Skald is burning. Orc hordes are joined by far worse creatures in their razing of the land.
Rothan is being taken to the brink of sanity, for the power of darkness is tempting, even to a warrior with an iron will.
What will happen when he finally comes face to face with the one who has commanded the destruction of Skald?
the main character is a Fenrir who thirsts for the pleasures of the flesh as much as for glory in battle. This book is to be read only by those who share these qualities.
Wolf Blade, the story of the Fenrir Rothan. A man whose spine is as weak as his promises of vengeance. A man who is hard to anger and quick to forgive.
“Dren Klauser is earning me as an enemy, and lately my enemies have not been faring well.”
One of the most memorable quotes of the book. Which made me chuckle. Because apparently seeing their dreams and goals realized, benefitting greatly from screwing Rothan over and then walking away with no repercussions whatsoever means they haven't been faring well.
This is book three of this series. So far, not even the minor antagonist from the first book who set Rothan up in the arena had had ANY consequences for his actions. From Pelleo the Arena Master, to General Eschellion and the King. Every single last villain has benefitted greatly and not a single one had to face ANY kind of consequences so far. The only people whom Rothan has been murdering left and right, are common foot soldiers and random antagonists with zero build up.
Which is one of my main gripes with the story. We have all the build-up and NONE of the payout. We have Rothan being captured, tortured, betrayed, kicked around and put down regularly, which produced quite a bit of animosity towards those antagonists. Yet not a single one of them EVER at ANY POINT suffers ANY consequences for doing so.
Worse, Rothan is all too happy to forgive characters especially if they're of the buxom variety. Case in point, Siv. A to me completely unlikeable character, which the author probably intended to come off as headstrong, willful and strong of character. All she was, was an annoying entitled brat who couldn't do a single thing herself. Who screamed about her birthright, when it was amply established that her family and even the king are ultimately usurpers. Who threw a tantrum and raged at Rothan for daring to not die in the boast she and her father tried to have him killed in. Who then went on and backstabbed him given the first opportunity, because she was afraid of him. Ignoring that she had no backing by the populace, no lawful right to rule, no support of any kind nor experience at doing so and who in short order needed him to save her once more when this came to bite her in the ass.
Rothan forgives her instantly, he does not even have a harsh word for her. He bends into pretzels to appease this loathsome woman, all because he wants to get between her legs. Even her father, Jarl Bardawulf is forgiven and allowed not only a peaceful natural death but even redemption.
At no point suffers anyone any consequences for their actions, at no point does Rothan ever stand up for himself or have an original thought of his own. He gets lectured, yelled at and disparaged and most of the time he simply takes it. If someone has a plan, Rothan will go along with it and if someone disagrees with anything Rothan would like to do, Rothan will forego doing so.