The Free Bastards - A Novel

Informationen zum Autor Jonathan French Klappentext The long-awaited war has come in the sweeping conclusion to the Lot Lands trilogy—another irresistibly swashbuckling, swaggering, foul-mouthed fantasy from the author of The Grey Bastards . “[A] rip-roaring, shelf-bending conclusion . . . nothing short of an adventure fantasy masterwork.”— Kirkus Reviews (Best Books of the Year) War has come to the Lot Lands—and Oats stands upon the frontline. The Hisparthan armies on the horizon are mighty, bolstered by divine champions, dread sorcerers, and gunpowder. It’s almost more than the half-orc rebellion can hope to repel. But Oats has won impossible fights before. He’s a thriceblood, after all, more orc than man. And he hasn’t forgotten how to kill. He’ll stack the bodies high for his chief and his brethren, if that’s the price of freeing the Lots from human tyranny. Besides, the invading forces are getting a damned sight more than they bargained for. They’re not facing a handful of half-orc hoofs, but a true army—one forged from all the peoples of the Lots. At its head are Fetching, in full command of the ruinous power that runs through her veins, and Jackal, armed with the blessings of a dead god. Yet Oats can’t help but find his faith wavering. Once the strongest Bastard, he soon realizes that in this battle, even the strength of a thriceblood is easily conquered. And after a grievous loss strikes, he begins to fear that this war will lead the Lots not to freedom but to ruin. So when another path to peace beckons, he has no choice but to walk it. Even if it means betting the Lots’ fate, and his own, on the promises of the Bastards’ wiliest adversary—and making a perilous journey into the heart of Hispartha itself. Brimming with all the epic battles, surprising sorcery, and fiendish twists a Bastards fan could wish for, alongside unforgettable moments for characters old and new, The Free Bastards builds a new future for the Lots—even as it gives our beloved trio of Jackal, Fetching, and Oats the rousing, blood-soaked sendoff they deserve. Leseprobe One There were times Oats itched to shave his beard. Never mind that he’d begun to grow the damn thing the year before he became a slophead. Never mind that without it he’d look a damn full-­blood orc, all huge and hairless and near black. Never mind that he liked the way it thrust from his jaw, a challenge without words. There were still times he wished it wasn’t there. Vomiting, for an instance. Never want a beard when your guts are fountaining out of your mouth, especially if there’s bits. Licking quim sometimes too. Trying to provide a woman a sure path to spending but she keeps giggling on account of chin thatch tickling her thighs, that’s a frustration. Sure as shit, there were times in life Oats wished he’d taken a razor to his face the day before. Right now—­a dying man’s gauntleted fingers tangled in his whiskers—­was one of them. To be fair, Oats had hold of the frail too, hand clamped over his mouth to keep him from making a noise. Or breathing at all. Still, he wasn’t going all that quietly. He kept struggling. And pulling Oats’s f***ing beard! The stinging hairs, snarled in the segmented metal of the gauntlet, were more irritating than a kick in the cods. The strongest frail would have been hard-­pressed to move Oats, but his beard wasn’t made of muscle. He was forced to give, leaning into the man’s pull, or else allow a denuded patch to adorn his jaw. He’d fallen victim to this strategy before, at the pink hands of a little girl on Fetch’s shoulders during a game. Never suspected a full-­grown fighting man to try it, even as his last act. He dragged the man close, encircling the entire helmeted head in his arms, and wrenched it around until the bones crunched. Always a weird thing, breaking a neck. Oats...

Product details

• Authors: Jonathan French
• Publisher: Del Rey
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 19.07.2022
• EAN: 9780593159149
• ISBN: 978-0-593-15914-9
• No. of pages: 560
• Dimensions: 139 mm x 210 mm x 28 mm
• Series: The Lot Lands
• Subject: Fiction > Science fiction, fantasy