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While We Bleed
Ardana Sul was a true bastard. For a price he'd get you anything, anyone, anywhere and not ask questions. So when Baroness Foncesca hired him to obtain the last known vial of plague dust, it was business as usual. He should've known she wouldn't leave any witnesses. Flintlocks flashed, windows shattered, and his head slammed into rock. He escaped with his life, but not his memory.
Dredged from the river by a kind fisherman, Sul recovers without knowing his past or name. Slowly he achieves what his ill-gotten earnings could never have a measure of peace. When the Baroness' henchmen come to finish the job, his hands remember how to use a sword even if he doesn't, and his violent past floods back.
Determined to right at least one of his sins, Sul vows to stop the Baroness before she can unleash the weapon he brought her on a city he's grown to love. Sul's talents are put to the test in his fight back to Foncesca, but his greatest enemy may be how much of his old self he'll have to resurrect.
Dredged from the river by a kind fisherman, Sul recovers without knowing his past or name. Slowly he achieves what his ill-gotten earnings could never have a measure of peace. When the Baroness' henchmen come to finish the job, his hands remember how to use a sword even if he doesn't, and his violent past floods back.
Determined to right at least one of his sins, Sul vows to stop the Baroness before she can unleash the weapon he brought her on a city he's grown to love. Sul's talents are put to the test in his fight back to Foncesca, but his greatest enemy may be how much of his old self he'll have to resurrect.
295 pages, Hardcover
Published November 3, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Eric Lewis
19 books28 followersEric Lewis is the author of The Heron Kings, an “excellent debut” that is “dark, brutal and bloody” and “fast-paced & gripping” with “a Robin Hood feel.” The sequel The Heron Kings' Flight is a "high-energy, atmospheric follow-up" and a "pulse-pounding adventure" that is "sure to please."
He is also the author of several works of speculative short fiction published in Nature, Speculative North, Cossmass Infinities, Electric Spec, Bards & Sages Quarterly, the anthology Crash Code, and various other pro, semipro and amateur venues. His short stories are also available in the collections Tricks of the Blade and As It Seems.
His greatest writing influences are Frank Herbert, Robert Graves, Sharon Kay Penman, Colleen McCullough, Peter S. Beagle and Joe Abercrombie. By day he is a research scientist weathering the latest rounds of mergers and layoffs and trying to remember how to be a person again long after surviving grad school.
When not subjecting his writing to one rejection after another he can sometimes be found browsing antique swords he can’t afford, or searching for the perfect hiking trail or archery range. Don’t ask where because he’s never lived anywhere for longer than five years.
He engages in shameless self-promotion on Twitter @TheHeronKing. Details, newsletter & blog at ericlewis.ink.
He is also the author of several works of speculative short fiction published in Nature, Speculative North, Cossmass Infinities, Electric Spec, Bards & Sages Quarterly, the anthology Crash Code, and various other pro, semipro and amateur venues. His short stories are also available in the collections Tricks of the Blade and As It Seems.
His greatest writing influences are Frank Herbert, Robert Graves, Sharon Kay Penman, Colleen McCullough, Peter S. Beagle and Joe Abercrombie. By day he is a research scientist weathering the latest rounds of mergers and layoffs and trying to remember how to be a person again long after surviving grad school.
When not subjecting his writing to one rejection after another he can sometimes be found browsing antique swords he can’t afford, or searching for the perfect hiking trail or archery range. Don’t ask where because he’s never lived anywhere for longer than five years.
He engages in shameless self-promotion on Twitter @TheHeronKing. Details, newsletter & blog at ericlewis.ink.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2025
my rating 4.25
Very enjoyable read. I love a story of redemption and revenge!
Sul, after escaping from certain death by leaping from a window, wakes up being taken care of by a father and son but without his memory. Who is he, why does he have flashes of brutality and what is he running from. Watching Sul become far more than he's ever been was very satisfying.
The relationship between Sul and Darino is wonderful and the best part of the book for me. I really liked Foncesca as a character and would have loved a few more chapters from her POV. She was written as evil and super clever, and I was invested in that.
One of the best parts of the story is the fact that pretty much NOTHING comes easy to Sul. Best laid plans....don't ever seem to work out, denied at every turn.
The losses experienced are hard to read but absolutely add to the story. The author takes no prisoners!
Thank you to Eric Lewis for the advance copy to read and review. My thoughts are my own.
