My Experience with Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
It’s time to get the band back together!
Tasked with slaying the most dangerous creatures known to man, Clay Cooper was once in one of the most famous mercenary bands of all time, Saga. Many years have passed and now Clay lives a comfortable life with his wife and daughter, content to live out his days as a father rather than a warrior. But his old bandmate, Gabriel, finds him to reunite Saga for one last job: to find and save his daughter from certain death. Can Clay and Gabriel convince the other members to join in, cross the dangerous Heartwyld, and complete what is certainly a suicide mission for even the spriest of bands?
Ever since I saw the cover for this book, I knew I wanted to read it. Once I read the description, I added it to my TBR list. And it only took a gentle push from a friend who wanted to buddy read it to get me to pull it to the front of the list and tackle the story. And I’m so glad I did.
I have a history of being in rock/metal bands, and it feels like this book was quite literally written specifically for me: a guy who hung up his guitar and mic and settled into life with a bit less risk so that I can enjoy a new adventure: parenthood. But sometimes the call to adventure comes to disrupt your peace, and you must answer it. Throughout the novel, Clay struggles to define himself now that he’s been nudged back into the game, a game that left him feeling like a monster.
Besides Clay, we meet his former band members. While the novel focuses on Clay and follows his perspective exclusively, it doesn’t isolate the character development to our primary protagonist. We learn a lot about each member—who they were, who they became, and who they need to become at the end of this epic tale. Each has a distinct personality, and their relationships are so very natural, reminding me of the kind of bonds you gain when you’ve played hundreds of gigs, driven thousands of miles in a van, and slept on more floors than you can remember in order to fulfill your purpose in life.
I mentioned that this book was written specifically for me, right?
The plot is episodic in nature while using the need to reform the band as the backbone of the structure for the first half of the story. Eames uses that time to develop the world and characters so that we’re invested in them as people before we embark on the real meat of the adventure in the story’s second half.
And speaking of worldbuilding, Eames does two things that I enjoy. First, a lot of the worldbuilding is based around the mercenary band world. The author chooses to focus on that element of the world rather than trying to explain geopolitics or culture. This works brilliantly and makes the novel especially entertaining for readers who don’t care for those elements. Second, there’s a playfulness with traditional western mythology like we see in something like Harry Potter, where you have the sense that every creature and traditional fantasy element that might exist in their world probably does. He off-handedly mentions this creature or that in a way that makes the world feel infinitely large—as big as it needs to be to accommodate any of your imaginings.
Of course, I can’t fail to mention that the book is quite humorous. The tone feels somewhat similar to a comedic action movie like Thor: Ragnarok. Callbacks, long-running gags, quippy lines, and fantastic wordplay blossom in this tale, and you can tell that Eames had a blast writing the story.
As you can probably tell, I absolutely recommend this novel, and I suggest it moreover for those of you who are like me: a washed-up musician whose days of glory are long past. However, I have to say, I wrote a lot of songs while reading this novel. So if you’re ready to rock’n’roll again, this might be the book for you.
Even though I’m a washed-up musician, I’m still creating things.
So if you like Epic Fantasy stories, you’ll love reading The Continua Chronicles.
And your first story is free!
