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Company of Bones
For the men and women who pledge their lives to the Company of Bones, a new name represents a second chance, revenge, and mountains of gold.
And just maybe, redemption.
Shrouded in mystery, this ragtag band of elite misfits has been dispatched by the enigmatic Broker to right an egregious wrong.
Under the dark canopy of the Oldwood trees, a boy flees the shattered dreams of youth as his ancestors’ blood wars within his veins. Haunted and hunted, the boy must find a way to live with his brutal past or be swallowed by it.
Get swept away by an epic fantasy saga that transcends the boundaries of time, weaving a spellbinding tale of intrigue, heroics, and magic – The Pendulum Series.
And just maybe, redemption.
Shrouded in mystery, this ragtag band of elite misfits has been dispatched by the enigmatic Broker to right an egregious wrong.
Under the dark canopy of the Oldwood trees, a boy flees the shattered dreams of youth as his ancestors’ blood wars within his veins. Haunted and hunted, the boy must find a way to live with his brutal past or be swallowed by it.
Get swept away by an epic fantasy saga that transcends the boundaries of time, weaving a spellbinding tale of intrigue, heroics, and magic – The Pendulum Series.
431 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2023
About the author
Brennan Morton
8 books33 followersAfter graduating from UNH, Brennan Morton joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he became a sniper, breacher, and team leader in a Reconnaissance Battalion. He deployed for two combat tours in Iraq before opening a gym in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where he currently lives with Christine, his real life Dur’Oor, and their daughter Pepper.
All interview and media inquiries can be sent to ‘brennanmortonauthor@paladinpresspublishing.com’
All interview and media inquiries can be sent to ‘brennanmortonauthor@paladinpresspublishing.com’
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
February 9, 2026
Company of Bones is a wonderful addition to the grimdark genre.
I flew through this tale. It’s full of quirky humour, which I expected from the description.
What I wasn’t expecting was the amount of heart.
Basically it’s a story within a story. Terrifying marauders with a legendary leader threaten a community. It’s only the outnumbered mercenaries of the Company of Bones that stand in their way.
While the two forces negotiate we are lead down stories of the past.
None more poignant than a half-orc and his painful journey before joining the company. I found this totally emotionally absorbing as he struggles to survive the horrors of orcs and humans who hate him. An additional conflict is holding back “The Slaughter”. This is an overwhelming feeling to kill inherent in Orcs. Throw in an animal companion and I was hooked. 🦊
It never slows in the telling and has plenty of action. When it’s not fun and bloody it’s gut wrenching.
Should appeal to Joe Abercrombie and Jonathan French fans.
Excellent.
I flew through this tale. It’s full of quirky humour, which I expected from the description.
What I wasn’t expecting was the amount of heart.
Basically it’s a story within a story. Terrifying marauders with a legendary leader threaten a community. It’s only the outnumbered mercenaries of the Company of Bones that stand in their way.
While the two forces negotiate we are lead down stories of the past.
None more poignant than a half-orc and his painful journey before joining the company. I found this totally emotionally absorbing as he struggles to survive the horrors of orcs and humans who hate him. An additional conflict is holding back “The Slaughter”. This is an overwhelming feeling to kill inherent in Orcs. Throw in an animal companion and I was hooked. 🦊
It never slows in the telling and has plenty of action. When it’s not fun and bloody it’s gut wrenching.
Should appeal to Joe Abercrombie and Jonathan French fans.
Excellent.
June 2, 2024
Imaginative, witty, and bloody gritty. This was a wonderful out of nowhere surprise, and fans of Abercrombie should rush out to get this book.
January 4, 2025
A wonderful darker fantasy. Mr Morton has joined my list of recommended reading with Joe Abercrombie and John Gwynne. I will definitely be looking for another book in this series.
February 3, 2025
Worth reading
This was just what I needed, a good story about a company of mercenaries reeking havoc across the land. This book could be a more colorful black company. There's a little bit of everything in this story. The religious aspect gets touch on, certainly some magic gets into the mix, and then there's the mysterious company of bones. We only get to meet a few so far, but the leader is certainly one to watch for. The author left a lot of room to grow for the next book. Everything I have mentioned gets touched on just a bit, so I look forward to where this story goes.
This was just what I needed, a good story about a company of mercenaries reeking havoc across the land. This book could be a more colorful black company. There's a little bit of everything in this story. The religious aspect gets touch on, certainly some magic gets into the mix, and then there's the mysterious company of bones. We only get to meet a few so far, but the leader is certainly one to watch for. The author left a lot of room to grow for the next book. Everything I have mentioned gets touched on just a bit, so I look forward to where this story goes.
