Name: Rhino Tribe
ISBN: 9798698913740

V. X. Long

Visit the brutal world of 'The Barbarian Saga'...The Rhino Barbarians rule the plains atop their massive beasts. Yet amid their tribe, Stug, the cryptic battle-shaman, plots to overthrow Viru the chieftess, before her bloodthirsty horde provokes a war they can't win. The Wolvish Clan looms in the mountains, with their vicious wolves at their side. Though ancient Warlocks seek to take the hills from them and enslave the barbarians. The Lioness Pride, an all-female tribe that roams upon lions, are lead by an unproven new queen, who must choose allies carefully as the world they know is about to come to a violent end.

Rhino Tribe

This was definitely a pleasant surprise! I don't usually gravitate towards these books, but I have to say this was pretty intense and luring. The Rhino Tribe definitely had me delving more and more into the story. We are introduced to the culture of the Rhino Tribe with natural elements and the assistance/importance of animals in their realm. I always love when a book has historical aspects in the story, it gave so much substance when it came to learning the barbarian culture. 

The author did an amazing job building and depicting their daily rituals and their beliefs. The tribe’s mindset and lifestyle was violent and raw, all for the glory and power. The detailed worldbuilding was pretty impressive, the factors that shaped the world had me immersed in the story. It was interesting to see the different aspects of the clothing and their surroundings. I am always intrigued with the details in the buildup, it helps me connect with the story. The author’s elements within his story were well definitely well sketched.

The characters were super intriguing and addictive, I wanted to learn more and more about them! I was amazed and absolutely in love with Vuru’s character. She was that badass character we all want to see in a story, the epitome of girl power. Unapologetic and empowering. I love that she isn't your typical damsel in distress, instead she is a chieftess and she means business. Her tribe, the Rhino tribe is over everything and everyone. I was also fascinated by Stug (how creative is the name!). I loved his character development, he is the definition of “what am I doing with my life?”. But his battle with his self-doubts helps him grow into a fearless warrior. 

Thank you so much to the author for introducing me into the Rhino Tribe! Looking forward to reading more about it!

Shelby Goodwin

I want to first say thank you to the author V.X. Long for sending me a copy of Rhino Tribe in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this gory little fantasy novel so much. This story presented such a welcome change of pace and even helped me out of a reading slump, as I’ve been pining for a book with a new, fresh kind of twist on my favorite genre!

This book pulled me immediately and mercilessly into the ruthless culture and harsh climate of the Barbarian lifestyle. I was amazed by how Long was able to impart fascinating world-building info without it feeling at ALL like the typical and tedious info-dump. We follow a set of 4 protagonists--Stug, Viru, Quetzy, and Urgon--as they navigate the brutality of their world from their various vantage points of rank and gender.

While there are MANY hardcore battle scenes, the narrative does not focus solely on this bloodshed; rather, Long masterfully develops each and every character, humanizing and fleshing out seemingly one-dimensional barbarians into very relatable people. I found the mother/daughter and father/son relationships between Shival/Viru and Stug/Urgon to be SO profoundly moving. I absolutely reveled in the progression of affection between Urgon and Atta, but I am especially obsessed with Black Whisker and Chieftess Viru...these ladies gave me absolute LIFE.

I am avoiding spoilers here but I will say the ending was freaking EPIC and although this book feels complete as a standalone, I am totally down to learn and adventure further in future installments of the Barbarian Saga!

Tatiana Alvarez 

Wow, this book was a surprise for me! I honestly did not know what to think and I had a ton of reservations going in, only because this is not something I would normally pick up for myself and read. However, I'm extremely happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this book.

There are a lot of layers to this book, so forgive me if I sound like I'm rambling. The world building in this book is phenomenal and done in a way where the reader does not feel overloaded with information. This world, or the part we hear mostly about, is split up into different barbarian territories. The Rhino clan are one of the strongest and are extremely loyal to traditions. They do not shy away from outsiders, but also limit interaction between other clans. The Wolven, my personal favorite, are more open and inviting, but still fierce. The last bad ass main group are the pack of lionesses, an all female tribe.

The book is written in different perspectives, but seems to center around Stug and his son Urgon. Stug is one of the older members of his tribe and highly respected by most members, except the current chieftess. Viru, a younger member of the Rhino tribe who is ruthless. Despite all of her flaws, Viru does show signs of redemption as the story moves on. What I enjoy so much about her character is that she is written like a typical strong man, but yet she is seen in more of a villainous role, despite the fact that she is powerful and strong. Viru has done a lot for the tribe, even if her methods are unorthodox. 

