Kings of the Wyld

Perhaps the definition of good not great. A former mercenary, worn down by time and locked down by family, is asked to have one last adventure by the leader of his former group, in the hopes of saving his daughter from a horde of monsters. If that sounds clique, it's because it is. Intentionally so. Kings of the Wyld plays on all the tired fantasy tropes in a way that is both satirical and reverent. Here you will find all of the character, foes, and story line twists that you would expect to find. I find it equal parts warm and exhausting. 

The characters are the point of emphasis here, but I think that Eames has mixed success drawing them. The blundering and successful gay wizard of the party, Moog, is by far my favorite, with the main character, Slowhand, and the winged hired assassin Larkspur, close behind. These characters have true depth, and show that depth not only through background exposition, but through their words and actions. Other characters, like the fighter of the party, Ganeleon, are much more two dimensional. If one things unites all the characters, good and bad, it's the humor, which is present at nearly every point throughout. Characters are constantly trying to crack wise-ass remarks, tease each other, and generally goof off. Some of the jokes land and made me exhale slightly through my nose. Others can best be described as deeply juvenile, even completely distasteful. I think your enjoyment of the book is going to depend heavily on your connection to this humor. 

The world that our characters inhabit is unremarkable. It may as well have been copy-pasted from any other contemporary fantasy novel, with one notable exception; the exclusive use of D&D 5e monsters. A lot of them. This ties into the feeling that is hard to ignore when you read the book, that you're literally reading the dramatized version of someones casual D&D adventure. It's amazing how true to form it is. Characters that are caricatures of themselves (down to specifying the class they all are), a rushed and haphazard plot full of MacGuffins, a lack of seriousness even in tension-filled moments, and enough monsters to spend hours hacking away at. The release of this book was perfectly timed, even a little bit early, to ride the wave of D&D popularity. A neat companion to go along with your overproduced podcast. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel, for awhile. But I found it wearing thin as the pages dragged on. 

The one novel part of the world that felt fresh was the hyper-fixation on adventuring parties as a cultural force in the world. There's some very on the nose comparisons between musical bands and bands of mercenaries that I eventually rolled my eyes at, but the concept itself was cool. The over-saturation of the market for mercenary groups, and the loss of the perceived 'hardship' that these groups must be tempered with was interesting. 

There's some interesting discussion of celebrity, the loss of anonymity, and the disassociation between generations that I enjoyed. There is also some pretty basic focus on themes like loss, perseverance, and the strength of friendship, but overall these aren't anything to write home about. It's clear this novel was written for entertainment almost exclusively. 

Overall, it was between just OK, and sometimes good. I can't see myself rereading it. It was a pleasant enough read with good pacing, making me invested in continuing to read. Perfect for some relaxing time while switching your brain off, as long as the humor doesn't grate against you.