Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

Chronicles of Sirkara #0.5 (Friendship)

by J.M. Martin (Editor), Glen Cook (Introduction), Bradley P. Beaulieu

Librarian note: Older cover edition of 9781941987063.

ROGUES. ASSASSINS. MERCENARIES.

Coin is their master, and their trade, more often than not, is blood. These are BLACKGUARDS.

Whether by coin or by blood...YOU WILL PAY.

Swift from the shadows, comes an 'edgy' anthology, edited by J.M. MARTIN, featuring sundry tales of roguish types—assassins, mercenaries, thieves—many of whom are already established in well-known fantasy series. Interior artwork by David Alvarez, Orion Zangara and Oksana Dmitrienko. A full roster of authors from indie sensations to New York Times bestsellers:

Foreword by Glen Cook
Introduction by J.M. Martin
JEAN RABE, "Mainon" (Original tale) *
BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU, "Irindai" (Shattered Sands) *
CAT RAMBO, "The Subtler Art" (Serendib)
CAROL BERG, "Seeds" (Lighthouse Duet)
KENNY SOWARD, "Jancy's Justice" (GnomeSaga)
MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, "Professional Integrity" (Riyria)
RICHARD LEE BYERS, "Troll Trouble" (Plague Knight)
PAUL S. KEMP, "A Better Man" (Egil and Nix) *
DJANGO WEXLER, "First Kill" (Shadow Campaigns)
MARK SMYLIE, "Manhunt" (The Known World)
JOHN GWYNNE, "Better to Live than to Die" (Faithful Fallen)
MARK LAWRENCE, "The Secret" (Broken Empire)
LAURA RESNICK, "Friendship" (Silerian Chronicles)
CLAY SANGER, "The First Kiss" **
SHAWN SPEAKMAN, "The White Rose Thief" (The Dark Thorn)
PETER ORULLIAN, "A Length of Cherrywood" (Aeshau Vaal)
TIM MARQUITZ, "A Taste of Agony" (Prodigy series)
JAMES A. MOORE, "What Gods Demand" (Seven Forges)
DAVID DALGLISH, "Take You Home" (Shadowdance)
JOSEPH R. LALLO, "Seeking the Shadow" (Book of Deacon)
JON SPRUNK, "Sun and Steel" (Shadow Saga)
S.R. CAMBRIDGE, "The Betyár and the Magus" **
SNORRI KRISTJANSSON, "A Kingdom and a Horse" (Valhalla Saga)
JAMES ENGE, "Thieves at the Gate" (Morlock)
LIAN HEARN, "His Kikuta Hands" (Tales of the Otori)
ANTHONY RYAN, "The Lord Collector" (Raven's Shadow novella)*
ANTON STROUT, "Scream" (Simon Canderous Chronicles)

* stretch goal achieved
** open submissions winners

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy

738 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2015

About the author

Joe is a multi-talented creative with a background in the comic industry. He worked at Caliber Press in the mid-90s where he contributed to various projects including a collectible card game based on Todd McFarlane's Spawn universe, designed covers and advertisements, managed the company's art archives, lettered comics, and wrote a 17-issue run of a fantasy comic series. From 2001 to 2005, he was the managing editor of Privateer Press, where he edited and wrote RPG game supplements, illustrated maps, and managed a team of writers. He served as the managing editor for syndicated magazine YOUnique from 2006 to 2008, interviewing local personalities and guiding the direction of articles. Joe is the author of the Dead West series and has written several short stories, and is also the editor of the award-winning Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Creative Director and later Publisher at Ragnarok Publications, where he edited for various indie authors and companies such as Simon & Schuster and Procter & Gamble.

Reviews

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wide variety of short tales featuring rogues, thieves, brigands and miscreants, most of them established in well-known fantasy series, although there are some standalones too. Some of the authors I already heard of and read before, as well as being already acquainted to several of the series, other authors/series I didn't get to read yet.

Below, each of the stories rated with its own stars and a few words of each.

Foreword by Glen Cook (Black Company author) – mostly rambling, but some good ideas in between..
"Assassination is murder with somebody else's purpose. [...] Coins hold purpose, they bear it like a cup. A murder should always carry a weight, even if it's only the weight of gold”
"When you root for the bad guy you never know what you're going to get"

"Mainon" by Jean Rabe - 4/5★
An assassin hired to fend off another assassin – very nice flowing story.

"Irindai" by Bradley P. Beaulieu - 4/5★
Longer than expected for a short story collection, but the writing is lyrical, the setting entrancing and the story, even if a little intricate, is interesting.

"The Subtler Art" by Cat Rambo - 3.5/5★
A couple, one a wizard and the other an assasin, try to prove who’s ‘job’ is more artful.

"Seeds" (Lighthouse Duet) by Carol Berg - 3/5★
A story about an addict wizard and a lawman, couldn't remember much about it after a few days..

"Jancy's Justice" (GnomeSaga) by Kenny Soward - 2.5/5★
Started well, but lost me on the way. Steampunk with a dwarf wizard and a bard and an assassin – a rather strange combination..

"Professional Integrity" by Michael J. Sullivan - 4/5★
Funny and meandered story about two rogues that are hired by a mayor’s daughter to kidnap her.

"Troll Trouble" (Plague Knight) by Richard Lee Byers - 3/5★
A former mercenary tries to help a sorceress, to whom he owes favors, to trick a troll. The writing is rather simple, but the story I enjoyed.

"A Better Man" by Paul S. Kemp - 3.5/5★
Fast paced story of a pair of thieves who are hired to protect a wizard, but they find out things are more complicated.

"First Kill" (Shadow Campaigns) by Django Wexler - 4.5/5★
A known assassin meets an even more famous one, the Gray Rose, and has a test-mission to undergo. Liked it a lot.

"Manhunt" (The Known World) by Mark Smylie - 1/5★
Had to skip this one, didn’t like the writing, didn’t like the story (or what little I could glimpse from the first pages), just couldn’t read it..

"Better to Live than to Die" by John Gwynne - 3.5/5★
Already familiar to The Faithful and the Fallen series, I enjoyed finding out a little more from the life of one of the characters having his own PoV, especially as he was one of my favorites. A kind of Robin Hood story, but here the thieves not giving to the poor, but keeping the spoils for themselves.

”The Secret” by Mark Lawrence - 3.5/5★
A story set in The Broken Empire, about Brother Sim, this was a re-read, as it can also be found in Road Brothers, which I read after the main series. Even if part of a series, it can stand on its own well enough.

"The perfect assassin needs to be able to kill the thing he loves. Or, rather, to understand the emotion, but not let it stay his hand."

"Friendship" (Silerian Chronicles) by Laura Resnick - 3.5/5★
When one hires a contract killer, one must be sure he/her really wants the target dead. Based on this story, the Silerian Chronicles seem to be worth checking.

"The Long Kiss" by Clay Sanger - 2/5★
No likable character here whatsoever, and the story is more creepy and gruesome than what I enjoy.

"The White Rose Thief" (The Dark Thorn) by Shawn Speakman - 3+/5★
The idea is good, the writing also, but some details threw me off: the author sure likes his consonants (crwth is a kind of lyre or lute) and “wy” combination and replacing letters in classic names with W or Y (Byl Cornwyll; Rosenwyn Whyte).

"A Length Of Cherrywood" (Aeshau Vaal) by Peter Orullian - 4-/5★
Very dark story, no hero here, even the contrary, but the writing is really good and I was surprised to enjoy the story despite its cruel subject.

"A Taste Of Agony" (Prodigy Series) by Tim Marquitz - 3/5★
I quite liked the idea/writing, but it lacked too much information to be sufficient on it’s own. It’s too obvious this is part of a series, where the world and creatures and setting are explained, because here you don’t know who/what Gryl is, what is with the Thrak berserkers and the knights, and what an Avan sorceress can do..

"What Gods Demand" (Seven Forges) by James A. Moore - 3.5/5★
What Gods demand, Sa’ba Talor always do. A story with a believer female fighter and some court intrigue.

"Take You Home" (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish - 3/5★
A little girl is kidnapped and the Watcher that is sent to rescue her. Stands on its own, but it’s more action and less humor for my tastes.

"Seeking The Shadow" (Book Of Deacon) by Joseph R. Lallo - 4/5★
A stranger is looking for a famous assassin, the Red Shadow, who is apparently more dreaded than death itself. Nice dialogues, interesting twists, the story maybe a little too long for the content, but it managed not to bore. Made me interested to read the main series.

"Sun And Steel" (Shadow Saga) by Jon Sprunk - 2.5/5★
Less of a rogue piece and more of a war story, unfortunately quite easy to forget..

"The Betyár And The Magus" by S.R. Cambridge - 4/5★
Very nice and interesting story about a Hungarian Betyar (a kind of highwayman) that tries to rob the wrong coach and stumbles upon a magus. Bonus points that it mentioned a town very near my birthplace.

"A Kingdom And A Horse" (Valhalla Saga) by Snorri Kristjansson - 3/5★
Quite funny story about a band of not so skilled Vikings attacking a village.

"Thieves At The Gate" (Morlock) by James Enge - 3.5/5★
A reinterpreting of the Odyssey involving piracy.

”His Kikuta Hands” by Lian Hearn - 2.5/5★
Doesn’t work well as a standalone, seemed rushed and implied one read the main books in the series, and also not so long ago if one wants to care about this short story. Seeing how much I liked the series, this particular short story kind of disappointed me..

"The Lord Collector" (Raven's Shadow Novella) by Anthony Ryan - 4.5/5★
Rather complex story that stands well on its own, with smugglers, and religious magic guilds, and complicated family relationships. After reading it, I am looking forward to reading Raven Shadow’s trilogy.

"Scream" (Simon Canderous Chronicles) by Anton Strout - 2.5/5★
A psychometric thief, kind of like in the movie White Collar – didn’t really like the explanations, the voice, the characters..

____________________________________
I read the special eBook edition of BLACKGUARDS, the one that also includes THE BLACKGUARDS BLACKLIST, meaning eleven additional stories – here they are:

"To the End" by Rob J. Hayes - 3.5/5★
Witty main character, lots of banter, extra half point ‘cos I liked the writing style.

"To Steal the Moon" by Rebecca Lovatt - 2.5/5★
A story with faes, and stealing, and murders, but unfortunately I found it not very interesting and kind of hazy.

"The Muttwhelp" by Edward M. Erdelac - 3.5/5★
A story of war, quite well written, but I didn’t like that it started with a gazillion names and places, as if there was any way of retaining them all..

"The Lonesome Dark" by Anthony Lowe - 3/5★
A mercenary with a moral sense, or was it..?

"Comeuppance" by Linda Robertson - 3/5★
A story with thieves, a dragon and a smart young man.

"The Assassination of Poppy Smithswife" by Sam Knight - 3.5/5★
Another smart man, a good for everything boy in an inn, who is very good at sneaking and seeing things.

"Telhinsol's Shadow" by S.M. White - 3/5★
The story of a thief who is blackmailed into an assassination.

"The Laughing Wind" by Noah Heinrich - 3+/5★
The famous bandit Baldos and how he came to be always remembered.

"Bloody Gratitude" by Mike Theodorsson - 3/5★
Bloody story of a paid thug/killer that has to retrieve a kidnapped boy and take him to some witches.

"Gret" by Brenda Carre - 1.5/5★
The idea was good, but unfortunately I disliked the main character’s voice so, so much..

"Angel of Tears" by Erik Scott de Bie - 3/5★
A former slave comes to save her savior and master, but finds herself trapped too. I liked the dreary world, the lawlessness of it, the burning rain and blistering snow and the characters were all well written.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iskreno receno razocaran sam ovom kolekcijom. Tolko puno pisaca, i to vrlo kvalitetnih, ali samo mali broj prica me je stvarno odusevio. Vecina pretstavljaju pod price nekim vecim serijalima i ovako same po sebi nemaju puno smisla i ostavljaju nasgladni za jos. Da ne govorimo vecina ih je jako bazicna i u proseku suvise kratke da bi bile za uzivanje. Krenete da citate i taman se malo udubite i 10 minuta kasnije gotovo. Licno vise bi vole da je bilo manje prica al da su kvalitetnije i duze.