March 27, 2025
Incredibly enjoyable did not expect it to be half as good as it ended up. Super fun framing structure. Absolutely give it a try
February 6, 2025
Fresh fantasy with great characters
Fresh fantasy with compelling characters, in a genre with plenty of derivative works. Company of Bones is really engaging and I’m looking forward to reading more.
Fresh fantasy with compelling characters, in a genre with plenty of derivative works. Company of Bones is really engaging and I’m looking forward to reading more.
July 30, 2026
No words except this was everything!
This was truely like finding a diamond in the rough. While a little cliche heavy, never forget the reason cliches become such is because they work. They strike a chord in us that vibrates beautifully. That is what this story did. It hit every chord imaginable, humor, grief, anger, suspense, joy and many more. By the end of this book i found myself smiling from ear to ear and ever so eager to start the next book in this series. This is a book not to pass on. Absolutely wonderful read!
This was truely like finding a diamond in the rough. While a little cliche heavy, never forget the reason cliches become such is because they work. They strike a chord in us that vibrates beautifully. That is what this story did. It hit every chord imaginable, humor, grief, anger, suspense, joy and many more. By the end of this book i found myself smiling from ear to ear and ever so eager to start the next book in this series. This is a book not to pass on. Absolutely wonderful read!
May 13, 2025
Thank you for your service!
Great book, truly entertaining! Characters have right magnetic personalities, humorous dialogue, lots of bloody fighting, some betrayals, magic, spies, benevolent deity, malignant orc deity, a few honorable people & quite a few that are anything but....In short its a great read from an author that is writing from personal experience. The words resonate with it. On to book 2 now! Thank you!
Great book, truly entertaining! Characters have right magnetic personalities, humorous dialogue, lots of bloody fighting, some betrayals, magic, spies, benevolent deity, malignant orc deity, a few honorable people & quite a few that are anything but....In short its a great read from an author that is writing from personal experience. The words resonate with it. On to book 2 now! Thank you!
July 29, 2026
Loved it.
What a great and unusual story. Not the same cookie cutter fantasy stories. Unique characters and a great ending! Well worth the read.
What a great and unusual story. Not the same cookie cutter fantasy stories. Unique characters and a great ending! Well worth the read.
March 5, 2025
Good read
Reminiscent of Glen Cook's Black Company, but not so dark. Familiar characters and races, but with original spins that just seem right. Can't wait to read the rest!
Reminiscent of Glen Cook's Black Company, but not so dark. Familiar characters and races, but with original spins that just seem right. Can't wait to read the rest!
May 11, 2025
wonderful
First review ever. Incredible. I’ve read hundreds (thousands?) of fantasy books and this is one of the few that took me by surprise. Onto the next!
First review ever. Incredible. I’ve read hundreds (thousands?) of fantasy books and this is one of the few that took me by surprise. Onto the next!
January 17, 2025
Loved the story!! First chapter had me hooked! Waiting for the second book.
January 15, 2025
great fun fantasy
Loved it. Great characters, interesting developments and an interest narrative style. A fun read, breezy, great for a winters night by the fire.
Loved it. Great characters, interesting developments and an interest narrative style. A fun read, breezy, great for a winters night by the fire.
July 28, 2024
Toss the bones
Thank the book god. I was getting tired of not finishing a novel and only reading a few hundred pages and starting a new novel and.......... Bang (Company of bones ) was in my hands and three hundred fifty some pages later. I am in the same position, looking for great reading material, alas poor J.R. what does thou do....... Try the novel, just gets better page after page.
Thank the book god. I was getting tired of not finishing a novel and only reading a few hundred pages and starting a new novel and.......... Bang (Company of bones ) was in my hands and three hundred fifty some pages later. I am in the same position, looking for great reading material, alas poor J.R. what does thou do....... Try the novel, just gets better page after page.
March 4, 2024
This was an excellent fantasy/action page turner. If you like series such as “The Wheel of Time” or “Kingkiller Chronicles” this fits right into that genre. I really enjoyed getting to know this cast of characters and felt very invested in each one’s story. I loved the humor and whit that was present in the dialogue and often found myself chuckling while reading. The levity juxtaposed some of the heavier moments in the story and I found myself eager to sort out the plot and the relationships between the characters. I’m looking forward to book two and hopefully hearing more from Laststand, this guy seems like he has some depth!
