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Captain
Running a mercenary company may be a bloody business, but it’s still a business. Falchion, now captain of his own outfit, faces not only opposing mercenary companies just as deadly as his own, and the magical threats posed by psychotic wizards, but also stingy, second-guessing employers. When his employers realize their allies in a three-party war are using them as a cat’s-paw and will likely turn on them, Falchion finds himself taking on two opposing armies, twin-sorceresses driven by religious fanaticism, and a mercenary commander holding a personal grudge.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2020
About the author
Ken Lizzi
37 books13 followersKen Lizzi is an attorney and the author of an assortment of published short stories. His novels include "Reunion", "Under Strange Suns", "Thick As Thieves", the "Semi-Autos and Sorcery" series, and the "Falchion's Company" series. When not traveling - and he'd rather be traveling - he lives in Texas with his lovely wife Isa and energetic daughter V.V. He enjoys reading, homebrewing, exercise, and visiting new places. He loathes writing about himself in the third person.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 8, 2020
The boss is back, and he's kicking more ^ss!
"I know you have to go. I won't ask you to stay.... Now go. Go build yourself a company, Captain," Alida so memorably said at the end of Boss: Falchion's Company Book One.
He did it! Book Two opens with mercenary soldiers in the midst of a bloody, awful battle, under the command of our favorite captain. What's at stake? Mercenaries don't concern themselves with that; they're soldiers for hire, and they'll kill whoever they're paid to kill, and if they die in the process, that's the price a warrior pays.
So, no spoiler here, we're about to see another beloved Ken Lizzi warrior lose his life, but that's the price we readers pay for escaping into fiction. Better to have loved and lost these characters than never to have met them at all, to paraphrase the great Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Spoiler #2: Alida is mentioned in this book, but we never see her. More to the point, Falchion never sees her. Not even from afar. He's busy with a new love interest and she's nothing but trouble.
Falchion ends up more as a pawn than a military leader as this story unfolds. Towns burn, and loyalties shift. Traps are set. An epic character I really liked is now dead. I'm still mad at authors who do this to me. But there's that young apprentice from Book One, Andesil, learning some awesome new magic tricks. It's a rule of this fictional world that wizards stay out of battles, but Falchion somehow bends the rules and engages Sweet Dehla and her new understudy. The opening scene is particularly lurid after their little clay "thimbles" or fire mages are deployed in battle. The casualties, the body parts, the blood: I DO NOT READ THIS STUFF, normally, but Lizzi has a way of getting me to, and it's because of his authentic and well-drawn characters, and some of them will DIE before my eyes. But every time I swear off Ken Lizzi books, he comes out with another one, and I'm shaking my puny fist of rage all over again.
For the sake of a little plot summary, here's an excerpt from my review of Book One in this series:
> "Boss" is an awesome tale of a mercery soldier starting a new job, thinking "This isn't a good way to do business," and expecting a pat on the back for keeping his co-worker from using violence to collect dues owed for services rendered. He gets a kick in the head and a threat, instead, along with an order to do the impossible. Or what would be impossible for anyone else.
> Ken Lizzi, however, delivers so much more than action and adventure. His characters are thoughtful and authentic. One of the things I love most about Falchion is the way he remembers his father, who instilled values and ethics in him and didn't want his son to be a mercenary, but Falchion went that route anyway. In between battles, he feels a little lost. Fighting is what he does best. Then again, uniting others to fight for a just cause may be what he does best. Falchion inspires others, earns their trust, and treats them right. Spoiler: he really isn't an a^^hole, however often he's called one.
> Weapons collectors will find plenty of descriptive action bringing these antiquities to life.
> Satire, cynicism, astute observations, and insights are other hallmarks of Ken Lizzi novels. I love Falchion's wry observations and wish they didn't sound so true of our own contemporary politics.
Towns burn. Traitors die. Falchion lives, of course, and Andesil, and most of our beloved friends from Book One, and that's about all I care to say about that.
