The Black Hawks

Das Buch wird oft mit den Werken von Joe Abercrombie verglichen und in Anbetracht der Grundkonstellation der Geschichte sowie der rauen Welt des Romans ist dies durchaus zutreffend. Der (mal wieder) junge und unerfahrene Hauptcharakter zieht nach der Flucht aus einer belagerten Stadt unfreiwillig mit einer kleinen Truppe hartgesottener Söldner durch ein von Rebellion und Gewalt gezeichnetes Land, während er versucht seinen jungen und unbeholfenen Lehnsherren am Leben zu erhalten.Die Ausgangssituation der Geschichte hat mich schnell an die „Shattered Sea“ - Trilogie erinnert, allerdings hat der Autor bei mir nicht die gleiche Sogwirkung erzeugt wie Abercrombie mit seinen Büchern. Bis auf wenige Ausnahmen bleiben sowohl die handelnden Charaktere als auch die treibenden Fraktionen sowie die Welt an sich blass und wenig greifbar. Viele Hintergründe werden wiederholt kurz aufgegriffen oder kurz umrissen, dann aber wieder fallen gelassen, wodurch ich als Leser letztlich das Interesse an ihnen verloren habe. Dementsprechend lief für mich auch die eigentlich gute Wendung am Ende der Geschichte ins Leere, denn das bis dahin geschaffene erzählerische Fundament war einfach zu dünn, um dessen Wirkung zu tragen.Der Roman ist mit seinem abschließenden Cliffhanger und den vielen angedeuteten Bezügen der Charaktere deutlich als Beginn einer Reihe angelegt, ich werde den bereits angekündigten zweiten Teil der Geschichte um die Black Hawks trotz der durchaus ansprechenden Schreibweise des Autors jedoch vermutlich nicht lesen.

It has been a while since I read fantasy but this one caught my attention and I'm really glad it did. A cast of strong characters all with their own unique attributes and personalities gives immediate depth to the narrative. The character interaction is very strong which suggests a rich back story and history prior to where the action starts. The world building is solid too - I found myself immersed for the start and keen to learn more about the different parts of Wragg's world as each element was foreshadowed. The whole thing felt very cinematic to me.Aside from the technical strength of plot and character it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Humour is used to excellent effect and I found myself really caring about the characters - even those of morally-suspect background!This is a proper fantasy novel and a genuine page turner. I didn't see the twist coming and, unlike some others, I liked where the book ended - if for no other reason that it seems likely there will be a second instalment.Highly recommended.

I had such a bloody good time with this! I haven't laughed so much through a book in quite a while, and I'm only sorry I didn't jump into this sooner.We follow Chel, a knight who basically just wants to go home. As the city he is in descends into chaos, Chel escapes with Prince Tarfel and they strike a deal. Chel protects the Prince, and he will have his wish to be oath free and return home.The action is brutal and gory as they dodge soldiers, wolves and - I kid you not - cannibals. All while finding themselves in the company of The Black Hawks, a mercenary band.This is where the hilarious banter comes in. I really enjoyed their comaraderie and their snark with each other. I loved following Chel, but my favourite character has to be Lemon, one of the mercenaries. She stole every scene she was in and had me cackling with laughter. Her dialogue was my idea of perfection.While the plot is nothing new for fantasy, it moves at a good pace, and it got twisty toward the end which I really enjoyed. But overall it was the characters and their hilarious interactions that stole the show for me! This is a great adventure fantasy debut, with a ragtag band just trying to do their best. It's entertaining and hysterically funny. Go read it.

The Fellowship of the Ring, the Black Company, the Raven and the Bridge Burners. In fact any group of characters that band together for whatever reason, in a fantasy novel, make that book one that I will read no matter what; not so much for the battles and derring do (although that never hurts) but for those moments round the campfire, at the end of the day, where conversations happen and friendships are forged. If they’re doing it for money then so much the better as it opens the story with so many possibilities for our brave heroes (or, in some cases, ‘heroes’). All of this is a roundabout way of saying that as soon as I read the blurb for ‘the Black Hawks’ I just knew that I would have to pick up a copy and try it for myself.So I picked up a copy and tried it for myself. ‘the Black Hawks’ took some getting into but not too much; it’s well worth that initial effort though, half of me is wishing that I hadn’t torn through the last few pages as now I’ve got to wait for the sequel…‘The Black Hawks’ is one of those books where I really wish that it had come with a map, at least to start with. Wragg has a lot to unpack in those first few chapters with plenty of cities containing interestingly named factions, all in their own areas of land, all laid out on the page for the reader to contend with. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of ambitious world building (which this most definitely is) but there’s a little part of me that can’t quite make out where it all sits in relation to other bits. I need it all to sit within a well defined coast line so I can get a feel for what is what as well as a sense of just how epic the journeys made by the Black Hawks are.A tough one to call then, maybe Wragg could have been a little bit clearer in his worldbuilding, maybe the publisher could have insisted on a map; maybe, just maybe I should stop having music on in the background while I’m reading… Whatever the cause, the first few chapters are a little heavy going but stick with it though, once Wragg lets the leash slip, ‘The Black Hawks’ just flies.All of a sudden, everything is happening on the run and the plot suddenly has an urgency that wasn’t there before; an urgency to the plot that also comes out in the pacing, a combination that effortlessly hooked this reader and had me scanning ahead just to make sure that favourite characters (by which I mean Lemon of course) come out on top. They usually do (at least until a vicious twist right at the end of the book) but the air of predictability you’d expect this approach to bring just isn’t there. There’s a real sense that anything could happen and even if our heroes make it through a scrap, you’re still left gasping at just how close to death everyone was. The fight scenes are just amazing.While I’m thinking of it, I need to mention that ‘The Black Hawks’ is also something that I really appreciate, it’s a travelogue that doesn’t just take its readers to places just so they can be crossed off the list of cool places that the author has made up. I can’t stand books like that (*cough*Temeraire*cough) so it’s really refreshing to read a book where places are visited for good reasons involving plot. Sorry, had to get that one off my chest.What ‘The Black Hawks’ is though, at heart, is a book about fellowship, the sort of fellowship that you only find when you’re a hardbitten mercenary forced to rely on the abilities of other hardbitten mercenaries to keep you alive. I liked the way that as Chel’s understanding of the Black Hawks grows, so does what we see of the group. It’s a family, a family of excessive swearing and awesome skills with anything sharp but a family nonetheless. Given the events that conclude this book, I’m very much looking forward to seeing how that family reacts. Watching Chel’s whole outlook on the world change is a bit of a joy as well, he certainly doesn’t end the book in the same state that he starts out.‘The Black Hawks’ was a real joy to read and I’m all a quiver waiting to see how it ends. If the sequel hits the same heights then I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Black Hawks will become a mercenary company to keep an eye on.

I loved this one, it was so much fun. Cover to cover adventure and whit. While reading I wanted to find out when the application period to join The Black Hawks Company was open, ‘cause I’m enlisting the moment that happens. An epic fantasy adventure without magic and monsters. I think all books should be like this, where the reader just has a good time because every character has their own unique voice and style that shows in the minds eye the story isn’t complicated or droll and drawn out. Being honest I only picked this one up because of the cover art by Richard Anderson, turns about you can judge a book by its cover. Fans of Seven Blades in Black and Bloody Rose/Kings of the Wyld will most certainly enjoy this. I am absolutely ordering the second book once it becomes available. Have fun out there.