October 21, 2024
wow!
This was the best thing I’ve read in a long long time. It was clever, interesting and unique. I’ve been reading fantasy over 20 years. Ok. Add a couple more years to that. I just really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters. I didn’t have to story all mapped out in my head 1/3 of the way through. It felt fresh. Not a rehash of the same stories. I feel satisfied with the ending but would also like to adventure more with The Company of Bones. Well done Brennan!
This was the best thing I’ve read in a long long time. It was clever, interesting and unique. I’ve been reading fantasy over 20 years. Ok. Add a couple more years to that. I just really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters. I didn’t have to story all mapped out in my head 1/3 of the way through. It felt fresh. Not a rehash of the same stories. I feel satisfied with the ending but would also like to adventure more with The Company of Bones. Well done Brennan!
August 26, 2023
Solid character development. Hoping to learn more about the other members of the Company along the way. Seriously can't wait to see where this epic tale goes.
I'm a terrible reviewer, so I can't really put in to words how much I enjoyed the book. From start to finish the story flowed w/ zero lag (for me).
I'm a terrible reviewer, so I can't really put in to words how much I enjoyed the book. From start to finish the story flowed w/ zero lag (for me).
June 15, 2024
Enjoyable read
I really enjoyed this book. The character development was well done and I was vested in each character. There were some parts were I didn’t follow the author or couldn’t grasp what he was trying to describe, but that did not hinder my enjoyment enough to put less than 5 stars on the review.
I look forward to this first time authors next book. Well done, sir.
I really enjoyed this book. The character development was well done and I was vested in each character. There were some parts were I didn’t follow the author or couldn’t grasp what he was trying to describe, but that did not hinder my enjoyment enough to put less than 5 stars on the review.
I look forward to this first time authors next book. Well done, sir.
January 12, 2026
Unexpectedly wonderful book
I read lots of kindle unlimited books and some are good and some not so much. This book is very well written with many twist and turns and depth on emotion and realness that not seen in the written word these days . I can't wait to read the next one and hope many more too come
I read lots of kindle unlimited books and some are good and some not so much. This book is very well written with many twist and turns and depth on emotion and realness that not seen in the written word these days . I can't wait to read the next one and hope many more too come
October 8, 2024
great character building!!
I am really looking forward to following this book series. Outstanding character and plot development!! It has been awhile since I found a book that was hard to put down.
I am really looking forward to following this book series. Outstanding character and plot development!! It has been awhile since I found a book that was hard to put down.
October 14, 2024
Great book.
Fun, good characters, not too dark, good action. Not a downer. Well written. Looking forward to more. One of the better books on kindle unlimited. This and Richard Nell.
Fun, good characters, not too dark, good action. Not a downer. Well written. Looking forward to more. One of the better books on kindle unlimited. This and Richard Nell.
November 22, 2024
Great Fantasy!
Perfect pace, matter of fact, imaginative.
The characters practically build themselves. A vastly entertaining series debut with all the right elements of a fine fantasy.
Perfect pace, matter of fact, imaginative.
The characters practically build themselves. A vastly entertaining series debut with all the right elements of a fine fantasy.
May 2, 2026
Great series!
Brennan Morton's series brings you into great new world. The characters are enjoyable the storyline is very entertaining. It pulled me into the story and made it hard to put down!
Brennan Morton's series brings you into great new world. The characters are enjoyable the storyline is very entertaining. It pulled me into the story and made it hard to put down!
June 27, 2024
Sublime
So well written! Dang, wow, very impressive book with twists and turns. Definitely deserves 5 stars. I am looking forward to the next book!
So well written! Dang, wow, very impressive book with twists and turns. Definitely deserves 5 stars. I am looking forward to the next book!
December 14, 2024
A great romp
I love the characters and the world they're in. You follow several seemingly disparate threads, which all clash when they come together.
I love the characters and the world they're in. You follow several seemingly disparate threads, which all clash when they come together.
August 26, 2026
Company of Bones: Book One of the Pendulum Series is not a book masterfully written. There’s a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, lots of writing faux pas, lots of sentence structure issues, shifting POVs, eruptive time jumps and many more.
I understand why people who are strict about how books are edited had difficulty reading this book.
But, after saying that, I will add that I'm not a fan of such formulative strictness and much prefer a good story over proficient writing.
I like storytellers.
Storytellers come with varied voices.
