5 Stars for The Grim Company by Luke Scull

In Australia we chant “Scull scull scull” when someone is drinking a beer at extreme speed. It’s a hairy man boof head thing from the cave dwelling days. Anyway I finished this book last night and found chanting saying ‘Scull scull scull’ because it was just so epic and grand it was worth waking people up.

I’m going to come right out and say it because I read some of the other reviews - I have never read anything by Joe Abercrombie. I have read there are comparisons but I think Luke Scull and can be happy that many new readers to fantasy, like me, will come across this first and realise it is a fantastic book that not only stands on its own merits but kicks a great deal of ass.

How do we begin? The Gods have been killed by a bunch of mages who have stepped into their void and taken over.

"How can a son watch his mother burn"?

One of the reasons this book worked for me is that the Author pulled together some of my very favourite character types and plot lines and then twisted them into his own style and on more than one occasion shattered my expectations.I started writing this review half way through to keep track of some notes and then pretty much had to start over by the end of the book, and I could not have enjoyed it more.

We have a major character Brodar Kayne, once known as the Sword of the North who has the feel and the look of Druss the Legend until we learn his opinion of ‘the code’ is that it can go shaft itself. This guy has a seriously damaged story that unfolds and reveals itself beautifully. You will feel genuine sympathy for this character….and his knees.

Another of our main characters is a young land called Davarus Cole, who I found to be incredibly likeable. He knows he is a hero because his dad was hero and gave him a heroes’ weapon…or so he has been told. His major problem, in his mind, is that he is living in a world of people who simply don’t realise it yet. So both, good naturedly and hap hazardly I might add, he sets out to show them how awesome he is. However unlike Neo in the Matrix he knows his path before he has walked it leading to frustration and impatience, when it is unrecognised by others. He is a source of a lot of humour for the reader but angst for his fellow travellers which is a lovey balance.

When Scull does really well is interweave all his different threads together so that by the time you get half way through you have an equal interest in all parts of the story. Normally I might find myself reading one thread that I am not as into, but in this case I was just as interested in the one character as another from start to finish. For a first book this is ridiculously good and it has all the hallmarks of a future best seller.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. Though I read it on Kindle I had to send off to the UK for a signed first ed which cost a pretty penny but was totally worth it. There is something about the feel of a book in your hands that just cant be beat.

Sword of the North comes out some time in 2015 and will be published by Head of Zeus. More of their books can be found at www.headofzeus.com

UPDATE - I've since read a bunch of Abercrombie and I would rate this higher than Joe's first book. I hope Luke can produce with the same consistency but only time will tell.