TLDR:

Kings of the Wyld is a book that can make you laugh and make you appreciate the friendships and simple moments that you never really think about until they're long gone. It's wonderful to read how a group of friends will still come together to help each other out despite the 20 years they've grown apart.

If you want the book equivalent of long time friends getting back together for "one last job", monster slaying, drinking, and just all around craziness? Then get this book, it'll make you laugh.

I heard about this book from r/Fantasy. I can't exactly remember how but I think it was someone listing their favorites and I remember this one (along with Mistborn). Knowing nothing about it (I didn't even read the little snippet of the book) I added it to my Goodreads Want To Read List and moved on.

I had just finished Mistborn and was waiting for the second book to be available to be checked out and saw this one was available meanwhile.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

We follow Clay Cooper, a former member of Saga, who now lives a quiet life with his wife Ginny and daughter Tally. One day, the leader of Saga and his good friend, Gabriel shows up in his doorstep asking for his help in rescuing his daughter from a horde of monsters trying to siege the city of Castia. While reluctant at first, eventually, Clay is convinced to help Gabriel rescue his daughter Rose by getting the old band together.

What I Loved

• The characters. They are all wonderfully written. I was invested in all their stories and backgrounds. And not even just Saga's but I was curious about other bands/characters.
• The writing style. I enjoyed how Nicholas Eames wrote this. I was a little confused as to why we would follow Clay Cooper instead of someone like Gabriel but I love the choice in the end. It's nice to know that the story would be so wildly different from any other Saga member's point of view.
• How the female characters were written. They are actually written as flawed characters. I always hated how in movies or books a female character is either written to be perfect or horrible.
• The Party Banter. It is my guilty pleasure in games (Dragon Age, Mass Effect) and when I saw this banter in the book it made my heart leap in glee.

What I Hated

Seeing I rated it five stars, I honestly personally had no issue with anything but I could see things that people might not like.

• While I feel like Saga was good at not doing some typical fantasy tropes, some characters felt a bit flanderized. I can see Moog with this as he reminds me of the clumsy but powerful wizard. Though I feel like that was intended.
• Humor. Everyone's taste in humor varies but I saw this brought up in a few reviews. This is the first "humor" book that I read and I thought it was fine. None of the jokes made my eyes roll or cringe on how lame they were. For me, while I don't have any other books to reference, I don't enjoy most comedy movies. Superbad? Hated it. Dumb and Dumber? Hated it. The only ones I genuinely enjoyed are We are the Millers, This is the End, 21 Jump Street (and this movie sometimes makes my eyes roll too).  So if you're movie taste align with mine in that regard, maybe you'll enjoy this book too!

Final Thoughts

I loved this book and I already placed a hold for the second book, Bloody Rose. Judging by the title, it seems like it will focus on Gabriel's daughter, Rose, and her band more. Personally, I loved the relationship between all of Saga's members but understand that they are now much older and embarking on another adventure doesn't make sense for them.

Kings of the Wyld, is a great book that demonstrates the long lasting friendships between all the members of Saga from their ten years of adventuring. It genuinely feels like Clay "Slowhand" Cooper himself is sitting across from you recounting all the crazy things that happened during his Saga years.

Which is great considering how Saga couldn't keep a bard alive.