The prose is riveting. The code of honor, the competence, the depth and power of Falchion, will keep me coming back for more. Book Three, Warlord, is coming soon. I will be guilty of torturing myself again with this bloody and riveting soldier's story.
Thank you, Mr. Lizzi.
"I know you have to go. I won't ask you to stay.... Now go. Go build yourself a company, Captain," Alida so memorably said at the end of Boss: Falchion's Company Book One.
He did it! Book Two opens with mercenary soldiers in the midst of a bloody, awful battle, under the command of our favorite captain. What's at stake? Mercenaries don't concern themselves with that; they're soldiers for hire, and they'll kill whoever they're paid to kill, and if they die in the process, that's the price a warrior pays.
So, no spoiler here, we're about to see another beloved Ken Lizzi warrior lose his life, but that's the price we readers pay for escaping into fiction. Better to have loved and lost these characters than never to have met them at all, to paraphrase the great Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Spoiler #2: Alida is mentioned in this book, but we never see her. More to the point, Falchion never sees her. Not even from afar. He's busy with a new love interest and she's nothing but trouble.
Falchion ends up more as a pawn than a military leader as this story unfolds. Towns burn, and loyalties shift. Traps are set. An epic character I really liked is now dead. I'm still mad at authors who do this to me. But there's that young apprentice from Book One, Andesil, learning some awesome new magic tricks. It's a rule of this fictional world that wizards stay out of battles, but Falchion somehow bends the rules and engages Sweet Dehla and her new understudy. The opening scene is particularly lurid after their little clay "thimbles" or fire mages are deployed in battle. The casualties, the body parts, the blood: I DO NOT READ THIS STUFF, normally, but Lizzi has a way of getting me to, and it's because of his authentic and well-drawn characters, and some of them will DIE before my eyes. But every time I swear off Ken Lizzi books, he comes out with another one, and I'm shaking my puny fist of rage all over again.
For the sake of a little plot summary, here's an excerpt from my review of Book One in this series:
> "Boss" is an awesome tale of a mercery soldier starting a new job, thinking "This isn't a good way to do business," and expecting a pat on the back for keeping his co-worker from using violence to collect dues owed for services rendered. He gets a kick in the head and a threat, instead, along with an order to do the impossible. Or what would be impossible for anyone else.
> Ken Lizzi, however, delivers so much more than action and adventure. His characters are thoughtful and authentic. One of the things I love most about Falchion is the way he remembers his father, who instilled values and ethics in him and didn't want his son to be a mercenary, but Falchion went that route anyway. In between battles, he feels a little lost. Fighting is what he does best. Then again, uniting others to fight for a just cause may be what he does best. Falchion inspires others, earns their trust, and treats them right. Spoiler: he really isn't an a^^hole, however often he's called one.
> Weapons collectors will find plenty of descriptive action bringing these antiquities to life.
> Satire, cynicism, astute observations, and insights are other hallmarks of Ken Lizzi novels. I love Falchion's wry observations and wish they didn't sound so true of our own contemporary politics.
Towns burn. Traitors die. Falchion lives, of course, and Andesil, and most of our beloved friends from Book One, and that's about all I care to say about that.
The prose is riveting. The code of honor, the competence, the depth and power of Falchion, will keep me coming back for more. Book Three, Warlord, is coming soon. I will be guilty of torturing myself again with this bloody and riveting soldier's story.
Thank you, Mr. Lizzi.
June 17, 2020
Very nice
Second in the series. Very ‘realistic’ portrayal of a mercenary company in days of magic. Author isn’t afraid to kill off important characters, but also doesn’t slaughter them wholesale.
I will purchase the next book when it is released. ‘Worth paying for’ is the best recommendation I can give.
Second in the series. Very ‘realistic’ portrayal of a mercenary company in days of magic. Author isn’t afraid to kill off important characters, but also doesn’t slaughter them wholesale.
I will purchase the next book when it is released. ‘Worth paying for’ is the best recommendation I can give.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews