Brutal

by James Alderdice

[sstaley]

Brutal is a wild tale of a strong man who hires out as a Sellsword. He comes to the town of Aldreth where two wizards are battling for power and control of the people and the riches found there. This book is not for the weak stomach as the Sellsword is quick with his sword and not to be taken lightly by his enemies, which most find out way too late. The body count is high as so many foolishly go up against the Sellsword.

I truly liked this character as I found him to be somewhat of an "Anti-Hero" at times. He dishes out justice where he sees fit but on the other hand protects those whom he feels needs his attention and compassion. There are many bright characters that almost jump off of the pages of this book and this story plays out as an action movie in your mind while reading. The action is almost non-stop and it rushes along at a very fast pace. It's been a long time since I've read a book that doesn't give you much breathing room.

I was surprised by some of the twists the story took in the last 1/4 of the book. I won't be giving any details away but let's just say you probably won't see it coming either. This dark fantasy book is about war so it's very violent but is well written, full of magic, betrayal, and a lot of things to keep you intrigued until the very last page.