No Man's Land

by Richard K. Morgan

The Great War was supposed to be the war to end all wars-and maybe it would have been, had an even greater, otherworldly foe not arisen to extinguish the conflict. Overnight, as guns blazed away in France and Flanders, village after village in the quiet British countryside were swallowed by the Forest. And within the Forest lurk the Huldu-an ancient fae race, monstrous in their inhumanity, who have decided that mankind's ascendency over the world can endure no longer.

Enter Duncan Silver. Scarred by the war, fueled by a rage deeper than the trenches in which he once fought, Duncan is determined to show the Huldu that the world is not theirs for the taking. Armed with a cut-down trench gun filled with iron shot and a deadly iron knife, Duncan will stop at nothing to return the children the Huldu have stolen from the arms of their families. No matter how many Huldu he may have to slaughter along the way.

But when he is hired by a mother to return her four-year-old daughter, Miriam-taken by the Huldu six months past and replaced with a Changeling-all hell breaks loose. Miriam is a pawn in a much bigger game for dominance than Duncan ever expected, and several long-buried secrets from his past are about to be violently resurrected.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Historical, Urban Fantasy, Adult

448 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Richard K. Morgan (sometimes credited as Richard Morgan) is a science fiction and fantasy writer.

Reviews

[Book Library Vault · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read previous series by Richard K. Morgan and the series a Land fit for heroes is in my most favourite series of all time,so naturally i was hyped for this book.....sadly it didnt live up to my expactations.....

No Man's Land is a dark,gritty dirty filled with gore (sex as well), so something that usually,for a huge Grimdark fan like me, fits what i am used to reading, Richard K. Morgan, if you read some of his other work, is really great in creating atmosphare that holds your breath and makes you feel uncomfortable,while also having some great high level action scenes,which also again fits this book,BUT the whole book felt,at least to me, like a setup for the next book (while as far as i know this book is a standalone),the pace was all over the place,at times i felt like its dragging by trying to explain things that have nothing to do with what the scene is about,the characters,beside the MC, felt shallow to me,even the MC felt a bit hollow (if you have read the other series by Richard K. Morgan you will understand what i mean).

The writing and the Worldbuilding is,as expected, on a high level and i think i might have looked at this book differently, and maybe even enjoyed it more,without having read the previous series by Richard K. Morgan,because of my high expactations.

So if you want to try out this Author and dont commit to a full series (i would recommend it tho), this book is a good try out without having to commit to it, if after reading this book you wanted MORE, but you liked the premise of the book,jump into the series like A Land fit for heroes,that series is on whole different level!

[Lotta Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC! All thoughts are my own!

This is going to be a DNF for me sorry. All the swearing and the writing style just isn't working for me and life is just too short to read a book I'm not enjoying. Also, it's oddly sexual and I've read in other reviews that it only gets worse so that's a no from me.

If those things don't bother you then this one could work for you!

🤍

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with bone-crunching action, grit, and pathos in equal measures, this grimdark historical fantasy barely lets you catch your breath once it gets started. As I have come to expect from Morgan, the world-building and atmosphere are incredible. He has a way of describing a scene with vivid detail that still feels like it comes from the characters, never floating above them. For me this makes his environments feel immersive and real, jagged edges and all. The setting, a post Armistice England that had contact with and understanding of the fae world before the world but a relationship that has exploded with violence as a result of the Great War shaking something loose, was interesting and put to good use. This story didn't have to be a historical fantasy; more or less the same story could have been a second world fantasy and it would be details only to change… and yet the setting adds a whole lot. Firstly, it just imposes on the reader's sense of reality, which is always welcome. But more than that it adds an emotional tension to the characters that would be hard to do otherwise, gifting us a shorthand to understand the levels of desperation that people were feeling after the war. The main character, Duncan, felt a little anachronistic in just how rough around the edges he is, and his wildly graphic language, but most grimdark anti-hero protagonists don't fit quite right into the world they find themselves in, so this didn't bother me. Overall, the world and atmosphere and the writing style that forces you into these spaces are compelling and encompassing.

The writing is very muscular. It will lean into emotion and pathos as needed, often using flashbacks as a chance to insert emotional weight, and it also isn't afraid of thick description, flirting with the literary and poetic on occasion, but those both only serve to highlight how unrelenting it is overall. It has a destination and it is constantly plowing forward, and the reader gets to come along for the ride only if they can hold on. At least, that is how it feels. The writing is graphic, in describing both violence and sexuality, and doesn't turn away from the blood being spilled. All the characters feel like they have a depth to them, even if they are fitting neatly into expected roles in this kind of story. Morgan's protagonists are almost always antiheroes, only their level "anti" does change here and there, and Duncan has more of a heart than expected under his broken glass, bomb blast exterior. The various ancillary characters don't feel phoned in at all, all feel like they have rich histories and complicated realities, even if they serve convenient or expected narrative purposes. Duncan's anger and violence come from trauma, of course, but it feels earned here. His time in the war yes, but also his childhood before the war both serve as welcome depths to a character that responds with his fists first. None of his trauma is wildly inventive or unexpected, but again it is a place where Morgan uses the WW1 setting to really allow for a resounding characterization that feels grounded in a dirty, painful reality. None of the character work feels easy, and while nothing feels as cutting edge as some of the ideas you may find in some of Morgan's cyberpunk stories this tory still feels like it is pushing boundaries and wringing the most out of every character, every page, and it works for me.

