However Many Must Die

The Blood Scouts #1

by Phil Williams

"An impressive writer" – Mark Lawrence, Gemmell Award Winner and international bestselling author
"I freaking bloody loved the Blood Scouts" – Julia Sarene, The Fantasy Hive
"A unique, compelling story with plenty of action and vivid characters." – Patrick Samphire, author of Shadow of a Dead God
"One of the best books of the year." – Travis Riddle, author of Flesh Eater and the Jekua series

Wild Wish was trained to do one kill.

Saved from a lonely backwater existence by a global war, Wish couldn't believe her luck when she got into the Blood Scouts. Now she gets to share tents with an all-female platoon of night-stalking, giant-slaying, boat-sinking, battle-swaying legends in the making.

The problem is, they keep dying.

And they've been given their worst assignment yet.

The enemy Dread Corps are combining magics deep within the nightmare lands of Low Slane, to unleash a weapon that could sway the entire war. It's up to the Blood Scouts to stop them – with a journey that gets more dangerous with every step.

Far behind enemy lines, death hangs in the air. Monsters lurk around every corner.

Are Wish's skills – and positive attitude – enough to keep her Blood Scouts alive?

Or will the cost of survival finally break her?

Get ready for the first epic entry in a new series, and a new world, of dark military fantasy from Phil Williams. Start reading today!

What reviewers are saying...
"This book has it all, and it is delivered in slick, lightweight prose that does not miss a beat, yet somehow flows like a blockbuster." - DB Rook, author/FanFiAddict
"a great read that I really recommend checking out" - Dominish Books
"Loved However Many Must Die. Excellent story. Go read it now!"
"One of the best books of the year." - Travis M. Riddle, author
"an impressive story filled with creativity and heart" - Lynn's Books
"an excellent book, a story that is a direct punch to your feelings" - Jam Reads
"compelled me to stay awake well past my bedtime" - Space & Sorcery
"an action packed, heart-breaking, and gritty read. Highly recommended!" - Damien Larkin, author
"I was thoroughly impressed by the originality of the world...intricately fascinating" - Fantasy Book Nerd
"an amazing read!" - Sam Stokes, reader review
"an absolute blast" - Pete Barnable, reader review
"A great novel, with characters I found myself caring about, probably more than was good for me." - Sue Tingey, reader review

Genres: Fantasy

534 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Phil Williams is an author of fantasy, horror and dystopian fiction, including the Blood Scouts epic military fantasies, the Ordshaw urban fantasy thrillers and the post-apocalyptic Estalia series. He also works as a fiction editor and writes reference books to help foreign learners master the nuances of English, two of which are regular best-sellers on Kindle. As a long-term teacher and tutor of advanced English, he runs the popular website “English Lessons Brighton”.

Phil lives with his wife by the coast in Sussex, UK, and spends a great deal of time walking his impossibly fluffy dog, Herbert.

Reviews

[Rob Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often give 5 stars to a book, so when I do you can be damned sure it earned it!

I love war stories. From Band of Brothers to Saving Private Ryan, I love stories that capture the feel of a brotherhood of soldiers fighting for each other more so than the war they are surrounded by. And with HOWEVER MANY MUST DIE, Phil Williams successfully captured that essence but with a sisterhood and set in a high fantasy world embroiled in a WW1-esque conflict.

I won't waste time going over the plot, I'll only say I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I loved Wild Wish and the rest of the Blood Scouts. I laughed with them when they joked, cried with them when they died, and feared for them every time they marched into danger. But one of the things that really stuck with me is how real the characters felt, how they patched over the despair of a war beyond comprehension with gallows jokes and unreasonable hope, and how it crushed them in those moments where it all came crashing down around them.

So yeah, 5 stars to However Many Must Die, and I am eagerly looking forward to reading book 2.

[Jamedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally on JamReads

However Many Must Die is the first book in the military fantasy series The Blood Scouts, written by Phil Williams. A novel that it is inspired partly by the WWI, giving a new twist to the quest adventures, following the steps of the Blood Scouts, the only feminine group in the Stanclif army, in their fight against the bloody country of Drail; a grim story that hides an incredible tale of comaraderie.

Wild Wish is a member of this company, and while being in the middle of the war, she feels as she has found the group of friends she always wanted; she was a country girl who escaped her life to join the Blood Scouts. Her wish is to keep all the group alive so they can continue as friends living on the imaginary farm she has.
However, after a battle where the Blood Scouts prove their importance and skill, while losing a member in the field, they discover rumours about Drail preparing a devastating weapon that will change war's course; Wild Wish and the Scouts will find themselves travelling deep into the Drailish country to find the truth about this weapon and stop it if possible.

Even if Williams has written an epic fantasy story with a really original setting, as this kind of inspiration is not commonly used in the genre, what is hidden behind the Blood Scouts' quest is a tale about comaraderie and true friendships, how those that met by chance have ended trusting and becoming real friends. But in this grim setting, they will also suffer the worst parts of war, including the loss of many dear friends, and the trauma of dealing with difficult situations; our best example to observe it will be Wild Wish, who acts as our main character. Williams manages to portray who extreme moments can change people.

We also have a second character which will act as the counterpart to Wild Wish, Maringdale, a Purification mage working for the Drail Empire; a selfish and individualistic person, partly due to the culture she has grown in. She's also pushed to the extreme, as the Empire doesn't tolerate the incompetence or even being average.

Apart from an excellent characterisation, William has managed to create a really interesting fantasy world, blending the WWI industrialization with creatures that are closer to the fantasy genre; a bloody empire against nations trying to resist and finish a war. It feels like a new twist to the military fantasy genre.

However Many Must Die is an excellent book, a story that is a direct punch to your feelings, and that won't let anybody indifferent. I need more Blood Scouts' books as soon as possible, because this one was absolutely marvelous.

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a fantasy world torn apart by war, Phil Williams’s new book However Many Must Die is a grim war tale of comradeship and impossible decisions.

Wild Wish is a member of the Blood Scouts, a group of women who have had enough of losing their menfolk to war and holding up the country of Stanclif as part of the unseen workforce, and have decided to join in the fight against the bloodthirsty Drail.

Whilst on manoeuvres, Wish and her compatriots join the fighting, losing a beloved member of the team. However, after the battle they discover a group of refugees that tell them of a devastating secret weapon that the Drail are developing that could change the course of the war.

