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A review by sergek94
The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
4.0
This was The Fantasy Guild book club pick for the month of November 2021!
Actual Rating: 3.5/5
The Lot Lands are dry, harsh and unforgiving. Divided amongst different races after a devastating war between the humans and the orcs, the residents of these lands tether upon a delicate peace that is highly likely to soon fall apart. Our story takes us on a journey with half-orcs, bastards who are the products of orcish assault on human women (for most of the time) and their role in protecting these badlands, which border the human kingdom of Hispartha, lush and teeming with life, from the imminent return of the savage orcs. Used as defense shields in order to escape their slavery, the half-orcs try to navigate the dangerous waters of being surrounded by several entities much powerful than they are, while trying to keep the homeland that they earned for themselves intact. We follow a "hoof" (the word used to describe the gang of half-orcs that follow one leader) of half-orcs, primarily a half-orc named Jackal, who has his own ambitions of becoming the hoof leader, but is in for a surprise once he discovers the complex scheming and plotting his people are a part of, for the benefit of external powers.
After a few fantasy reads that were relatively mediocre in aspects such as world building and exciting plot progression, this book was a refreshing breath of fresh air that brought a dynamic world, with complex and interesting races, and a feeling that there is something way more lurking just beyond the borders, even if unseen. Jonathan French did a great job giving us the classical fantasy races that we've seen in The Lord of the Rings and having them be well adapted to the story he is trying to tell without seeming like he's trying too hard. The orcs, in their tribal barbarity, the elves with their distant allure and the humans with their never-ending Machiavellian scheming are classical fantasy elements we see time and time again, but they did not feel redundant in this work. We even had centaurs who went into a barbaric frenzy when the moon unpredictably transformed into a certain form, and halflings who are half centaur and half human, with their very own pantheon and magical abilities. All this was a product of superb world-building and that was an absolute delight to read. Additionally, despite the high emphasis on fantastical elements, this book does not lack the gritty realism that makes the dynamics between these characters very relatable to actual real-life societies we experience. It has an almost grimdark feel to it, and I say almost because despite it being very gritty and cynical in nature, the characters here do not ultimately surrender to the nihilism often present in works that are heavier in grimdark. However, this book will likely come close to satisfying the grimdark itch of the fans of that fantasy sub-genre. Plot-wise, despite it having some slow moments, is relatively well-paced, and we are never left bored for too long. The main characters are interesting, but some of the side characters were a bit boring and repetitive, representing similar archetypes, which led me to not care a lot about them other than the flavour they brought to the story.
All this being said, it is no secret that Jonathan French made questionable writing choices that have left and will leave many readers fuming. Yes, we know that we're right in the middle of a savage half-orc society, and the author must keep us immersed inside that atmosphere, and what better way to do it than to highlight their vulgarity and sexual jokes? This, done in moderation, would be a legitimate way to place the reader inside that specific atmosphere the author is trying to portray. However, Jonathan French seemed to have unfortunately fallen in the trap of overdoing these sexual jokes, earning the book the reputation of having a target audience of middle school boys. Of course, whether you find this offensive and irritating definitely depends on your own perception and opinion about these things, but be advised that if you're sensitive to excess sexual jokes, this book will likely irritate you. The female perspective in this work is also clearly painted from a strictly male lens, making them a bit not relatable to some female readers. There are definitely very powerful and admirable female characters in this story, and I would say most of the female characters did achieve heroic feats that are worthy of admiration, so it isn't like Jonathan French took all the females and placed them in a weak and subservient role, however, he did use some terminology that might be considered demeaning, and gave a distinct sexual tinge to most female characters he wrote. He could have handled the female perspective better, adding more humanity and nuance as opposed to creating them under this certain lens.
Now, one thing did actually bother me personally, and this will be the main reason why I will not be wanting to give this book a full 4 stars.
Trigger Warning - Mention of Sexual Assault Ahead: There is a scene where a male character fantasizes about raping a certain female character, and we are given no good reason for this scene to actually exist in the book. It served no purpose to the plot, and it just felt like it came out of nowhere. To make it worse, this character is the main character of the story, someone we are supposed to be rooting for. I don't understand why the author made this choice, but it felt like it was written just for the sake of it being there, and it felt very out of place and potentially disturbing for many readers. I believe topics such as sexual assault should be handled with more care, and if they are to be included in a story, they should serve for a certain point to be made, not just used randomly with no good reason other than to add some grit to the narrative.
Overall, this was a very good reading experience for me. Great world building, pretty good plot, and decent characterization. If the author had not included that out-of-place sexual assault fantasy, I would have given this a full 4 stars. So my final rating will be a 3.5, but I will round it up to 4 for the sake of the rigid GR rating system, because saying that this book was a 3 star experience for me would be false, since it was way closer to 4 stars, and would have been so if the author hadn't made that writing blunder. Will definitely be reading the next book in this series, hoping certain aspects are handled better.
------------------------------------------------
“But that fantasy only lived upon the surface of his mind. pursuing it only dredged up pain as the truth of the past days poisoned the intimacy of years.”
