Where Old Guys Kick Ass

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the rock-n-roll cover. That's what drew me in, originally. I only held off buying because my TBR pile, and the investment thereof, was unsustainably high. Then I learned the author lived in the college town in Canada where I spent two good years, and I hadta have it.

Glad I did. (I was gonna say "By turns blank and blank," the blanks being "funny" and "heroic," but Benjamin Dreyer blew that formulation out of the water. Dang.) This novel works on many levels, particularly as a straightforward action fantasy. Old fighter dudes come out of retirement to save the adult daughter of one of the guys. They face monsters and dragons and bad guys and hazards of all sorts, getting beat up and hurt and keeping on, all of it in a kick-ass, non-ironic, heroic fashion. In this way, it owes a lot to D&D and sword and sorcery and similar books that deal with that kind of action.

It's not light, though. There is actual drama, with a number of empathetic characters. I have no doubt that Clay adores his wife and would do anything for his daughter; Matrick genuinely, deeply cares about Moog, who is still grieving a lost love; Gabriel is gambling everything to try to save his daughter. You want to see them succeed. These characters are people we care about.

But it's also funny, and it works as a comic adventure. Because the characters read as real people, not caricatures (a type of fantasy humor that doesn't work for me) the laughs come from the interactions, mostly, though there is also excellent banter. (The humor is more Deadwood than Friends--if you get me. "That's so Al!" and "Oh, Johnny!" becomes "That's so Ganelon!" and "Oh, Moog!") The laughs season what could otherwise be a pretty grim story (but, you know, in a good way), moving it along, keeping it fun, and the emotional contrast makes for a satisfying read.

The coolest thing about the novel is its central conceit, which is that bands of fighters in that world are stand-ins for rock bands in our world. They are beloved and indulged celebrities, living lives of excess while riding high and even after the fame evaporates. Young bands come up, earning praise for destroying rampaging monsters, and replace the old guys who are no long idolized. Managers direct their careers, steal their money, and earn the resentment of the bands they do it to. Kids emulate them, dreaming of someday living the same life. It's funny, but it's clever and it works, giving the story a quirky resonance.

Well plotted, nicely paced, funny and dramatic by turns (damn! I did it anyway), with wonderfully salty language, it shows an author with a deft touch and lots of creativity, and it is a great pleasure to read.

Recommended.

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