White Sands, Red Steel

The He-Dog Chronicles, Book 1

By: Keith C. Blackmore

Narrated by: John Lee

Crazy. Brutal. Unpredictable. And those are their good qualities. A pair of foul-mouthed mercenaries go on a suicide mission in this otherworldly fantasy.

After accepting a mission that no one wanted, He-Dog and Ballless travel the treacherous Lands of the South to the glittering city of Foust. There, they find the fabled walls under siege. A vicious, seething army of Beastmen surround the city, intent on sacking it and feasting upon every last citizen within. No one in their right mind would try to get past this mob. But He-Dog, Ball-less, and their companions aren’t in their right minds. Getting into Foust is utter madness. Getting out again is sure to get them killed.

Keith C. Blackmore’s madcap, grisly fantasy novel is perfect for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin.

©2012 Keith C. Blackmore (P)2019 Podium Publishing

Don't let this be the end!

One of the best listens I've experienced in five years. If I could afford it, I would commission Blackmore to continue this story for many more books. Just awesome.

A Competent 7 Out of 10 Experience

I love a good John Lee performance, and I think he is more than capable of elevating a text that would otherwise be rather dull on paper. I found the characterization to be largely serviceable; Balless was fairly engaging, He-Dog was a bit underdeveloped (he seemed intended to be a blank slate for reader self-insertion), Chop, a mute, was woefully underutilized due to his handicap and the author's light use of descriptive body language. I found the most interesting character to be Boris, and since he winds up being the second most frequent point of view, I suspect the author did also.

Many of the fights had that "cleaving through the slavering hordes power fantasy" quality that, over time, begins to read like a play-by-play account of a Gallagher show; smashing, splitting, bursting and chopping apart foes that have as much in common with ripe watermelons as they do with mighty-thewed barbarian warriors. Conversely, the realism of the long convalescence between fights was weirdly refreshing, though it did begin to drag. Also, urination and chamber pots get discussed with a frequency that started out amusing but quickly became exactly as entertaining as the real-life act of relieving oneself.

"Unfit" is a weird choice for a common epithet, and it is used so often it nearly becomes punctuation. Most great swears involve elements like blasphemy, bodily functions and sex acts; "unfit" reads more like a mild complaint about the cut of one's clothes.

Structurally, the book succeeds at what it sets out to do; tell a grimdark, low-fantasy, picaresque tale of grudging friendship, adventure and violence. The narrator and characterization really carried me through the minor irritations.

Come for the beginning, stay for the end.

Seriously, you get your money's worth right off the bat. Significant replay value for me as a fan of Grimdark with iconic narration that I would put on par with Abercrombie and Pacey (which is about the highest praise I am capable of giving in terms of narration). Blackmore and Lee just click and the world is a better place for it.

I'll wager there are elements of this book you'll remember for the rest of your life. I'm done here.

A Fun Hack N Slash

I really enjoyed the dialogue between the three primary heros. Reminded me of a happy dysfunctional family; just with swords, clubs and murderous monsters.

Absolutely loved it!

I let this sit in my wish list for entirely too long! Enthralling from start to finish.