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  • The Grey Bastards

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Jonathan French
  • Narrated by: Will Damron
  • Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)

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The Grey Bastards cover art

The Grey Bastards

Written by: Jonathan French
Narrated by: Will Damron
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Publisher's Summary

“[A] fantasy masterwork.... A dirty, blood-soaked gem of a novel [that reads] like Mad Max set in Tolkien's Middle Earth. A fantasy masterwork." (Kirkus Reviews - starred review)

Jackal and his fellow half-orcs patrol the barren wastes of the Lot Lands, spilling their own damned blood to keep civilized folk safe. A rabble of hard-talking, hog-riding, whore-mongering brawlers they may be, but the Bastards are Jackal's sworn brothers, fighting at his side in a land where there's no room for softness.

And once Jackal's in charge - as soon as he can unseat the Bastards' tyrannical, seemingly unkillable founder - there's a few things they'll do different. Better.

Or at least, that's the plan. Until the fallout from a deadly showdown makes Jackal start investigating the Lot Lands for himself. Soon, he's wondering if his feelings have blinded him to ugly truths about this world and the Bastards' place in it.

In a quest for answers that takes him from decaying dungeons to the front lines of an ancient feud, Jackal finds himself battling invading orcs, rampaging centaurs, and grubby human conspiracies alike - along with a host of dark magics so terrifying they'd give even the heartiest Bastard pause.

Finally, Jackal must ride to confront a threat that's lain in wait for generations, even as he wonders whether the Bastards can - or should - survive.

Delivered with a generous wink to Sons of Anarchy, featuring sneaky-smart worldbuilding and gobs of fearsomely foul-mouthed charm, The Grey Bastards is a grimy, pulpy, masterpiece - and a raunchy, swaggering, cunningly clever adventure that's like nothing you've heard before.

Praise for The Grey Bastards“Saddle up the war boar and set off on a wild, gory thrill-ride that ends in an awesome climax and begs for a sequel.” (Daily Mail, UK)

“Non-stop action, though not for faint hearts.... The Grey Bastards live up to their name in all respects.” (The Wall Street Journal)

©2018 Jonathan French (P)2018 Random House Audio

What the critics say

"A filthy, charismatic and frankly excellent read." (Mark Lawrence, international best-selling author of Prince of Thorns and Red Sister)

"A terrific and highly original epic fantasy debut...French's half-orcs, halflings, centaurs, and others have rich histories and folklore, giving the work depth while never getting in the way of the fun. Excellent fantasy fare on all levels." (Publishers Weekly)

"French flips the fantasy script as the monsters become the good guys, fueling an action-packed, sneakily smart adventure. Half orc and all badass, Jackal is a hero you won't soon forget." (Scott Sigler, New York Times best-selling author of Alive and Infected)

What listeners say about The Grey Bastards

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This is what im talking about!

Everytime I think im going to give up on fantasy i find books like this one. Its Dark, but is balanced with the perfect amount of humor. It has tropes but there are also pockets of originality as the story progresses. I was on my toes the entire time and couldnt tell where the story was going. I was engaged, interested and suprised and honestly i cant ask for more nowadays. Ill definitely will be picking up the next book.Fans of Joe Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence will like this.


The narrator was absolutely phenomenal.

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Sons of Anarchy meets Lord of the Rings

This was exciting, action packed and well paced. Will Damron was excellent at narrating, giving each character their own distinctive voice and reading very smoothly. Looking forward to listening to book 2!

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Gritty and Brutally Fun Story

It's a well though out story and definetly worth the price. The latter half of the story in particular, once you get used to the unfairness of the world and the story pieces start coming together, was very enjoyable to listen to.

The main character was a bit too thick headed for my taste, and I don't get why he became so attached to the elf girl so fast, but that didn't take away from the story.

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Bastards

not often I enjoy a book enough to write a review. def recommend the gray bastards and looking forward to the true bastards. Jackle is an eragant ass but gets the job done.

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