Druga stvar, a ovo je vise licno pretpostavljam, smorilo me je ovoliko prica u kratkom periodu. Narocito posto retko koja odudara pa onda se sve nekoko stapaju jedna u drugu.

Nesto pozitivno... ilustracije izmedju poglavlja su odlicne i to mi se bas svidelo, i price kojima sam poznovao glavni serijal su mi dobro legle posto ponovo srecem likove koje poznajem.

A usput evo malo misli o svakoj pricici:

Mainon 3/5
Fino napisano ali manje više totalni kliše. Posle par minuta skoro da se zaboravi šta se i pročitalo.

Irindai 5/5
Iako je samo jedna kraća priča prosto se oseća da je deo daleko većeg sveta, sveta koji prosto mami da se istraži. I mada je priča gotova jasno je da ima mnogo više za onoga ko je zainteresovan.

The Subtler Art 4/5
Kratko ali slatko. U osnovi ako se neko ove Trickster treba obratiti pažnju na manje više sve :)

Seeds 2/5
Ovo je tip priča koje ne volim u ovakvim kolekcijama, priča koja je u osnovi uvod za glavnu knjigu i predstavlja mini priču bez neke preterane dubine.

Jancy's Justice 4/5
Ova je bila odlična. Taman dovoljno informacija o svetu da dobijemo sliku, fokus na par karaktera tako da su ipak lepo razvijeni i lepa akcija da drži pažnju. Jedini problem je polu cliffhanger na kraju.

Professional Integrity 5/5
Još jedna odlična. Priča o dva plaćenika koji su bolji nego što ljudi misle i sa određenom dozom časti. Anti heroj/heroj :)

Troll Trouble 4/5
Puno humora i dosta opuštajuće. Taman da razbije svu ovu pomrčinu ostalih priča :)

A Better Man 3/5
Pazi šta želiš, možda ti se i ostvari.

First Kill 4/5
Na šta si spreman da bi se dokazao. Pitanje za koje Andreas na kraju ima spreman odgovor. Sve.

Manhunt 3/5
Kao što naslov kaže, lov na čoveka. Fin opis generičkog dark fantazi grada (barem ovde) sa lepom dozom akcije i dovoljno mrvica da zainteresuje za glavni serijal. Ali činjenica da se glavni lik pojavljuje u glavnom serijalu jako smanjuje tenziju na momente.

Better to Live than to Die 4/5
Sve je u naslovu :) Ma kako se neko predstavljao na kraju svako gleda da preživi.

The Secret 3/5
U suštini veoma interesantna pričica sa dobrim krajem ali po meni problem pretstavlja da morate biti već investirani u ovaj svet i likove da bi ispravno uživali u priči. Kao samostalni rad malo zvuči ne dovršeno.

Friendship 4/5
Još jedna u varijanti pazi šta želiš pošto se može ostvariti. U ovom slučaju sa daleko gorim posledicama.

The First Kiss 4/5
Kako kaži, od prošlosti ne možeš pobeći :) Malo predvidljivo ali opet zabavno.

The White Rose Thief 2/5
Malo drugačija priča od ostalih, po tonu i nekim elementima, što nije loša stvar. Ono što mi je jako zasmetalo je sama konverzacija likova, suviše nezgrapno i jako mi para uši.

A Length of Cherrywood 4/5
Ovo je brutalano. Ne tolko zbog samog sveta već pošto je sam lik klasičan negativac. Nije mi bilo tolko zabavno pošto više volim anti heroje nego prave pokvarenjake ali jeste dobro napisano.

A Taste of Agony 3/5
Interesantna postavka i fun uvod u glavni serijal ali samostalno dosta neispunjavajuće.

What Gods Demand 2/5
Sama priča je fina ali ovde je tolko očito da je ovo samo uvod u knjigu ili nešto slično da prosto boli. Imam želju da isprobam glavni serijal ali za ovu kolekciju mi je slabo.

Take You Home 4/5
I am Batman... I mean I am "The Watcher" :)

Seeking the Shadow 3/5
Well this one wierd guy. Svko trazi besmrtnost na svoj nacin. Nije lose.

Sun and Steel 2/5
Ovde ne znam ni sta da kazem, imamo momenat bitke malo pripreme za nju i kraj. Nikakva poenta.

The Betyár and the Magus 4/5
Ova je bila simpa. Dok je u pozadini ozbiljna prica, ono sto pratimo je samo pocetak jednog lepog prijateljstva.

A Kingdom and a Horse 3/5
Vikinzi. Nuff said.

Thieves at the Gate 4/5
Odiseja, odiseja
staza trnja ili staza orhideja
odiseja, odiseja
zivot, to je samo nova odiseja

Interesantno prepricavanje ovog starog mita. Lepo.

His Kikuta Hands 4/5
Jednostavna poruka ali vrlo efektna: ne podcenjuj nikoga. Ako to uradis to moze sam lose da se zavrsi.

The Lord Collector 5/5
Uvek lepo vratiti se u ovaj svet. Detaljan, brutalan, na momemente melaholican. Sve u sve vrlo lepo.

Scream 4/5
Ako nesto zvuci suvise dobro da bi bilo istinito najcesce i jeste. Zabavna i brza prica o pljacki koja ne ide bas po planu. Zabavno :)

Sve u svemu nije losa kolekcija ali sam ipak dosta vise ocekivao.

Steta.

[Michael]

I'm going to be adding comments as I read each story. And I may not read them in the order of the book. I'm going to skip around a bit. First and foremost I wanted to comment on the really amazing quality of the book - the layout and images for each story are fabulous, great job to Ragnarok for this fine book that I'm proud to have a story in.

Foreword by Glenn Cook - I liked it, he has a tendency to ramble a bit and get off topic but I do agree with him about what makes rogues and grey characters interesting.


Introduction by J.M. Martin - also entertaining and I found it interesting to discover the "The Writer's of the Storm" group and the amazing authors who were/are in it.

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology! Very focused on the sword & sorcery, dark, epic and historical fantasy subgenres, most of the stories are pacy and feature interesting characters. There is drama and comedy, there are shorter and longer tales, there are different degrees of world-building and magic, and there is focus on action and psychology. Some authors truly have a gift for fitting compelling narrative and characterization in the short story format, and there are both stories which are more like an introduction to their existing works and structured short standalones with unpredictable twists.

I liked or loved all of the stories, very few didn’t catch my attention and I really appreciated such evenness of quality; it's a splendid collection, the theme is intriguing and the final picture is pretty cohesive: this anthology really feels like an ensemble rather than a volume of separate stories. After a slow start (as it is normal for me with anthologies) I roared along, savoring all the varied contributes without pause. The writing quality is very good throughout but I expected that, considering the names in the table of contents.

"When you root for the bad guy you never know what you're going to get"

The stories feature a very wide range of characters, there are thieves, assassins, tricksters, mercenaries, scoundrels, dastards, swindlers, fighters, sorcerers, tax collectors, villains murderers, traffickers and more; some have standard ethics, some are simply practical, some outright evil. Some ply their trade for higher ideals, some out of circumstances, some for money, some simply following their nature, some for the sheer fun of it.

It’s also interesting to see the different approaches to the same unsavory businesses, some authors go for playful tones, portraying waggish circumstances or likable scoundrels (I can appreciate characters with dishonest trades and witty tongues who don't take themselves too seriously), while others deliver disturbing characters or hair-rising plots which explore the depth of human hell. And imagine the opponents or partners of such protagonists!
The mix of light humor and grim seriousness is truly frabjous.

"Assassination is murder with somebody else's purpose. [...] Coins hold purpose, they bear it like a cup. A murder should always carry a weight, even if it's only the weight of gold"

I was first drawn to this anthology because of a couple of stories starring familiar characters which I eagerly anticipated. Almost all but a few are, in fact, set in established worlds. I rarely felt disoriented for lack of prior knowledge of the characters or the history, it was great that almost all the authors effectively managed to achieve the right balance between fleshing out and plot.
There is the advantage that short stories related to existing series allow for the opportunity to discover the writers and the series at the same time, and are great gateways to get familiar with a more complex situations. On the whole there are fewer strictures in original settings, I’m very much for them, but here I was also interested in trying some series I have on my to-read shelf without yet committing to the full work.

More tales than I expected had my undivided attention and left me really wanting for more of their characters and their authors’ imagination, but I would have been disappointed otherwise, ever since the earlier days of the Kickstarter project the contributor list exerted an irresistible pull (it was very fulfilling to see it grow, either) and it was instant chemistry with the theme: anti-heroes!

In part I agree with Glen Cook (yes I read it, sorry Glen), reading about the nasty and the flawed can be downright fascinating, but it’s not only the fun of scoundrelly action or the boring-good-exciting-evil thing. It is interesting to know about the humanity (if any) of those who play the game with a very personal set of rules, their motivations, their worlds, or simply to follow their logic and see how it ends. I would not read fantasy literature to feel better in my own world. Indeed "good and bad are extremely dependent upon where I am standing", of course, I am judgmental by nature; so what’s better than a hefty book of unclear morality to test the boundaries of my perception and have a great time at it?

Another welcome aspect is the neat package (and there are illustrations to boot, though some are a bit spoilery), I think the editing can really make a difference, not only on the story selection –which is paramount of course- but also on the reading quality of the volume if it can bring out the synergies between the various stories. It was an excellent job, since I read them straight through, I had the opportunity to enjoy all the aspects of the editorial choices, and I did. There is nothing worse than short stories randomly bound together, without normalization, fine-tuning of the theme, or harmony between the lengths of the various pieces, writing styles and in the emotional impact sequence. That is not the case here. I still have to come around Blackguards Blacklist, the anthology companion, a much-appreciated boon with some interesting authors.

Pleasant discoveries, great reading time, highly recommended.


Sept 2014: project successfully funded on Kickstarter. Initial pledge goal more than doubled! I'm looking forward to reading this anthology.

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy

Blackguard Theme: This collection is largely Dark Fantasy. As the subtitle says, this not just about Assassins--there are plenty similar lawbreakers featured: Thieves, Smugglers, and Mercenaries. As J.M. Martin clarifies in his introduction:

Blackguard, by the way, is actually pronounced ‘blaggard,’ as in haggard. The term seemingly originated from scullions and kitchen-knaves, in particular those in courtly caravans who were in charge of the pots, pans, utensils, and the conveyance of coal … one could extrapolate that a ‘blaggard’—also ‘blagger’ in some texts—is a ‘rag-tag deceiver with grandiloquent habits.’

Crowdfunded Gateway: Anthologies often function as a way to speed-date authors. Want to get acquainted with those who write about a theme you crave? Then find a thematic anthology and shop around! The Sword & Sorcery genre spawned from short stories; for many decades anthologies needed no classification. But in the last few decades, within the dark fantasy genre associated with S&S, there has been a move toward themes—which is great (i.e., Rogue Blade Entertainment’s Rage of the Behemoth and Heroika 1: Dragon Eaters come to mind). Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues provides a whopping 27 stories—24 of which are linked to established series. The “Roll-Credits” section in the end is designed to link readers to the authors they just liked. Classy. This book was launched via Kickstarter and Ragnarok Publications delivered a solid product. Me? I was just a Bung Nippers level supporter, but am still part of the band wagon and proud to be acknowledge in the contributor section.

Variety: A menu of 27 entries starts off with ~4 female protagonists, which was unexpected and enjoyable. The range of characters and milieu is truly broad. There is surprisingly little redundancy. As mentioned above, the Sword & Sorcery genre was influential: Michael J. Sullivan and Paul Kemp offer duos reminiscent of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar “Fafred and Mouser”; and Jon Sprunk seemed to write a pastiche/fan-fiction of Glen Cook’s The Black Company.

