The Band
Kings of the Wyld follows the adventures of an ageing band of warriors and particularly Clay Cooper, a bass man if ever there was one. If they were a real rock band this would be one of those reunion tours, not quite the Rolling Stones, probably more Guns’n’Roses. The kind which follows several abortive attempts for the lead singer to launch a solo career. All the other members have fallen on hard times and swallowed their pride about being dumped in the first place, belatedly realising that their original appeal was not as individuals but as a collective. ‘Creative differences’ are thrown aside in the face of cold hard cash. This is not though the story of an actual rock band, and so the motives are considerably more honourable, a family member of one of the members has got themselves into a seriously tricky spot and needs all the help they can get. The first half or so of the book focuses on the actual act of getting the band back together, before moving on to the rescue attempt.
The first and most obvious thing to state is that Kings of the Wyld features a set-up of simple genius. Heavy metal with its outrageous pomposity, and heroic adventurers are such exquisite bedfellows it’s a wonder no one thought of it before, or maybe they did and I just missed it. While the premise might be inspired, the plot itself is somewhat derivative and beats a clichéd path through some fairly familiar fantasy set ups. plot of world weary has-beens, reluctantly emerging from out of retirement also ticks all the required boxes. Backs ache, Bellies hang, and hair, well hair is thinner, all that’s missing is Danny Glover rolling his neck and announcing for the fifth time that “He’s getting too old for this s…”. What Kings of the Wyld does not lack though is panache, there is also an overriding sense of fun present within the narrative, I might even try and coin a new sub-genre, Banter-sy.
If you’re a fan of a self-deprecating summer blockbuster, which moves quickly from set piece to set piece and is the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of popcorn then you could do a whole lot worse than pick up Kings of the Wyld and a Heavy Metal hits album
- Kings of the Wyld (2017) – Amazon – Book Depository
- Bloody Rose (2018) – Amazon – Book Depository