Book Review: Bloody Rose

I expressed my love for Nicholas Eames Kings of the Wyld a few months back. It's probably one of the best books I've ever read, and made fantasy hip and fun.

So I was super stoked to learn Eames had penned a follow up, shifting the focus from Golden Gabe and the heroes of Saga -- now retired for good -- to Gabe's daughter, Bloody Rose. Don't worry, the characters might be new, but Eames hasn't shifted his aesthetics at all.

OK, I didn't like the characters in Bloody Rose as much as Kings of Wyld. There's nothing wrong with them, but they aren't the heroes I grew to love in the first book. So for me, it was kind of like watching The Force Awakens; the new gang is fine, but they aren't Luke, Han and Leia.

But fear not, Gabe, Clay, and Moog turn up in a similar vein as the classic Star Wars characters did in Force Awakens. And their scenes offer some mighty emotional punch to this story of necromancers, monsters and high fantasy. I actually wished there was more of the Saga in this book, but I made due.

Much of Bloody Rose's success rests in Eames prose, his wit, and his ability to craft epic action scenes. And he's no slouch at adding depths to characters who, at first introduction, seem like caricatures. I don't know how he does it, but he does, and my hat is off to him.

Bloody Rose isn't quite Kings of the Wyld, but it's still a damn fine sequel, and I hope we get more adventures in the world he's created. A Good.

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