The Grim Company
The Grim Company by Luke Scull is a dark fantasy that loves to turn fantasy tropes on their head! It came out in the States earlier this month, and if you like dark fantasy, you should definitely check out this new trilogy. I love the premise of the gods being dead. It is just such an epic start, right? The bad guys must be bad if they can kill the freaking gods! The Grim Company is full of deliciously grey characters and lots of intricately interwoven plot lines, my favorite kind :D.
Note: I received The Grim Company from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The Grim Company by Luke Scull (Grim Company #1)
Published by Roc on Sept. 3rd, 2013
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
How I got my copy: Publisher
IndieBound - Book Depository - Goodreads
Purchases made support this blog
The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands.
The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company. --Goodreads
Strengths:
- The gods were killed generations ago and now the world is dealing with the fallout. Apparently when gods die, the natural world has some trouble adjusting. This made for a very intriguing backdrop for The Grim Company and I can’t wait to find out more!
- Barbarians are supposed to be young and tough, mages are supposed to be scholarly and powerful, manservants are helpful but not the ones on center stage… right? Not according to The Grim Company! It was so amusing to see the small tweaks to all the classic high fantasy characters ;-).
- I love a book that can pull off multiple POV, multiple plot lines, but the main plot line is clear and comes together at the end. That still leaves lots of side plots that make me excited to read the next book. The Grim Company pulled this off beautifully.
- There aren’t really bad guys and good guys ya know? Even the villains have some motivation and usually think they are doing the right thing, and the heroes aren’t perfect. The Grim Company blurs the lines even further, to the point that I just accepted all the characters for their flaws and strengths. Wunderbar!
Weaknesses:
- I now know way more about hemorrhoids than I ever wanted. Seriously, ick.
- Definite trigger warnings in this one. The dark part of dark fantasy is emphasized, so be prepared for violence of all varieties. Bad things happen to everyone.
- I have to admit there were sections of The Grim Company that came off a bit slow. This is one of the problems with so many plot lines: it does take a fair amount of set-up.
Summary:
While dark fantasy is something I need in limited quantities, I’m so glad I had the chance to read The Grim Company. The world of magelords, Brethren, Fade, and scary ghost girls is not somewhere I ever want to end up, but it makes for some awesome adventures :D. If you are confident that you can handle some gore and violence, I highly advise you check out just who The Grim Company is ;-). Also apparently Scull has an iOS fantasy game?? Awesome!
