to learn a new language and memorize tables of lore to understand a magic system, it might not be for you.

overrated

I don't understand why so many people are giving this a high rating. I couldn't even finish it. All of the reviews that I read said that it was hilarious but I found the humor to be cliche, repetitive, and low brow.

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.

A Wyld Ride!

Let me just say that I've been an Audible member since 2009 and this has been the most I've ever been entertained by a book. It was fun to listen to, full of adventure, and peppered with humor. The storyline was never dull and the author's descriptions of people and places really sparked the imagination. His characters feel like real people and I am actually going to miss them now that I've finished the book. The narrator was excellent. He has a wide range of voices for different characters and I could always tell which character was speaking even during strings of dialogue. Even his female voices were excellent and never sounded forced or faked. All in all, this book was a sheer pleasure. I really hope they pair this author and narrator again. I'm really looking forward to the next book. Until then, I'll just have to satisfy myself by listening to this one again.

What a waste

Wow- don’t waste your time with this mess. The main cast doesn’t live up to their “legend” and who could write a more helpless wizard. A disaster from the start.

jack nickleson joker reads unfunny story

skip this book. bad very predictable low bar humor with a reader that... keeps... pausing... OR OVERLY dramatic for no reason mid sentence.

unique take on fantasy

I loved this book so much! You always hear about young adventurers seeking out their first quest for fame and glory; but this is long past glory days. These are tired old men who join back together for a real purpose and against all odds succeed.

I'm in love with the unique way this story is told, and I love all the cursing and incredibly vivid descriptions. I love the wylds and the eerie feeling that overall part of the book has and l adore the strange, unidentifiable creatures. When they found the owl bear cubs I literally squealed, it was one of the most memorable moments in a book to me ever. I can't wait for the next book, I hope it comes out soon.