As friends are lost, Wild Wish finds herself in positions that she did not foresee. Travelling deep into Drailish country, Wish and her company of women soldiers go in search of the truth of the rumours about the secret weapon.
Fusing a World War One setting with an epic fantasy setting, Phil Williams manages to give a new twist to familiar themes. I was thoroughly impressed by the originality of the world in that there is the familiarity of both a war novel and an epic fantasy book with fantastical beasts alongside the human population.

Besides the characters (which I will get onto in a moment) one of the things that shines throughout the book is the world building. It is intricately fascinating how Phil Williams successfully melds a modernistic world (albeit one that has now passed us in the real world) with a classic fantasy setting. At times, it can be a little jarring to have trains, tanks, guns and cars in amongst dragon type creatures and other mythical fantasy races, but it works really well. You can tell that besides the secondary world, it is clear that there has been extensive research on the conditions that people faced during the war and that this extensive research in turn gives a realistic quality to the narrative.

In amongst this is the characters that populate the world. It is very easy to differentiate the evil axis type powers with the allied forces types, but giving a viewpoint from both sides of the trenches gives a good feel to how both sides operate, giving the reader a rounded view of the world that Phil Williams has created.

The book is split into two main points of view. The first point of view that we have is Wild Wish. Wild Wish is a country girl who in order to escape her life in some back water has joined The Blood Scouts, a crack squad of elite fighters. Throughout the book, her only desire is to get everyone out alive so that they can all join her on her imaginary farm. The other reason that she is there is to meet girls, and as the Blood Scouts are all women, she couldn’t have picked a better place. Throughout the story we follow her as she starts as a private in the Blood Scouts and how circumstances change her role as the book progresses.

In addition to this, we also get the point of view of Maringdale, who is a member of the Purification, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Gestapo or the Stasi of East Germany. Maringdale is a hard character to like as she is ultimately self-serving, ruthless and ambitious. However, I must admit that I did like her character a lot. There are some parallels to Wish’s story, in that she experiences the same prejudices from the officers in the Drailian army as Wish does in hers. And whilst Wish’s change in roles is due to circumstance, Maringdale’s is one of her own making.

The narrative itself takes a little getting used to as it introduces us to a new world, new monsters and new concepts. I know that this will put some people off, but I like the fact that Phil Williams does not molly coddle the reader and trusts the reader to stick with the story in order to acclimatise themselves to the world and its development.

In some ways, However Many Must Die reminds me of Patrick Samphire’s books, in that there are familiar concepts in here, but that they are made malleable to create something that feels fresh and exciting.

Military fantasy may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think that if you take a chance on this book you will enjoy it.

Oh and one final thing! I must mention the cover by Stefan Koidl. I originally did a cover reveal on this book prior to it being released and I must say that that cover blew me away.

[Jennifer (bunnyreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t tell you how fast I jumped on the chance to read this ARC. Thank you to Phil Williams for the ecopy!

**

So, wow what a book However Many Must Die was! I don’t know what it is I love so much about Phil’s women characters, but Wild Wish has to be my newest favourite.

Wish is part of an all women troop of soldiers called the Blood Scouts. When information suggests that the other side is experimenting- making a new weapon that could turn the war in their favour and kill hundred of thousands in the process, she is hastily promoted and tasked with leading the Boot scouts on a mission that sends them deep into enemy territory. Wish hasn’t been part of the scouts long but during wartime you learn fast, and get promoted quickly.


Characters

Most of the story in However Many Must Die is brought to us through either Wild Wish- an officer in the Stanclif army, and Constans Marringdale- a Purification officer in Drail Empire. Between the two we get a good look at the world at large, cultures/beliefs and some of the politics. Epigraphs do a bit of the heavy-lifting here as well filling in the minute details of history, miliary, and the war.

Wild Wish is probably the first character I’ve read that I felt really grew into their name. The other women all had military nicknames that you knew right-off why they were earned, but Wish’s name- while still obvious- became her as the story progressed.

Wish seems meek at first and maybe even a bit naïve or just young. She’s overwhelmed with it all- what’s she’s doing, the losses of her friends etc. but she has this underlying steel that makes her a survivor and you can’t help but love her and hope she gets to go home to her farm, and live out her life near her friends. I think the fact that she wasn’t one of those brash women you sometimes see, especially in UF, is what appealed to me the most.



Maringdale on the other hand, is tough as nails. Cold and determined, she will do what she feels needs to be done for the Drail empire to succeed. Maringdale is a Witlacer- a type of magic user- her gift is kind of like a truth detector/intentions finder which she uses like a drug dog sniffing out spies and other threats.

The Drail Empire has no room for women in its army or any position of importance for that matter, so she has to be extra ruthless to be taken seriously. (This is something the Stanclif are no better about but they at least have more will to make concessions by allowing women in their army- even if they sure don’t value them like they do their men.)

**


The Blood Scouts’ Boot squad is large and in a lot of way are like a big found family (which is probably why I loved them).
Some of the characters move in and out of focus but it never feels like too much at once, or even too small. The size gives room to move them around or to lose people and let me tell you- no one is safe here. It’s a war zone and we never are allowed to forget just how dangerous it is, or that it isn’t always the enemy that gets you- sometimes it’s the terrain or creatures. There’s an art to handling a large group of characters, especially in a battle without getting whiplash and this is it.

Occasionally we have accounts of the Blood scouts, as scarily ruthless women from soldiers on the other side of the war…which they are, but because we spend so much time with them, to us, these same deadly soldiers just feel like young women trying to survive and not lose anymore of the friends they have made along the way.



Magic


There are two types of magic- Witlacing and Dirtminding.

I like how simple the magic is to understand while still encompassing every thing from the physical- moving earth or objects, to the intangible- influencing the mind etc.
Also there are heavy consequences for its use- the toll on their bodies or minds are unmistakeable.



World

There is a fair bit of travel so we get an idea of the landscape and I really enjoyed these parts. It never felt boring. The downtime gave us some nice moments with our characters and the travel time gave us some really fun things along the way.

Every time they’re passing through a new part of the world, I’d think it can’t get any cooler than this! I loved the scenes approaching the Horns of Heaven and that whole sequence working through the caves.


I loved the movie Shooter (I should probably get around to that book series someday) which might be why some of my favourite ‘military’ parts of the story were the sniper scenes.

There was a great sequence where they’re moving in on some Drail bunkers, that really brought the sniper work to life. You wouldn’t think something like long distance shooting could be so tense but somehow the combination of that and the moving soldiers up the ridge, just had me on the edge of my seat.