Very enjoyable read. I love a story of redemption and revenge!
Sul, after escaping from certain death by leaping from a window, wakes up being taken care of by a father and son but without his memory. Who is he, why does he have flashes of brutality and what is he running from. Watching Sul become far more than he's ever been was very satisfying.
The relationship between Sul and Darino is wonderful and the best part of the book for me. I really liked Foncesca as a character and would have loved a few more chapters from her POV. She was written as evil and super clever, and I was invested in that.
One of the best parts of the story is the fact that pretty much NOTHING comes easy to Sul. Best laid plans....don't ever seem to work out, denied at every turn.
The losses experienced are hard to read but absolutely add to the story. The author takes no prisoners!
Thank you to Eric Lewis for the advance copy to read and review. My thoughts are my own.
October 11, 2025
I've been lucky enough to be an ARC reader for 'While We Bleed', and honestly, it's been a very entertaining journey.
The world of 'While We Bleed' is a low fantasy, patriarchal but with women occupying (to a lesser extent) positions of power and jobs as doctors. Magic doesn't play a prominent role (except for one scene, and it's very ambiguous), with a pseudo-Renaissance Italian setting. Many readers will find it "medieval" enough to feel like it's familiar territory, while those who like history will enjoy the nods and worldbuilding that move away from the typical monarchies that populate most fantasy.
The setting isn't one that takes place in a large kingdom (or several kingdoms), but rather many city-states squeezed too close together for their nobles not to try to go to war with each other. A perfect space for political intrigue.
At first, I thought the book would be very gritty, but the story shows a cautious optimism about the capacity of (some) human beings to reform and raises interesting internal debates. This helped me feel invested in the characters. There's something tremendously fascinating about watching a bad person suddenly develop morality.
Broadly speaking, this is the book's premise: can a monster make up for all his crimes? And what if you don't want to be a monster, but to correct your own mistakes you have to commit even more crimes? What if this helps to prevent the deaths of thousands of people?
Because, at the start (and, arguably, the ending, but I'll leave that to others readers) Ardana Sul is a monster. Today, he would be classified without hesitation as a war criminal. Except (though, who knows) for sexual assault (there isn't any s.a. in this book, although there is a moment of vague threat against a character, but you won't have to suffer the fetishization of female or male characters, and, in my case, that is greatly appreciated) and genocide (...now that I think about it, I have my doubts), Sul has done everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that one can do to hurt other human beings. His last great cruelty is to deliver the strain of a horrible plague to Baroness Foncesca.
Unluckily for him, he doesn't know he's putting himself in the hands of someone extremely similar to himself.
Sul escapes with his life. Barely. When he wakes up, injured from a nasty fall, he remembers nothing of his past.
Fortunately for him, he is taken in by a charming family of a father and a son: Kesh and Darino. Fishermen with no ambitions to get rich, they offer Sul a home, a new name (Arragh), and understanding. Arragh knows he's not a normal person; he has too many dangerous abilities and impulses, and he's dying to discover his past. But at the same time, receiving love and attention helps him become a decent person while he fights his worst instincts (and he has so many, omg).
So when Foncesca puts a price on his head and Sul's past comes looking for his rescuers, Arragh/Sul finds himself faced with an ugly choice.
Don't go into this story thinking you're going to follow a completely amnesiac character. The point is to follow a Sul changed by Arragh, not a sweet and confused person who has completely broken with his past. This is impossible. Foncesca wants to destroy a city with the plague that Sul himself placed in her hands. And he is going to remember, at least, that.
Chaos ensues.
While We Bleed is about 255 pages long, and a light and fast-paced book. Except for Sul, the characters don't have much depth, not even Colonna, the other POV in the story that Foncesca has put in charge of taking over Sul and who is the clearest example of decency after Kesh, Foltaro (doctor and researcher), and the young Darino. This plays to the world's detriment, in my opinion, because the journey necessarily has to be somewhat superficial. There are so many moral conflicts and political games (truly so many! And I want to spend even more time with them), so many grand scenarios that one could linger over... But the story must continue without too much rest. In particular, the ending seemed very rushed to me.
On the other hand, and to compensate, the pace is brisk, with just enough pauses to develop shocking or heartwarming scenes, and the writing is clean, direct, and easy to read. This can be really interesting for those tired of massive books who never seem willing to end. Anyone who wants to sit down and enjoy a read that makes them think a bit of an action movie (fast-paced, engaging, with its great moments, but which must be confined to specific scenes) will enjoy a lot 'While We Bleed'.
