Bloody Rose: The Band, Book Two

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What might have surprised me was how much more I would enjoy Bloody Rose than I ever did The Great Gatsby, because while Eames may not quite have the melancholy romance of an F. Fable is comprised of Bloody Rose herself, the plot device of Kings of the Wyld whom we only ever met towards the end, her druin lover Freecloud, Cura, named the Inkwitch for the magical tattoos that cover her entire body, and Brune, a big bear of a man who can turn into, you guessed it, a large bear. Fable has prior touring commitments that they will see through and instead of joining up with most other bands and heading off to face the Horde in a blaze of glory Fable venture off in the opposite direction to finish their tour dates and complete their contract in Diremarch. There was plenty of great action sequences in KoTW and there is again in Bloody Rose but this time around they are even better, far more breathtaking and vivid. Fable’s task, as we soon learn, is to journey far to the north *SPOILER BEGINS* to battle a creature that even dragons fear, *SPOILER ENDS* despite the overwhelming fact that every other mercenary in the land is tying their laces and whetting their blades to fight a new monstrous horde heading south.

One account -- albeit riddled with inconsistencies -- suggests that she duelled with the leader of the Custodians who entered the Ecclesiarchal Palace during the siege, and that the two fought to a standstill before words of an alliance were finally spoken. Litanies of heretical deeds are intoned as novitiates engage in combat trials, the tales of spiritual traitors and vile apostates filling the trainees with hatred. Bloody Rose ends with the most epic epic battle I have ever read, and, yes, at nearly 100 pages it might drag a little despite being expertly staged. Tam’s whole job is to observe and record, one of the few times (if ever) that I’ve read a book with a character whose job is to NOT participate. She wants to step out of her father's shadow in a majestic way by taking on and destroying a legendary beast that is infamous for its notoriousness and the fact it is rumoured to be impossible to kill.But it’s also the only teensy-weensy letdown of the novel in light of how emotionally charged everything else in the story is. Music references ( and the occasional film and video game references too) are in plentiful supply being liberally sprinkled throughout Bloody Rose and it’s a winning formula. This is also the only fantasy book I’ve read that includes an offhanded comment about women dealing with their periods in between epic battles. Bloody Rose is both the story of the legendary titular mercenary, leader of the preeminent mercenary band, Fable, as well as the coming of age story of former waitress and barmaid, Fable’s new bard, seventeen-year-old Tam Hashford. I don’t expect every author to go the Brandon Sanderson mile and explain every piece of pseudo-science behind their sorcery, but when magic exists only to be mysterious and powerful, it becomes frustrating, with a reader never knowing when the uber-wizard might sweep in and undo everything with the wave of a hand.

Chainswords are driven messily through torsos, then wrenched out and thrust again before the spilt innards hit the ground. He then changed the sex of his leading heroes, replaced the excellent Jeff Harding with Katherine Fenton, moved most of his delicious musical references to the 1980s and started 6 years after the end of the previous book! Unfortunately, the rogue Inquisitor was protected by a Conversion Field, which absorbed Ludmilla’s shot, and the Canoness was slain in the subsequent hand-to-hand combat that followed. I might just be an emotional guy, but knowing I have no more to read of Tam her newly acquired family of Fable is almost bringing me to tears. Mercenary bands have taken to fighting monsters in arenas for money rather than adventure into the Heartwyld to obtain a bounty.However, the Brumal Horde (the Heartwyld Horde from Kings plus every monster you can possible imagine and a thousand you can’t) has regrouped after its defeat at Castia and is on the move for vengeance, and every mercenary band worth its liquor is moving to stop it. It's adventure she wants-and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death.

I loved getting back to this world and I goddamned loved the characters … though I missed the first Band, the second did their very best to exceed the bar that had already been set.

Eames once again hits the perfect balance of humor and heart, irreverent references and real emotion. The members of Fable are complicated, each with a chip on their shoulders that usually involves their parents, and the slow unfolding of these personalities throughout the book makes them more relatable and interesting. The whole ‘musicians with swords’ gimmick is a tricky one to manage without getting too goofy with it, but Eames thankfully never devolves into the “Hey, look at THIS reference! Even Tam, who grew up in a relatively loving home, has to deal with the death of her mother and the legacy left behind by such a large personality.