Many are tales of betrayal and grim situations; the most impactful was Peter Orullian ’s "A Length of Cherrywood" which was uber-dark, but very well written--this story is one you’ll enjoy reading once, and then never again. Not all these are grim. There are several comedic entries, the funniest for me was Richard Lee Byers’s "Troll Trouble" which had me laughing out loud. There are several others that have the protagonist as savior/hero, or the target of blackguards; Kenny Soward’s "Jancy's Justice” was one such which also offered a bit of steampunk/gnome technology. The last several entries really cast the net: James Enge casts Odysseus as a blackguard, Lian Hearn provides some Japanese inspired darkness, Snorri Kristjansson offers Viking flare, and Anton Strout brings a psychic- sorcery into contemporary art crime.

Personal Favorites: S.R. Cambridge’s "The Betyár and the Magus" blends magic into western-European history—great characters and setting. Equally entertaining & well written was Shawn Speakman’s dose of druidic/Celtic lore; his "The White Rose Thief" made me aware of “Rosenwyn Whyte” a musician with a dark past which I am anxious to read more about. Tim Marquitz ’s "A Taste of Agony" got me intrigued about the “outlaw, eunuch assassin Gryl”, even though the story’s mission was obscure. Anthony Ryan’s "The Lord Collector" offered it all—an intriguing world of assassins, dark magic, and interesting characters.

Art: The cover art by Arman Akopian is nicely done and representative on the book’s contents (yes, there are plenty of female protagonists). Interior art for each of the stories is bonus flare, well done by artists Orion Zangara and Oksana Dmitrienko

Contents:
Foreword by Glen Cook
Introduction by J.M. Martin
JEAN RABE, "Mainon" (Original tale) *
BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU, "Irindai" (Shattered Sands) *
CAT RAMBO, "The Subtler Art" (Serendib)
CAROL BERG, "Seeds" (Lighthouse Duet)
KENNY SOWARD, "Jancy's Justice" (GnomeSaga)
MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN, "Professional Integrity" (Riyria)
RICHARD LEE BYERS, "Troll Trouble" (Plague Knight)
PAUL S. KEMP, "A Better Man" (Egil and Nix) *
DJANGO WEXLER, "First Kill" (Shadow Campaigns)
MARK SMYLIE, "Manhunt" (The Known World)
JOHN GWYNNE, "Better to Live than to Die" (Faithful Fallen)
MARK LAWRENCE, "The Secret" (Broken Empire)
LAURA RESNICK, "Friendship" (Silerian Chronicles)
CLAY SANGER, "The First Kiss" **
SHAWN SPEAKMAN, "The White Rose Thief" (The Dark Thorn)
PETER ORULLIAN, "A Length of Cherrywood" (Aeshau Vaal)
TIM MARQUITZ, "A Taste of Agony" (Prodigy series)
JAMES A. MOORE, "What Gods Demand" (Seven Forges)
DAVID DALGLISH, "Take You Home" (Shadowdance)
JOSEPH R. LALLO, "Seeking the Shadow" (Book of Deacon)
JON SPRUNK, "Sun and Steel" (Shadow Saga)
S.R. CAMBRIDGE, "The Betyár and the Magus" **
SNORRI KRISTJANSSON, "A Kingdom and a Horse" (Valhalla Saga)
JAMES ENGE, "Thieves at the Gate" (Morlock)
LIAN HEARN, "His Kikuta Hands" (Tales of the Otori)
ANTHONY RYAN, "The Lord Collector" (Raven's Shadow novella)*
ANTON STROUT, "Scream" (Simon Canderous Chronicles)
* stretch goal achieved
** open submissions winners (

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: If you flip through the "Roll Credits" section at the back, eventually you'll find my name -- I backed this on Kickstarter back in 2014 or so.

Having said that, I am of ... questionable ... virtue when it comes to Kickstarter -- I tend to back lots of anthologies and magazines &c., which I may or may not subsequently read (or even actually have any intention of reading). But this was a remarkably strong anthology, and I would've felt that way even if I hadn't pitched in up front.

As you'd expect from the title, it's a book of stories primarily about thieves and assassins and various skullduggeries, primarily in a sword & sorcery or heroic fantasy mode. The list of authors is remarkably strong -- Bradley P. Beaulieu, Carol Berg, Laura Resnick, Snorri Kristjansson, and more others than I can list. (Well, OK, I could. But I'm not going to, because that would be boring.) Some of them were people I'd read before; many were names I'd encountered even if I hadn't read anything by them in particular. And a few were new to me. Most of the authors provided stories that tied into their novels, but a few were standalone pieces.

As with all such anthologies, some stories I liked better than others (I'm definitely going to have to add Brad Beaulieu, amongst others, to my read-sooner-than-later pile); but there wasn't an outright stinker in the bunch and the median quality level was remarkably high.

Very strongly recommended for fans of this sort of thing (i.e. me).

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of short stories from an impressive group of authors. All of the stories involve anti-heroes so if you reading preference is Grimdark, you will love this book and it is a great way to be introduced to authors you have not read. I was not familiar with several of the authors but their short stories have peaked my interest in reading their major works.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rogues are the best.

This is my personal opinion on the subject. Some people prefer paladins and shining knights but just about everyone I know likes Han Solo more than Luke Skywalker. Now, I like Luke Skywalker just as much as anyone else but there's just something about antiheroes which speaks to me.

A friend of mine said it was no coincidence that the nobility tended to favor stories of armored heroes fighting for noble causes while peasants liked clever people who used their wits to become rich. Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is an homage to those sorts of heroes and the very origins of fantasy writing.

Both Conan the Barbarian and Bilbo Baggins both share a common quality: they're both thieves. Modern fantasy is a house built upon those who work in shadows like Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser or countless other Sword and Sorcery heroes. Blackguards is an homage to these figures and what attracted me to Ragnarok Publications. Before I was a writer for them, I was a donater to their Kickstarter for this book and I hope you'll view my review in the context as a reader. If not, well, consider yourself warned.

The book opens up with a foreword by Glen Cook of The Black Company series. Honestly. this is my least favorite part of the book since he sets the reader off on the wrong foot. His introduction is a ode to vicious killers, monsters, and nihilism. Which is pretty much NOT what the vast majority of these stories are about. He even cites how Norman Spinrad's The Iron Dream is a book about how even the most horrible evils can be heroes. Which is NOT what that books about. It's a misinterpretation of its themes akin to A Fish Called Wanda's, "The central tenant of Buddhism is every man for himself."

Oiye.

Thankfully, Joe Martin proceeds to write his own foreword which is a bit more appropriate to the content. Joe Martin talks about his love of Bilbo Baggins, lovable rogues, and those who use their wits over brawn. This fits well with the stories within and put me in the proper mood for reading about the Blackguards within. He even helpfully defines the word.

On my end, I don't like reading about the evil triumphing. The gray? Yes. The amoral? Certainly? The outright monstrous? Screw em. Even if the villains are worse than such heroes, all that makes me feel is that I'd like to see both jump off a cliff. Thankfully, Blackguards is full of many a Catwoman and Arsene Lupin while only a few Jokers.

Now for a short critique of the many stories within.

Mainon by Jean Rabe: The story of a beautiful Renassiance-esque fantasy assassin who is hired to protect a wedding feast from a killer prophecized to slay the groom. But, of course, things are more complicated than they appear. I love the protagonist and will have to check out any future works starring her.

Irindai by Bradley P. Beaulieu: The story of a similarly attractive female pit fighter who gets caught up in a story of a vampish dream-dealer in an Arabic setting. I was surprised at the choice of making the villain a lesbian but it played very little role in over-the-top cruelties.

The Subtler Art by Cat Rambo: A married couple goes to visit a luxurious retirement home populated by dictators, archvillains, and merchant princes in order to make a kill (or kills). The entire story is just a set up for a joke at the end but, thankfully, it's a funny joke.

Seeds by Carol Berg: The story of a drug-addicted renegade wizard who wants to keep his hand long enough to continue doing drugs as well as prostitutes. I have to give credit to the author for managing to capture both the patheticness of an addict as well as making him an interesting lead protagonist.

Jancy's Justice by Kenny Soward: I love GnomeSaga so I'm inclined to give Kenny props for this one, even though I don't remember the titular character all that well. This is a story of a thief with a soft-spot for children who goes to save a babe kidnapped millennium ago. My only complaint about this story is it ends abruptly before a proper climax.

Professional Integrity by Michael J. Sullivan: My favorite story in the volume involves two likable thieves, a young woman paying them to kidnap her, a curse, a con, and a delightfully twist-ridden mystery. This is exactly the kind of rogue-ish story I love and I will definitely be checking out his other works.

Troll Trouble by Richard Lee Byers: Another story I very much enjoyed due to its mostly-heroic scoundrel of a hero. The local Trolls have a problem with demonic possession, runaway brides, a evil witch, and an incubus. The way all of this gets resolved is just hilarious.

A Better Man by Paul S. Kemp: A group of thieves get hired to thwart some more thieves but everyone is hustling everyone else. I love this story primarily because of its two protagonists but also because it provides one of the more impressive women I've read in a story story--I'd love to read more about her.

The First Kill by Django Wrexler: An interesting story of intrigue, government action, and a submissive/dominant relationship between two killers. Django has an excellent handle on the leads and I had fun throughout.

Manhunt by Mark Smylie: The story of a renegade guardsman Batman on a cursed city. The final speech about how serving the nobility sucks but you can do some small part for the peasantry was the best part of the story, even if it had lots of well-written action.

Better to Live Than Die by John Gwynne: A rural take on a Robin Hood-esque band of forest bandits. Well, except for the fact they rob from the rich and give to themselves. The cynicism of the story shows that you don't need palaces for backstabbing on a scale similar to Game of Thrones.

The Secret by Mark Lawrence: My second least favorite story in this volume (you'll read about the least later). A helpless young woman gets murdered by an assassin who gets close to her. I'm not a great believer a person has to be good to be heroic as bad people can do impressive deeds. There's nothing heroic about the protagonist and I hope he breaks his neck on his ride home.

Friendship by Laura Resnik: A story of a secret order of killers on a place which reminds me of East Asia. The story has the uncomfortable subtext of the victim being the homosexual lover of the client, but I can't say it's not a believable motive in a homophobic society. It's also, mostly, about how people who get in (figurative) bed with criminals should not be surprised when they get diseased.

The Long Kiss by Clay Sanger: A horror story masquerading as a roguish one. A thief purchases a night with a beautiful prostitute, only to find out she doesn't speak the language. He uses the time to relate his horrifying deeds in full, only to discover things aren't quite what they seem.

The White Rose Thief by Shawn Speakman: A story about a retired thief turned bard. Rosenwyn is unique in this book since she finds being a thief as something to be ashamed of. However, that doesn't prevent her from getting caught up in the affairs of witches, nobles, druids, and dragons despite this. The story, seemingly, is a prelude for a longer one I would very much like to read.

A Length of Cherrywood by Peter Orullian: My ACTUAL least favorite story in the book. This almost made me throw the book across the room. It's about a disgusting human trafficker who kidnaps an innocent woman (who doesn't even get a name) while her husband is helpless to resist. When I realized the story had the slaver get away afterward with no hint to the woman's fate, I tuned the rest out. A repulsive story about a repulsive character.

A Taste of Agony by Tim Marquitz: A fascinating tale of survival on the mountaintops along with revenge, sorcery, and war. The fact the story stars an outlaw eunuch assassin is enough to get me invested just from the description alone.

What Gods Demand by James A. Moore: I want to say I *LOVE* The picture which accompanies this story. The artist should be commended. The actual story is good, too, dealing with a woman who has reincarnated in a new body like the X-men's Psylocke and has to deal with the repercussions. I also liked she was a strongly religious character and how it influenced her actions.

Take You Home by David Dalgish: A vignette which is basically a Daredevil or Batman story. A city is controlled by a single Master Thief who enforces a code of conduct on all the various criminals in the city. When a young woman is kidnapped, it's up to him to rescue her against a small army of thugs. Short but sweet.

Seeking the Shadow by Joseph R. Lallo: The story about how a blacksmith and an assassin form a pact for mutual advantage. It's a funny-funny story due to the blacksmith's dialogue and I wouldn't mind reading more about them.

Sun and Steel by Jon Sprunk: A story which is more military than roguish. It's a tale of magic, force-of-arms, steel, honor, and bloodshed. I enjoyed it just fine even if it doesn't have much roguishness.

The Betyar and the Magus by S.R. Cambridge: A Russian bandit during the Hungarian Revolution robs the wrong coach, finding himself in a very prickly situation. Hopelessly outmatched, the bandit has to use his silver tongue to convince said magus that he is more interesting alive than dead. Great story.

A Kingdom and a Horse by Snorri Kristjansson: A pair of rather incompetent Norsemen find themselves try to rob some villagers with varying degrees of success. The story was quite funny and I enjoyed it a great deal. It, oddly enough, reminded me of Asterix.

Thieves at the Gate by James Enge: A story which adapts the adventures of that original rogue, Odysseus. It's a perfectly entertaining and fine story but I can't say I find the attempt to liken piracy to conquest all that convincing. Still, it's worth it for the opening conversation about the importance of children to a dynasty.

His Kikuta Hands by Lian Hearn: A Japanese-flavored bit of fantasy which, surprisingly enough, involves ninjas. The conflict between the Tribe, their code of honor, and the locals is impressively detailed. I also loved the shocking twist at the end.

The Lord Collector by Anthony Ryan: A solid piratical fantasy tale on the high seas. It involves smugglers, priests, betrayal, codes of honor, Omerta (in its classical sense), and more. This is one of the best stories in the book and has a real meaty plotline to it.

Scream by Anton Strout: A story which jumps out of classical fantasy to urban fantasy. Scream is about a psycometric private detective who is hired to steal back a painting for a museum. It has one of the most hilarious scenes I've read in a book involving, of all things, the restaurant from "When Harry Met Sally."

If these stories weren't enough, purchasers of the ebook get a special bonus in an additional eleven stories. I've got to say this was an impressive gift by Ragnarok Publications and I loved every single one of them. Of special note are To the End by Rob J. Hayes, which is a chronicle of a character from his Ties that Bind series and The Lonesome Dark by Anthony Lowe. The latter is a tale about how revenge has its costs, even when you're just trying to be the one moral person in the world. Equally powerful is The Laughing Wind by Noah Hendrick which asks the question whether or not a single good deed can make up for a life of bad choices. Bloody Gratitude by Mike Theodorsson is just funny and depicts children as they truly are: complete monsters.

In conclusion, Blackguards is an amazing book. One of, if not the, best anthologies I have ever read. It's well worth the price and provides an immense amount of entertainment for every page. With rare exceptions, I enjoyed every single story in this book and would recommend almost all of them to other readers.

10/10

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still eagerly awaiting my hardcover and goodies, but the ebook shipped early and that gave me a chance to scope this out ahead of time. Other than a few spelling/grammar errors that slid through (misuses of your/you're, etc) it was a nicely polished package.

I will admit that, for now, I only read (in their entirety) the stories from authors/series I'm already reading/familiar with. I did skim some of the others, but I did not really understand what was happening. Authors such as Tim Marquitz, Bradley Beaulieu, David Dalglish, John Gwynne, and Jon Sprunk are all authors whose books I already own and intend to read in the next month or two, but have not actually read as of yet.

So I'll say that overall, I was very happy to have participated in this kickstarter, and I anticipate that when I get the hard copy of the book, I'll be pleased with it and proud to display it on my shelf. Some of my favorite authors were included in here, and it's a really nice set. The stories have been well done.

Below is a quick rating and short reviews on some of the stories I read, in order of where they were in the book:


Michael J. Sullivan - "Professional Integrity" - 3.5 stars
- This was a fun little story, involving "werewolves" and another of Royce and Hadrian's heists. I feel like a ton of stories could be written about their odd jobs, like Peter V Brett did with his Demon Cycle novellas, and they would be fun. My biggest complaint about this piece, and I know it's a bit petty, but the way he tuckerized Shawn Speakman and his wife Kristen Lamb was very jarring for me, as I'm familiar with both of them. Every time i saw their names it just took me right out of the story. The rest of it was pretty enjoyable.

Paul S. Kemp - "A Better Man" - 3.5 stars
- This was a fun little trip back into the world of Egil and Nix. It's been like a year since I read one of those books, if not longer, but I felt like I'd just read them yesterday with the way he eased back into the story. The actual story was fun, albeit a bit predictable, and I still enjoy Paul's writing. My complaints from the two books are basically the same complaints I have in this short story as well, though.

Django Wexler - "First Kill" - 4 stars
- I love Django's writing, though I found his other short stories to be a bit of a letdown compared to the full book. This one was an exciting, action packed little romp through the eyes of one of the 'bad guys' in the series. I enjoyed it.

Mark Lawrence - "The Secret" - 5 stars
- An awesome Broken Empire story featuring Brother Sim. Even though I knew what was coming fairly early on, I was enamored with this little tale, and completely into it the entire way. Lovely.

Shawn Speakman - "The White Rose Thief" - 3.5 stars
- Competently written, a bit longer than the others in the book, and entertaining. It didn't quite grab me for some reason, I can't say there was anything wrong with it, I just wasn't as into it as I expected to be.

Clay Sanger - "The First Kiss" - 3 stars
- This one was one of the contest open entries. I enjoyed it, there were some writing quirks (repeated phrases, etc) and part of it was predictable, though the details threw me for a bit of a loop. It was promising, though.

Peter Orullian - "A Length Of Cherrywood" - 4 stars
- I'm enjoying Peter's writing more the more I read his work.

Snorri Kristjansson - "A Kingdom And A Horse" - 3.5 stars
- A bit short, but I do enjoy his writing style. He lost me a bit in his books with the direction his story goes at times, and this one had a bit of an odd move about halfway through, but it was still ejoyable.

Anthony Ryan - "The Lord Collector" - 3 stars
- This one drug on a bit, and didn't really grab me either. I still like his writing style, it just didn't quite work for me.


I'll be keeping this around, and will go back to the authors I skipped once I read their full books. However, I can safely say this is a great package already, with some great authors and great stories, and is more than deserving of the support it got through Kickstarter.

[Rob Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

One line review (as it is an anthology there will be 1 word per story):

Sneaky, moths, pretension, run, stabby, bromance, TROLLS!, twist, stabby, darkness, twang, stabby, world-building, STBY, origin, stick, ow!, stabby, hero, origin, origin, bang, viking, Gods, pointless, ummm, aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!


Now that's out of the way we'll get to the real review. Some good stories and some not so good. A few that I intend to follow up on and pick up some of the author's books, and a few that I intend to forget about as promptly as possible.

Overall the stories in the antho were very well written and edited and the book was put together brilliantly. It's hard to go into specifics in an antho, but I will say this. There was a bit too much of the origin story flying about. The stories were all set in the authors' own worlds (which I loved) and so many of the stories revolved around a main character from an existing book but before they became that main character. It's a little strange in that regard and I think I'd have preferred it differently.

I will mention a few stories of real note (for good or ill):

Irindai - Bradley P. Beaulieu: OK, I loved this one. The story was good and the characters were interesting, but it was the world that captured me. Bradley does a great job of intriguing the reader with briefly mentioned tit-bits that drew me in and left me wanting to know more.

The Subtler Art - Cat Rambo: Interesting story, very well done, and a fun read, but the pretension level went through the roof.

Professional Integrity - Michael J. Sullivan: Interesting story (even if the twist was a little too well telegraphed). What really makes it an excellent read is the interaction between the two main characters. Lots of fun to be had with this one.

Friendship - Laura Resnick: This wasn't so much a short story as 20 pages of dry world building and notes on politics. I was bored. Short stories should not be the place to hold lengthy discussions on character's political agendas.

The White Rose Thief - Shawn Speakman: An interesting story that left me wanting to know more.

What Gods Demand - James A. Moore: Super assassin is super. There was no tension in the story at all. Evil super assassin hunts evil people to an evil end. Super assassin wins because she is super.

Take You Home - David Dalglish: Heroic hero is heroic. Honestly this one didn't fit in the anthology for me. The hero may have been wearing a cloak, but it felt like he was wearing a red cape... and his underwear on the outside.

The Lord Collector - Anthony Ryan: Really interesting story and I enjoyed it... HOWEVER, I don't think I'd have understood a damned thing that was happening had I not already read Anthony's first book Blood Song.

So there we have it. A good anthology about thieves, rogues, and brigands. Well worth picking up.

One last thing to mention is that the ebook version comes with a companion anthology called "The Blacklist" which has at least 1 amazing story in it titled "To the End" by some fool named Rob J. Hayes.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. There were a few tales that, to me, weren't quite as good as the rest, but that comes down to personal taste and concept of anthologies.
Recommended.

[Carrie Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackguards is what I expected the G.R.R.M - edited Rogues anthology to be: a collection of fantasy stories centered around roguish characters. Right off the bat, that may be enough for some to go check this out. Other pluses on a pure structural aspect: It's also a collection of entirely new stories, a nice bonus as most anthologies are collections of previous works, and not new tales. I'll also say that unlike some anthologies, the introductions to the stories are nice and brief, never outstaying their welcome. Authors got enough space to provide context for their tales or what series their stories are from, so new readers can track down the related works. It worked well. Finally, all the stories come with a title illustration. The art may or may not to be of your taste, but it's a nice feature.

As for the content, I'd have to stay that overall, the quality is pretty dang high. As always, there are a few stories that won't quite do it for you (and I admit, the two fan submissions that were included in the book were among the four or five that I skipped over), but generally speaking, it's pretty good. My major complaint is that outside the one contemporary story and the two or three tales set in specifically places and times, most of the stories are very traditional faux-medieval fantasies, so over the course of the 750ish pages, there's a feeling of sameness that can be a drag. I'd liked to have seen the inclusion of some urban fantasy or maybe some paranormal just to shake things up.

Overall, this is a very solid anthology series, and it's an easy recommendation, especially for those who've never bought a collection like this and aren't sure that it's there thing. I think this group of authors did a good job writing stories that would be accessible to all, and not just their fans. Of course, if you haven't been swayed by this kind of thing before, this won't change your mind.

[Greg (adds 2 TBR list daily) Hersom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackguards is pretty damn awesome!
I've always felt that most anthologies are only as good as their foreword and this one was written by GLEN COOK!! Nuff said. I also enjoyed the introduction by J.M. Martin. Mr. Martin really makes grimdark fans feel included, like were a family of sorts or maybe more like a band of outlaws. :)
Speaking of grimdark fans, Blackguards is the "must have" anthology if grimdark is your genre of choice.
As with the any well-done anthology, the reader should finish it with a few more authors to follow-up on, then when he/she started. Blackguards has a lot of great stories -there was only one clunker due to my preference, I'm sure another reader will love the one I didn't.
So the good and bad of Blackguards; I came away with way more than a just a few more authors whose series I've added to my TBR list, but I also added a lot more books to my way-too-huge TBR List which already overwhelms me. (So many books to read and only so many days to us in this world. )

[Kenny Soward]

I really enjoyed this anthology, and I'm proud -- no, damn humbled -- to be part of it. It was a beast of a read and many of the stories left me feeling reflective and awed. Not only was being part of this exciting for me but also a great learning experience as I search for ways to improve my work.

Some of my favorite stories in no particular order include:
Lian Hearn's His Kikuta Hands
Mark Lawrence's The Secret
Peter Orullian's A Length of Cherrywood
Paul S. Kemp's A Better Man
Anton Strout's Scream

Just really great stuff. Thank you Ragnarok!

[Overbooked ✎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

With anthologies one has the opportunity to sample the works of authors without the commitment of reading full books. This one encouraged me to try a couple of new-to-me authors. 2.5 stars.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savoured my way through this one, taking my time but its really such a high standard. I have gone on to order two of the writers I hadn't read before books on the weight of the stories.
Special shout outs to Mark Lawrence, Bradley P. Beaulieu , Snorri Krisjannson and Lian Hearn as ones that have stood out but they are all fantastic

[Bogdan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very solid and impressive Anthology, on the same level with the Rogues Anthology by George R.R. Martin, with a lot of great stories and new authors to search for.

