Review: Kings of the Wyld

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That hit the spot. I’ve been looking for this book for years, needing to read something that was just a whole bunch of fun.

Reading this story of a bunch of retired mercenaries getting the band back together for a final tour was a dip into my entertainment history. Back in my Air Force days, I had a group of men and women that gathered once a month for a truly epic Saturday. We’d meet for breakfast and then gather at one of our houses for an all-day session of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. We bought up the 2nd Edition books as they came out and had to try everything.

I’d play those old cassettes on my way to the games (or to breakfast and back if the session was at my house). I remember jamming to Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog” as I went to one of these, nearly 30 years ago. I even named a character/villain “Britney Fox” after one of the semi-popular hair bands of the day and jammed their cassette while I plotted her diabolical schemes.

So yes, I smile at the idea of calling up all these old friends, getting a few cases of beer and some pizzas, and dragging the old books out. We’d bring back our own band: Qurx Grimthorn, Anastasious Xerxes, Quinta Ish, Marco the Weak, Corwyn, and Borg the Sly. Plus many (bards) whose names I can’t remember. We’d be rusty. We’d probably be embarrassing to our spouses and children. We’d be clumsy and have a lot of false starts as we try to remember all the rules and try to move with our old bones in ways that were second nature back then.

But in the end, I’m sure we’d have a kickass time.

That’s what this book was. It was much fresher and flowing as a story than that fantasy meeting I just described would be (it wouldn’t). But the feelings of nostalgia are one of the key components that drives this story, along with great characters, cool as hell imaginative twists, and a sense of humor that had me laugh out loud as I was caught off guard more than once.

One question I keep seeing is “Is it Grimdark?” when asked about this book. Most argue that it is not. So I had to think on that, and well, I don’t know what to say. It appeals to readers and authors of Grimdark. Eames has been published in Grimdark Magazine, and I keep seeing authors known for their gritty work endorsing this. There are definitely “grimdark” moments and scenes through the story, but no, I don’t think it ends up being such.

I compare this question to that of Pink Floyd. Back in the day when you were only cool if you listened to heavy metal and hard rock, there was Pink Floyd. A trippy band with lots of deep musical experimentation and big ideas, Pink Floyd could play the hell out of their unique music. And while it wasn’t heavy metal at all, one thing I noticed was that metalheads loved it. If you were a metalhead and you had Duran Duran cassettes, you’d better hide them when your headbanger friends came over. But not so with Pink Floyd. Those could be out in front and played loud. It was even a sign of being cool if you had some sort of Pink Floyd poster on the wall. No, Pink Floyd wasn’t metal, but metal fans found them totally cool and acceptable all the same.

That’s how I see Kings of the Wyld. It’s not grimdark, but just about every grimdark reader has tried this book (or plans to). And most love it. It’s found on their shelves beside the works of George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Mark Lawrence. And it looks just fine sitting there with those.


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