All in all, it's a good book, with interesting insights, good world building that doesn't force you to learn too much about the world but gives you enough information to proceed with the story, a very solid beginning, and horrible decisions that have stuck with me because they are pretty nightmarish. Oh, Foltaro, I feel you so much.
Many thanks to Eric Lewis for giving me the opportunity to read and review his book!
The world of 'While We Bleed' is a low fantasy, patriarchal but with women occupying (to a lesser extent) positions of power and jobs as doctors. Magic doesn't play a prominent role (except for one scene, and it's very ambiguous), with a pseudo-Renaissance Italian setting. Many readers will find it "medieval" enough to feel like it's familiar territory, while those who like history will enjoy the nods and worldbuilding that move away from the typical monarchies that populate most fantasy.
The setting isn't one that takes place in a large kingdom (or several kingdoms), but rather many city-states squeezed too close together for their nobles not to try to go to war with each other. A perfect space for political intrigue.
At first, I thought the book would be very gritty, but the story shows a cautious optimism about the capacity of (some) human beings to reform and raises interesting internal debates. This helped me feel invested in the characters. There's something tremendously fascinating about watching a bad person suddenly develop morality.
Broadly speaking, this is the book's premise: can a monster make up for all his crimes? And what if you don't want to be a monster, but to correct your own mistakes you have to commit even more crimes? What if this helps to prevent the deaths of thousands of people?
Because, at the start (and, arguably, the ending, but I'll leave that to others readers) Ardana Sul is a monster. Today, he would be classified without hesitation as a war criminal. Except (though, who knows) for sexual assault (there isn't any s.a. in this book, although there is a moment of vague threat against a character, but you won't have to suffer the fetishization of female or male characters, and, in my case, that is greatly appreciated) and genocide (...now that I think about it, I have my doubts), Sul has done everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that one can do to hurt other human beings. His last great cruelty is to deliver the strain of a horrible plague to Baroness Foncesca.
Unluckily for him, he doesn't know he's putting himself in the hands of someone extremely similar to himself.
Sul escapes with his life. Barely. When he wakes up, injured from a nasty fall, he remembers nothing of his past.
Fortunately for him, he is taken in by a charming family of a father and a son: Kesh and Darino. Fishermen with no ambitions to get rich, they offer Sul a home, a new name (Arragh), and understanding. Arragh knows he's not a normal person; he has too many dangerous abilities and impulses, and he's dying to discover his past. But at the same time, receiving love and attention helps him become a decent person while he fights his worst instincts (and he has so many, omg).
So when Foncesca puts a price on his head and Sul's past comes looking for his rescuers, Arragh/Sul finds himself faced with an ugly choice.
Don't go into this story thinking you're going to follow a completely amnesiac character. The point is to follow a Sul changed by Arragh, not a sweet and confused person who has completely broken with his past. This is impossible. Foncesca wants to destroy a city with the plague that Sul himself placed in her hands. And he is going to remember, at least, that.
Chaos ensues.
While We Bleed is about 255 pages long, and a light and fast-paced book. Except for Sul, the characters don't have much depth, not even Colonna, the other POV in the story that Foncesca has put in charge of taking over Sul and who is the clearest example of decency after Kesh, Foltaro (doctor and researcher), and the young Darino. This plays to the world's detriment, in my opinion, because the journey necessarily has to be somewhat superficial. There are so many moral conflicts and political games (truly so many! And I want to spend even more time with them), so many grand scenarios that one could linger over... But the story must continue without too much rest. In particular, the ending seemed very rushed to me.
On the other hand, and to compensate, the pace is brisk, with just enough pauses to develop shocking or heartwarming scenes, and the writing is clean, direct, and easy to read. This can be really interesting for those tired of massive books who never seem willing to end. Anyone who wants to sit down and enjoy a read that makes them think a bit of an action movie (fast-paced, engaging, with its great moments, but which must be confined to specific scenes) will enjoy a lot 'While We Bleed'.
All in all, it's a good book, with interesting insights, good world building that doesn't force you to learn too much about the world but gives you enough information to proceed with the story, a very solid beginning, and horrible decisions that have stuck with me because they are pretty nightmarish. Oh, Foltaro, I feel you so much.
Many thanks to Eric Lewis for giving me the opportunity to read and review his book!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews