The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French is a bit different where half human Orcs ride
hogs, bigger than normal pigs, and protect the humans from rampaging Orcs and
other threats. In this fantasy novel, they patrol and defend the barren
wastelands known as the “Lot Lands.” Basically,
if you have ever seen the television show, The Sons of Anarchy, this is
the same idea though here the half human orcs ride massive hogs to do their
work in a sort of medieval type fantasy world.
The main character is Jackal who is a fairly clever if impulsive
half-orc who wants to be the leader of his Hoof. The hoof, the gang, is
known as The Grey Bastards and Jackal has plans for the future once he can get
rid of the current leader. That was the plan. Jackal’s life is turned upside
down as he starts to realize that everything he thought he knew about his hoof
was not true and that his hoof has secrets that threaten everyone living today.
It is hard to discuss the plot of the book since it is one of the
most complicated books I have read in a long time. This book features violence,
sex, lots of dirty jokes several of which may offend those who are gay as
homophobic jokes are made by several male characters, mystery, and lots of
adult content. The adult content is rampant with jokes about gays and about
male genitals and detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse between heterosexual
partners.
I enjoyed the book though there were times that it came across that
the adult content was added solely as a means to somehow shock the reader
and/or pad the word count. It did very little, if anything, to advance the book
forward in any way. This is a new series by an author without a lot of
published works to his name and he comes across a little raw at times in this
tale. With those caveats, it is a good read. The Grey Bastards by Jonathan
French is a good adult read for fans of fantasy looking for something different
than the normal chosen hero set out on a magic sword type quest story.
My copy came from the childhood library stomping grounds of my
Dad, the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Scott A. Tipple ©2020
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