While stuck inside because of COVID-19, I've had a lot of time to read. And so far, Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames, has been my favorite. The story follows Clay Cooper, a retired mercenary who was a former member of Saga, the most famous mercenary band in the empire of Grandual. Over time since Saga's disbandment, Clay and his friends have "grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk, or a combination of the three". Nineteen years after they separated, Clay's ex-bandmate Gabriel shows up at his door, begging for help rescuing his daughter from a horde of monsters. It's seemingly a suicide mission, but Clay accepts. "It's time to get the band back together".
Clay, Gabriel, and the rest of Saga traverse the dangerous wilderness of the Heartwyld, fighting off chimeras, cannibals, and everything in between. Kings of the Wyld is a comedically written book, designed to make the readers laugh. But along with the jokes, the book holds a deep plot, with tense, sad, and mysterious moments mixed in. Another interesting thing about this book is that the author (Nicholas Eames) modeled the mercenaries and their band structure off of famous rock bands and musicians. Throughout the story, there are subtle comparisons and references to famous musicians such as Elvis, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton.
Kings of the Wyld is one of my favorite books I've read this year, and my only big criticism is that a subplot was resolved in a rather predictable and anti-climatic fashion, causing me no surprise when it was revealed. The book is fairly long, with a page count clocking in at about 500 pages. I highly recommend that you read Kings of the Wyld, as it was one of my favorite books I've read so far in 2020. So go out and read it! I know that you've got plenty of time to sit down and read, especially with the world-wide quarantines we're all stuck in.
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