Blood Feud by JW Webb

I’ve been a fan of JW Webb’s work for a while now. He sets his books in a world called Ansu, which is akin to early CE Celtic through to Viking times, in my amateur opinion. While the enjoyable Corin an Fol has been his primary character for a while, he broadens his world’s horizons with a new MC, Jaran Saerk, a “Northman” who serves the Shen in a war against the invading Cardalan empire. Here are my thoughts on the book:

Disclaimer – I read this in September, so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

So, what’s it all about?

I lied. I didn’t read this book, but listened to it. In fact, technically I have never read a JW Webb book, but I digress. Jaran quickly falls foul of his employers, in true Viking style, by “illegally killing” a man, thus finding himself between a rock a and hard place. With no war to distract him, Jaran decides to go on a quest to kill the witch who murdered (illegally killed?) his family and regain his inheritance. This turns out to be harder than planned, but he meets some fellow ne’er-do-wells on the road to help him on his journey. Savarna is a recently escaped slave who has her own mission, to assassinate the Empress of the Shen, but gets sidetracked when she meets Jaran (“When they met, it was murder,” as Max from Hart to Hart would say). Also in tow is the excellently named Finvar the Droll, an “ex-thief” (illegally stealing?) and gombeen man whose motivations are shady at best. Along the way they must face the witch’s minions, the Shen and the Cardalans, all looking to take out our intrepid gang. 

Is it any good?

Absolutely. Webb’s characters are always a lot of fun and drive the stories. Jaran is as eminently likeable as any illegal killer can be, while his and Savarna’s backstories are interesting and explain the reason behind their individual quests. Of course, things are never as simple as they initially seem, and there are a number of hiccups along the way. The world and its various different countries are thinly veiled versions of our own, but the stark differences between each are highlighted, often to the amusement of our heroes. The action scenes are well drawn, the book is well written and there is plenty of humour throughout. If you’re looking for something new and refreshing in the fantasy genre, this probably isn’t the book for you. If you just want a good story with plenty of action, laughs and devious plots, then I can heartily recommend this (or any other of the author’s books). Webb has a formula in place for his stories, but it works. Oh, and I almost forgot, Andrew McDermott, the narrator, is a joy to listen to, and breathes great life into the characters. 

Verdict

Nothing new, but fun and action-packed.

• Format: Audiobook
• Obtained from: Author
• Listening time: 12 hours 4 minutes
• Publisher: Self-Published
• ISBN: 9798665532332 (pb)
• Narrator: Andrew McDermott