Now, the stories:

1. Mainon by Jean Rabe - Good one! An assassin is trying to protect a nobleman.

---2. Irindai by Bradley P. Beaulieu - Kind of a long one.

3. The Subtler Art by Cat Rambo - Interesting, about how to kill dictators or villains in their reacreation zone.

4. Seeds by Carol Berg - Mixed feeling about this one. A renegade wizard addicted to drugs tries to escape his punishment for theft.

---5. Jancy's Justice by Kenny Soward. Not for me I guess.

6. Professional Integrity by Michael J. Sullivan : One of the greatest here. Some thiefs are payed to save a young girl locked in the house every night by her father.

7. Troll Trouble by Richard Lee Byers...Weee, trolllssss!!! A Good mixed one! A story with a fresh and original ideea!

8. A Better Man by Paul S. Kemp - Nice: Two thiefs are hired to do a job, but not all it`s what it`s seems at the first glance.

9. The First Kill by Django Wrexler - On the writer`s note. Not bad.

---10. Manhunt by Mark Smylie. No so interested in it.

---11. Better to Live Than Die by John Gwynne. MNOPE. I definitely don`t like Gwynne.

---12. The Secret by Mark Lawrence MNOPE MNOPE.

13. Friendship by Laura Resnik...Not bad, not great.

14. The Long Kiss by Clay Sanger. A thug replays his mistakes, when in bed with a prostitute. Not a good ideea in the end.

15. The White Rose Thief by Shawn Speakman. Not, not the white from the Glenn Cook books, but still a very good story! Gargoyles, witches, fairies, thiefs! Another jewel!

16. A Length of Cherrywood by Peter Orullian. Not bad.

---17. A Taste of Agony by Tim Marquitz. Mnope!

18. What Gods Demand by James A. Moore. Interesting one. Dark and well made.

19. Take You Home by David Dalgish. A girl has been kidnapped. Nice stuff!

20. Seeking the Shadow by Joseph Lallo. A hunt for a ruthless killer. Interesting. Nice entertaining.

21. Sun and Steel by Jon Sprunk. An interesting battle in a war for a Satropy! Another nice one.

22. The Betyár and the Magus by S. R. Cambridge. Interesting as a whole, for the ideea about a Hungarian Betyar from an alternative history past. Definitely worth a read.

---23. A Kingdom and a Horse by Snorri Kristjansson. Not a sparkle of interes.

---24. Thieves at the Gate by James Enge. Meehhh something inspired from Mythology.Not.

25. His Kikuta Hands by Lian Hearn. With japanese influences in it. A good addition to the Anthology especially for the diversity of the ideea behind the story.

---26.The Lord Collector by Anthony Ryan. Pfuuu!!!I didn`t like the style of this peculiar story. If this is the way Anthony Ryan writes then definitely I`m not into his work.

----27. Scream.A Simon Canderous Story by Anton Strout. This is more in our days, but really I wasn`t so interested in it.

From a total of twenty seven I disliked or I didn`t like the writing of ten stories. Seventeen were from good to very good or quite amazing. Very good stuff!

The overall feeling was that this read had really worth my time.

Five stars!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like every anthology a mixed bag, but overall some great stuff.

Some of the stories I like best:

Cat Rambo's story takes place in a Planescape like setting I enjoyed very much (for a story set in the same universe check Beneath Ceaseless Skies)

The Egil & Nix story by Paul S. Kemp delivers some old school swords & sorcery.

Jon Sprunk's "Sun and Steel" had a nice Black Company feel too it.

Mark Samyle's "Manhunt" made me want to visit his world again.

Of course, like with every anthology there were some stories that were not for me, and some of the stories felt more like they're only interesting for completists of their setting. Overall it is an anthology that I can advice to all fantasy enthousiasts.

[Ints · Rating 4 out of 5]

Par šīs grāmatas lasīšanu es domāju, kopš par viņu uzzināju. Tam ir vairāki iemesli – autori, kuru darbi man patīk, izvēlētā tēma, vēlme atrast kādu autoru, kuru vēl neesmu lasījis. Grāmatu pievārēju, un tur tiešām ir ko pievārēt, Kindles versijā bez standarta 700+ lapaspusēm, grāmatā vēl papildus ir pielikti vienpadsmit stāstiņi, kuri netika līdz papīra grāmatai. Un teikšu, kā ir, daži - nepelnīti. Tādēļ vien esmu gandarīts, ka man šo grāmatu papīra versijā neizdevās atrast. Ja es būtu patiess apskatnieks, man šīs rindkopas vietā vajadzēja rakstīt par to, kā šī grāmata sākās kā kickstarter projekts, kur autoru uzticīgie fani sameta naudu grāmatai.

Atgriežoties pie pirmslasīšanas gaidām, tās attaisnojās pilnībā. Es atradu sev jaunus autorus un, iespējams, pat veselas grāmatu sērijas, par kurām es gribētu uzzināt daudz vairāk, nekā tikai vienu stāstiņu. Mani mīļākie autori spēja apliecināt, ka viņu rakstītprasme nudien ir laba, un viņi spēj iekļauties pat salīdzinoši īsā formātā. Un šie stāsti nudien pieturas pie fantāzijas pasaules drūmākās un vilinošākās tēmas un varoņiem. Šeit standarta varonis nav labais bruņinieks, kas pasauli redz melnbaltu, un pats viņš, protams, ir viss baltā. Nē, te galvenais varonis var būt zaglis, slepkavnieks, algotnis. Viņam var būt augsti morāles standarti, kuru ievērošanu ierobežo vien vide. Viņi var būt arī pilnīgi atsaldeņi, kuriem svešs ir viss cilvēcīgais, cik vien tas neskar viņu dzīvību un labklājību. Dzīve viņus visus ir salauzusi, citam tas ir manāmāk, citam ne tik ļoti. Kāds to apzinās un pat lepojas ar to, dažs par to vēl nemaz nenojauš. Taču autoriem, kas viņus izdomājuši, viņi visi ir mīļi bērni, kas, lai ar’ ļauni, tomēr nes viņiem maizīti uz galda.

Nevar noliegt, ka antoloģijas sastādītāji ir pacentušies. Stāsti visi kā viens ir labā līmenī. Te nav sinusoīda, kur ir izcili un ļoti švaki stāsti. Viņi lielākoties ir ļoti labi. Jāatzīmē, ka ne par visiem stāstiem biju sajūsmā. Mani kaitināja stāsti, kas bija kā iestarpinājumi vai prīkveli jau esošām sērijām. Saprotu, ka cilvēkiem, kas sēriju lasījuši, tie šķitīs labi un vietā. Taču, ja pacenšas var uzrakstīt arī tā, lai cilvēks, kurš sēriju nav lasījis spētu stāstā iebraukt, neko iepriekš nezinot. Stāstam ir jābūt pašam par sevi, un viss liekais ir jāatmet. Daži autori ar to ir tikuši gala veiksmīgi, daži pārāk paļaujas uz to, ko iepriekš sarakstījuši.

Un nu izvāriet tēju un sasmērējiet sviestmaizes, jo īsumā uzrakstīšu par katru no stāstiem. Ja slinkums tīt līdz beigām, grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm.

Mainon by Jean Rabe - par kādu algotu slepkavu, kas pieņemta darbā, lai novērstu slepkavības mēģinājumu. Taču slepkavības organizētājs ir liels viltnieks, un tas nav tik vienkārši. 7 no 10 ballēm.

Irindai by Bradley P. Beaulieu - tuksneša pilsēta, pasaule, kurā vēl dzīva maģija un katra bērna sapnis ir kļūt par labu slepkavnieku. Ceda ir diezgan veiksmīgas karjeras sākumā, taču par viņu izrāda interesi ietekmīga sieviete. Un ne jau tikai viņas izskata dēļ, ir lietas, kuras šādi cilvēki vērtē augstāk par smuku ģīmi - atmiņas. 9 no 10 ballēm par pasauli.

The Subtler Art by Cat Rambo - burvja un slepkavas sacensība, par to, kura amats ir visnemanāmākais un rūpīgākais. Jauks pavērsiens nobeigumā un superīga pilsēta dimensiju krustojumā. Labs piemērs, ka var jau esošā pasaulē radīt atsevišķu stāstu. Lieku 8 no 10 ballēm. Ja absolūts determinisms šķiet ideālā pasaules kārtība, tad noteikti varēs likt vēl vairāk.

Seeds by Carol Berg par kādu burvi ar diezgan lielām problēmām. Šķiet, ka veiksmīgajām dienām būs pienācis gals, burvim ir pienācis laiks, taču nav sēklas, lai apstādinātu procesu. Zādzība dod tikai īslaicīgu problēmas risinājumu. Personāžs un pasaule no lielāka cikla, taču labi lasās atsevišķi. 7 no 10 ballēm.

Jancy’s Justice by Kenny Soward – vājš stāsts, par to ka katrai lietai ir divas puses, un pasaule nemaz nav melnbalta. Galvenā varone nekāda, un šaubos, ka tāda tik ilgi izdzīvotu, lai veiktu varoņdarbus. 6 no 10 ballēm.

Professional Integrity by Michael J. Sullivan - labs piedzīvojumu stāsts, smuka meitene, dīvaini notikumi, vilki un kontrabanda. Teiktu labs detektīvstāsts, tāds kā fantāzijas Bāskervillu suns. 9 no 10 ballēm.

Troll Trouble by Richard Lee Byers - no troļļiem labāk turēties pa gabalu. Taču ir reizes, kad jāatdod parādi, tādēļ nākas riskēt ar savu dzīvību, lai glābtu troļļus. Diezgan interesanta pamatproblēma, trollis nevar dabūt mantinieku un dodas pie raganas pēc padoma. Padoms rada problēmas, un bez cilvēka palīdzības neiztikt. 9 no 10 ballēm.

A Better Man by Paul S. Kemp - par uzmetējiem un uzmešanu. Reizēm pat rūdītam algotnim ir grūti saprast, kas ir kas. Un ja vēl lietā ir iesaistīti burvji, tad viss ir iespējams. Standarta stāsts, kur lasītāju ved maldināšanā kopā ar galveno varoni. 7 no 10 ballēm.

First Kill by Django Wexler - par kādu algotu slepkavu - iesācēju un viņa vēlmi izrādīties profesionāļiem. Diezgan tumšs stāsts par pārāk tiešu pieeju problēmu atrisināšanai. Cilvēkam pilnīgi nav skaidrs, ko nozīmē komandas darbs. 8 no 10 ballēm.

Manhunt by Mark Smylie - reizēm stāsts spēj iegūt pavisam citu perspektīvu, kad izlasīts līdz galam. Šis stāsts par pilsētu, kurā valda zagļi, un kur pilsētas sardze vakaros sēž krogos tā vietā, lai darītu savu darbu. Jau labu laiku zagļi nogalina pilsētas iedzīvotājus, bet sardze nedara neko. Forši nostrādāta intriga 9 no 10 ballēm.

Better to Live than to Die by John Gwynne - par grūto dzīvi laupītāju bandā. Nav viegli, sevišķi, ja neredz nekādas perspektīvas. Galvenajam varonim rodas iespēja izdarīt izvēli, tagad atliek skatīties, vai tā būs bijusi pareiza. Labs stāsts. 9 no 10 ballēm.

The Secret by Mark Lawrence - stāsts kurā atrodami gan meli, gan noslēpums. Taču labāk lasītājam būtu, ja viņš šo noslēpumu no brāļa Sima nekad neuzzinātu. Izcils stāsts, lai gan viegli atkost ideju no paša sākuma. 10 no 10 ballēm, man jau autors ir dikti mīļš, un stāsts ar padevies.