Other Notes-

I did find However Many Must Die took me a bit to settle in. I couldn’t decide whether it was intentional because Wish is also settling-in and feeling a little out-of-depth with all that’s going on around her or if it was just that typical, new series finding my feet in the world and its terms, settling in. Once I was settled in- I couldn't put it down.


Tldr:

Loved this one. Excellent story. Go read it now!

[Julia Sarene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of fantasy involving guns, and neither of overly military focused ones. I saw the cover of However Many Must Die though, and I simply knew I needed to read it.

Luckily enough I got an ARC, and ploughed through it in just two days!

The cover already tells you this is a dark, gritty and challenging read, so expect this when you go in.

This wasn’t much fun anymore.
Of course, no one ever said that it was supposed to be fun – though the hawkers and posters back home heavily implied it. They used words like glory and honour and superlatives about reaching your full potential, and between the lines you knew they were really telling you that war was exciting.

What really impressed me was how realistic the sheer horror, but also the comradery and the humourous moments are written. All my grandparents went through wars, and we talked a lot about it. This fit their descriptions and stories so very well! Especially how differently soldiers handle varying situations. There's a bit of sapphic romance in here, bit it's definitely not a main focus of the book, just one of the dozens of sides of the main character.

Wild Wish was trying to count the positives of this day, though. Most of them had survived. They’d won the battle. And she’d found a comfortable mound of broken earth to rest on and reflect, while everyone else was busy. But there were dead men as far as she could see. Or at least bits of them.

This last one hit home for example as my grandpa kept telling the story of being the one sleeping on a hard boulder and the others making fun of him at first, until it rained really hard that night and their beds turned into ice cold mud baths. There's plenty of such little things throughout the story that just gave it so much more depth.

I freaking bloody loved the team of Blood Scouts being women, and how there definitely are undertones of the struggle to be taken seriously as a women in the world, but this squad is an elite one on their own, and so they get to shine, with no men around telling them they can't do something.
The whole topic of misogyny and proving themselves when given the change due to plain necessity was well handled, and neither overtook the story, nor was handled too lightly.

Having POVs on both sides of the war allowed even more depth to the world and managed to show cultural differences. There's definitely a good and a bad side here, so you know who to root for, but even the POV villain was relatable enough to care about her.

The world itself was also fascinating, with all sorts of creatures, monsters, different sentient species, magic, some sort of technology and plenty of regions to explore. It all feels smooth and like you can walk right into this world.

Why only four stars? I had to backtrack quite a bit, especially in the first half of the book. I can't say why exactly, but I simply started to drift off every so often and had no idea what happened in the last bit I read. I do think this is partly due to, as I said in the beginning, it not really being my usual cup of tea, and just needing to get a feel for the characters first. This definitely hampered my enjoyment a bit, if not overly much, especially as I got myself firmly planted inside the story for the second half.

[Travis Riddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved every book by Phil Williams that I've read, but However Many Must Die stands above them all for me. It feels like a truly fresh spin on the classic "quest fantasy" by bringing it into a somewhat dystopian war setting with a cast of fascinating characters on a dangerous journey full of excitement and intrigue.

The previous books by Williams I've read have been urban fantasy taking place in the real world, so it was a lot of fun reading this and seeing him really flex his worldbuilding muscles. I loved the smattering of weird, unique races (no generic orcs or elves or whatever here) and the dark magics people are able to do to aid them in their war efforts.

At times it's a brutal book, but it has a lot of heart as well. One of the best books of the year.

[Tom Mock]

This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBOX contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.

A platoon of women soldiers surprise the enemy flank amidst bombardment and spells in this exhilarating and unique WW1 era(?) fantasy.

This rattles off its prose with the rat-tat-tat rapidity of machine gun fire. The opening is visceral and active, but does a good job of not leaving its reader in the lurch. We understand just enough to feel the rush.

Our all women platoon have very interesting names like “Wild Wish.” I’m assuming this is a cultural thing, if not something like code names. I can’t tell what relative culture they’re a part of. For now, this is just war, but it’s bloody effective stuff.

Our MC is well fixed as the emotional center of the action. She grounds us fast in a feeling person with desires who is caught up in the mad dash of the assault.

The narration does (rarely) stumble into inexactness when reaching towards a writerly turn of phrase. While it’s never good when a book makes you stop and say, “huh??” the energy and colorfulness of the prose is nonetheless overwhelmingly enjoyable.

I pause at the ease and surprise with which the enemy soldiers recognize the beauty of this assaulting force. They’re fully kitted out, as I understand, but twice enemy soldiers are stunned by their beauty.

I don’t know what to do with that amidst the otherwise gritty realism of this opening.

I can see nothing else to criticize. Underline that. There is more I might like to know, but that desire keeps me reading as the pace of this opening accelerates, and then, impossibly, accelerates even more.

The story hurtles along at a desperate sprint of action that is as invigorating to read as anything I’ve ever laid eyes on.

This is the second opening I’ve read in as many days that seems destined to be a finalist contender. Along with its lgbtq overtones, it’s setting has me entranced. This has wow’d me. I’m totally in!

[Sebastian Calderon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took far too long for my burnt out brain to get into. But once I finally found the time & mental capacity to read again and read consistently this started to fly.

I absolutely love fantasy that has firearms but quickly got bored of a lot of flintlock-based settings and Powder Mage wannabes. But this book was an absolute curveball from everything that I've seen.

Not a gaslamp fantasy set in a Victorian backdrop, and certainly not a Weird Western that I tend to write. A fantasy novel set in a World War I analogue and with enough weird critters and monsters to shake a rifle at.

This was good shit. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 & the Sisters of Battle would get deep into this, but I think anyone that's looking for something that doesn't have your usual Man Wields Sword Good would enjoy this.

Wild Wish is such a fantastic protagonist and her constant optimism and positivity, even in the face of unbeatable odds and traumatising losses, is astounding to me. Maringdale's ambition and ferocity was equally astounding, and while I questioned her exact role in the narrative when she first appeared, I was very pleased to see how things started to intertwine.

This isn't for the faint-of-hearted, though. And it definitely captures the craziness and brutality of what war is. People die, people you don't expect, and in ways that you don't think they will. A stray bullet, a miscommunication, on the page and made dramatic, on the page and glossed over as unimportant.

Great stuff. Eagerly awaiting a sequel - if there's one being cooked.

[Jon Auerbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

However Many Must Die breaks the epic fantasy mold by delivering an incredible WWI-inspired military fantasy.