I really enjoy the writing style and narrative style, though it is not any sort of wild departure for Morgan. The narrative is filled with broken histories, characters that are meta-human/augmented and then discarded by the powers who commissioned them, political intrigue and double-crosses, money and power serving o subvert the best interests of the public as it is a ravenous beast interested only in its own proliferation, and so on. The introduction of the fae world, and the various creatures that come from it, is inventive and definitely a different look for Morgan, but they really just serve as a different weapon, a different obstacle, for our protagonist to overcome. He is following similar narrative trajectories to what you will find in some of his other stand-alone works, but there is enough new and intriguing here that it doesn't feel repetitive, and it is definitely never boring. If you have read his other novels then you might be able to anticipate where things are going, but that doesn't take away from the quality of this book on its own, which is propulsive and hard to put down. There are a number of action scenes that are breathtaking, both in choreography and in brutality, which is on its own a delight to read. That they work as character moments as well, propelling the character and story forward in meaningful ways, is like icing on the cake. There is a relentlessness to the pacing, with the action set pieces serving to push it along, but there are a few moments of stillness, moments of observation and reflection, which work just enough to make sure there is more than just spectacle on these pages.

This story is gritty, vulgar, and violent. It has genuine emotional depths, but you have to wade through barbed-wire trenches filled with the blown-apart bodies of your comrades to get there. The story leans into conventional grimdark tropes and sentimentality, with sex and violence being the most common languages to express the brutal desperation and weary hostility of the world. The historical setting adds an interesting spin to those expected grimdark fantasy tropes, and the story feels fresh and inventive as a result. I enjoyed it from the very first page, and if vicious fae and sympathetic brutes with violence in their eyes and vulgarity in their mouths are in your literary wheelhouse then this novel is a wonderful feast.

(Rounded from 4.5)

[Christina Baehr]

I was intrigued by the gorgeous cover, and the blending of noir elements with folklore was promising, but the grimdark mood & language, graphic violence, and casual sexualisation of the first female character to appear made me quickly realise this was not for me. Perhaps the protagonist has a redemption arc, but I'm not the reader to appreciate it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC.

[Jensen McCorkel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick very high level summary.
Post WWI Britain is overrun by the Huldu (ancient race of Fae). The Hudlu believe that humans have been in power for too long and wish to reverse that. Children start to go missing and return but do they really return or are they changelings. Our MC is on the hunt to get these children back and return the changelings.

My take.
I really wanted to like this story. The premise is super interesting but I just could not get into the authors writing style. The pacing is all over the place for me and in places is very slow and drawn out. The profanity at times seem misplaced and only added for shock value and trust me I cuss like a sailor at times so profanity is not an issue for me as long as it seems to fit with the flow and feeling of the story. I also had issues with aspects of the story, for example there is a part with an 11 year old boy and a fae woman that is sexualized. Not my thing at all. At that point I tried to continue with the story but I ended up DNF’ing the story at about 60%. Like I said this book was just not for me. Some will probably love it.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historical fantasy as a genre so the idea of one set in England in the bleak years directly after the First World War hooked me right away. In this strange alternative timeline the inhuman creatures of fairy tales, the Fae, have reemerged after centuries to conquer huge swaths of Britain, replacing human towns and villages with a giant, evil forest. The story follows Duncan Silver, a damaged WW1 veteran turned “woodsman” who ventures into these brutal woodlands to retrieve stolen children. The fae have a nasty habit of abducting infants to raise as slaves, it seems.

I really liked Duncan as a character. His grim backstory gave him a nice amount of depth and contextualized him into the story in an organic way. The action is terrific and the creepy fae elements are handled really well. It also feels like Morgan went to great lengths to depict the period vividly and that greatly helps to anchor this otherwordly story.

I did find it difficult to follow at times and may even need to re-read it at some point. Major plot points seemed to pass by without emphasis and I’m still unclear on several things. It also felt like the magical elements disappeared for a large part of the novel and my attention flagged a little at that point. There’s probably twice as much graphic sex as it needs and that may put off some readers.

Overall though this was a banger and if you like a little historical fiction with your dark fantasy it’s well worth your time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

[LordTBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grimdark tale full of harrowing landscapes, flawed and plagued characters, and an ancient magic sweeping the countryside. Morgan’s prose will have you smelling the blood and earth, feeling the dampness of the forest, and craving more from the narrative. A fantastic story.

[Opal Edgar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Post-WWI human destruction, disenchantment and rage, but with elf war and spooky forests added to the mix.
This is a dark, gritty fantasy for people who want graphic content. Harsh, furious and lascivious - and sadly I'm a little squeamish about that last one, so it wasn't so great for me.

I have tried to see Richard K. Morgan's "Altered Carbon" TV series and couldn't get past the first episode. There was just too many sex scenes getting in the way of the plot. I thought this might have been a TV thing, hyping the sensationalism... but turns out it's just the author's style.

This felt the same. The plot could have been good, but I just can't make myself pick up the book anymore, I just find it very off-putting. Not for me, which I was sad about as the voice is good, very vivid and more literary than most fantasies, and the world was very intriguing.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy received from NetGalley

Consider, for a moment, the idea of a changeling. The child whisked away in the night by fae creatures, replaced by a manikin crafted in the child's image by supernatural means. Now imagine someone who's job it is to get those stolen children back, by any means necessary.

That is the protagonist of No Man's Land, Duncan Silver, woodsman and veteran of the War to End All Wars - which as we know did not, in fact, end all wars, and in the context of this book was quickly followed by the rapid and extensive expansion of faerie-infested forestry.

If you're familiar with the author's other works - Altered Carbon, Thin Air, Thirteen - then you know the drill; an experienced protagonist capable of and comfortable with extreme violence in a hyperspecialized profession at the lawless margins of society. I enjoyed it in those books, and while No Man's Land breaks from the sci-fi standard, I found I liked the divergence significantly more than I thought I would.

The Huldu, such as the fae are rendered here, are depicted as ancient and monstrous, the violence graphically descriptive, and the sexual commentary a bit excessive at times (at several points it felt more intrusive and unnecessary than in the author's other books), but all in all I enjoyed the book and felt it reliably delivered what I was hoping for.

