The story starts, and for a long time remains, very small scale. The book has elements in common with Jeff Salyard's Scourge of the Betrayer in that much of it concerns the interplay between a small band of fighters.īut really if you've seen Sons of Anarchy on TV, then that's the perfect parallel. So this is without question the filthiest fantasy book I've read, beating the former title holder The Grim Company by a factor of ten. It has the highest score recorded in the 7 years of the contest out of over 2,000 books entered.

This book got a major publishing deal during the home run of the SPFBO contest. In a quest for answers that takes him from decaying dungeons to the frontlines of an ancient feud, Jackal finds himself battling invading orcs, rampaging centaurs, and grubby human conspiracies alike-along with a host of dark magics so terrifying they'd give even the heartiest Bastard pause.įinally, Jackal must ride to confront a threat that's lain in wait for generations, even as he wonders whether the Bastards can-or should-survive. Soon, he's wondering if his feelings have blinded him to ugly truths about this world, and the Bastards' place in it. Until the fallout from a deadly showdown makes Jackal start investigating the Lot Lands for himself.

A rabble of hard-talking, hog-riding, whore-mongering brawlers they may be, but the Grey Bastards are Jackal's sworn brothers, fighting at his side in a land where there's no room for softness.Īnd once Jackal's in charge-as soon as he can unseat the Bastards' tyrannical, seemingly unkillable founder-there's a few things they'll do different. Jackal and his fellow half-orcs patrol the barren wastes of the Lot Lands, spilling their own damned blood to keep civilized folk safe.

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French