All of these elements mix well with the greater story of King Rogan’s life and fate of his kingdom. These factors intensify as Rogan battles furry mutants, deals with infighting among the tribesmen, and even enjoys a rough yet tasteful erotic scene. Even as Rogan and his companions-nephew Javan, a pair of amazon-esque archers, and a good wizard from the village-fight their way to Amazarek’s fortress, the dark waters of Rogan’s personal history, the kingdom and family he left behind, begin to tie-in with his motives. In King Rogan, Shrewsbury and Keene create a character who echoes Howard’s Conan, yet who possesses a broader sense of humor and is embroiled in a more textured and nuanced type of political intrigue.Īs the novel progresses, the authors weave in their own brand of alternate history. It is every bit as accurate in piercing the reader’s heart while also nailing the bullseye of its unique stylistic place across genres. If Lord of the Rings is a heavy-crossbow of a fantasy novel, King of the Bastards is a light yet swiftly firing recurve bow.
With this striking cast of villains in place, and with Rogan’s believable (if somewhat sardonic) sympathy for the abused villagers binding them together, the novel’s main confrontation draws its raw and enticing tension. In Shrewsbury’s mythos, Meeble is one of the terrifying and fabled “Thirteen”-a group of elder and vaguely extra-terrestrial entities whose sole purpose is to glutton themselves on the suffering that results from torturing humanity. The wizard Amazarek has summoned an army of undead humans, crossbred beasts, and Croatoan, a.k.a. A thrill ride of a novel with constant action, King of the Bastards satisfies fantasy, horror, and science-fiction fans alike with its blend of sword and sorcery, supernatural terror, and slight dash of speculative technology.Īt first, the novel’s narrative arc is a straight shot-shipwrecked King Rogan agrees to save a tribal village from an evil wizard that has fortified himself in a mountain redoubt. Thus opens Stephen Shrewsbury’s and Brian Keene’s King of the Bastards. For warrior-king Rogan, survival depends on steel, speed, muscle, and cunning. Tentacles rise from the sea, winged beasts cast their shadows from above, and hungry corpses emerge from dark tides. On a bleak coast far from his homeland, Rogan, barbarian king of Albion, finds himself surrounded by deadly threats and spectacular wonders. In this installment, we are honored to feature Stephen Shrewsbury’s and Brian Keene’s King of the Bastards, including an interview with author Stephen Shrewsbury.
Welcome to the fourth installment of Author’s Own Words.
0 kommentar(er)
