The Black Coast

The God-King Chronicles, Book 1

By: Mike Brooks

Narrated by: Paul Panting

Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

War dragons.

Fearsome raiders.

A daemonic warlord on the rise.

When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep's warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home....

Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire - if only its new mismatched society can survive.

The start of an unmissable fantasy series.

The Black Coast is the first fantasy novel from critically acclaimed Games Workshop/Warhammer 40k author Mike Brooks. Look out for the sequel: The Splinter King.

©2021 Mike Brooks (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"5/5 stars." (SFX Magazine)

Hooked

To be honest, I am only a quarter into this Audiobook, so please bear this in mind for my review and rating.

I am an Audible customer since 2003 and I do fully enjoy the "return any book, no questions asked"-policy here. If I am not completely hooked by the first quarter of the book, I usually return it.

I've recently returned a lot of fantasy books, because they didn't reel me into a believable world, believable characters or what not.

This book though, I don't know why, but it's got me hooked and I wanna find out more.

Basically it appears to be an epic fantasy involving two cultures coming together (after one culture has been raiding the other culture regularly in the past). A seafaring clan has arrived, but not to raid as usual, but to settle. (So basically, imagine Vikings coming to a small village in England they've pillaged and raided before and saying "we wanna live with you now"...). The regular inhabitants are less than thrilled, obviously, but the "lawson" (adopted son) of the ruler is willing to try.

That's how far I got, after about 6 hours of 20. Oh, and there's dragons (vegetarian ones and carnivore ones)!

We have:
- Clashing cultures
- Great World Building
- Some yet unknown enemy (the reason for the exodus of the seafarers)
- An excellent (British) narrator
and more ....

One possible caveat though: The book is heavy on Gender Politics. Representation of self and others, gender, homosexuality, etc. plays a MAJOR role in this. There are lengthy debates about pronouns and an elaborate system of gender representation in culture. Women calling themselvers "This man", but with a tone inflection to represent female characteristics, etc. etc. Homosexuality is normal in the "raided" culture but detested in the "raiding" culture, adding to the conflict, etc.

I really don't mind that aspect of a book, although I'm neither queer nor gender fluid. It adds another complex dimension to the story, and fantasy literature altogether, which I welcome.

For the people among you who have problems with homosexuality, LGBTQ+ representation and whatnot, this might not be the perfect choice of book. (Although, it IS fantasy, so anything goes, right ?? It's not REAL.)

In summary: I really liked the first 6 hours and I am very much looking forward to getting home tonight and listening on.

If you want a story that sucks you in from the very first, a story that you are looking forward to returning to after a day's work, to relax, then pick up “The Black Coast” by Mike Brooks.