The Rocc, a secondary world with technology at the turn of the 20th century, is at times familiar and foreign. We move from pitched military battles with tanks and guns, to fights with hawk giants and other-worldly creatures that could be out of a Final Fantasy game.

At the center of the story is Wild Wish, a member of the all-female Blood Scouts, who are tasked with an impossible mission deep in enemy territory. Seeing Wish grow as a character from the first crazy battle in the opening chapters to a reluctant leader was incredibly satisfying, and despite the large number of supporting characters that Williams throws the reader's ways, one can't help but love Wish and her comrades as they push onward through every increasing obstacles.

Counterbalancing this is our second POV character, Maringdale, a mage fighting for the other side, who has the ability to sense other people's emotions. She's tasked with unspooling a diabolical plot that could bring down her side's war effort.

These intertwining POVs were used masterfully to not only create tension within the separate storylines, but to expand the world-building and to convey necessary information that would not be neatly available to Wish during her travels.

While it is fun seeing all the crazy creatures, magic, and locations, Williams deftly reminds us of the true cost of war in a way that never feels proselytizing.

Two other things I want to highlight are the magic system and the chapter epigraphs. The magic system is doled out slowly to the reader, with the aforementioned epigraphs explaining some of the specifics and the rest shown as the story warrants. There are two main schools of magic, with one having a dreadful cost to the user that helpfully nerfs its ability to propel the plot forward (our heroes cannot rely on their mage to upend every enemy they encounter because she will literally go insane). Magic is used with finesse throughout the story, and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops in the series.

And as a big fan of epigraphs, I found Williams' use of "historical" accounts of the War from the future and other in-world texts incredibly immersive and interesting (I can't imagine how many hours it took to come up with all of these different books and treatises, but I certainly appreciated the effort).

I highly recommend this book and it deserves to be on the list of top fantasy books of 2023.

PS: Readers can get a free copy of a prequel short story, Oksy, Come Home, by signing up for Williams' newsletter at the back of the book. Featuring one of Wish's squad-mates, this story adds more depth to the world and is a great compliment to the main book.

[Marco Landi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romanzo semplicemente spettacolare.. non pensavo mi sarebbe piaciuto così tanto.. fondamentalmente non amo molto i libri sulla seconda guerra mondiale, e non amo molto le armi automatiche.. preferisco fantasy con armi bianche o al limite flintlock.. anche perché spesso gli scontri finiscono per essere ripetitivi e un po' semplicistici..
Ecco, qui no!! Il romanzo ha una ambientazione molto originale.. un enorme continente in guerra, due schieramenti con tutti i vari alleati, con tutte le loro idiosincrasie e le loro peculiarità, ma senza inutili lungaggini di politica e economia a rallentare il tutto.. ci sono carri armati, navi volanti, fucili, cannoni e mitragliatrici, treni-fortezza, ma anche spade, archi, maghi, vermi volanti, scarabei giganti e altri animali utili allo sforzo bellico..
Quello che sembrava un Worldbuilding già così eccellente, si dipana sempre più in modo creativo e divertente, in quanto ci sono molte razze senzienti non umane, ci sono tanti mostri originali e terribili, in un crescendo di idee fighissime..
I punti di vista sono due, e contrapposti.. da un lato abbiamo Wild Wish con le sue Blood Scouts, un unità di scouts tutta al femminile e che verranno impiegate in un'ardua missione oltre le linee del nemico.. sul fronte opposto abbiamo Maringdale, cacciatrice di spie e terroristi in seno al suo esercito, che la porterà a indagare tra le file degli efferati Dread Corps e i loro brutali esperimenti...
Un romanzo quasi tutto al femminile, ma non risulta mai una scelta forzata e modaiola, ma sempre coerente e logica dal punto di vista della trama e del Worldbuilding..
I sistemi magici, sia quello legato al "corpo" incentrato su carne, sangue, intenzioni e volontà, sia quello incentrato sui poteri naturali ma che richiede un grande scotto a livello mentale, sono divertenti e grafici in modo notevole..
Tutto il romanzo ha un ritmo da panico, rallentando giusto a punto per focalizzarci sui personaggi, senza mai situazioni ripetitive, e con un crescendo cinematografico verso il finale che ho trovato davvero esaltante..
Insomma, la Black Company di Cook nella WW2, tutta ai femminile, tra ambientazioni dalle tinte molto a là Warhammer, e combattimenti davvero sanguinosi..
Unisce perfettamente il military fantasy al grimdark, con personaggi imperfetti e a cui è impossibile non affezionarsi.. e che inevitabilmente moriranno come mosche tra le montagne e le jungle.. non vedo l'ora di proseguire con le prossime avventure dei Blood Scouts!!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing read! A real epic fantasy mixed in with a crazy dystopian world! A great set of well thought out characters, a complex & interesting, well written storyline & really impressive world to completely get lost in! I did really enjoy this! I do strongly recommend!

[Geetha Krishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What even to say about this book! I didn't expect to adore it as much as I did. But then, I've liked darker books before, so perhaps it wasn't a surprise. I should find another dark book to read soon, so I can get over this!

Be mindful of the warnings because this is a VERY DARK, VERY VIOLENT book and the deaths of characters are very reminiscent of GRRM, so be warned!

The book revolves around Wild Wish who is part of an Elite all women warrior group called The Blood Scouts in a time when women are not allowed to be soldiers and are expected to be homemakers and mothers and part of administrative staff and not in the frontlines. There is a global war happening between two empires, one of which is strongly reminiscent of the British Empire and the other of the Nazis if they had a child with the Spanish Inquisition.

Wild Wish and the Blood Scouts are part of the Stanclif Empire which is like the British and they want to stop the Drail who believes in purity and all that shit. But the Blood Scouts aren't free of prejudices themselves as is shown in several instances. The book opens with the Blood Scouts going to the frontline, trying to flank their enemies. Wild Wish is on a tank and machine gun combo type of thing and kills off a lot of enemies, though it isn't what she wants to do. She's a sniper and a good one at that, and likes to do that, instead of butchering people with a gun that rips them to shreds.

When after the battle, they free a town from the Drail and learns of experiments going on, and of a weapon the Drail are trying to develop which could potentially end the war, the Blood Scouts are sent with Captain Brade, an adventurer and spy, to find and neutralise the weapon, deep into the heart of Low Slane which is home to monsters no one has ever encountered.

The other PoV is that of Maringdale, a purification officer with the Drail, who is also an intention mage who can sense people's intentions. Her PoV is pretty chilling and she's as much an oddity as the Blood Scouts are since the Drail is no better than Stanclif when it comes to women.

