Blade And Bone by D. K. Holmberg

4/5 stars, A fun new fantasy with some great characters

A very enjoyable read. A tale of four mercenaries for hire who take on a job that might just get them all killed. Their adventure (or commission) is concluded so there is no cliffhanger ending, which is satisfying. However, the story is just beginning and I just know our heroes are going to get mired ever deeper into trouble in book two following the events of Blade and Bone.

The book is well-written and told in the third person with each chapter being from the perspective of one of our four heroes. The story is a bit of a fog of war in that Kanar, our mercenary leader, takes on a job he cannot turn down but the why and what exactly it means and what it is all about is not clear to the reader, a mystery not just to us but to the other members of Kanar’s band, who all have their own secrets. Secrets that are tantalisingly revealed the deeper into the narrative you get.

The pace and the storytelling are great but what carried the story for me were the characters. The four mercenaries, Kanar, Lily, Jal and Honaaz are well-fleshed out, unique and they are fun to read and that is what I found most enjoyable. Jal in particular was contradictory and mysterious and I have my ideas of what exactly he may be but I will have to read book 2 to see if I am right.

The fight scenes and violence were a little too peripheral for my liking. These I found a bit sanitised and in some cases, the descriptive narrative seemed unlikely e.g. Honaaz head butting the back of the head of someone he was fighting which was clever considering they were facing each other, or Lily gathering her prizes mid-battle which I found unrealistic. There was plenty of opportunity for Holmberg to paint a bloody canvas with some of this action but it was glossed over (what I call disneyfied) and maybe for good reason because it means the book is suitable for young adults. There is no swearing either which affirms this.

Overall a great read if you are looking for a new author to try. The storytelling is great, the characters fun and interesting and you will have a favourite. Even Honaaz who, although a bit ambiguous, grew on me the deeper into the story we got. Read the sample, chapter 1 jumps you right into the action and gives a real flavour of what is to come.