The True Bastards by Jonathan French

Fetching was once the only female rider in the Lot Lands. Now she is the leader of her own hoof, a band of loyal half orcs sworn to her command. But in the year since she took power, the True Bastards have struggled to survive. Tested to the breaking point by the burdens of leadership, Fetching battles desperately to stave off famine, desertion, and the scorn of the other half-orc chieftains, even as orcs and humans alike threaten the Lots’ very existence. Then an old enemy finds a way to strike at her from beyond the grave–and suddenly only one, faint hope for salvation remains.

I’ve been waiting for this book for so, so long. I had read Jonathan French’s The Grey Bastards while it was still a participant in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, and while the world was dark and violent and brutal, it was a wild and entertaining ride.

And if you liked it as much as I did, then I’d be willing to bet that you’ll love the sequel too. All of the violence, all of the action, that’s all still there.

But this is a bit more of a lonely book. As the blurb indicates, Fetching is now the leader of the True Bastards hoof, and with leadership comes distance. As a result, the banter and group dynamic of the first book is a little more subdued. The loneliness of leadership is a major theme here, which is compounded by Fetch’s own loneliness brought on by the inherent misogyny in the world.

A big part of the book revolves around Fetch confronting this external misogyny, but also the misogyny that she has internalised over the years spent in a sexist culture. It creates an interesting conflict — within and without — as she confronts her own biases towards perceived femininity. It results in a shift from the “smurfette” nature of the first book, as Fetch becomes something of a rallying point for other women.

But make no bones about it, her war against misogyny is a war. And in a world like this, wars are brutal. There are a lot of attempted rapes, a lot of murders, and even quite a few cross words.

All of this combines to mean that The True Bastards, at least initially, is a less humorous book than the first. Some humour does shine through when Fetch settles into her role, but that doesn’t mean she ever stops taking her job seriously.

In terms of the story, there are a number of twists and revelations. Particularly in the second half. A large portion of the story revolves around the appearance of a pack of giant hyenas that have shown up in the Lot Lands, and seem to be hunting half-orcs. The scenes involving these vicious dogs are full of tension, and have an almost horror-novel atmosphere to them.

But what are they? Why are they here? What do they want, if anything? These are all questions that are asked and answered. On top of that, we have the fallout and consequences of the previous book, deteriorating relationships between half-orcs and humans, and a seemingly-invulnerable orc on a murder rampage.

That last one? He’s scary. Real scary.

There’s so much going on that it’s hard to see how it all fits together until the end. Resolutions to subplots can feel a bit ragged at times, but again, this seems like a thematic choice to show that nothing really gets so neatly wrapped up in real life. Even in the rare occasions where something seems convenient, it’s counterbalanced by all of the shit that the characters have had to go through to get there. And sometimes, they go through that same shit for no reward at all.

To touch on something I know was fairly controversial… For those of you who disliked the “no homo” jokes in The Grey Bastards, those are largely gone, here. However, there are still a few “backy” jokes in there. If a male half-orc is seen to be close with another, they might be asked if they’re gay in a way that’s phrased as a joke. In a similar style, a mongrel speaking of their best friend might say something along the lines of, “I love him, it might be a bit backy if I’m honest”.

In the end, I think if you liked the first book, you’ll like this one too. On the other side of the coin, if The Grey Bastards wasn’t for you, then it might be worth giving this one a miss. I thought that Fetch made the step up from a “secondary” main character to a point-of-view protagonist really well, and though it took me a while to adjust to the change in tone, by the end I appreciated seeing this hellscape of a world through another set of eyes.

Now… on to the next one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to Orbit Books for the review copy!