I loved the Blood Scouts so freaking much. They have their faults: most of them are pretty racist and classist, but for all that, they grow on one. Their journey to Low Slane is both thrilling and chilling.

Wild Wish herself is a memorable character with all the unresolved trauma from the killing she's forced to do, the PTSD flashbacks that she suppresses and her sexuality which she dares not express for such a long time.

Maringdale is a contrast in that she absolutely has no qualms about anything she does, be it the killing of a superior or torture of others. The only thing that keeps her awake is her frustration with the patriarchy that doesn’t appreciate her or her talents. She is contemptuous of the men who look down on her and is confident she's better than them. She is very persistent and a good investigator, making connections and contributing to the war effort because she believes in it.

As I said at the start, this is a very dark book, and deals with themes of morality, racism, classism, misogyny, and the impact of colonialism on the colonised. As someone coming from a nation that was once a colony, I appreciated the voice given to those like us.

The world building in this was top notch. There are no expositions or explanations, but we get to know the world and its many races, magical and mundane. Magic is very much existent but has limits with only a few kinds of mages that we get to see. I would really like to see Newk do some magic, because I was so intrigued by her culture and magic which seems more liberal than the empires that colonised and destroyed her land.

I loved the title which is quite fitting for this book.

If you love fantasy that veers towards darker themes with blood, gore, violence, genocide and what not, with a cast of very flawed but very memorable characters and expertly crafted world building, you will love this book.

[Dom]

I'm not going to rate this book, as I worked on it as a proofreader and so have a conflict of interest, but I will say that I absolutely loved it!

Despite the World War styling, this is very much a fantasy world, and you get all the joys of worldbuilding from that. Behind enemy lines it's a grim, dark, and gritty world and in places it really does have character of its own.

There are a few really interesting styles of magic to see as well. One thing I really like is how different people refer to the mages in different ways, it just lends a bit of realism to the situation, so it's almost like you have an official name for those using a certain branch of magic, then an informal name, and maybe a derogatory name or two as well.

The magic itself was really well portrayed, with key characters on either side of the conflict showing different abilities with either earth magic or mind magic. I loved reading these, I just thought it was really well thought out and put together.

The characters themselves were the other key standout part of the book for me. I loved the banter you got from the titular Blood Scouts - an all-female crack squad of soldiers, including snipers, mages, heavy gunners, and of course, the command structure.

I thought it was a really great group, and I was very much invested in following their journey. What I also liked though, is that there were compelling characters on the opposing side as well, so you get two very different viewpoints, but also two very different sets of characters to root for.

Usually, I tend to find that a good fantasy will hit two out of my big three of characters, worldbuilding, and plot, but However Many Must Die nailed all three. The story was a great thrillride, with some truly explosive moments (both literally and figuratively).

I highly recommend checking this book out, I thought it was something really different, and it just really worked for me.

[Nils Ödlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please note: This is a review of the entire Blood Scouts series (so far), including:
+ Oksy, Come Home
+ However Many Must Die
+ Drown Deep
To the best of my understanding, this review contains no spoilers (or much at all in the way of plot description).
---

I first came across the Blood Scouts through the prequel Oksy, Come Home that was a finalist in the SFINCS novella competition, and that I absolutely devoured.

Normally, I’m sceptical (at best) of prequels, but that one was a shining example of how it can be done right.

Oksy, Come Home is a self-contained story that shows off the author’s skill at writing and the type of stories they want to tell, and it works. The books isn’t beating me over the head with how cool and awesome the setting is, and it’s not promising grand and epic adventures to come. It’s a story all its own, and it doesn’t need a series of full length novels to motivate its existence.

In other words, if you’ve not yet been eyeing the Blood Scouts, start with Oksy, Come Home.

So, what’s it about, you might wonder?

To set the stage, imagine a grimy, dirty, World War 1 story. You’ve got endless trenches, ceaseless artillery barrages, and charging soldiers gunned down in the thousands by machine guns. It’s cruel, ugly, and bloody. Death is an ever present constant.

Now, take that image, keep all the time-appropriate tech, such as guns, explosives, and trains, and put it in a fantasy world. Add ogres and goblins and giants. Add greckels and grescinds. Add magic and monsters, monsters, monsters. Add a conflict between religious tradition and scientific civilisation. Add “human” rights violations in the name of progress and victory, and don’t worry about which side does it, because no cost is too high to gain an advantage and win the war.

Next, add the Blood Scouts – an all female platoon of soldiers in a world where women are expected to stay in the kitchen and make sandwiches and babies. The empire’s most shameful secret, as they’re sometimes referred to.

Got all that? Good.

You might think the top brass would keep soldiers like that far from the front line, out of harms way, where they won’t cause any trouble and won’t embarrass anyone. You’d be right in that it’s probably what they’d want to do, but it’s not what happens.

Instead, in the first book, However Many Must Die, the Blood Scouts gets assigned to the kind of wild goose chase that’s too stupid to waste “real” soldiers on: investigate the alleged existence of an impossible weapon at a rumoured research facility deep within enemy territory.

Without giving away any spoilers, I’ll say it turns out the way you imagine.

The second book, Drown Deep, is similar in concept: find out why the enemy has invaded a violently inhospitable region that no one wants anything to do with, and make contact with the unsanctioned irregulars opposing them.

Reading the Blood Scouts books is to ride along with Wild Wish, our main character (not Oksy), as she tries to keep her crew alive and complete the mission. It’s standing by her side as her friends die and her plans fall apart. It’s marching by her side as she tries to make sense of the chaotic world around her and the conflicting emotions within her.

It’s smiling all the wider the few times things turn out right.


What I’ll whine about

Names and sense of place. A world is a large place, and it has a lot of smaller places, such as continents and nations, within it. These, in turn, contain even smaller places, such as towns and lakes and mountains, and all of these place, small and large, have names.

There are a lot of names to keep track of and while they do add depth to the world, I found it a bit much. I couldn’t keep track of where all these places were supposed to be in relation to each other, and in that regard, the geography of the world didn’t make much sense to me.

In fairness, there’s a map at the start of each book, but I find that consulting a resource like that breaks my immersion more than wondering about where some river is located.

The same thing applies to a lesser extent to people and races. There are a lot of characters named throughout the story, and it’s hard to keep track of them all. Similarly, there are plenty of non-human species of varying intelligence, sentience, and hostility. Many are such that I’ve not come across them in other fantasy books, which is nice, but which also means I have a vague grasp of what they are – especially if I don’t remember the initial description when they appear later on in the story.


