Kings of the Wyld (Eames)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
The one thing that absolutely kills me is that this is a first book. There's a lot that went into this. This book was recommonded at a recent virtual convention (I believe it was a panel at Balticaon) when someone asked about humorous books. I like humor.
That said, this book is half humor and and half serious (and seriously dark, at times). The premise is amusing: that the monster-hunting parties of yore was akin to rock stars, and one of the greatest, Saga, has to "get the band back together". I wondered if this was going to be anything like Legend, and it was nothing like that. It went its own way. (I do notice that David Gemmel is listed on the Amazon page as an inspiration, along with the Hitchhikers Guide.)
Twenty years have passed and Clay Cooper now has a simple life spending his days guarding a town gate. He has a wife and young daughter and his killing days are behind him. One night leaving the ale house on his way home, he runs into the former Golden Gabe, leader (or at least "frontman") of Saga. His grown daughter joined a band and she's on the other side of the monster-laden Heartwyld in the town of Castia that is under siege by hordes from the last "druin". He needs to save her.
Clay is reluctant to go, but is convinced by his own daughter. They don't get very far before they are robbed of what they own (including his sandwiches and extra socks). You start to wonder if they're ever going to get where they're going.
The rockstar fandom metaphors came fast and furious, including having bookers to get gigs fighting monsters, and playing arenas (like modern collesiums) instead of hunting in the wild. There were points in the narrative that I wasn't sure that the author knew how he was going to get from point A to point B (and there was a lot of traveling in there). Most of the scenes seemed to sever a purpose other than to add an extra fight for the purpose of fighting. Likewise, added characters usually served some purpose other than being cannon fodder or the "price to be paid" to achieve something.
And unlike that Space Gladiator book, the people here healed in ways that fit the narrative without getting crazy with killing and reviving.
It could've been funnier, and some of the jokes were in places I don't find humor because the topic is either overdone or low-hanging fruit.
An enjoyable read, and I might find the sequel sometime.
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