This book has received a lot of attention and good reviews, and I see why people like it. It's well-written, and funny and it manages to find a new angle to tell a traditional tale. However, I didn't love it (I didn't really dislike it either). It's the kind of book that gets praise because it doesn't take itself too seriously, but for my taste it took itself too little seriously. It's just my personal taste, but the flippant tone and the idea of bands of mercenaries as rock bands wore thin after a while. I liked the characters, but they never struck me as people who really lived in a pre-technological society. Add to that a thin plot and worldbuilding, and I could not really get to care about what was happening. Pleasant enough, but it did not hit the sweet spot for me. ( )

Lo adoro!!!!
la peggiore banda di vecchi mercenari di sempre!!!!! ( )

DNF at page 400. Not worth the effort. ( )

This isn't high lit. Simply a fun D&D campaign with a sense of humor. Fun! ( )

Although it took me for some reason quite a while to finally finish this book, I ended up really liking it. In a genre that is filled with nihilistic, grim-dark stories, this novel is exactly what the doctor ordered to help cure readers of the grimdark blues. Don't worry however. Kings of the Wyld includes enough grit for fans of George R.R. Martin and Scott Lynch but includes enough silliness and humorous moments to rival the work of Sir Terry Pratchett. At the same time, this novel has a few moments of genuine poignancy that really make you care about the characters. Kuddos to Mr. Eames for somehow pulling his crazy rock & roll inspired fantasy novel off.

So what's it about? KINGS OF THE WYLD is about five male friends, an old mercenary band (similar to maybe, I don't know - Black Sabbath or KISS) that get together after a long retirement to tour once again (except that for this group of mercs this isn't a farewell rock tour, it's a perceived suicide mission). Clay Cooper and his "Band", Saga (The Kings of the Wyld) were once the greatest of the greatest mercenary Bands, but now the members have separated and grown old, fat, drunk or a combination of the three. Until one day, one of Clay’s band mates, Gabriel, came asking for help with an incredibly dangerous quest (to rescue his daughter Rose who went off and formed a band of her own) that will require the Band getting back together for one more tour across the Heartwyld, a gigantic forest filled with a plethora of monsters, beasts, and many other deadly sentient beings.

With an impressive combination of lovable characters, gripping actions, intricate world-building, humorous moments and well-polished prose, Kings of the Wyld is a rocking good time (filled with fun rock n' roll references to boot).

For fans of: Scott Lynch, Jim Hines, Patrick Rothfuss. ( )