Enjoyed this book—a fun, unflinching, grimdark story that doesn’t muck about. In a short span of less than a hundred pages, the author has packed in a ton of nihilistic action along with some dark, gruesome world-building. I have realized this brand of fiction that combines eldritch elements and sorcery with gory action is my favorite brand of grimdark. I loved the author’s execution—sharp and to the point. The dark humor sprinkled about was just the cherry on top.
In case you are wondering if the title has some deeper figurative meaning—no, it doesn’t. This is a grisly adventure that unfolds from the perspective of a bunch of individuals whom life has brought together for a doomed mission, and by the end…everyone dies, quite literally.
What makes it enjoyable is that the participants come from very different backgrounds and reaches of life. They have varying moral thresholds and differing levels of understanding of their predicament. Given the short length of the tale, we don’t get to spend a lot of time with them, but they are all interesting in their own right. The woodcutter barely understands what is happening while the seer has already foreseen his own demise.
Besides that, we have a Lich queen shrouded in mystery, a bunch of ugly resurrected monsters, some dark necromancy, and other creepy crawly things. Perhaps not as much of a misery porn to appease the hardcore grimdark veteran, but a fun quick read for the occasional grimdark enthusiast.
Go get it.