[Bevany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fun concept for a book and I was so excited to read it. There were parts of the story that were interesting and the mmc was well written but most of the plot didn't hold my interesting.

[Ashley]

Just got sent an unsolicited ARC of this so I will be reading it much, much sooner than planned!

[Marie Grim · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Man’s Land by Richard K Morgan is a dark fantasy set in an alternate Britain immediately following World War I. Written in third person with a singular POV, the story follows Duncan Silver, a former Captain in the British Army who now spends his days stalking the Forest to retrieve human children taken by the Huldu, a strange and savage race of Fair Folk who reentered the world with the Unbinding of the Great Forests.

Now the Forest covers all of the British Isles save for islands of human habitation carefully guarded by iron and fire, with armored trains the only means of safely traveling through the Forest to reach other cities. The Huldu emerge rarely from its eaves, but the Forest is always creeping forward.

Duncan is contracted to retrieve a young child taken into the Forest by its bereft mother, an event which kicks off various intrigues and danger, with multiple factions attempting to intervene. Duncan must rely on all of his skills as he gathers friends to save the child from the Forest, and shapes the future relationship of Britain and the Huldu in the process.

Sharp and well-written, this novel is a masterful
blend of folklore, history, and fantasy. I really enjoyed the atmosphere crafted by the author, full of dark forests and deep waters. There’s a lurking horror threaded throughout that amps up the tension. The world-building is fantastic, with an almost apocalyptic feel to it, and I would readily read anything set in it again. It is a nice change of pace to see a fantasy that doesn’t cast the Fair Folk as the heroes - there are no shadow daddies here, or fair otherworldly maidens. They are cruel, strange, and Other, and provide an excellent foil.

The characterizations are good, Duncan being the most fleshed-out with the Huldu Queen Mebhuranon coming in second. The side characters don’t have their own arcs, and are mostly one-dimensional, but there is enough meat on some of their bones to be interesting. Duncan’s arc is fantastic. Duncan’s history with the Huldu is hinted at throughout, with major reveals coming in the back half of the book - but the mystery is maintained by leaving some things unanswered or only half guessed. This is more of a reveal than a twist book.

The style of dialogue I didn’t always love, but I adjusted to it after a few chapters and it bothered me less as I went. This is not a spice book, but sex and sex-adjacent things are described. There were a few sections that yanked me out of the writing, and an odd emphasis on describing female genitalia where it could have been left off, but overall the sexual content was tolerable. I think the purpose was to add to the extreme otherness of the Huldu and build contrast, as the Huldu are unconcerned by the body in a way humans (especially Victorian era ones) are not, but it wasn’t my favorite approach. The female characters are mostly filling maiden/mother virgin/whore stereotypes, and the majority of the actions they take are sexual in nature. The plot did not need the content but it is there and it’s a take the bad with the good sort of situation, but be aware if you avoid those things in your reading. There are plenty of action scenes and detailed depictions of firearms/explosives/weaponry and their use, and gratuitous violence.

The pacing is relatively consistent and quick, and I felt engaged the entire time I was reading. I finished it in one day over several back to back reading sessions as I could not put it down, and then obsessed over it for several days after completion. The conclusion was full of reveals and emotion and I thought it was really well done. It left me with a combination of satiety of knowing how the story ended while still wanting more from the world. Alas, for brilliantly crafted standalone titles.

I’d highly recommend this to fans of dark fantasy or grimdark fantasy, and potentially to alternate historical fantasy fans as long as they enjoy a darker, grittier tone. I think the style of writing may not be for everyone, as the dialogue can be choppy and the language used coarse, but the story within is absolutely worth shunting aside annoyance at some of the phrasing. I have not read any other works by the author, so I can’t compare them (which I plan to rectify). If you like brash antiheroes, otherworldly villains, with dark woods and creeping fears bundled together, then this is the book for you. Despite my qualms about some of the phrasing and the sexual content, this is still a four star read for me and I can’t wait to grab a hard copy when it releases.

[Lisalena]

Why is this book listed but not available anywhere to purchase??

[Sarah]

DNF’d @ 34% — I am calling this a soft DNF (aka: I might come back. Maybe.)

There was a lot I liked here — the premise sounded so cool, especially with very bloodthirsty & folklore-based fae meets post-WWI era England, and a WWI soldier (PTSD and all). There was intrigue building for what was going on with this missing child and Duncan’s past.

There was also a lot that I did not like. I was struggling to get through to 30% — there was a ton of world building but it felt like I was constantly waiting for something to happen at the same time? I am also not that big of a fan of how every female character we met ended up sleeping with the MMC/had some sort of sexual past with him/sexualization in his eyes. The writing style felt a bit…much. But at the same time, when there was action, I was really invested in it.

I think that this author’s writing style (at least for this book, because I have no read any of their other work yet) would lend itself really well to audiobook, and I might give this another chance in the future because of that. But that being said, I am soft DNF-ing for now, potentially coming back, because there were elements here that I think I would be really invested in.

Thank you very much NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC! All thoughts are my own opinions, and I will update all my reviews when/if I come back to this on audiobook.

[Belinda S 》beesblurbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soft DNF @ 30%.

The premise of this and everything the book promises on paper is right up my alley. I especially love how the fae and mythical creatures are depicted - a stark contrast to what is currently popular on the market.

The setting is also well done. I have been able to create an image in my head of where we are and where we are going with ease.

Where this has fallen flat for me is the pacing. I have reached a third of the way through the book and really do feel like the story itself has been meandering.

I think and hope I will return to this one at some point in time.

Thankyou to the publishers and Netgalley for an early copy of No Mans Land. this is my honest review and all opinions are my own.

[Trisha]

This cover is GORGEOUS! I can't wait to read it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

In post-WWII Britain, peace proves fleeting as an ancient and otherworldly threat emerges. The Huldu, a powerful Fae race, begin stealing children, casting a new shadow over an already fractured land. Duncan Silver, a hardened war veteran burning with anger, is hired by a desperate mother to find her missing daughter, Miriam. Armed with little more than his trench gun and old scars, he enters the Forest to retrieve her, but what starts as a rescue mission quickly turns personal, and perilous, when he crosses the wrong Fae.

This standalone grimdark fantasy marks a shift from the author’s usual works yet retains his signature hardboiled edge and gritty intrigue. Whether writing science fiction or fantasy, Morgan creates atmospheric, lived-in worlds with flawed, complex characters. Duncan Silver is a flinty and relentless protagonist, and through his brooding resolve, the story unfolds with unflinching violence and moral corruption. Though the pacing can be slow at times, the sleek prose and distinctive take on Fae mythology lend the tale a dark allure. An absorbing, brutal read perfect for fans of C. Robert Cargill.

(This review was originally written for Library Journal magazine.)

[Elrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a fun ride. I mostly outgrew fantasy, usually because of all its inconsistencies and, well, magical thinking. for some reason this story worked very well, even though it was set in an alternate timeline, another thing I really really don't like usually. furthermore, most explicit sex I just find usually very cringeworthy, hardly an author who manages to write sex without either going romantic or pornographic.
well, for some reason, here all this worked. okay, I must admit I was biased since I really enjoyed altered Carbon. but the whole depiction of magic and very not Tolkienesk fairies worked so well for me. the witches and their sex, what a delight. usually the domain of men, boy did they screw that picture. the protagonist being deeply traumatized from the trenches of world war 1, and carrying a far deeper and hotter anger, of which we will learn more some part into the story. and yet there was also lots of humanity, empathy, community. the characters were all very believable and complex and rich, and the whole world was written so dense I could almost taste it. I had some misgivings in the beginning, but they were quickly dispelled and I was drawn into the story. and that's after all for me what reading, or listening to an audio book, is all about - escape the drudgery of the here and now, and travel into another world, forget myself. for me personally, that is the main marker of a good book and a good storyteller: offer me a wild and entertaining ride, make me fear and hope for the characters. and when the story is nearing its end, a certain mournfulness arrives, knowing that this will end soon. by this measurement, this book was great. the prose was also in parts very well written, even though it was a very action centered tale. for some reason I just can't bring myself to give five stars for a fantasy book...

[Jordan Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok, I think the idea of this was fantastic but the execution was lacking for me. We follow our main character, a WWI veteran, on a mission to find a child abducted by fae. They have risen up after the war and decided that humans are beneath them and they will do anything to take over. I really loved the idea of a historical fantasy like this, something that’s able to blend just the right amount of historical facts with a fantastical world made up by the author, that immediately made me pick this one up shortly after release. What this author does well is actions scenes, making it so easy to picture exactly what’s going on during conflict. The whole book feels very dark and gritty with an overall feeling of forbidding that gives this book the perfect atmosphere for the time period and setting. With that said, there were a few moments I found myself chuckling about what our main character did/said which gave the bleak atmosphere a flicker of brightness. Our main character was also enjoyable with his dark backstory giving him good depth and the events that take place in this book give him a good amount of growth. Something I didn’t enjoy was the pacing, it felt a little all over the place and I struggled to stay fully engaged in the story during the low points. I also thought there were a lot of graphic spicy scenes that were completely unnecessary to the overall story and almost felt forced, just making it drag a bit more during certain points. I wish the almost romancey subplot wasn’t here, it would have taken a big chunk out of this read and made it feel more digestible. Overall, if you’re looking for a historical fantasy that’s rich in atmosphere and has plenty of action, this would be a good pick for you.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

You gotta be aware going into a Richard K. Morgan book that's it's not always going to be a pleasant ride. Just sayin'.
===============
The premise of this book seemed right up my alley. The Great War (WW1) happened, and the violence was such that it kinda overthrew The Way We Thought Things Were. Giant forests popped up overnight. The Hulda/Fae/Elves came rushing back, and they're not noble and cute. They're more like Pratchett's elves in Lords and Ladies. They're angry and violent. Their steal children, apparently for fun and thralldom.

One of these stolen children managed to escape and tried to return home to his real parents. It didn't go so well. Between that and his experiences overseas in the war, Duncan Silver was left with vast wells of rage and violence. He decided he would become the woodman who retrieves these stolen children from the Hulda and returns them to their parents. But there are Complications.

The rest of the story is basically a series of violent encounters between Duncan and the Hulda, Duncan and the police, basically Duncan and almost everyone except Fiona, his "girlfriend" (sorta) and a couple of helpful witches and a few guy friends. The story is dark and grim and violent. It stutters a bit in the middle, I think, when we get hints of political machinations between government agents and the Hulda and some kind of psychic guy with aspirations for being something like a colonial governor for the Hulda? It was a little confusing, but not a lot of time is spent on it.

If you're good with fights and shootings and stabbings and such, this will be a good book for you. I got a little tired of it all. Duncan's not a safe man to be friends with either.

OTOH sometimes it's good if the trees are fond of you, I guess.

I recently learned that Richard K. Morgan has been transphobic in comments, so this will probably be the last one of his I'll read. Because nobody needs to support that bullshit. YMMV.

[73pctGeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Duncan Silver, former soldier, now woodsman, has made it his life’s work to return children stolen by the Huldu, and he’s not afraid to slaughter any Forest inhabitant or changeling that is in his way.

This wasn’t for me. I have never much cared for stories involving fae/faeries/the fair folk, nor do I particularly enjoy reading The Great War stories, and that is basically what this book boils down to. I’ve _really_ enjoyed previous Morgan novels, but the themes were more to my taste. The characters were fine, the writing is fine, I just wasn’t interested in any of it. I also found the combat scenes a little tedious, presumably because they involve more gun than swordplay. The ending felt very rushed, and a bit unsatisfactory to me. I’d forego reading a sequel in favour of rereading “The Steel Remains”.

[Suki J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.25 stars.

In the years following World War One, a vicious race of Fae have taken over the countryside with their forests, stealing children and replacing them with changelings. Duncan Silver, who has faced his own demons in the trenches, now hunts down Fae and recovers stolen children, driven by his own personal vendetta.

I really liked the idea of historical fantasy set in this time period, and the cover caught my eye. Unfortunately this wasn't quite it for me. I enjoyed the historical elements but the fantasy didn't feel as strong. I did find the central character of Duncan and his experiences and motivations interesting though, and that kept me reading.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good to have Morgan back. Solid good fun. Feels like there could be more. Hope so.

[Dana]

By the time I got to 75% I really didn’t care anymore.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great War was meant to bring an end to wars, but another conflict arises with a different, older foe as the Forest resurges with one man at the center of the growing fight in No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

After his service in World War I, armed with ample rage, extensive knowledge of the fae, and weaponry of a wicked iron knife and trusty cut-down gun, Duncan Silver takes on jobs in the Forest, which has been overtaking the human world at a rapid pace, to recover children who’ve been taken from their families by the Huldu, an ancient fae race. His latest job is to return Mimi, who was taken six months earlier and replaced by a changeling, which winds up becoming far more complicated when Mimi becomes a pawn in a grander scheme to negotiate power and peace between fae and humans, while Duncan’s past and secrets violently catch up with him. As Duncan investigates and plans to retrieve the young girl, he uncovers the various and strange connections between them as he’s revisited by haunting remembrances of the actions he’s taken throughout his rather unique life.

Through an interesting combination of post-WWI historic reality and fae-related magical fantasy, a gritty and brutal narrative unfolds with an involved plot to be navigated with characters being used and betrayed for both selfish and what might seem noble ends. There’s an abundance of traumas depicted, with PTSD and confrontation of loss, kidnapping and navigating the circumstances or demands of your captors, with each character dealing with it in their own way and slightly differently depending on the situation they’re facing or the stage of life they’re in. While the story does a good job of incorporating ample description and details to flesh out the world and the players in the situation at hand, the narrative progresses in odd stuttering stops and starts with lulls and then intense bouts of action for an odd, unsettling pacing.

Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lune At · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn’t able to finish this book.

Thank you, Netgally and publisher Del Ray for giving me this early copy.
So, I gave this book a fair shot.
I am a picky reader. And I know not all of my reads might be my immediate favourite.
I was rather intrigued by the premise of this story. The idea of an ever growing Forest full of everything Fae and mystical was something I could really get behind. That’s why I requested this one. And the story itself was rather fascinating. I liked the concept of this rougher, closed off character type. Someone who is willing to help those in need in uncertain times even though he has no obligation to do so.

It was the writing that fell a little short for me. Please, know that I was raised in a home where language and storytelling are often discussed and picked apart. So, I am rather snobbish when it comes to books.
I very quickly found the writing to be quite repetitive. The same phrases, and sometimes sentences, were often used in the same paragraph or page which was something that made it unable for me to fully immerse myself into the story. And I must admit that the lack of definitive and indefinite articles was something that peeved at times. .

Because of the writing I also thought there was a lack of depth in the protagonist. I was given only glimpses of a person I was supposed to root for. And there wasn’t enough detail to really get a grasp of our man. Which was probably the author’s intent. But by giving me so little in over a hundred pages made it hard for me keep my mind from wandering. Yes, this character is written to have a tough skin. Yes, he is a private person but I, as the reader, need to find something in him that makes me either care or intrigued about him. And the bits and pieces I got were a little too repetitive, and thus too little, for me. So, in my opinion, the writing didn’t line up with what the author was clearly trying to convey.

But if one likes writing style than this book is a joy to read. Because its premise is interesting, thought out and I really liked the folklore aspect. It’s a slow paced story which really gives the reader the time to soak up its contents. So, I would take this review with a grain of salt and try it anyway.

[Genevieve Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very very very difficult to rate.

No Man's Land is a historical fantasy following Duncan, a WWI veteran, who returns home to discover that an ancient, magical Forest has erupted all over England, bringing myths back into stark reality and transforming home into just another war zone.

Duncan becomes a woodsman, one of the few who have the skills to enter the Forest and make it back alive. He makes a living tracking down children abducted by the malicious, capricious fae and returning them to their families. However, when he is hired to rescue four-year-old Mimi Rush, he stumbles into a plot much bigger than just a simple changeling.

This plot concept is unmatched. The minute I read "WWI/fae hunter" I was on board. The possibilities are endless, the setup so fresh and interesting. And the bones of a fascinating story ARE there.

The worldbuilding is one of the high points of this book. We are very familiar with the concept of deadly, malevolent semi-sentient forests, and this one delivers pretty well. It's creepy, mostly relying on gore rather than suspense to drive home the necessary fear, and plays by its own strange rules. The Huldu, a race of sinister fae creatures, had their own interesting lore as well, although we only really got a tiny glimpse into it. I was fully hooked by Duncan's mission to rescue Mimi, and the pieces of his secret past we got to learn along the way.

The second half of the book, dealing more with real-world issues of scheming government agencies and national intrigue, was less gripping to me. But it was still full of action and should have been plenty for me to enjoy the reading experience, and probably end with a 3.5- or 4-star rating.

Unfortunately, I am rating this book 2.5 stars, and that is for one reason.

There are nine* women in this book with speaking roles and actions that matter to the plot.

