Anthony Ryan's Reviews > The Grey Bastards

A fantasy take on Sons of Anarchy might seem an unlikely starting point for an excellent novel, but Jonathan French manages it with considerable aplomb. The ‘spot the influence’ game is fun for the first few chapters but soon fades away as the adventures of half-orc Jackal and his foul-mouthed, hog-riding hoof-mates become ever more absorbing. French’s clean, elegant prose works as a pleasing counterpoint to the obscenity-laden dialogue of his characters and even that retains a certain rhythmic cadence that makes all the sweariness almost poetic. The plotting is pacy and never dull, with twists and betrayals aplenty as the cast of mongrels face an ever more deadly struggle to defend the badlands they call home from their full-blood orc enemies. As full of tropes as any high fantasy you’re likely to find but instead of coming across as well-worn cliches, here the various demons, wizards, elves, and halflings are refashioned into something both vibrant and highly entertaining.