The Black Coast by Mike Brooks

I would like to thank Orbit for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price - £9.99 paperback £4.99 Kindle eBook

When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep's warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home . . .

Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire - if only its new mismatched society can survive.

What makes an epic fantasy tale epic? That book with the Rings in it has sort of set certain things we perhaps too readily expect in what epic fantasy should look like. There needs to be an overall adventure with a quest and a band of characters all coming together from various countries, races or social orders to tackle a dark lord/power/insert choice of villain. Prior to the good Professor though an Epic could also be a more local adventure a tale of one or two heroes doing great deeds – their song would be sung for many years. In Mike Brooks’ excellent fantasy novel, The Black Coast we have a slightly different start to a new series and while I think it’s not following quite the usual template it offers an epic adventure of a different kind.

The sight of Raiders on the sea is traditionally a source of danger when they can be spotted from the small town of Black Keep. When Ser Daimon the young half-son of Lord Blackcreek arrives with his father and half-brother they are puzzled as the leader of the Raiders appears to want…a truce. Realising the raiders are both in bigger numbers and better skilled in fighting Daimon disarms his family and agrees to working together even as his father curses him for cowardice. Daimon and Saana the leader of the Brown Eagle clan needs to work though their differences; manage their respective groups and avoid death and destruction unfortunately the reason the Raiders fled their own islands is following them closely across the seas.

Elsewhere on the continent Tila the practical sister of the erstwhile God-King is once again worried about the line of succession and threats from a family of pretenders across the sea – The Splinter King who threaten her family’s reign. Happily, her skills also lead to organising assassinations and dealing with criminals. But a young thief known as Jeya may be about to throw these plans into disarray.

Now I finished reading this with a huge grin on my face. I was enjoying the adventure, characters, plot and rather brutal fight scenes in a way I have not for ages with epic fantasy. I am though going to warn you this doesn’t follow the flow of stories we have come to expect in epic fantasies. Yes, there are various plot threads and chapters follow various characters but rather that the usual plot convenience of slowly all these characters merge together at the end for the larger story Brooks makes the more adventurous decision to focus in this book much much more on the story of Daimon and Saana while the other threads move forward but not in a massive completed story but more scene setting for future books (I’ve immediately picked up the sequel). This can be a little unusual as you realise those other threads are not going to be wrapped up in the way many books do. But I liked the originality of this approach and trust be the Daimon and Saana storyline is a chef’s kiss of fantasy storytelling.

More often in fantasy the focus is on the war between two groups. Brooks tale is more interesting as it’s how two groups have to work together for survival. We have with Daimon a group that resembles your standard medieval town with knights, honour systems and legends.  But they also have metalwork and large war-beasts known as dragons that resemble dinosaurs too! (Told you this was going to be fun!) With Saana we have a group that could be more allied to Viking Raiders who while dismissed as savages by Daimon’s people have medicine, their own systems and are highly skilled sailors and warriors. They also have decades of history fighting each other. Daimon’s intervention has stopped a war between them for now.  But can that last. To help push the tension in the Islands Saana’s people led a magical and dangerous leader known as The Golden had forced the various clans to work together and now has sent a young ambitious warrior with a fleet to retrieve Saana. The clock is ticking until a mighty battle. For me this is a different type of epic and as we get to know these people so we as readers care what happens to them. The stakes are simple the survival of a few hundred rather than the fate of the world but its still quite epic in approach

Brooks creates a tension exploring how two different cultures can either hate or start to understand each other. We get to see what happens when you find the person who killed your family member is now living among you. With the focus largely on Daimon and Saana we see two leaders both trying hard to see the bigger picture and go against their traditions. There is a fascinating hot and cold relationship between these leaders and both also have to accept other cultures have different approaches. Daimon’s people are very patriarchal, so men have the senior roles while Saana’s are against same-sex relationships and are puzzled why Daimon’s people are so accepting of it. This social side makes for interesting plot developments, and I loved how neither side is shown as a shining example of progress. In the other plot threads, we even get the concept of five genders and people who choose what they want to be known as. These ideas are only just starting to be explored in this book, but I can’t wait to see how they develop further in later books. But for inventive worldbuilding and plotting this book is recommended!

Character wise Daimon and Saana are really easy to get to known. Daimon the young inexperienced leader who just wants to do the right thing while Saana is a middle-aged woman; a seasoned fighter and trying to do something different to save the future. Both flawed and yet also smart, funny and not afraid to fight if required. There is a sense of humour in this book that has some neat insults and one liners when you least expect them to turn up. Brooks creates a fascinating cast that in this first novel in the series I want to get to know a lot more. Another surprise is Tila who we discover is far more than just your usual smart princess. But if I told you more about her I would have to kill you!

When the book needs action Brooks delivers in spades. Expect to feel punches; cuts and slices as characters fight and this is not a book to spare the blood and death. Throwing in huge dangerous dinosaur-dragons into the mix also is a smart choice and can’t wait to see more of these creatures too! The final battles at the end are epic and by ensuring the Golden’s fleet are shown to be very skilled themselves we know the outcome is not assured.

The Black Coast is the kind of smart, unusual, and inventive epic fantasy I will always be in the market for. I was a fan of Brooks’ science fiction stories, but this move into fantasy shows they are a very accomplished author, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Did I mention I have the sequel? If you can be prepared for a slightly different take on epic fantasy, then you’ll enjoy this ride a hell of a lot. Strongly recommended!