Of course, Company of Bones could have been improved with some quality editing, but I'll not focus on that.
The Golden Wolves, led by Tar Hardhammer, are massing on a hill, ready to charge down and massacre an outnumbered warband below.
Under a white flag, a rider from the warband below approaches, seeking parley.
The aging legend, Tar Hardhammer is a big believer in tradition. He honors the parley despite the complaints of the standard-bearer, Gulath Trollfeller.
The messenger of the warband says he represents the Company of Bones. He is entertainingly insulting to the Golden Wolves and seeks a duel, the champion of the Company of Bones to fight the champion of the Golden Wolves.
Before Tar can stop him, Gulath, seeking to rise in rank and fame, accepts the challenge.
Tar knows his own reputation will suffer if he doesn't allow it. He’d rather just ride down the hill and crush them.
The messenger reveals himself to be the chief of the Company of Bones, a man named Nimblejack. He goes on to tell Tar a lengthy tale of his warband. He speaks of his champion, an orc-human hybrid going back as far to when "the boy" was being trained by his mother, an orc. Much later we learn “the boy" is named Dreadfalls.
The story stays pretty focused through the first section even as the author switches to the tale of Garlan, a young thief in desperate straits, invariably becoming a member of the Vine-Canton gang. Desperate Garlan schemes to get out from under the gang and the watchful eye of the thug Timoth is more than ready to end his life if he even breathes wrong.
Wetzel, a knight-like devotee of the teachings of Bulfur, travels through the countryside with some priests.
All their paths cross in the city of Glanfield where Nimblejack and the Company of Bones enters the story as well.
Occasionally, the author snaps the reader back to the hillside to remind them that is a tale being told by Nimblejack to Tar Hammerhard.
I enjoyed reading the book. The faux pas didn't bother me, and I could almost feel the writer's passion in writing the book. There’s a lot to be excited about.
I’ve read many books by better writers with perfect writing skills that failed to be as exciting and passionate as this book.
If you think of it that way, I think 3 stars is a fair ranking.
I understand why people who are strict about how books are edited had difficulty reading this book.
But, after saying that, I will add that I'm not a fan of such formulative strictness and much prefer a good story over proficient writing.
I like storytellers.
Storytellers come with varied voices.
Of course, Company of Bones could have been improved with some quality editing, but I'll not focus on that.
The Golden Wolves, led by Tar Hardhammer, are massing on a hill, ready to charge down and massacre an outnumbered warband below.
Under a white flag, a rider from the warband below approaches, seeking parley.
The aging legend, Tar Hardhammer is a big believer in tradition. He honors the parley despite the complaints of the standard-bearer, Gulath Trollfeller.
The messenger of the warband says he represents the Company of Bones. He is entertainingly insulting to the Golden Wolves and seeks a duel, the champion of the Company of Bones to fight the champion of the Golden Wolves.
Before Tar can stop him, Gulath, seeking to rise in rank and fame, accepts the challenge.
Tar knows his own reputation will suffer if he doesn't allow it. He’d rather just ride down the hill and crush them.
The messenger reveals himself to be the chief of the Company of Bones, a man named Nimblejack. He goes on to tell Tar a lengthy tale of his warband. He speaks of his champion, an orc-human hybrid going back as far to when "the boy" was being trained by his mother, an orc. Much later we learn “the boy" is named Dreadfalls.
The story stays pretty focused through the first section even as the author switches to the tale of Garlan, a young thief in desperate straits, invariably becoming a member of the Vine-Canton gang. Desperate Garlan schemes to get out from under the gang and the watchful eye of the thug Timoth is more than ready to end his life if he even breathes wrong.
Wetzel, a knight-like devotee of the teachings of Bulfur, travels through the countryside with some priests.
All their paths cross in the city of Glanfield where Nimblejack and the Company of Bones enters the story as well.
Occasionally, the author snaps the reader back to the hillside to remind them that is a tale being told by Nimblejack to Tar Hammerhard.
I enjoyed reading the book. The faux pas didn't bother me, and I could almost feel the writer's passion in writing the book. There’s a lot to be excited about.
I’ve read many books by better writers with perfect writing skills that failed to be as exciting and passionate as this book.
If you think of it that way, I think 3 stars is a fair ranking.
