Snakewood

by Adrian Selby

Once they were a band of mercenaries who shook the pillars of the world through their cunning, their closely guarded alchemical brews and stone cold steel. Whoever met their price won.

Now, their glory days behind them and their genius leader in hiding, the warriors known as the 'Twenty' are being hunted down and eliminated one by one.

A lifetime of enemies has its own price.

• ISBN10: 0356505529
• ISBN13: 9780356505527
• Publish Date: 17 March 2016 (first published 15 March 2016)
• Publish Status: Withdrawn
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Very Grim, very dark, mercenaries who fight using alchemical brews who are now being hunted one-by-one but one decides to try to warn his friends what's coming, poison is going to take his life so it's a matter of life and death and loyalty.
 
Not really my thing, GrimDark fantasy is not me but I found chunks of this compelling, probably the loyalty.

[Beth C.]

12 men, all warriors - mercenaries. Famous in their time, long since disbanded and gone their separate ways. Until, one by one, they begin dying, a black coin found somewhere on their body. That black coin the sign of someone who betrayed their job. Those who remain will try and figure out the cause of the deaths and get revenge, all while staying alive. But sometimes, things are not all that they appear.

So, first off - this is NOT a fantasy. There is nothing in it that resembles any form of fantasy. Lots of killing, mercenaries and soldiers - but no fantasy.

Second, this is the first book I have ever read that I truly felt *needed* to be read in book form vs. e-book. I think this is partly because there was so much switching between points-of-view, and so many different people, that it was very easy to get lost. And I did. Repeatedly.

Third, this book is a bit of a slog to get through. The first 2/3 were semi-interesting, but not good enough that I truly wanted to go back and read some more. I can honestly see why there were so many people who have reported reading this as a did-not-finish. Once I got to the last 1/3 of the story, and things mostly started falling into place, then it picked up and really got pretty good. However, it's a shame that it took so long, and I think that's why so many readers abandoned the book.

The frustrating part about this is that the writing is very good overall. However, the pace and setup of the story made it a struggle at times to even want to continue. Sadly, this is not a book I would recommend, nor would I read a sequel if there ever was one. It's just too time-consuming without much of the pleasure payback.