The Black Hawks – Articles of Faith #1 – David Wragg
Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.
Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.
When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from his oath. All he has to do is drag the brat from one side of the country to the other, through war and wilderness, chased all the way by ruthless assassins.
With killers on your trail, you need killers watching your back. You need the Black Hawk Company – mercenaries, fighters without equal, a squabbling, scrapping pack of rogues.
Prepare to join the Black Hawks.
Review:
First of all I would like to thank Harper Voyager for the review copy of this book, it was an absolute delight to read. The Black Hawks is David Wragg’s debut novel and the first book in the Articles of Faith series.
The Black Hawks neatly follows the recent surge of books following a band of mercenaries, assassins or monster hunters populated with flawed characters and characterised by witty banter and quite a bit of swearing. This is, however, not a bad thing, not at all. You see, these books are such a welcome break from heavy plots, complicated magic systems and the occasional eye-watering love triangle. They shine because of their simplicity. The Black Hawks is a formidable example of this: it’s driven by its interesting cast of characters, its fun dialogue and a clear goal for our main character. I breezed through the book; the writing fluid and fast paced, the story captivating and the ending providing a few surprises and twists.
Starting in the city of Denirnas we are introduced to Vedren Chel who, as a knight, has a first row seat when the city port is blocked by invading forces. Thrown in the ensuing turmoil, he finds himself saving one of the princes … by accident. That’s not where his adventure stops though: breaking his previous vow to his step-uncle, a minor noble, he now finds himself sworn to protect the youngest prince, Tarfel, and deliver him safely back to the city port they just escaped from. As he and the prince are attacked by one group of miscreants and kidnapped by another, Chel wonders what else life can throw at him. Setting out on this path, Chel could have never guessed how much his life would really change. Although he wanted to go home more than anything, he might ultimately have found a whole new family and his newfound loyalty to the prince leads him to help uncover a devious plot at the heart of their kingdom.
Chel and Tarfel find themselves entangled with the Black Hawks Company, mercenaries with a dubious agenda where Tarfel is concerned. It’s hard to gauge at first if they are friend or foe, or somewhere in between. However, just like Chel, the reader can’t help but care about the band of swearing, drinking and ruthless mercenaries (well, most of them anyway). Lemon was by far my favourite of the Black Hawks Company: chatty, funny, showing hints of fierce loyalty and possessing a rich vocabulary when it comes to swearing, she stole my heart from the beginning.
The Black Hawks was full of humorous banter, excentric personalities, bloody action and adventure. I enjoyed every minute of it and absolutely can not wait for the next book. Especially after that cliffhanger ending!
Release Date: October 3rd, 2019
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 429
Format: E-galley
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
