What They Say:
Bloodthirsty druids and battle-hardened Iron Age warriors collide in the biggest epic fantasy debut release of 2014.
LEGENDS AREN'T BORN. THEY'RE FORGED.
Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar's army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.
First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar's most fearsome warriors, who's vowed revenge on the king for her sister's execution.
Now Dug's on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join - and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that's going to get them all killed . . .
It's a glorious day to die.
LEGENDS AREN'T BORN. THEY'RE FORGED.
Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar's army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.
First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar's most fearsome warriors, who's vowed revenge on the king for her sister's execution.
Now Dug's on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join - and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that's going to get them all killed . . .
It's a glorious day to die.
What I Say:
I would like to thank Clara from the Little Brown Book Group for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
When we first meet Dug Sealskinner, he has been pulled into a war on the wrong side, originally looking to join King Zadar army. King Zadar it turns out is a complete sadist and a bully, he likes to make people suffer just for the hell of it.
Dug isn’t your typical hero, he is world weary and cantankerous, he uses lots of expletives and if you are easily offended then this isn’t the book for you. He meets up with Lowa, she used to be one of King Zadar’s top warriors but now for reasons she doesn’t know is public enemy number one. Add to this band you have Spring, she has a knack of finding trouble in the strangest of places.
This band of three, are the only family each other have and end up being stuck in the middle of something dark and sinister. With King Zadar and some druids on the opposite sides. It is dark and unnerving.
For me this wasn’t really the kind of book I usually enjoy, I would say it’s more of a mans read, taking nothing away from the book it is me that is the problem as I also struggled with books like The Game of Thrones series and the Lord of the Rings where my brother loved them and couldn’t get enough. This is why I think it would be more enjoyable for a bloke.
I take nothing away from how this is written, the three main characters are well written and intriguing, as this is loosely based on the realities of the Iron Age it proves that the time really was interesting and a frightening place to live.
Fans of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings will love this series.
4 out of 5 stars
About The Author
In his twenties, Angus Watson’s jobs ranged from forklift truck driver to investment banker. He spent his thirties on various assignments as a freelance writer, including looking for Bigfoot in the USA for the Telegraph, diving on the scuppered German fleet at Scapa Flow for the Financial Times and swimming with sea lions off the Galapagos Islands for the Times. Now entering his forties, Angus lives in London with his wife Nicola and baby son Charlie. As a fan of both historical fiction and epic fantasy, he came up with the idea of writing a fantasy set in the Iron Age when exploring British hillforts for the Telegraph, and developed the story while walking Britain’s ancient paths for further articles.
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