Name: The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, Book 1)
ISBN: 9780008331429

David Wragg

Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.

The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, Book 1)

Sade A

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Grim dark has never been a genre that has particularly impressed me. Mainly because i firmly believe it lacks, for lack of a better word 'eloquence' and relies heavily on blood and gore and characters' saying fuck -this word comes up about 200 times in this book. - a gazzilion times (there's obviously a fuck word convention grim dark authors' participate in) to the detriment of developing anything else in the story.

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To David Wragg's credit, while this book doesnt particularly have what i would call strong character development or world building, it's certainly very entertaining and funny. 
There's also the important fact that Wragg doesn't depend a crazy much on the gore and relies strongly on entertaining dialogue (shoutout to Lemon👍👍) 
religious nutcases (that's always a plus✔) and the crazy intrigue. 
So yes, there's definitely a really good story in here. 

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I'm not convinced the title of the book should have been called The Black Hawks though, maybe it's a more catchy title but the core essense of the book really had nothing to do with The Black Hawks. Every event in this book could have happened with another set of characters dressed up as the The Black Hawks. Which is why it's weird that the title is centerd on them. Maybe they play more pivotal roles in the upcoming books but i honestly couldn't see it from this book.

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 All in all, a pretty good book. I was expecting a straight up disaster but can't lie, i enjoyed this book.

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.

The Black Hawks

After finishing this book, it stayed on mind for the next few months. Even now, I find myself thinking about some of the characters. And I find that any book that is that memorable, that inserts itself into my life to that extent, is worth a high rating. There were some elements that I didn't like about the plot but they were severly outweighed by the amount of things that I loved throughout this book. 

Nickie Mohler

This is a fun, fast read. I loved it! This band of misfits has a special place in my heart. So many great characters to love, but I think Lemon is my favorite. She is hilarious. I highly recommend this to all fantasy fans. I am ready for more!

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Prepare to join the Black Hawk Company. An epic fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Scott Lynch and Nicholas Eames. Vedren Chel holds every oath of service sacred -- except his own. His father's sermons on the nobility of duty left him ill-prepared for the grind of service to his indolent step-uncle. Chel's wretched oath has dragged him from home and family across a war-splintered kingdom; he craves an escape from this life. When foreign invaders heave into port, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos - a bargain with a stranded prince. Escort the prince to safety, and in return: release from his oath, a chance to go home. A solemn duty at last. But a bargain with a prince is never a simple thing, and greater forces are at play than Chel realises. Heavy wheels are turning. Assassins and mercenaries lurk in every shadow, many bearing smiles as sharp as their knives. As a kingdom's dark conspiracy turns its gaze towards him, Chel must decide just how much he will sacrifice in duty's name. Prepare to join the Black Hawk Company.

Articles of Faith

Heather

This book was a balm to my soul, I loved every minute of it ... expect the beginning, and it was probably my fault. 

 The plot is nothing original. Chel, stuck in an oath of service to his step-uncle, try to flee when Norths invade the royal city. Not far does he go, when he find himself bound with a new bargain to none other than the royal prince. Troubles follow when a band of mercenaries kidnapped them for ransom. 

 “Hope for the best, plan for the worst, right?” 
This is how I went into this book. Trying a debut author novel being always a bit of a gamble.
The beginning was tedious and probably because of me as I was always picking this book late at night and falling asleep after few pages. I had some difficulties getting into it and differentiating the protagonists.

Hopefully, after 50 pages and some day-reading, I became completely hooked.

The plot is classic but not boring and with some nice twists.
The world-building is well crafted, lacking a map (as every fantasy book without one do! #mapforeverybook )
However, the gem of this novel lay is the protagonists. Charismatic and morally gray, they all feel distinct from each other even without knowing much about their pasts or intentions. David Wragg makes a great job to writing secretive mercenaries, giving us bit and pieces of information and leaving us wanted for more. 
 I fell in love instantly with Lemon, she is funny and sour, making me laugh out loud on my work commute. 

My  only complain  would be on action description, especially fight scenes. Somehow, it felt difficult to follow, each action not being flawlessly described. I often found myself lost during a fight, not knowing who throw this punch to whom or where were they standing in comparison to each other. I had the sensation of seeing a chopped scene, missing some connectivity between character movement. 

Greatly done, looking forward to book 2 !

The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, Book 1)

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