Book Review: Bloody Rose

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames, The Band #2

Live fast, die young.

Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown.

When the biggest mercenary band of all rolls into town, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. 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.

It's time to take a walk on the wyld side.

Last year saw the release of Kings of the Wyld, the first book in "the Band" series by Nicholas Eames. This book caught me by surprise. Kings of the Wyld of filled with a lot of cool ideas that came to full fruition with Nicholas' perfect execution. 

The events of Bloody Rose pick up a few years later after Kings of the Wyld. Though the title says Bloody Rose, the main protagonist of this story Tam Hasford. A young and energetic girl who currently works in a pub. She has always sought out a way to break out. When Fable enters the picture she sees it as her chance. The only thing Tam has to do is audition for Bard. Luckily Tam has some skill in this and is eventually hired as the new Bard of Fable. And this is where her story begins. What makes Fable so special? This is being led by Bloddy Rose. Who is Bloody Rose? She is the daughter of Golden Gabe, yes that Gabe from the first book. Though as a band you make tours to display feats of prowess, for Bloody Rose there is an ever bigger goal that of surpassing her father. And this on the brink of another invasion. Bloody Rose's ultimate goals is to destroy the strongest creature that is said to live. But in order to get there they have to fight their way through numerous other encounters. 

Tam wanted adventure and this is excatly what she got when she joined Fable. This bit reflects a lot in her character especially when referencing back to her father. With Tam Nicholas Emaes has created a very normal character. She is just a girl that needs to find her direction in life. In several parts of the book Tam gets opverwhelmed and reacts just how she should have reacted. This drew me in as a reader and made her journey all throughout the book a real pleasure to read. When you look at the rest of Fable they are a bunch of misfits. Cool misfits though to say the least. Bloody Rose herself is a great mentor, though she can be brash as well. Then there is a druin, a shapeshifting shaman (with issues) and lets not forget the inkwitch (one of my favourites). Fable is what you would expect of a band. They complement each other but also have enough fights amongst each others but in the end they trust eachother with their lives. 

Though Bloody Rose takes place in the same location as the first book Nicholas Eames manages to keep all the surroundings interesting. This story has a specific liveliness to it that I haven't encountered a lot. The story just flows. Because you are in this flow the events feel vibrant and just plain awesome to read. Bloody Rose has a lot of memorable moments and feels heavier when compared to the first book in the series. Kings of the Wyld saw a lot of action and big fights. Though Bloody Rose has similar events it does feel that there are a bit more serious subjects discussed in the back, which only give this book more credit. 

When I look at the bits that enjoy the most I have to say the epic fights and a personal favourite of mine was the backstory of Cura the inkwitch. A powerful story. Another part of the book that really hit the right marks was the Epilogue, all back to reality, back to normality. Escpecially the part if Bloody Rose is dead and the reasoning behind that. 

Conclusion: With Bloody Rose, Nicholas Eames went above and beyond to deliver and exceptional sequel. I praised him for Kings of the Wyld, I have still not made up my mind if Bloody Rose surpases the first book but they are very close. In this overly saturated fantasy genre there are only a handful of books that are published each year that push the genre. Bloody Rose already takes away one finger.