Blackwing by Ed McDonald REVIEW

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Started: 31/07/17

Finished: 25/08/17

Spoilers: No.

Oh, I do love to sink my teeth into a fantasy debut. Especially one as fresh and fascinating as this. Blackwing wasn't on my radar for long before buying it. One minute it was on my TBR, the next it was in my hands. I don't often read a book the same day I buy it. Normally it just goes on the pile and I get to it when I get to it. But I thought what the fuck. I'll give it a go

Thank goodness for impulse buys.

Characters Captain Ryhalt Galharrow is an ex-soldier and disgraced nobleman turned mercenary/bounty hunter. And let me tell you, he is a fucking badass. He's a tired, fierce, self-loathing man who's simply run out of shits to give. The very definition of someone who's been chewed up and spit out by life and circumstance. Despite how rough around the edges he appears at a glance, his intentions are good and in the right place. He has his issues, of course, haunted by a past shame and chased by the demons of his own alcoholism. He drinks a lot, and anytime he isn't drinking, he wishes he was. But he doesn't let the bottle hold him back from being a hero.

Nenn is what I would fondly refer to as a Honey Badger: she just don't give a shit. She's the meanest, scariest, toughest female I have read of in some time. She's no lady and knows nothing about manners and etiquette, but she's brave, strong, smart and loyal, which counts for a whole lot more in this terrifying, miserable world Ed McDonald has created.

Ezabeth is a noblewoman, and powerful Spinner (meaning she can draw power from moonlight and use it as a weapon), and she also the love interest, but she isn't just the love interest. She's so much more than that. She's strong, unfeasibly clever, but also incredibly flawed, and I'm not just talking about her appearance. In her pursuit to do right by the majority, she occasionally forgets to do right by those closest to her. She's far from selfish, but I think she is perhaps a prime example of not realising what you have until you don't.

There weren't actually any protagonists I didn't enjoy. I pretty much loved them all. Tnota was a joy and always seemed to lift a weight within the story for me, like he was the occasional light-hearted touch in the harsh, bleak reality. Dantry I also grew really fond of, he was a fop, but a damn brave fop and a strong character.

Plot So this is a rather difficult plot to describe, filled with all kinds of crazy. First, we have the Deep Kings, the bad guys, if you will. They are like gods, the most powerful beings known to man and there's very little that can hinder them. Enter the Nameless. These self-proclaimed wizards are also pretty damn powerful, and also immortal. They don't much like the Deep Kings cause all the Deep Kings seem to want to do is destroy cities, turn people into mindless rage-zombies and basically shit all over everything.

Then one day, one of the Nameless, Nall, built a weapon capable of wiping out the Deep Kings and their armies. Nall's Engine worked a treat, killed a Deep King and put them all in their place. Hundred years later, the Deep Kings still want to destroy cities, turn people into mindless rage-zombies and shit all over everything. The people of Valengrad have relied for generations on the protection of the Nameless and Nall's Engine, and seemingly have no reason to believe they don't.

Galharrow works directly for one of the Nameless, Crowfoot, and it's while he's out in the Misery taking names (and heads) that he gets an order from Crowfoot to deliver a particular person safely back to the city. He soon realises this person is someone significant from a past he wants to forget, and that she's also neck deep in some treasonous, conspiracy shit. She believes the engine no longer works, and with a Deep Kings army on the way, that's bad news. But she also believes she knows how to fix it.

This is a high-stakes novel. A real make-or-break. They have to stop the Deep Kings. There's no alternative. It's fight or die. I liked how reluctant Galharrow was to get in involved, like he really wanted nothing to do with this, but had no other option.

Another aspect I loved was the feeling that all situations were completely out of the characters' hands. This is a war of gods, like chess masters moving their pieces across a board that's stretched for centuries. No matter what the characters try and do, in reality, they are nothing but puny little mortals getting in the way of the real thing. Their war and their fight seems so small in comparison, and I really liked the way Ed McDonald executed that feeling towards the end of the book. This isn't a war that can be won by mere mortals, but damn me they're gonna try.

Setting An original world, but quite unlike the fantasy worlds I'm used to reading. This isn't a lush, beautiful, thriving landscape; this is a terrible, bleak, unimaginable world, completely undesirable and void of any beauty what so ever. Seriously, it's a nasty place.

There's Valengrad, a desolate city rife with slums and vicious little districts. Sure it has its nice spots where the nobility lives, but these areas aren't as vividly painted as the grotty areas, which really adds to, and presses, the point that despite pretty facades, this is a wretched place to live.

Then there's the Misery, which . . well, the name pretty much speaks for itself. It's a desert wasteland blown into the landscape after the death of a Nameless. It's a dangerous place, filled with monsters, mutant-like beings, and leftover magic saturating the air. Throughout the Misery are various Range Stations, fortified by the military as a defence against the Deep Kings. Undermanned and underpowered, these little 'strongholds' may as well not exist, as Galharrow discovers quite early on.

In a sick way, quite enjoy reading about worlds that I would have no desire to visit in real life, and still being forced to live in this world momentarily as I read, forced to picture it, forced to endure it. It makes it easier to understand the characters' struggles, the reason they're so weary and aggressive and quick to pick a fight. They're sick of it. I would be too if I had to live in Valengrad and trek through the Misery. I feel Miserable just thinking about that, and thus, I instantly sympathise with Galharrow and co, the poor bastards.

Writing Style Seriously. I need to take a moment to truly express how good this writing is. Written in first person perspective, we are privilege to Galharrow's inner most thoughts, which aren't a pretty sight, but are so utterly compelling. It didn't feel like I was reading a story, it felt more like he was directly telling me his story. I wasn't on the outside looking in, I was sat right there with him while he regaled his life story and all the shitty consequences of it.

The storytelling style is raw, gritty and unapologetic. There's no other way I can describe it. It was what I liked most about the book. It read so quickly for me because I instantly connected to the style in which it's written.

And the descriptions. UGGH! Man. Disgusting and beautiful all at the same time. Such a glorious contradiction.

"Tnota raised the glass eye piece towards skies the colour of a week-old bruise. Dirty golds, hints of green, torn purples and ugly blood-brown merged together, an easel of ruptured fluids and broken capillaries."

This book is also so wonderfully quotable.

"A Generous man might call my troop of cut-throats soldiers. Generous men are generally idiots."

"Half armour is like a whore's dress: just enough there to cover the vitals without getting in the way of business."

"You say there’s nothing of woman about you? You aren’t some painted vase, delicate and useless. You’re a fucking lioness. The strongest damn thing that ever lived. There’s nothing of you but woman."

What an inspiring, fucking amazing piece of writing that last one is. This sort of thing doesn't normally bother me as I enjoy male fronted books almost always more than I do female fronted books (as I find women are often portrayed as whiny and incapable), but Ed McDonald has cleverly made this book appealing for a female audience as well as male. I'd say the two characters Galharrow most respects are the two main women. This above quote suggests that what defines a woman isn't her poise and her appearance, but rather her strength and determination. I'm not a feminist, but this touched a chord with me. Very nicely done.

Final Impression A damned good book. I really enjoyed this. There's very little about it that I can pick holes in other than there were a couple of scenes towards the end that felt a bit rushed and brushed over. I understand it was probably to keep the pacing going, but by that point, and with only a few chapters left, I was fully invested and fully intent on finishing it so really wouldn't have minded the change of pace.

I would definitely recommend this to any lover of dark, gritty fantasy novels. Thoroughly entertaining. I will definitely be continuing this series when the next one comes out.