What I’ll gush about

Everything. If it’s not clear already, I’m absolutely enamoured with the Blood Scouts, and I suspect it will be my go to suggestion whenever someone asks me for a book recommendation for some time to come.

The setting. I’ve not come across a fantasy story taking place in a time period equivalent to World War 1 before, and I found it fascinating. There’s an awareness among the characters of the story that goes beyond what you’ll find among ordinary people in most regular fantasy books. It helps create the sense that outside of the story there exists a larger world with a long and complicated history.

Names. Yes, I complained about there being a lot of names, but at the same time, the names are created in a way that supports the world building and the history in a way that makes them work. It’s not just fancy fantasy names in a conlang designed to make internal sense, but names, often in English, that can be understood to have a meaning without needing an explanation. The naming conventions create a sense of familiarity that helps bring the place to life.

Writing. From a purely technical perspective, the writing is rock solid. The story itself may be gritty, miserable, and full of pain, but the writing is smooth as butter. There are no excess descriptions. There’s no missing information that prevents a scene from making sense. It’s a joy to read.

Writing (again). From an artistic perspective, the writing supports the setting. The way characters talk and think, and the way they look at the world, feels just right for the time period. It’s a detail that helps solidify the experience of the books.

Characters. Wild Wish and Oksy are both fully fleshed out characters with their own strengths and flaws, and reading their respective stories brings you very close to them. The same applies to a lesser extent to other Point of View characters. We don’t get as close to them, but they still feel like real people with their own wants and needs.

The war. Anticipation and uncertainty. War is cruel, chaotic, and stupid, and it shows. Death is ever present, and named characters we come to know and care for are killed off without mercy or hesitation. There one moment, gone the next. Even knowing it’s a story, and knowing stories have rules, there’s a definite uncertainty about who will make it and who will not. The author’s not afraid to kill off important characters over no more than a misunderstanding. People you care for will die, and knowing this, there were times I found myself momentarily reluctant to keep reading.

Heart. Despite all the ugly and the dirty, despite all the pain and misery, and despite the death and the suffering, there’s still a kind of warmth to the story. Hidden, sure, but still there. Wild Wish has dreams and hopes she lives for. She cares, and in doing so, she brings the story to life.


Final Words

Dirty, gritty, and ugly, The Blood Scouts is the WW1 inspired fantasy story you didn’t know you needed.

[Maddalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the books I’ve so far read and enjoyed from author Phil Williams have been set in Urban Fantasy backgrounds, so when I happened to encounter the description for However Many Must Die and understood that it was something completely different, I was curious to see where the change of theme would take his narrative skills, so I was quite delighted when Mr. Williams granted me an ARC of his new endeavor.

The setting depicted here is a richly complex one: at the roots of the narrative there is a world, the Rocc, engaged in the strife between its two main powers, the conquest-hungry Drail and its major antagonist Stanclif, each of them supported by their own alliances of minor states. The background and the technical elements mentioned bring immediately to mind a level of civilization similar to that of Europe during World War I (with some steampunk accents) but with a huge difference, because this world is also home to a great variety of creatures - from the merely bizarre to the monstrous - which add a generous dose of fantasy to the mix, where one can also find magic wielders to complement the existing technology.

In this context of seemingly endless, drawn-out warfare we meet the Blood Scouts, an all-female squadron mostly employed in missions that entail commando-like incursions where sniping skills are particularly required. Wild Wish is a member of the Blood Scouts and we meet her in the heat of one such skirmish, a bloody one where the Scouts’ success is marred by some grievous losses. There is little time, however, to mourn the death of friends, because the Scouts are tasked with a dangerous but vital mission: intelligence reports hint at a terrible weapon being perfected by the Drail, one that might not only change the tide of war in their favor, but also threatens a massive loss of life. Wild Wish and her friends then embark on a journey into enemy territory that will take them across a war-ravaged world and test their mettle to the utmost.

I was completely captivated by Wild Wish and the Blood Scouts in their quest across the Rocc and its different terrains, cultures and creatures, even though I did struggle a little at the start because this is a very complex, very layered world which requires unwavering attention - in this regard I was greatly helped by the glossary at the start of the book, returning to it time and again to help me make sense of the huge amount of information underlying the story. In this respect However Many Must Die is a challenging read but once you become comfortable with the background you will be able to enjoy the characters and their adventures: the shining light in this novel comes from the camaraderie binding the Blood Scouts and the way they express it through affectionate banter or apparently rough exchanges that come from the well of shared experiences of this group of women.

In this world women are not viewed as effective combatants, there is a deep veneer of misogyny running through the Blood Scouts’ dealings with the other military and it’s interesting to see how this serves to cement their bonds even more deeply. Even the enemy - alerted by its own intelligence about a possibile incursion - struggles to accept that a handful of women could be responsible for the news of sneak attacks and successful stunts that are being reported. On the Drail side of the war there is another woman, Maringdale, who is an officer of the Purification (a sort of secret police) and equally suffering from discrimination: she is the enemy, granted, and while it’s easy to hope that her hunt for the Blood Scouts will be unsuccessful, it’s equally easy to sympathize with her, given the supercilious treatment she must endure in her attempts to bring the Stanclif infiltration to the attention of her superiors and ultimately to foil it.

The characters are undoubtedly intriguing, and there are many more besides Wild Wish: from mage Emi, whose dirt-minding powers can affect the environment but require a price of momentary madness, expressed in manic laughter; to sniper Rue whose moods can turn from brooding to murderous at the drop of a hat; to Oksy whose inexhaustible well of knowledge tends to set Wish on edge, they all contribute to a wonderful tapestry of personalities we come to care deeply for. These are mostly young women who choose to enlist either to show their worth or to escape from a dreary existence, but their shared experiences forge them into a cohesive whole where they are able to accept sacrifice not only for a higher goal but above all for the good of the small “tribe” they created with each other.

The journey itself, that often takes the shape of a classic fantasy quest, thanks to the strange places and even stranger creatures that Wish & Co. encounter on the road, is one whose stakes and hardships keep increasing, as does the pace of the novel: where at the start However Many Must Die reads like something of a war chronicle, it gradually morphs into a high-octane race against time and impossible odds, punctuated by run-ins with the weirdest beings one could imagine, ranging from forest-dwelling barkmen (the name says everything) to goblins and vicious Grekkels (think something between lizard and wolf) and so on. Be prepared for blood-chilling skirmishes and grievous losses, even among favorite characters….