November 1, 2025
Lots of potential
I don't usually review books by new authors because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I know writing is very difficult. I have much respect for this author's service in the marines and great imagination. When I first began reading this book, I loved it. I loved the humor and cleverness of the mercenary captain, who we find out much later is called Nimblejack. I actually laughed out loud. Then the story took a huge turn, and Nimblejack was not spoken of for a long time. Nevertheless, I kept reading, hoping for more of that character. There isn't a whole lot more of him. What there is, is still clever and funny, but it turns out he's not really the main focus of the story. Honestly, I want more of him and less of the rest. I think that with a good editor to cut out some of the dross and a good copy editor to correct all the grammar issues, this could be really good. I see the huge heart in it, the great imagination, and the experience of the author in both the Marines and DND. There is a lot of potential.
I don't usually review books by new authors because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I know writing is very difficult. I have much respect for this author's service in the marines and great imagination. When I first began reading this book, I loved it. I loved the humor and cleverness of the mercenary captain, who we find out much later is called Nimblejack. I actually laughed out loud. Then the story took a huge turn, and Nimblejack was not spoken of for a long time. Nevertheless, I kept reading, hoping for more of that character. There isn't a whole lot more of him. What there is, is still clever and funny, but it turns out he's not really the main focus of the story. Honestly, I want more of him and less of the rest. I think that with a good editor to cut out some of the dross and a good copy editor to correct all the grammar issues, this could be really good. I see the huge heart in it, the great imagination, and the experience of the author in both the Marines and DND. There is a lot of potential.
December 17, 2023
4.5 rounded up
Fantastic fantasty read and amazing 1st book in a series. I loved the characters and variety of personalities, the pacing of the story and the world building. It was a fantasy-style, swords and fighting type of story that was very readable and not as brutal as some other swords and sorcery that I've read in the past and I really appreciated that! Each of the three main characters that the story focused on had so much heart and very satisfying arcs. I loved the strengths the author gave each of the female characters as well. I really enjoyed my time with this book, and I looked forward to picking it up each day. This was one of those books I wanted to re-read as soon as I was done. I'm really looking forward to checking out more from this author and will be awaiting the 2nd book when it's ready!
Fantastic fantasty read and amazing 1st book in a series. I loved the characters and variety of personalities, the pacing of the story and the world building. It was a fantasy-style, swords and fighting type of story that was very readable and not as brutal as some other swords and sorcery that I've read in the past and I really appreciated that! Each of the three main characters that the story focused on had so much heart and very satisfying arcs. I loved the strengths the author gave each of the female characters as well. I really enjoyed my time with this book, and I looked forward to picking it up each day. This was one of those books I wanted to re-read as soon as I was done. I'm really looking forward to checking out more from this author and will be awaiting the 2nd book when it's ready!
September 15, 2024
Wasn't Sure I Was Going to Like This
I must confess that Mr. Morton's writing style is a bit different from others I have read in this genre, and it took a couple of chapters to let the flow carry me into the story.
But once it did, I was enthralled! What an unlikely group of characters thrown together as it were by the vagaries of fate and the verbal prowess of the Captain.
There was one character in particular that sort of disappeared near the end, and hopefully that will be resolved in a later book in the series, but aside from that, this was a great read!
Loved the characters, loved the situations, and lived the story.
Time to read the next one!
I must confess that Mr. Morton's writing style is a bit different from others I have read in this genre, and it took a couple of chapters to let the flow carry me into the story.
But once it did, I was enthralled! What an unlikely group of characters thrown together as it were by the vagaries of fate and the verbal prowess of the Captain.
There was one character in particular that sort of disappeared near the end, and hopefully that will be resolved in a later book in the series, but aside from that, this was a great read!
Loved the characters, loved the situations, and lived the story.
Time to read the next one!
November 9, 2025
Wish I had served with this company.
Very rarely am I able to find a fiction writer that speaks my language. Some are decent, some are even good, but this story grabbed me from the jump. After reading the first captivating chapter, I ran to the author biography and found out exactly why I resonated with the prose, he is a Marine. As a former Corpsman I can attest that there is no greater friend and no greater enemy than my Marines.
This story clearly comes from the heart of a warrior. The characters are rich and real and raw. Absolutely outstanding!
Semper Fi!
Very rarely am I able to find a fiction writer that speaks my language. Some are decent, some are even good, but this story grabbed me from the jump. After reading the first captivating chapter, I ran to the author biography and found out exactly why I resonated with the prose, he is a Marine. As a former Corpsman I can attest that there is no greater friend and no greater enemy than my Marines.
This story clearly comes from the heart of a warrior. The characters are rich and real and raw. Absolutely outstanding!
Semper Fi!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews