The Free by Brian Ruckley. Return to form. Long Live Heroic Fantasy
I have always maintained that Brian Ruckley is a terribly underrated talent in Fantasy writing. His Godless trilogy was a blend of unique world-building, some intense magical systems topped off by frenetic action throughout. Agreed the trilogy ending was a little weaker than the start, but a lot of readers wrote him off as a wannabe-GRRM. Heck, if you are writing epic fantasy, there is not much room to manoeuvre around, especially with knights and castles being the centre of that universe. Brian definitely brought his own stamp of gritty dark feel to the Godless World and I certainly enjoyed the books. The Free marks a return to epic fantasy for Brian and I definitely was among the frontlines of cheering. The last company of honourable mercenaries in a world gone to the dogs making a last stand against everyone else. Heroic. Bloody. And Brutal. I was in for the ride. And once I started reading The Free, the sheer fun element trumped everything else. Yes it is medieval fanta...