Friendship by Laura Resnick – reizēm, meklējot algotu slepkavu, vajag atcerēties, ka arī tiem ir savas intereses. Ar algotiem slepkavām nevar jokot. Cilvēka nāves pasūtīšana pie ūdenskungiem ir nopietna lieta. Slepkavu neinteresēs ne tavi motīvi, ne mirkļa vājumi. 8 no 10 ballēm.

The Long Kiss by Clay Sanger - par to kā pareizi izraisīt karu un notīties no atriebības. Tikai reizēm pat puspasaule negarantēs drošību. Reizēm pat pasūtītāji visu neizplāno līdz galam, un nākas slēpt pēdas. 9 no 10 ballēm.

The White Rose Thief by Shawn Speakman - stāsts par kādu zagli, kurai tiek uzdots šķietami neizpildāms uzdevums, nozagt kādu specifisku druīdu grāmatu. Ir dažas nianses, bibliotēku apsargā gargula, kura ciena labu literatūru un lepojas ar savu kolekciju. Vēl ir fejas, burvestības un gara ziema. Lieku 10 no 10 ballēm.

A Length of Cherrywood by Peter Orullian viens no melnākajiem stāstiem, ko man vispār ir nācies lasīt. Tai pasaulē bērniem nudien ir grūta dzīve, tur vispār ir nereāli izdzīvot! 9 no 10 ballēm.

A Taste of Agony by Tim Marquitz - superīga pasaule stāsts ir daļa no lielāka cikla, par to, ka pat ja esi miris simtiem reižu, nevajag aizmirst par to, ka esi cilvēks. Pat tad, ja klejo pa pēckara tundru pusbadā vairākus mēnešus un barojies no pusmaģisku zombiju atstātām paliekām. 9 no 10 ballēm.

What Gods Demand by James A. Moore - par kādu pasauli, kurā dieviem piemīt absolūta teikšana. Nedaudz izrauts no konteksta, jo atrodas starp kādas sērijas trešo un ceturto grāmatu. Pasaule nav tik acīmredzama, lai stāstu varētu lasīt vienu pašu. Tas stāstam pamatīgi iegriež. 6 no 10 ballēm.

Take You Home by David Dalglish vienkāršs un manuprāt pat pārāk labsirdīgs stāsts priekš šī krājuma. Par kādu meiteni, kuru nolaupa, atliek tikai noskaidrot kāpēc. Vairāk izskatās pēc komiksu supervaroņiem, nevis par pilsētas ēnas puses valdniekiem. 6 no 10 ballēm.

Seeking the Shadow by Joseph R. Lallo - stāsts par kādu cilvēku, kurš dzenas pakaļ visslavenākajam slepkavam. Viņa motīvi ir ļoti savtīgi, un tā nav atriebība. Viens no tiem stāstiem, kur ne viss ir tā, kā pirmajā brīdī izskatās. Laba idejas realizācija. 8 no 10 ballēm.

Sun and Steel by Jon Sprunk - varoņstāsts par to, kā principiāli algotņi nekad nepadodas, neskatoties ne uz ko. Vairāk tāds algotņa likteņa idealizējums. 7 no 10 ballēm.

The Betyár and the Magus by S.R. Cambridge - par kādu ungāru lielceļa laupītāju un viņa saskriešanos ar magu. Labi sarakstīts par alternatīvo pasauli, kur viss ir kā pie mums, bet ir arī maģija. Galvenais varonis ir kara veterāns, kas patriotisma mudināts piedalījies Austroungārijas un Krievijas konfliktā. Karš beidzies pārinieks gājis bojā, nākas meklēt jaunas idejas. 8 no 10 ballēm.

A Kingdom and a Horse by Snorri Kristjansson - vikingu stāsts, diemžēl jālasa kontekstā ar grāmatu sērijā. Tādēļ lasot atsevišķi piedzīvojums šķiet tāds nekāds. 6 no 10 ballēm.

Thieves at the Gate by James Enge - Odiseja stāsta pārspēlēšana, viņa attiecības ar dieviem un Trojas karš. Viegla izklaide, bet nekas izcils. 6 no 10 ballēm.

His Kikuta Hands by Lian Hearn - tāds japāņu gabals, par superslepenajiem slepkavu klaniem, kurus mērķtiecīgi sāk iznīcināt jaunais valdnieks. Nekas īpašs 6 no 10 ballēm.

The Lord Collector by Anthony Ryan - labs piedzīvojumu gabals, pirāti, magi, akcīzes iekasētāji. Iespējams, ka vajadzēs izlasīt šī stāsta pamatgrāmatas. 8 no 10 ballēm.

Scream by Anton Strout - labs stāsts par kādu cilvēku, kurš pieskaroties spēj noteikti lietu vēsturi. Laba pamatideja un superīgs galvenā varoņa tēls. 9 no 10 ballēm.

To the End by Rob J. Hayes - par laupītāju pārīti, slepkavībām un mīlestību. Tāds īss Bonijas un Klaida tēmas apspēlējums, tikai ar nelielu niansi. Neteikšu, ka patika. 6 no 10 ballēm.

To Steal the Moon by Rebecca Lovatt - ko darīt, ja jāizvēlas starp nemirstību un karu. Fejas un burvestības. Ja kabatā vēl palikuši Sāpes, Nāve un Aizmirstība, tad risinājumu var atrast. No sākuma man stāsts šķita ne visai, taču uz beigām domas mainījās. 8 no 10 ballēm.

The Muttwhelp by Edward M. Erdelac - orka un cilvēka jauktenim nav viegla dzīve, pat karā ne. Vispār tumšajos spēkos dienēt nav jautra lieta. Goblinus vairāk nosit savējie, orki absolūti nevadāmi, un troļļiem ar’ nav pilns rublis. Un trakākais, ka Tumsas armijai nav nekādas nojēgas, kas notiks pēc kara. Foršs stāsts 9 no 10 ballēm.

The Lonesome Dark by Anthony Lowe - par ksenocīdu un atriebību. Nogalināts citādais ir centrālais grāmatas tēls. Taču beigas tiek izspēlētas vienkārši izcili. 9 no 10 ballēm.

Comeuppance by Linda Robertson Brona dzīve nav viegla, karalis ir atņēmis visu, kas viņiem piederējis, un nu viņš sargā karaļa zeltu. Tā lāde jāved cauri briesmoņu pilnam mežam, un nauda esot nolādēta. Taču arī visdrūmākajā brīdī ass prāts atradīs iespēju. 9 no 10 ballēm.

The Assassination of Poppy Smithswife by Sam Knight - šis nu gan bija labs stāsts par kādu tavernas kalpiņu vārdā Pik. Vakaros viņš nedaudz nodarbojas ar klientu aptīrīšanu, bet visādi citādi gudrs puika. Nu un vēl viņa vājība ir vietējā palaistuve. 9 no 10 ballēm.

Telhinsol’s Shadow by S.M. White - tād vietējās pilsētas Betmens, viņš gan nav altruists un naudas viņam ar lāga nav. Iespējams, ka šis ir viņa pēdējais lielais darbs. Ideja nav neko izcila, un negaidītu pavērsienu ar te nav. 7 no 10 ballēm.

The Laughing Wind by Noah Heinrich – ko darīt leģendāram laupītājam, kad viņš ir notverts? Viņu gaida nāve, tas nekas, ka reiz Baldos ber Baldos bija jauns un slavens. Cilvēki noveco un Smejošo Vēju visi atceras kā jaunu cilvēku, kuram neviena laupīšana nav pārāk pārdroša. Arī laime izsīkst un leģendai nākas nomirt kā leģendai 9 no 10 ballēm.

Bloody Gratitude by Mike Theodorsson – katram slepkavniekam nākas novilkt līniju, kuru nepārkāpt. Vakkour šāds nosacījums ir likt mierā bērnus. Taču šoreiz viņam uzdevums ir visnotaļ nepateicīgs un te ir iejaukts bērns. Šķiet nekā grūta, nolaupīt bērnu vergu tirgotājiem un tad pārdot to raganām. Taču bērns izrādās īsts žiperis. 10 no 10 ballēm.

Gret by Brenda Carre – pasaulē ir tikai viena patiesa gudrība. Nekad nelien cīņā, kas notiek starp dieviem. Greta o ir labi ielāgojusi no vecmāmiņas. Jauki nostrādāts īsstāsts 9 no 10 ballēm.

Angel of Tears by Erik Scott de Bie – tāds dīvains stāsts par pasauli, kurā lēnām izzūd civilizācija. Ir palikušas tikai dažas vietas, kurā cilvēki vēl dzīvo. Vienā tādā ierodas ceļotāja, lai atgūtu savu skolotāju, kurš te tiek turēts verdzībā. 7 no 10 ballēm.

Grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm, lielākoties stāsti ir labi un ļoti labi. Ja patīk nedaudz drūmums un nolemtība, nav bailes no antivaroņiem un kādām pavisam neattaisnojām izrīcībām, iesaku.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of dark and twisted tales featuring some wonderful characterisation and gritty action. I didn't connect with a couple of the stories, but overall this is a great tome well worth buying for your shelves.

[Eon Windrunner]

Finally starting this one because I realized there is a John Gwynne short story in here.

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

orginally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2015...

Fantasy is a very broad genre and when I truly think about it, my heart has always had that special place reserved for those EPic Fantasy stories featuring well rogues, assassins and the like. It's with these characatures or elements whatever you want to call them that you can write such a good story. They feature well in funny, humorous stories as well as those that have a much darker and grimmer undertone, or what is often seen is the combination of both. I am of the opinion that this latter option is the best path. Last year when I heard that Ragnarok was running a kickstarter for Blackguards I got excited, there was a definite list of names and of more potential names if certain goals would be achieved. Now the initial list of authors was well, more than impressive, but those that could have their story added made it even more so. In the everyone got their story in the anthology, no acutally I should say Anthology, because just take a look at the names. Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is a collection of story with the some of the best fantasy authors out there.

As shown in the list below:
Jean Rabe – Mainon
Bradley P. Beaulieu – Irindai
Cat Rambo - The Subtler Art
Carol Berg – Seeds
Kenny Soward - Jancy's Justice
Michael J. Sullivan - Professional Integrity
Richard Lee Byers - Troll Trouble
Paul S. Kemp - A Better Man
Django Wexler - First Kill
Mark Smylie – Manhunt
John Gwynne - Better to Live than to Die
Mark Lawrence - The Secret
Laura Resnick – Friendship
Clay Sanger - The First Kiss
Shawn Speakman - The White Rose Thief
Peter O'Rullian - A Length of Cherrywood
Tim Marquitz - A Taste of Agony
James A. Moore - What Gods Demand
David Dalgish - Take You Home
Joseph R. Lallo - Seeking the Shadow
Jon Sprunk - Sun and Steel
S.R. Cambridge - The Betyár and the Magus
Snorri Kristjansson - A Kingdom and a Horse
James Enge - Thieves at the Gate
Lian Hearn - His Kikuta Hands
Anthony Ryan - The Lord Collector
Anton Strout - Scream
This list has a whopping twenty-seven (27) original stories. What I always do with anthology review is highlight some of the stories, so as not to make the review to lengthy.

Bradley P. Beaulieu - Irindai
I actually just read Bradley Beaulieu's Twelve Kings, the first full book in the Shattered Sands series. If you read that review you know that I quite liked that book. With Irindai Bradley Beaulieu returns to the main character Ceda. Ceda got a lot of attention in the first book, and does receive it again in Irindai, getting so much information in such a short time didn't acutally bother me. Mainly because the world that is shown in the Shattered Sands series is just awesome. In Irindai, Ceda is stalking a young boy called Brama who has taken something that doesn't belong to him, and she wants to put things right. If you know about Ceda, you know that she cant quite stand her own man, she is an very skilled pit-fighter. Anyway Ceda is out to get what is hers but here she stumbles into something bigger, the package that was stolen from her, was poisoned and some people would like to have a word with her. Ceda now finds herself in a precarious game... What I liked in Irindai was the same as in Twelve Kings the way that Bradley Beaulieu tells the compelete story. An interesting plot, great characters and a lush and very inviting surrounding.