There are TWO of them that:

1) Haven't had sex with Duncan
2) Aren't portrayed as wildly lascivious and horny to the point it becomes weird
3) Aren't described using words like "an air of ribald arousal" "crinkly but still quite remarkable cleavage" "voluptuous" "nubile, seductress air" and constant focus on breasts

"Jeez, okay, but you just said the book was good otherwise. Can't you just look past the sexual content if that's not your thing?"

No. I can't. It's like trying to read while somebody sits next to you and continuously stabs you with large needles. Like sure, maybe the plot is interesting, but I can't really focus on or enjoy it because I'M BEING STABBED WITH NEEDLES.

This story is like if a Tarantino movie (gory, wild careening violence) was crossed with a low budget porn film (awkward, off-putting, gross).

There are only a few real sex scenes, but that doesn't stop the book from incessantly flashing back to sex memories, telling you about Duncan's masturbation habits, his state of arousal at all times, making passing comments on everyone's breasts, and just adding a weird, off-putting sexual tone to literally every interaction:

• A dryad heals Duncan's wound by using her bodily fluids.

• The Fae Queen shows up naked almost every time she's onscreen, and at least half of those times it makes sure to tell us that her genitals are visible. She seems to be the only female fae we meet in the whole story, and the relative state of undress of the male fae is NEVER once mentioned, much less their genitals.

• Niamh, Duncan's situationship girlfriend, reacts to violent trauma (including sexual assault) and a diagnosis of terminal cancer by begging Duncan to have sex with her. She's awake and onscreen approximately three times: 1) having sex with Duncan, 2) being rescued by Duncan, 3) having sex with Duncan.

• Duncan remembers an elderly woman he met in Europe during the war and describes her "outrageously flirtatious girlishness" as if there was "still a young French sexpot" inside her, despite her age.

Can you see what I mean?

In addition, there's a repeated theme of sexual coercion that shows up, with men as the victim and women as the aggressor:

• The Fae Queen makes sexual advances to Duncan when he's an eleven-year-old boy.

• Belle D'Or coerces Duncan into having unpleasant sex that he didn't want to have in exchange for room and board.

• Annie and Sal essentially date rape Jerry by casting a loyalty spell on him and then having a threesome with him.

• Annie's every action continues to be lustful and sexually suggestive even after Duncan reacts with discomfort multiple times.

• Annie explains how she prefers to take on male apprentices because she enjoys having sex with them more than female apprentices.

The ONE time a woman is the target of sexual assault is the one I mentioned above, where vague "things" happened to Niamh off-screen and afterward she begs Duncan to make it all better by having sex with her.

The vulnerability of men to sexual coercion could be an interesting theme to explore, but it's not really explored. The twisted nature of Duncan's experience as a child and Annie and Sal's actions with Jerry is acknowledged by the text, but that's it. We quickly move on to more important things, like killing a bunch of people. It's odd because, while I do find unnecessary sexual content gross in general, the TONE of all this explicit content is half the time so twisted, creepy, and sinister that it's hard for me to even figure out what the purpose of its inclusion is.

What are we saying? That at least 78% of women think of nothing but sex at all times and want nothing more in life than to lie down with every breathing creature they cross paths with? I can't speak for every woman, and I'm sure there are some lascivious women out there, but it's SO pervasive and SO indiscriminate that it becomes overwhelming and makes it impossible to enjoy the story.

PLEASE STOP STABBING ME WITH NEEDLES.

This was not at all what I was expecting from the blurb, but I would have enjoyed it anyway if it weren't for all of the aforementioned stuff. I wish I could have enjoyed it, because there were a lot of very interesting concepts here.

*I did not include in my count of women Mrs. Crammond, the random French grandma, or the water monster.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may know Richard for writing SF (Altered Carbon, Thin Air) or perhaps his A Land Fit For Heroes series involving Ringil the elf (The Steel Remains, etc).

In his new book, his first fiction novel for eight years – Thin Air was published in 2016 - he takes up that idea of ‘A Land Fit for Heroes’ that was mentioned by Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1918 by setting the book in the post-war setting of 1920’s England, but adds to it Grimdark folk-magic.

This is a book about war and the consequences of war, both physical and magical. It is about change, the need for change and the need to cope with such change. It is anti-war, in the sense that men’s violence against other men is seen as wrong and that honourable men can be forced to do dishonourable deeds for the sake of their country.*  There is a general disillusionment with society and the governments who run it.

We also have the return of Nature, with a Forest reappearing to the English countryside almost overnight. Home of the Fae, it is encroaching upon civilisation, upon the urban towns and cities that have expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries. A sign of the Fae regaining strength once more, and with it a return by humans to mysticism, folklore and witchcraft – Conan Doyle’s belief in fairies is given as one example. People are looking for answers, and as technology and science are not giving them, they are returning to older ways.

Which is where we come in. Duncan Silver is a gun for hire, someone who can retrieve children taken from humans by the Fae and return them to their parents. The plot begins with what seems to be a simple job – four-year-old Miriam has been taken by the Huldu and Duncan has said that he will get her back, even though this means he has to travel into the Forest, the domain of the Fae.

Of course, this is not as simple as it first appears. The situation is much more complex and wide-ranging than first appearances would suggest.

Richard does say in his Acknowledgements that this was not the book he was expecting to write and that it is different to his other books.

To some extent, I agree with that – dealing with fairies and other mythical creatures in a post-WW1 Britain is not like Thin Air or Altered Carbon. And yet there are elements that to me are similar, recognisable in his other work.

This being a Richard Morgan book, this is all told with energy, graphic violence and deliberately colourful language.

What also seems prevalent is the rage that fuels Duncan’s actions. Duncan is an angry man, and this is repeatedly shown throughout the book. Prone to fits of rage at the unfairness of everything, I did feel that he is clearly suffering with what we would now refer to as PTSD. He takes his anger out on others in impressively violent ways - especially those from the magic world of the Fae, who would steal children from their families and leave a changeling in their place, and any form of official authority.