Actual Rating: 3.5/5
The Lot Lands are dry, harsh and unforgiving. Divided amongst different races after a devastating war between the humans and the orcs, the residents of these lands tether upon a delicate peace that is highly likely to soon fall apart. Our story takes us on a journey with half-orcs, bastards who are the products of orcish assault on human women (for most of the time) and their role in protecting these badlands, which border the human kingdom of Hispartha, lush and teeming with life, from the imminent return of the savage orcs. Used as defense shields in order to escape their slavery, the half-orcs try to navigate the dangerous waters of being surrounded by several entities much powerful than they are, while trying to keep the homeland that they earned for themselves intact. We follow a "hoof" (the word used to describe the gang of half-orcs that follow one leader) of half-orcs, primarily a half-orc named Jackal, who has his own ambitions of becoming the hoof leader, but is in for a surprise once he discovers the complex scheming and plotting his people are a part of, for the benefit of external powers.
After a few fantasy reads that were relatively mediocre in aspects such as world building and exciting plot progression, this book was a refreshing breath of fresh air that brought a dynamic world, with complex and interesting races, and a feeling that there is something way more lurking just beyond the borders, even if unseen. Jonathan French did a great job giving us the classical fantasy races that we've seen in The Lord of the Rings and having them be well adapted to the story he is trying to tell without seeming like he's trying too hard. The orcs, in their tribal barbarity, the elves with their distant allure and the humans with their never-ending Machiavellian scheming are classical fantasy elements we see time and time again, but they did not feel redundant in this work. We even had centaurs who went into a barbaric frenzy when the moon unpredictably transformed into a certain form, and halflings who are half centaur and half human, with their very own pantheon and magical abilities. All this was a product of superb world-building and that was an absolute delight to read. Additionally, despite the high emphasis on fantastical elements, this book does not lack the gritty realism that makes the dynamics between these characters very relatable to actual real-life societies we experience. It has an almost grimdark feel to it, and I say almost because despite it being very gritty and cynical in nature, the characters here do not ultimately surrender to the nihilism often present in works that are heavier in grimdark. However, this book will likely come close to satisfying the grimdark itch of the fans of that fantasy sub-genre. Plot-wise, despite it having some slow moments, is relatively well-paced, and we are never left bored for too long. The main characters are interesting, but some of the side characters were a bit boring and repetitive, representing similar archetypes, which led me to not care a lot about them other than the flavour they brought to the story.
All this being said, it is no secret that Jonathan French made questionable writing choices that have left and will leave many readers fuming. Yes, we know that we're right in the middle of a savage half-orc society, and the author must keep us immersed inside that atmosphere, and what better way to do it than to highlight their vulgarity and sexual jokes? This, done in moderation, would be a legitimate way to place the reader inside that specific atmosphere the author is trying to portray. However, Jonathan French seemed to have unfortunately fallen in the trap of overdoing these sexual jokes, earning the book the reputation of having a target audience of middle school boys. Of course, whether you find this offensive and irritating definitely depends on your own perception and opinion about these things, but be advised that if you're sensitive to excess sexual jokes, this book will likely irritate you. The female perspective in this work is also clearly painted from a strictly male lens, making them a bit not relatable to some female readers. There are definitely very powerful and admirable female characters in this story, and I would say most of the female characters did achieve heroic feats that are worthy of admiration, so it isn't like Jonathan French took all the females and placed them in a weak and subservient role, however, he did use some terminology that might be considered demeaning, and gave a distinct sexual tinge to most female characters he wrote. He could have handled the female perspective better, adding more humanity and nuance as opposed to creating them under this certain lens.
Now, one thing did actually bother me personally, and this will be the main reason why I will not be wanting to give this book a full 4 stars.
Trigger Warning - Mention of Sexual Assault Ahead: There is a scene where a male character fantasizes about raping a certain female character, and we are given no good reason for this scene to actually exist in the book. It served no purpose to the plot, and it just felt like it came out of nowhere. To make it worse, this character is the main character of the story, someone we are supposed to be rooting for. I don't understand why the author made this choice, but it felt like it was written just for the sake of it being there, and it felt very out of place and potentially disturbing for many readers. I believe topics such as sexual assault should be handled with more care, and if they are to be included in a story, they should serve for a certain point to be made, not just used randomly with no good reason other than to add some grit to the narrative.
Overall, this was a very good reading experience for me. Great world building, pretty good plot, and decent characterization. If the author had not included that out-of-place sexual assault fantasy, I would have given this a full 4 stars. So my final rating will be a 3.5, but I will round it up to 4 for the sake of the rigid GR rating system, because saying that this book was a 3 star experience for me would be false, since it was way closer to 4 stars, and would have been so if the author hadn't made that writing blunder. Will definitely be reading the next book in this series, hoping certain aspects are handled better.
------------------------------------------------
“But that fantasy only lived upon the surface of his mind. pursuing it only dredged up pain as the truth of the past days poisoned the intimacy of years.”