Cat Rambo - The Subtler Art
I had never heard of Cat Rambo before reading her story The Subtler Art, I looked her up and found that she has been shortlisted for quite a few awards (Nebula and WFA incl!). Her story in Blackguards is The Subtler Art is a very alluring story, featuring the city of Serendib (shortened from Serendipity?). As the introduction states, The Subtler Art features a middle-aged couple the Dark and Tericatus. Who don't really stay at home to cook and eat because neither of them can do it that well. So they are looking for a place to eat and while they are moving about the Serendib, they fall into a discussion as what the most subtle way is to kill a person, the Dark being an assassins knows all about this way but Tericatus wants to show her that with magic it can even be more subtler and thus follow two examples. One one Tericatus and the other of the Dark. Both if I would say so myself subtle, so in the end they can only discuss who has the second most subtle art. What I liked from the start about The Subtler Art is the less is more kind of storytelling, there are a lot of things that you have to accept and saying this about the character the Dark and Tericatus, it adds a whole lot of mystery around their characters, even more so given the fact that the Dark at least is retired, what have they done in their earlier years? Do they have a reputation? What is their true power? Cat Rambo mentioned that there might be a full length book in the offing. Well I certainly hope so!

Michael J. Sullivan - Professional Integrity
Ever since reading the first prequel book of Riyria, Michael J. Sullivan caught and held on my attention. Having read other of his short stories I knew that Professional Integrity had to be another blast to read and trust me when I say that it was. Once again the focus is on Royce and Hadrian who find themselves called upon for a job. Though they have done loads of different jobs already, today they will be proposed to do something completely new. They area called upon a young women who asks Royce and Hadrian to kidnap herself. She wants to use this tactic to persuade a young man to look for her and in that way seduce him. Royce and Hadrian of course refuse to take on this job but then the young women mentions that her father always locks her in, and that she thus cannot sneak away. Her father says its for her own safety, and gives no other reason. So Royce and Hadrian are now convinced that they should have a word with her father. And then there is also the sighting of that creature. Once again Michael J. Sullivan has created a very solid story to the Riyria universe with Profession Integrity. It doesn't matter in which situation you place Royce and Hadrian but they work together so well and it is impossible not to make a cracking story featuring these two guys. Solid stuff.

Paul S. Kemp - A Better Man
I am not familiar with the Egil and Nix series of Paul S. Kemp but recently read Lords of the Sith of him. Egil and Nix are a bit comparable with that of Michael J. Sullivans Royce and Hadrian. Just a short personal note I think these two stories would have been better if there was more separation than one story in between. As I said Egil and Nix are also two adventures and in many ways think a like but also disalike. In A Better Man, Egil and Nix are basically bored right out of their minds with nothings to do. Then they hear the rumor that a notorious person known as The Night Blade is in town. Luckily for them a women, Sairsa, comes to town who offers them a job, even though they have nothing to do they start to complain so what. Must be their nature. Sairsa works for the Ochre Order and asks if they want to help her out to protect a wizard who is finalizing making a pact with another wizard. They accept the job as Sairsa is a damsel in distress. From her the story takes on a wild ride full of banter with Egil and Nix. As this was my first introduction with these two I was surprised. They are really really good. There is a great energy between the characters that is shown in full colour, the foulmouthing, short and snide replies to each other and in the end when push comes to shove, they can rely on each other blindly! Definitely have to check out the full length books of this duo.

Mark Lawrence - The Secret
Who doesn't know Mark Lawrence? When it comes down to fantasy, he is one of the biggest name that has taken the genre by force. I am a big fan of both his series to date, The Broken Empire and The Red Queen's War. I read some earlier stories set in the The Broken Empire series and luckily he has included yet another one in this anthology. This time around the focus is on Sim, one of Jorg's Brotherhood friends. Sim is the assassin of the lot and even his own friends in the Brotherhood fear him to a certain degree. There is a very unique was to how the story is told. It is told through the eyes of two person who are involved with what brother Sim is doing. Saying more would just spoil everything but the ending is very shocking. Within the story there is I think the best sentence that would describe how though it must be to be true assassin. "The perfect assassin needs to be able to kill the thing he loves. Or, rather, to understand the emotion, but not let it stay his hand." Definitely another winning story from Mark Lawrence, and hopefully we will soon see many stories featuring the characters from The Red Queen's War, I think Jalan can create some very cool adventures!

Tim Marquitz - A Taste of Agony
Now this is a story that took me by surprise. I know that Tim Marquitz has written a lot of fiction already, from Epic Fantasy to Urban and western inspired stories. A Taste of Agony is a taste of Tim Marquitz' upcoming fantasy series called Tales of the Prodigy. When I started reading this story I directly felt at home in the proposed world, dark and violent place. Here you meet the protagonist, Gryl, who is fighting against a Thrak berserker, big brutish creatures. Of course Gryl has enough skill, as he has been trained to become a Prodigy by the powerful Avan seers when he was just a young boy. After the encounter with the Thrak he get introduced to a group of knights who actually could use his help a lot. With the offer of food and some pay Gryl does accept the job albeit with heavy reluctance. During his stay with the Knights, Gryl does make some shocking discoveries, the first and foremost of that of a Knight with a young boy. To be honest, this was written in a very confronting manner. Tim Marquitz tackles power abuse and shows just how wrong it is. Luckily for me Gryl responded with the same aversion I had... Of course there is another challenge that Gryl has to overcome with help of his new found partial friends, but the ending is something that will stay with me for a long time. Plus it also put a mark on the upcoming series featuing Gryl. I already have high hopes for that one.

James A. Moore - What Gods Demand
If you have have been following this blog you know that I am a big fan of the Seven Forges series of James A Moore, I think I covered every short fiction and book that has been published. I was thrilled when I saw that he was adding another story to the growing series. So far the stories have been mainly focusing on the Sa'ba Taalor in their native area. In What Gods Demand, James A Moore takes a closer look to one of the proposed agents of them in the human cities. Here you follow the story of Swech, a women who has infiltrated the ranks. If you know something of the Sa'ba Taalor you know that they are highly religous and Swech in particular worships Wrommish and Paedle. As you can imagine Swech is tasked by her gods to eliminate some persons of important. Here it once again comes to show that the women Sa'ba Taalor are also a definite force to be reckoned with. It's a great story that shows the impending doom that awaits the fate of many that is to come in the third book of the Seven Forges series.

Snorri Kristjansson - A Kingdom and a Horse
Snorri Kristjansson is best know for his recently finished Valhalla series. A Viking inspired story and where the Gods don't stay quite as well. A Kingdom and a Horse offers a completely different perspective, it doesn't focus on the cast that we saw in the original trilogy. Instead Snorri Kristjansson takes his story overseas. To England. The Vikings have just made landfall and a few have decided to look they can discover on the island. Captain Sigurd and his trusty friends Sven and Thormund. During their quest they stumble upon a village and since they talk foreign and well look foreign. As they come closer and closer they decide to have some fun with the villagers and steel a horse. Now this leads down to an adventure of their own. The three characters are a whole lot of fun to read about even if the story is a short one.

I only highlighted a few stories that you can find in Blackguards but trust me when I say that this anthology contains a lot of good stories. Every fantasy reader that picks up this anthology will know some of its writers and will perhaps like me also discover many new ones. Since the majority of the stories to take place in already established universes they are also readily inviting to pick up those series.

The story layout was done in a way that in many cases the diversity was maintained but my note with Michael J. Sullivans and Paul S. Kemp's story do still stand. They are different stories but both feature two rowdy male protagonists.

In short Blackguards is an tour de force anthology. You might think that the theme of the anthology might produce a quite narrow type of story but this a wrong assumption. Each author has written a different type of story with his own big and bold idea's. If you are a fantasy fan, make sure you don't forget to pick Blackguards up.

[S. Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I love rogues.

This is a factor which needs to be considered before I discuss this book in any further length. I am a fan of scoundrels, ne’er do wells, thieves, assassins, courtesans, cat burglars, and con men. As long as they’re possessed of some degree of personal integrity and faced against people worse then themselves, I’m all for books about these sorts of antiheroes.

This book, published by Ragnarok Publications, is a anthology collecting over forty short-stories chronicling a wide variety of rogues and their adventures. Many of these characters have series of their own while others have completely independent adventures.

It was created with an extremely successful Kickstarter which raised almost $40,000 to release the book on multiple platforms as well as pay several well-known authors for their work. Amongst the authors who contributed to the work I’m fond of are Paul S. Kemp and Richard Lee Byers.

The book opens with an introduction written by Glen Cook of The Black Company fame. I’m not really too fond of this intro since it talks, at-length, about the author’s love of complete bastards. Given the vast majority of scoundrels in the book are of a “lovable rogue” style versus murderous brigand, his statement seems dissonant with the rest of the book. Thankfully, editor Joe Martin gives a much more balanced foreword immediately after. How bad is Glen Cook’s introduction? He cites Norman Spinrad’s The Iron Dream as a way that evil characters can be heroes against more monstrous foes.

Look that novel up on Wikipedia to find out why that’s…no, just no.

Noooooo.
Ahem.

The short stories usually follow a single hero or a solo one on an adventure where they prove to be cleverer than the people around them. My favorite stories in the book are probably, Professional Integrity by Michael J. Sullivan, Troll Trouble by Richard Lee Byers, What Gods Demand by James A. Moore, and The Betyar and the Magus by S.R. Cambridge.

These tales tend to combine intelligent thieves with moral codes who have a sense of humor about themselves too. Professional Integrity, for example, is a tale about two thieves hired to kidnap a nobleman’s daughter by the aforementioned daughter. What her reasons are as well as the twists involved are all extremely well fleshed-out and form an exciting mystery.

The majority of the other tales are quite enjoyable by themselves. We have bards soothing savage gargoyles, Arabic adventures with pit fighters, smugglers dealing with questions of religion, and even a psychometric detective in the book’s sole modern-day story. All of these stories were entertaining and well worth the price of purchase.

Indeed, out of the book’s tales, I only found two to be stinkers. The Secret by Mark Lawrence which isn’t so much a bad story as one I didn’t enjoy because of its contents and A Length of Cherrywood by Peter Orullian. That story I outright hated. Its protagonist is just a misogynist scumbag I hope drowns in a river somewhere. Any of the female protagonists of this book would probably love to take him down and its a shame they can’t.
Why do I like this book? Well, for one, it has a great sense of humor. It’s a collection of short-stories which show a wide variety of thieves, conmen, killers, and their ilk. None of them are the same and many are motivated by a wide-variety of ideals. A few are religious, others are atheist, with most not caring whatsoever. Some are cynics, some are idealists, and some are just plain mean. All of them are surprisingly well-rounded characters, though, even the ones I don’t like.

The book also has a great sense of humor with the vast majority of the characters being one kind of a deadpan snarker or another. It seems to be a requirement of the best rogues to have a silver tongue and these guys are amongst the best. Those who purchase the ebook version should also note they get an additional eleven short-stories to go with their purchase so I highly recommend it.

In conclusion, Blackguards is a story collection for those who like a little bit of darkness with their fantasy. It’s not grimdark, though, and only about half of the stories qualify as dark fantasy. Rather, it’s the best kind of fantasy that transports you to the sort of world which you might enjoy visiting for a little bit of danger in your life. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but it takes itself just seriously enough.

This review originally published at www.bookie-monster.com/

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly great omnibus of some of the most questionable characters in literature to date. A must have for fans of rogues, bastards, liars, cheats, assassins and general ne'er do wells. Fantastic, I can't recommend it highly enough.