But the best comes indeed last because the final showdown - set on a huge train rushing madly toward its momentous destination - will keep you on the edge of your seat and in serious need of oxygen, and it was my favorite part of the story, one that compelled me to stay awake well past my bedtime to see what would happen.

If this is - as it would seem - only the first installment in a new series featuring the Blood Scouts, I’m totally onboard for the continuation of the journey.


Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG

[Daniel Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

War

Another epic piece of very original storytelling by Phil. Very enjoyable book full of excitement, intrigue and a new race

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book posted on Facebook by the author, and was immediately sucked in by the premise and the cover art. A grimdark WWI-esque fantasy? Hell, yeah!

Then I started reading it.

One of the first issues I had were the names. Took me too long to realize they were all nicknames and not just random words for some of the characters. I still don't think I know Wish's actual first name. I don't think I learned her last name until the epilogue.

I had a lot of issues of "too much" but also "too little" at the same time.

Too many different nations I have no sense of or connection to. Stancliff feels vaguely British, but none of the other nations give me any sense of a society or civilization to them. I guess they speak different languages, but I have no idea how any of them sound. All of the names feel like they com from the same linguistic source, rather than feeling like they came from different mother tongues.

Too many races I have no sense of or connection to. Here's a thing, and I don't know if its just an animal, if its intelligent, where it comes from because the species name doesn't feel like it comes from any language, much less a language I associate with either side of the war or any nation involved.

I'm a shooter and a hunter. The guns and the shooting come across as unnatural, and tell me the author might've read a book or two about them, but has no hands-on experience with firearms.

Mechanical issues that simply don't happen, such as a bolt-action rifle "jamming" when the shooter didn't work the bolt after firing. No, it didn't jam, they just didn't load in a fresh round or cock it.

A belt-fed machine gun that kills thousands and seems to never run out of ammo? Ammo is heavy and rather unwieldy in belts. Most WWI-era machine guns used 250 round cloth belts, which they could burn through in less than 30 seconds of sustained fire.

Our sniper is worried about hitting a man-sized target wither her scoped rifle at ranges I hit smaller targets with a handgun and iron sights.

A gun with "a round chamber"? Of course the chamber is round. The bullets are round. The barrel is tubular. The chamber, where the bullet is placed in the end of the barrel when it is fired is likewise going to be round. From the rest of the description, I'm guessing the author meant a round magazine, as the weapon sounds something like the WWII-era Russian PPSh-41 submachine gun.

Are these problems pedantic to someone who doesn't shoot? Maybe, but for those of us familiar with the tools of the trade, it kills any sense of immersion.

Once in enemy territory, especially as they get close to their objective, the scouts spend way too much time chatting while on the march instead of paying attention to their surroundings. Sure, the place looks deserted, but who knows what random civilian just heard your conversation and ran off to report the intruders.

And, to top it all off, while I found the end believable, it was also deeply unsatisfying.

Not a terrible book by any means, and I'd probably be interested in seeing more of this world, but at the same time, I did set this book aside and read three others before coming back to it.

[Pete Reviews Books Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, damn! I was given an ARC copy by Phil Williams, and this was an absolute blast to read and leave a review for the first time.

I really, really enjoyed the book. I hadn't read any of his work before, but that's going to change REAL fast.

The book was gripping from the start. There is plenty of twists and turns along the way, and when I encountered the first one relatively quickly, I knew I was in for a ride. The characters were great, and the underlying dark humor in their conversations and thoughts also was right up my alley.

I also enjoyed the different species and creatures throughout, it added an extra level of the world-building, which was also top notch. The world is brutal, gritty and full of betrayals and the weaponry used in it is also against the norm, guns and bombs to go along with swords and other "traditional" fantasy weapons.

The magic system was also pretty innovative and different, and each of the cultures views and utilizes their mages differently, which made for a really cool back and forth between the chapters. There's a very obvious good vs bad to it, but I've got to say; the bad was just as fun, if not more to read.

And the biggest difference from most books that I really liked; the main characters were all women, and not poorly written ones at that. The Blood Scouts are a great cast of characters, and the way in which they were all introduced and then expanded on was really rewarding, and it felt like you got to really know them.

Overall, I really recommend it. I'm absolutely 100% going to read whatever Phil puts out next, and it's also good to know I have a list of his previous books to get into! Very excited for book 2, whenever that may be!

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blood Scouts 01 However Many Must Die by Phil Williams

4.25 Stars

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus: Yes

This is NOT a "happy go lucky" story, but one of the rigors of war...even in this secondary Fantasy world.

Love the protagonist. On the cover, it reminded me of the 80s comedy Private Benjamin with Goldie Hahn, but this is NOT a comedy.

This is a story of what war (seemingly endless war) and how it effects the soldiers fighting it.

The idea of the one next to you...will be the one that saves you, but also...not everyone is coming home (physically), but will always stay with the soldier that does.

As a person who's loved reading the history of World War II (also having grandparents that served in the war), and living those harrowing stories of my loved one that survived, but hearing about their buddies that didn't...and how it effected them...many years later. Ugh. The feelings (from me), since they try their best to stay cool.

I am excited to start the next entry into this series (hopefully in the next few days), and see the aftermath of this novel's tale...and what is next for the characters that we have grown to love.

This is a powerful tale, which comes mainly from the superbly written characters, but also from the world (and the worldbuilding) that these characters inhabit.

I am glad that I do not live in this war-torn world, but am able to gleen the bonds and heroics of its inhabitants, both good and evil.

Next book up: The Blood Scouts 02 Drown Deep by Phil Williams. Let's go!

[Damien Larkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

However Many Must Die is the start of a stunning new series by Phil Williams (of Ordshaw fame and notoriety)! This was a stunning fusion of gritty WW1 style weaponry and tactics with a dash of dark magic thrown into the mix.

With ferocious devastation, the One War engulfs all the nations of the Rocc. In a bid to push back the Drail invasion, the Comity utilises their most expendable unit - The Blood Scouts. This all-female platoon are experts in advanced recon, marksmanship, and creating general mayhem behind enemy lines. Despite their being looked down on by the powers-that-be, they fight a relentless campaign, not just for their way of life or country, but for each other.

Struggling with the loss of a close friend, Wild Wish pushes herself onwards, refusing to give up. When a bloody mission behind enemy lines costs her squad their beloved leader, she steps up. Dreaming of a future without war and the chance to spend her life with the woman of her dreams, she'll risk everything. No matter how many she has to kill.

On the Drail side, Maringdale, an intention mage of the much feared Purification, will stop at nothing to achieve her dreams of joining the Dread Core. When rumours of a sabotage mission in Drail territory led by the Blood Scouts reaches her, she forges a bloody path to stop them and prove herself.

Overall, this was a fantastic introduction into what I'm sure will be an excellent series. Phil's done an excellent job of forging a realistic military story and adding his own unique fantasy blend to it. It's an action packed, heart-breaking, and gritty read. Highly recommended!

[Richard Buxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

However Many Must Die is a first class novel. It’s hard to overstate the depth of the worldbuilding and the originality of Phil Williams’ imagination, which are as impressive as they are enjoyable. It often takes time to make yourself comfortable in the particular universe created by an author, and I think that applies to what I hope will be the first of many Blood Scout books. However, the starting chapters have enough action and interest to invite you to hurriedly wade in until you are fully and excitedly immersed.

There is a rich set of characters - their survival rate on the low side – led by the doggedly Wild Wish and the equally determined and brilliantly drawn Maringdale, their parallel storylines increasingly destined for collision. Their world is a rich mix of fantastical beasts, places, machines and weaponry. Williams infuses this with his own competing brands of magic that are pertinent to the plot as well as being wielded in a brutal WWI scale war of attrition.

The world building alone is reason enough to read this book, but add to that the competing motivations of the many different players and groups, the entertaining and nuanced dialogue as well as many truly wicked and well animated action scenes. And all exceptionally well written. It should be blindingly clear from the above that I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

[Luke A · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I'm totally honest I got this book purely based of the cover, it's epic! Probably not the best policy to go with my eyes based on past experiences, but this time they didn't let me down. Really really enjoyable read and quite unique for a fantasy to be in a WW1 setting.

Phil's world building is incredible, mixing fantasy races with 20th century technology. I really enjoyed the historically styled quotes before each chapter also, really helped with the immersion and made it feel like a historical fiction set in a fantasy world. If Cornwell did fantasy it would be something like this!!

A story of friendship and camaraderie through the struggles of war, as the Blood Scouts try to find their way in the world.

Gripping throughout, as the girls go through highs and lows, can't wait to read the next one.

[Mr. P · Rating 5 out of 5]

However you can, you must read this book!

I picked this up having seen it promoted by author on BlueSky. The cover is a triumph and on reading the synopsis I was sold. I loved everything in this from the world building, characterisation, the competing magic systems and burgeoning technology. That it is told almost entirely from a female perspective on both sides of the war is marvellous and cements it as great storytelling with few punches pulled. I wholeheartedly commend this to anyone looking for a gritty heart filled book full of women who will melt your heart and snipe you between the eyes from 200m, when not sneaking behind you with a knife or a kiss.

[Sue Tingey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two women, both very different and both fighting to be recognised as worthwhile during a pointless bloodbath of a war. Wild Wish dreams of retiring to a farm with all her friends for a peaceful life, while Maringdale wants the powerful position she thinks she deserves. A great novel, with characters I found myself caring about, probably more than was good for me.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must confess that I acquired this book by accident when I mixed up two authors. I didn't realize it until I was a good way in to the story, and was thinking about how this was actually a different genre than I had expected. Sometimes our mistakes can turn out for the better! I really enjoyed this one. It is engrossing from start to finish. I can't wait for the sequel!

[Max Lester · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was kind of hard to push through but it got better in the second half. Could have done without all the teenage lovesickness, which was very frustrating at times, but overall a good and inventive story and alternate universe.

[Patrick Samphire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique military fantasy with great characters, magic, and technology.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read!

It took me awhile to get into this book but about two thirds of the way through it really took off and ended strongly!

[Graham Dauncey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover alone sold me this book, added to its awesome title. And I am so glad it did - this book is just brilliant!

The basic premise is that the Blood Scouts are given a deep infiltration task into the Drail Empire to try and destroy a new secret weapon. This is military fantasy at its best, leaning on WW1 themes in a cleverly realised fantasy setting. It is an unusual setting for Epic Fantasy and I am here for it - it just works beautifully. This is an unrelentingly grim setting, all out war is a powerful backdrop. The fantastical elements are also well worked - powerful dirt magics will cause the wielders to become increasingly insane reflecting the madness of the war around it. More empathetic magic is used by gestapo like secret police to root out traitors - again playing well on the inherent paranoia of war.

We mostly follow Wild Wish, a ranger with the Blood Scouts, an all woman team of soldiers fighting both a nefarious foe in the Drail Empire and their own leaderships latent misogyny. The whole group of soldier present here are fantastically realised, the sense of camaraderie, the rivalries and gentle ribbing - it all felt very realistic. These bonds of friendship in the face of adversity form the real heart to this story

The other character followed is Maringdale, a purification mage - a kind of secret police type organization within the Drail Empire. Her own ambition drives her to try and uncover a spy network working against a secret project within the Empire. The Drail Society in many ways pushes her to a extreme ends in a cut throat hyper competitive environment that values individualism. Whilst definitely painted in a more negative light than the Blood Scouts she forms her own interesting team with its own bonds.

The world building and the character work take center stage in this epic and it is well worth it. I cannot wait to read more tales from the blood scouts!

[André · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should preface this review with the admission that I am usually not a huge fan of military fantasy or fantasy with a strong focus on military. And even though I didn’t really know what to expect with However Many Must Die, the cover and the name do give at least a small hint. But I have very much enjoyed Phil Williams’ raw Dyer Street Punk Witches, so I really wanted to try a different series of his, too. And I was positively surprised.

However Many Must Die follows two different female leads. Even though they fight on different sides in a war that in my opinion has very strong WWII vibes (if said war would have been fought in a fantasy world), both of them face not only the horrors of war, but also strong male chauvinism.
I will not go too deep into plot details, but Phil Williams really delivered on the atmosphere here: It felt bleak, hopeless, devastating, absurd even, but every now and then there was also a smattering of gallows humour, of friendship and camaraderie, and even a dash of romance. Bright spots in a dark world. Also, the characters were very fleshed out, very convincing, very real. And not just the leads, but also the side-characters.
The worldbuilding is really convincing – there are different nations, different species, different monsters, everyone seemingly with their own agendas. For me, it was sometimes a little too much and I had to backtrack quite a few times to remember who is siding with whom and why, etc. The world felt overwhelming at some points, especially in the beginning. But that did not keep me from thoroughly enjoying the actual story (that is bound to continue soon).

So, even if you are not a huge fan of military fantasy, you might enjoy However Many Must Die, I definitely did.