Long must be buddies with George R.R. Martin because no character is safe, so don't get too attached to anyone! His fighting / torturing scenes are gruesome, so if that is something you cannot handle, I would read with caution. Long is also building up a huge battle that I'm sure we will see more of in the other books. The warlocks, the unknown enemy, remind me a lot of White Walkers.

My only complaint is that I felt as if so much time was spent on world building, that I did not truly get to understand and know some of the characters. However, I understand why the setting was important to build up, I just would have liked to know more about Stug and Quetzy, who seemed like a random character to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you are looking for a book outside of your normal fantasy comfort zone, I would suggest this one!

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

Rhino Tribe was such a pleasant surprise for me! Despite this not being the sort of novel I usually reach for, I am quite curious about tribal culture and the promise of some gritty, bloody action was incredibly alluring. This book did not disappoint! The author is a screen-writer, and you can definitely feel that in his prose. The amount of detail that went into the creation of this world, even in minor things such as clothing, the way things were built, the weapons used, the rituals, all made this world so real and visual as I read.

Though the book has a slow beginning, it is necessary to build the complexity of the tribes, but other than that, the pacing really picks up and it becomes hard to put down the book! An aspect of the story I really enjoyed was the relationship between the tribes and their animals. Everyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for the animal kingdom, and I enjoy any read in which creatures have an important role. Apart from having a bond with the animals, the characteristics of each creature also played a role in the crafting of the traditions and peculiarities of each tribe, and I really enjoyed that. I especially loved reading about the Lioness because lions are my favorite animals and I could recognize a lot of their social behaviors in this tribe!

The story is written using multiple perspectives, which really enriched the narrative with their different personalities, backgrounds and knowledge. The main character we follow is Stug, a seasoned warrior of the Rhino tribe whose experience makes him the perfect companion to navigate the complex world of the tribes. I was very happy with the character development of all the characters, especially the one of Urgon, Stug’s son, who has one of the biggest changes within the story, and becomes a very empowered man by the end.

Speaking of empowerment, my favorite element of the story was indeed the female empowerment that was presented to us. Women in the Rhino Tribe kick ass and take names! My favorites were Viru, the chiefstess of the Rhino Tribe, and Black Whisker, the queen of the Lioness. Not only did I enjoy these two characters together, but I really loved them as individuals! Viru is the type of badass that I love reading about—ruthless, determined, but also capable of learning, while Black Whisker is a character who proves her worth throughout the story with her cunning and wisdom.

So apart from the slow beginning and the difficulty in immediately grasping this incredibly complex and vast world, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to an adult audience that loves gorey fantasy!

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

This was intense. 

The moment I started reading Rhino Tribe, I knew that if this book had been a tv show, I would have been addicted from the very first scenes. It’s the same feeling one gets when starting Game of Thrones for the very first time.

The atmosphere was dark and gory, the politics within the Rhino tribe and between the others very complex and interesting to read. The author did a wonderful job at describing the characteristics of each tribe and giving them unique traits. The attention to detail that was mindblowing—from the weapons they chose, to the war cries, to the hierarchies within the tribes, their beliefs and rituals. It was very fascinating. My favorite tribe to explore was perhaps the Wolvish. 

The characters were very well developed and complex as well. Stug is the one we immediately start learning more things about. He is the eyes through which the barbarian world is presented to us. His age and experience as a warrior made it so that he was an excellent protagonist to follow through the difficult world of the tribes. Viru, the young and fearless chiefstess of the Rhino, was also a very interesting character. Her bloodlust and fierceness made for an unpredictable character and a worthy match to Stug’s stoicness. The rivalry between the two is born out of the fact that they have different ways to get things done, but I admired the fact that, despite their differences, there was still a degree of respect between the two. At least both of them could admit to the fact that the other was strong and capable. And dangerous. I have to say, though, that my favorite character was probably Urgon, Stug’s son. While all of these characters have undergone some serious character development throughout the story, Urgon’s arc was the most surprising. By the end of the group, he is the character who belongs to two tribes and is also his own man. We stan!

I loved how the story was built in a very visual way, not only with its eye for detail but also with how the chapters were structured. Sometimes we had very short chapters that served to jump from one place to another of the barbarian world, as if we were watching scenes of a tv show or movie. I personally love when a book is structured this way.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Though the beginning was a little slow for it served to put the foundation of this intricate worldbuilding, I found myself drinking in the pages the more I progressed. I highly recommend it to lovers of fantasy, of blood and gore and pure awesomeness.

Rhino Tribe

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