Duncan comes across as a “man’s man”, as perhaps reflective of the 1920’s the story is set in. Although society is changing, No Man’s Land still feels like a human world with men holding onto power. Silver at times seems to be trying to deal with this change, and failing. There were times when this seemed to boil down to this being a place where men do manly things, whose actions speak louder than words, whilst women are there mainly to either be a support or to be used by men. This may not sit well with some readers.

Duncan himself is a man of those times of change – angry, snarling, taciturn, often struggling to convey his thoughts and feelings to others and yet still wanting to save children, people, the world – because he thinks that he can and morally feels that he should. He felt a little like a Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry-type character to me, even down to the “are you feeling lucky, punk?” snap-liners. Regular mention of Duncan’s weaponry, and in particular his cut-down McCulloch shotgun – his equivalent of Dirty Harry’s Magnum .45, surely – reinforces that image. It is a book definitely written with a male gaze prevalent.

And as already said, it is also not for minors. There are sex scenes throughout, often fairly graphic, to illustrate how Duncan and the Fae interact – nothing is for free.

With all of this in mind, it is quite difficult for me to decide whether I like this book or if others will. I do not consider myself anti-violent or prudish and yet there were parts that actually made me wince whilst reading, both for their visceral imagery and explicit content. Some of the set action pieces are excellent, and Morgan’s descriptions of life in the trenches of WW1 are appropriately horrific, lest we forget. But at the same time there were moments when the dialogue felt a little more 2000 than 1920’s, which was a little jarring.

What surprised me most of all was that the characters in the end seemed rather impersonal – whilst I got what Silver was doing and why, I didn’t feel any empathy towards him, which surprised me.  He is, even at the conclusion, still a rather unsympathetic character, a machine doling out violence. This may be deliberate - it is clear that he is a dangerous man –but it also meant that these were characters I could admire but not love, despite all of the horrible things that have happened. He is not the sort of hero that I would want to sit and have a pint with, but I guess that is the point. It could also be said that  difficult deeds need such a character to get things done.

In summary, No Man’s Land is a book that didn’t entirely work for me. All of the author’s usual keynote elements are there, and fans of Richard’s earlier work will get what they expect, in a new setting, and possibly like it. Personally, I did not enjoy (if that is the word to use) the book as much as, say, Altered Carbon, but I did appreciate that the author is writing something very different.

Being a standalone means that new readers may therefore try this one to see if they like Richard’s work.

*(Reading and writing about this as I am in March 2026, with global events being what they are, made me feel that we don’t learn from history. Something I’m sure Richard is aware of.)

[Patrick St-Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was more than a little curious when I first read the blurb for Richard Morgan's newest, for it seemed to be quite unlike everything he had written up until this point. He actually talked about this in the acknowledgements, stating that he is grateful to everyone who encouraged him to write the book he wanted to write rather than the one he felt constrained to put out, and who gave him the freedom to take all the time he needed in order to come up with the former instead of the latter.

Still, even though it is a departure from his previous works, No man's Land retains many of the signature facets that characterize every Richard Morgan novel. It's also somewhat of a milder approach for the author, at least as far as sex and violence are concerned. Looks like A Land Fit for Heroes may have taught him a thing or two in that regard.

Here's the blurb:

A compelling standalone dark fantasy set in a gritty post-WWI Britain that has been overrun by the fae, from the award-winning author of Altered Carbon

The Great War was supposed to be the war to end all wars—and maybe it would have been, had an even greater, otherworldly foe not risen to extinguish the conflict. Overnight, as guns blazed in France and Flanders, village after village in the quiet British countryside was swallowed by the Forest. And within the Forest lurk the Huldu—an ancient fae race, monstrous in their inhumanity, who have decided that mankind’s ascendency over the world can endure no longer.

Enter Duncan Silver. Scarred by the war, fueled by a rage deeper than the trenches in which he once fought, Duncan is determined to show the Huldu that the world is not theirs for the taking. Armed with a deadly iron knife and a cut-down trench gun filled with iron shot, Duncan will stop at nothing to return the children the Huldu have stolen to the arms of their families. No matter how many Huldu he may have to slaughter along the way.

But when he is hired by a mother to return her four-year-old daughter, Miriam—taken by the Huldu six months past and replaced with a changeling—all hell breaks loose. Miriam is a pawn in a much bigger game for dominance than Duncan ever expected, and several long-buried secrets from his past are about to be violently resurrected.

It takes some time for the plot to make sense because in order to understand Duncan's place in this new world order we must first go through a number of flashback scenes that are a bit slow in coming. For all of that, No Man's Land is never dull and Morgan hooks you up basically from the first chapter. It's just a question of trusting him to deliver what's needed to keep you on your toes. And to be honest, the author seldom fails to deliver and once he gets the ball rolling this one is quite a ride!

The post-WWI setting is quite interesting and so different from what is normally the norm in the genre today. Duncan's harrowing memories of war in the trenches also add a layer of realism to his character. It felt as though there were lots of anachronisms, but it appears that a lot of research went into this one and that it's as historically accurate as can possibly be. I for one would never have thought that telephones and drugs were so readily available in Britain at that period. It's definitely this setting that gives No Man's Land its unique flavor and that's what I enjoyed the most. The Huldu at first seemed too much like the fae from A Land Fit for Heroes, but Morgan quickly gives them their own vibe and place in our world's history. I would have liked to find out more about them, but there is more than enough to keep you absorbed throughout the novel.

As a matter of course, Duncan Silver takes center stage. He's a three-dimensional protagonist though, as mentioned, it takes some time for the truth about his past to come together and give him more substance. Some may consider him too badass, but any soldier who emerged from the trenches of WWI was indubitably scarred for life. Some more than others, it goes without saying. Duncan's relationship with Niamh and the scenes with Mimi humanize him somewhat, yet he is and remains a hard man throughout the novel, even if the flashback scenes show that this wasn't always the case. The rest of the supporting case don't necessarily shine, other than the witches, the Fae Queen Mebhuranon, Garner, Crammond, and Arthur, but in their own way they keep the plot moving forward. The author's use of British/Scottish/Irish brogues made a lot of these men and women come alive in unexpected ways.