[S.E. Lindberg]

Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. MartinS.E. Lindberg rating: 5 of 5 starsBlackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues is Highly Recommended Dark Fantasy:: This collection is largely Dark Fantasy. As the subtitle says, this not just about Assassins--there are plenty similar lawbreakers featured: Thieves, Smugglers, and Mercenaries. As J.M. Martin clarifies in his introduction:
"Blackguard, by the way, is actually pronounced ‘blaggard,’ as in haggard. The term seemingly originated from scullions and kitchen-knaves, in particular those in courtly caravans who were in charge of the pots, pans, utensils, and the conveyance of coal … one could extrapolate that a ‘blaggard’—also ‘blagger’ in some texts—is a ‘rag-tag deceiver with grandiloquent habits.’"
Crowdfunded Gateway: Anthologies often function as a way to speed-date authors. Want to get acquainted with those who write about a theme you crave? Then find a thematic anthology and shop around! The Sword & Sorcery genre spawned from short stories; for many decades anthologies needed no classification. But in the last few decades, within the dark fantasy genre associated with S&S, there has been a move toward themes—which is great (i.e., Rogue Blade Entertainment’s Rage of the Behemoth and Heroika 1: Dragon Eaters come to mind). Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues provides a whopping 27 stories—24 of which are linked to established series. The “Roll-Credits” section in the end is designed to link readers to the authors they just liked. Classy. This book was launched via Kickstarter and Ragnarok Publications delivered a solid product. Me? I was just a Bung Nippers level supporter, but am still part of the band wagon and proud to be acknowledge in the contributor section.Variety: A menu of 27 entries starts off with ~4 female protagonists, which was unexpected and enjoyable. The range of characters and milieu is truly broad. There is surprisingly little redundancy. As mentioned above, the Sword & Sorcery genre was influential: Michael J. Sullivan and Paul Kemp offer duos reminiscent of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar “Fafred and Mouser”; and Jon Sprunkseemed to write a pastiche/fan-fiction of Glen Cook’s The Black Company. Many are tales of betrayal and grim situations; the most impactful was Peter Orullian ’s "A Length of Cherrywood" which was uber-dark, but very well written--this story is one you’ll enjoy reading once, and then never again. Not all these are grim. There are several comedic entries, the funniest for me wasRichard Lee Byers’s "Troll Trouble" which had me laughing out loud. There are several others that have the protagonist as savior/hero, or the target of blackguards; Kenny Soward’s "Jancy's Justice” was one such which also offered a bit of steampunk/gnome technology. The last several entries really cast the net: James Enge casts Odysseus as a blackguard, Lian Hearn provides some Japanese inspired darkness, Snorri Kristjansson offers Viking flare, andAnton Strout brings a psychic- sorcery into contemporary art crime.Personal Favorites: S.R. Cambridge’s "The Betyár and the Magus" blends magic into western-European history—great characters and setting. Equally entertaining & well written was Shawn Speakman’s dose of druidic/Celtic lore; his "The White Rose Thief" made me aware of “Rosenwyn Whyte” a musician with a dark past which I am anxious to read more about. Tim Marquitz ’s "A Taste of Agony" got me intrigued about the “outlaw, eunuch assassin Gryl”, even though the story’s mission was obscure. Anthony Ryan’s "The Lord Collector" offered it all—an intriguing world of assassins, dark magic, and interesting characters.Art: The cover art by Arman Akopian is nicely done and representative on the book’s contents (yes, there are plenty of female protagonists). Interior art for each of the stories is bonus flare, well done by artists Orion Zangara andOksana Dmitrienko

[Matt Braymiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit I read this collection for one story out of the twenty-seven in it. That one story, while on my list of favorites, is not at the top of that list. That made it all the more satisfying to read.

I think it was the prologue to Rogues where George R.R. Martin said that while Luke Skywalker is arguably the hero of Star Wars, most folks prefer Han Solo because he's a rogue. There is something compelling about characters that live and operate outside the boundaries of polite society. I'm not sure why those characters are romanticized, but I enjoy reading stories like these while I wait for the next Scott Lynch novel.

As with all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. Some of the stories fell flat for me, possibly because I am not familiar with the works and worlds from which they are drawn. Others have motivated me to read the books set in those worlds.

Among my favorites were (in no particular order):
The Secret by Mark Lawrence
A Better Man by Paul S. Kemp
Seed by Carol Berg
The Long Kiss by Clay Sanger
Professional Integrity by Michael J. Sullivan

This is a worthwhile collection if you enjoy spending time in the company of scoundrels, some of whom have hearts of gold . . . which they have stolen or swindled from other folks, where they haven't simply ripped them from the chests of their original owners.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The largest book of rogue-filled action tales I have ever read let alone seen! Worth its cost and weight. Some rather good tales throughout, surprisingly fewer than expected that I'd label 'grimdark' - most the tales I enjoyed best seemed to be in the first half to middle; the latter half was fine, just not as exciting, and holding pretty much the single tale I disliked. And that, my friends, is pretty darn good odds in any anthology, but especially in one filled to the brim like this. Cover and design is awesome, as normal from Ragnarok, Martin, and King. Great idea to include so many existing characters and worlds from so many authors. Glad to have this title in my library!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

These installments are amazing. I love how you learn of a couple of authors you haven't known and I have to say I absolutely loved Rob J. Hayes story. I loved his books so much and he just is so witty and comical and a terrific author. I also loved the foreword by Glen Cook like Shawn's last collection the foreword being from Rothfuss then they are just awesome!

These stories are such a refreshing change of pace. I look forward to many many more.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Orullian's story, "A Length of Cherrywood" was amazing. The character's dialogue was top notch and left me wanting more. The story itself was great. Byers, Dalglish, Gwynne, Lawrence, Sullivan and Kemp were the best of the bunch. The quality of the physical book is stellar.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with all Anthologies I do, I will rate each story individually, and then give the average score.

Average Score - 2.4/5 Stars

SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

"Mainon" by Jean Rabe
Expected that from the beginning.
I've read too many fantasy. Stories like these always ends in betrayal, although I expected the groom to be the back stabber.
2/5 Stars

"Irindai" by Bradley P. Beaulieu
Meh. I would have liked more focus to be placed on the Gods themselves, than a mortal pawn.
2.5/5 Stars

"The Subtler Art" by Cat Rambo
If the Author's name is really Cat Rambo, that would be pretty funny.

Let me Introduce- "Dick Measuring": The Novella
1.5/5 Stars

"Seeds” by Carol Berg
Ah. The Author doesn't waste time to start the PC pandering.

I really hope corpse-cutter gets cut.

What did the corpse-cutter get in payment for triple crossing?
What's to stop our drunken surgeon from quadruple crossing, and selling the "100% concentrate" fugitive?
2.5/5 Stars

"Jancy's Justice" by Kenny Soward
This story sounds as if it was set before Cogweaver, before Jancy met Nik.

Nothing really happens. There isn't further explanation about the Gods of the world or information of what Jancy learnt in that book, about what she really is(if this is after Cogweaver).

All I learned, was how the two largest Gnome settlements were formed, and that Jancy is a baby stealer.
2/5 Stars

"Professional Integrity" by Michael J. Sullivan
Read this one before, and "reviewed it", I don't think I will use the score here.

"Troll Trouble" by Richard Lee Byers
Everything works out in the end. Meh
Don't think this could have worked as a novel.
Typical humans befuddling "lesser beings".
2/5 Stars

"A Better Man" by Paul S. Kemp
... Dick jokes right off the bat...
Grave robbers passing themselves off as sophisticated gentlemen.
I guess it could work as some comedy Adventure series.

If a guy came out of the blue and asked for help, they would have always kept one eye on him, but because it's a woman... they trusted her instantly with their life.

How the story is told, it sounds as if it happened before, yet, they continually insist on this behavior.
What I gathered from them is, if it has breast, it can do no wrong.
If it has none, distrust completely.

The tragic backstory isn't helping either. If you have a suicidal wish, do it and move on. A real friend doesn't long for death and then carries his friend with him.

Dick jokes and misguided suicidal trust issues aside, it was a nice story but I would have preferred less banter.
2.5/5 Stars

"First Kill" by Django Wexler
Goodreads has been suggesting("shilling") this Author to me for years in the recommendation feed. I will see if I should continue with his books or not.
Cold-hearted. Looks like I will try one of his books to see what all the fuss("shilling") is about.
3/5 Stars

"Manhunt" by Mark Smylie
Great piece, although I didn't see anything solid that points to the fantastical. It was entertaining none the less.
3/5 Stars

"Better To Live Than To Die" by John Gwynne
Meh. Nothing really happened.
1.5/5 Stars

"The Secret" by Mark Lawrence
Saw this coming from a mile away.
The Secret is "I am Sim."
2/5 Stars

"Friendship" by Laura Resnick
Hehe. Will have to look for more works by this Author.
4/5 Stars

"The Long Kiss" by Clay Sanger
I already saw that the new girl was sent to kill him. The Madame of the house was in on it, and someone was hiding listening to him confess, it's only logical.

When someone does a deed so dark(start a war that will have tens, if not hundreds of thousands dead), they would want to confess.
This also could be all wrong, he just started to tell his tale, I will see if my prediction is right.

I was right, although it did not go down in that order, nor did some of those things listed happen. Will give 3 stars, that face trick was neat.
3/5 Stars

"The White Rose Thief" by Shawn Speakman
"Unfettered", I saw what you did there.

I don't know why, but Shawn Speakman's short stories are better than his full length novels(the ones that I read).
4/5 Stars

"A Length Of Cherrywood" by Peter Orullian
No magic....but damn that was dark.
"We are Sculptures of our moulding, we might get weathered over the years, but we all retain that which had made us."-Me. (I suck at making poetry.)
4.5/5 Stars

"A Taste Of Agony" by Tim Marquitz
I don't know.
Sorcery that depends on sadomasochistic rituals to function?
The rites, leave residual memories of the pain one received in each scar?
This gives a whole new meaning to someone tasting someone else's pain.

I would like to know more of the world.
2.5/5 Stars

"What Gods Demand" by James A. Moore
Looks like I found another Author I want to try.
4/5 Stars

"Take You Home" by David Dalglish
This is another Author who was constantly recommended ("shilled") to me by Goodreads.
The blurb and cover art always put me off from trying the books(not that cover art means anything). Now that I got an excerpt from the Universe, I see I was right in not reading.

I don't know if the Author is just bad at telling short stories, but the assassin just sounds like a Gary Stu(male Mary Sue).
I know that a back story makes or breaks a character, but this guy sounds like he is the "baddest killer ever, in the entire world", and everyone, even hardened kiddie killers is afraid of him!!!

I just can't take this serious.
2/5 Stars

"Seeking The Shadow" by Joseph R. Lallo
Little Red Riding Hood, tracks down the wolf that visited her Granny, years ago.
She wants to supply the wolf with disguises, so he would be better able to kill people.

This would help fulfill her purpose in life.
1/5 Stars

"Sun And Steel" by Jon Sprunk
I have the story of how my, foreigner wizard's, dark skin friend, found himself in chains.(Blood and Iron Series)
3/5 Stars

"The Betyár And The Magus" by S.R. Cambridge
A thief is angry that he got robbed, oh, the irony.

The story is not my cup of tea anyways. I have enough books with Gentlemen Thieves.
1.5/5 Stars

"A Kingdom And A Horse" by Snorri Kristjansson
Viking Raiders?(I know that is redundant.)
1/5 Stars

"Thieves At The Gate" by James Enge
Now it's a story about the Greeks.
I never liked the Epics. I did Like the movie Troy though.
1.5/5 Stars

"His Kikuta Hands" by Lian Hearn
Now Japanese Ninjas.
Meh, at least no one is wearing an orange jumpsuit.
1.5/5 Stars

"The Lord Collector" by Anthony Ryan
No whispers over the wind, no objects talking to you.(The whole reason I liked Blood Song)
2.5/5 Stars

"Scream" by Anton Strout
Book started with "all in the hands".
Let's see if his hands are chopped off at the end, also remember Gingers have no soul

There is always, always some nut, writing about art in these Anthologies.
If I wanted art(or to know about it), I would go to a Museum/Art Gallery.

He didn't lose his hands....

It was a 3.5 Star story, but I'm giving it a 1. It will teach these guys about slipping their art fetishes into my fantasy books.
1/5 Stars

SPOILERS ABOVE!!!!