The Bold

SGT. THOR #1

by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole

One Ranger Leads the WayA U.S. Army Ranger sniper finds himself on his own and on the move far downrange and beyond the wire in an epic fantasy world filled with deadly monsters and dangerous foes in a total battle royale for glory, hoard… and flat-out survival.

Adrift on the Sea of Riddles and lost in a dangerous world of epic fables, Sgt. Thor and his anti-materiel sniper rifle, Mjölnir, must survive brutal pirates, darkest sorcery, and a catastrophic shipwreck on a strange island steeped in arcane mystery and containing the remains of a lost civilization guarding an ancient artifact of great and terrible power.

Grim enemies and intrigue abound…

In order to defeat a Pirate Necromancer and his army from the east seeking to manipulate a battle between the warring Fates, this elite tip-of-the-spear warrior must use his modern warfighter skills and battle-tested leadership to forge an unlikely savage fighting force to pit against heavily armed enemies all too real, and for some… far more fantastic than the myths and epics of a long-ago past.

In a dangerous fantasy world one man must move farther, faster, and fight harder than foes seeking to kill him with might, magic, treachery and by whatever means possible. But U.S. Army Rangers don’t die easily.

Swords and Sorcery meet Modern Warfare in this epic fantasy world both familiar and new.


Find your edge… follow the bloody path blazed by Sergeant Thor!

Genres: Fantasy

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2023

About the author

JASON ANSPACH is the author of Galaxy's Edge, Wayward Galaxy, Forgotten Ruin. and more.

He lives in Puyallup, WA with his wife and their seven (not a typo) children.

Reviews

[Todd · Rating 1 out of 5]

nope. Just so many issues with this book. Sgt Thor, an Army Ranger is somehow in a fantasy world. How did he get here? Who knows? He's apparently the best at everything he does, has a Barrett rifle with plenty of ammo, yet somehow has been there long enough to be a master with his bastard sword.

There are more pages of his inner soliloquy than actual events in the book.
Enough. Rant over

[Andy Herzfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read makes me think of Conan or any other number of fantasy strongman warriors. This is an excellent story with good action and interesting characters. My biggest critique is Thor mansplaining the Ranger/small unit leaders handbook as his guide for doing things that was tedious. The second is when you are at the objective ready for battle don't backtrack and go through all the training it took to get there. You left us waiting for the battle to start to go back and explain ad nauseum about training the pirates and the sirens and killing a giant hog. Do that before you get to the point of no return. Once all that was out of the way, the rest of the book was pure awesome! That is why you get 5 stars from me. Just cut the chatter a little, we get it your a Ranger, and get on with the shine.

[CHARLES P CROSS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story so far

Part John Carter on Mars, part romancing the Ranger life, this has been a great story so far. It is a little wordy which seems out of character for a sniper, but the words do serve to paint a detailed image, though there are some descriptions that repeat a little too often, hence the 4 stars. I would recommend the series though.

[Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guns, Zombie NAZIs, and hot chicks golden 3

Conan you lived in the forgotten times we now got are forgotten future ruins make hero of Thor now to lead you young readers a stray.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spin-off from the Ruin series without the annoying narrator. This is basically a Conan book, so I have rated it on that basis. As a character I prefer Robert E. Howard's original, as he had more of a sense of humour, but Thor works well enough.

That said, he's present as more of an idea than an actual person, as he brings "taciturn" to a new level. Supporting characters and lore carry this one, so we'll see if this series has any legs. The next book is out, which is good, as I'm not sure this would stay on my radar as "must read" despite not having any glaring flaws. We'll see where this goes.

[Alex Mahon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I jumped into this straight from the Galaxy’s Edge and Tyrus Rechs series, expecting more gritty military sci-fi. I later realised this was a spin-off from their fantasy-leaning titles, but it still felt like a jarring shift. The demons, magic, and witches (don't get me started on Ar-Nahkt) were a real departure from what I enjoyed in their other books. Even setting that aside, the relentless focus on "the Ranger way" got repetitive fast. It lacked the pacing and grounded intensity of their better work. Really disappointed I bought this without knowing what I was in for.

[Sabion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was if Ray Harryhausen wrote a Conan novel. The writing style was often jarring, repeating the warrior aphorisms took up too much of the narrative, but the action was intense. I loved the earlier Ruin novels despite the freaking coffee, but this lacked much of the world building those did. I may continue this branch but it wont be top of list for me.

[steven f heinze · Rating 5 out of 5]

The says continues -

Lots of action! Impossible tasks, difficult conditions, unlikely allies. Only Thor has what it takes. Action is continuous but not repetitious. Never a dull moment.

[Rob Stiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent side story. Love this whole series

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thor never gives up

Thor never gives up till the end. And then more. The loner finds himself thrust into the role of leader and mentor.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rangers Lead The Way

Great action book. Character development is great. Looking forward to the next in the series. I highly recommend this book and the others of this series.

[Larry Pickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, basic, action sword and sorcery.

Enjoyed it as a basic sword and sorcery novel. It was Conan with a sniper rifle! Would recommend this to any sword and sorcery fan.

[Franca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story.

I always wondered how Thor’s story would go in the Ruin and trust me it didn’t disappoint! It’s 2am here and I gotta read the next book ! Thanks for this !

[Yemic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bold! more like Conan the Ranger man. The authors did a great job building the world, setting the plot and developing each character which made the story a fun read.

[Ken Zydel · Rating 4 out of 5]

a drunken pirate wizard blowing the brains out of a super shark with a .50 cal round is a sentence i never thought i would hear

[Jay Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, not for me

[Steven Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I mean, just wow! Anspach has created one hell of an amazing and fantastical universe, and I can’t remember that last time I so yearned to read & know more. I love(d) the Forgotten Ruin series, and thought that this spin off would be hard to match the adventures of Talker and the gang….but little did I know, THIS series is a powerhouse of it’s own, and is no doubt shaping up to be one of the most amazing ones in this genre….maybe ever. Well done, sir. Truly well done. Can’t wait for more.

[William Newbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good action towards the end but too many “thoughts”

So I think this ruin series has a lot of pluses and minuses. The concept is cool but the authors tend to be very long winded. I prefer books that tell me a story but this book is serious half in third head. Relaying his thoughts, strategy and history. It’s annoying and I wish they would stop. I ended up skipping to the end of the book which was good though there sure are a lot of coincidences that allow Thor to win lol. Still entertaining but way to much thoughts and dialogue.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece written by Nick and Jason I have been enamored by their works since Galaxy's Edge Legionnaire. The Forgotten Ruin series and its spin-offs are brilliant works of literary art. Sgt Thor is one of my favorite characters for the Forgotten Ruin series, and he definitely deserves the attention that this series will focus on him.

[Mike Lambirth · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. 28% through and couldn't take the non-stop rambling any longer. It was fitting in the main storyline, but 7 pages of how he had to do it cause it was the ranger way, and I was done. Repetition on this scale is why editors exist. Love the other books, but this lacked the charm and sense of humor.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book with great narration!

[Jay Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, third person and telling me not showing me. This on is not for me. Not into it.

[Brad Theado · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good in a Conan the Barbarian way but way too wordy. I dropped it at 29% because every scene took 10 pages to describe.