Although No Man's Land is by no means a page-turner, the rhythm is never an issue. It just takes some time for the various storylines to coalesce into an overall plot that makes sense. The whole thing meanders a bit in the middle when the government and the Holy Order of Sword and Orb become involved. But as soon as those plotlines are woven into the greater scheme of things, the novel truly gets moving and doesn't let up till the very end.

Richard Morgan has a thrilling endgame in store for his readers, which then brings us to a shocking finale. Some will say that it came out of left field, but it was foreshadowed enough earlier in the book to make sense. It's unclear whether or not No Man's Land is a standalone novel or if it's the first installment in what will be another series. A part of me would like to discover more about the Huldu and their return across the globe following the Great War. Yet another part of me believes that this tale has run its course and that should be the end of it. Time will tell. . .

Another interesting, entertaining, and ass-kicking yarn by Richard Morgan!

For more reviews, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

[Chewable Orb · Rating 3 out of 5]

No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan
3.35 rounded down to 3 🔮 orbs
Est. Pub. Date: March 24, 2026
Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore

Circling down the abysmal whirlpool….

💡 Orbs Prologue: A frigid cylindrical liquidity whirlpools me away to another time and place. Like a whisk beating my egg-like brain into frothy goodness, an ill-timed vertigo displaces my mind. Surprisingly, I land seated atop a sturdy branch of a thriving tree. With the wind lapping at my ears, I hear something to my immediate left that had escaped my initial glance. “Hi, Orb, I’m Orb!” it said. Bamboozled, I took in my doppelganger. After a brief but vexing interaction, I learned that this realm of existence was full of these “changelings,” a replacement birthed by the forest, or rather, the fae known as the Huldu. A strong familiarity thrummed in my heart, as if I belonged to this place long, long ago. Whoosh! Beyond the tip of my crooked nose, a solid black arrow coated with what one could only assume was a poisonous concoction stuck out of the hardened amber bark of the tree. “They are coming. Best start running!” The fake Orb howled at me, throwing itself off the branch in search of protection. Within the underbrush located directly ahead, intermittent howls followed calculated movements while they stalked their prey. The only real issue, dear reader, is that I seemed to be the target of their fury….

🧐 A small glimpse: A grizzled war veteran, Duncan Silver, has become a savior of sorts. For some coin, he will enter the adjoining forest to retrieve missing children. One might ask, why would Duncan be the only person willing to take on this type of job? An answer that lies deep within the shadows of the forest itself. This is no ordinary landscape. From the casual onlooker, the canopy of trees is a beauty to behold. Yet, lo and behold, a secrecy lies in wait, possessing an abundance of disdain for humanity for infringing upon the society of the Huldu. Slowly, wrapping vines have strangled more territory within the community while humans were off fighting a battle amongst each other. Duncan’s newest task is to bring Miriam home from the clutches of the Huldu. Along this adventure, Duncan will stare straight into his past, reliving torturous memories, further fueling his anger and hatred. For Duncan is not quite what he seems…

👍 Orbs Pros: Author Richard K. Morgan straps on his shotgun and rebukes all oncomers. There is an admirable creativity that Morgan has employed in this story, often leaving my visceral sensations awash with amazement. Wars from within, from afar, and from something magical await your reading eyes. Witches! Magic! Lore! Yes, these are things you can expect in the jambalaya of artistic madness. Over the top! The scope of this story spans multiple genres, melding the real-time trenches of modern warfare with ancient creatures of mysticism. An underlying bit of romance! Beneath this gruff exterior, Duncan remains a bit of a softy when it comes to a certain someone in his life, thus providing a more well-rounded main protagonist.

👎 Orbs Cons: Although I did enjoy the story, it felt a bit long-winded. There were times I just wanted the action to restart, but the novel kept getting bogged down by trivial conversations between characters, which, quite frankly, I didn’t care about. Many side missions kept diverting my attention away from our main quest. Perhaps those who played a game like The Witcher may have experienced an example of what I am talking about. The conclusion? It felt somewhat anticlimactic.

Recommended! The novel has a lot going for it. Richard K. Morgan’s prose was impressive. Be forewarned that it can slog in certain instances, and cutting a hundred pages might have created a tighter presentation for better overall enjoyment.

💡 Orbs Epilogue: As I take in the surrounding fae, a gunshot rings throughout the forest. The noise from the fiery explosion emanates, exposing the nearby birds from the secrecy of their nests as they take hurried flight in angry protest. “Stay there!” someone shouts through the veil of a smoking rifle. Moments of sheer chaos ensue, and the three Huldu are dispatched in rapid and gory succession. The gunman introduces himself as Duncan, and he thankfully assures me that he is my ally. “You need to leave. There will be more, and I can’t protect you from their power. I noticed a blue shimmering portal outside of town. Know anything about that?” Swallowing slowly, I admitted that I may be the cause of this mysterious portal, an entrance to my own private purgatory. Duncan nods, in solemn understanding of atoning for past wrongdoings. Glancing casually, my eyes focus on the sunstruck glint of a long, slender ceremonial blade wielded by an unruly Huldu in the distance. Fear blinds me through terror-filled eyes as I start running for the circular escape route. Arrows plummet through the sky, littering the ground like pins in a cushion. Before me, the blood-coated, talon-like claws of a wretched creature reach out, grazing one of my sweat-stained shoulders. Slowed but undaunted, I dive like an Olympic swimmer into the darkness….

Many thanks to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the ARC through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.