From amazon.com
This story is definitely a villain story, and very strong for that fact I think. It follows both a resistance fighter, Robert Dalton and Falki Grendelsson, son of the Lord of the Northlands, Grendel and a member of the Obsidian Guard.
We begin seeing the death of a favorite of Grendel's, and so he has to respond by sending his son as a sign of the seriousness of the matter. Falki goes with his own company of Obsidian Guard to reinforce those already present. There they must bring the rebels to heel.
From here we get a good look at little skirmishes which tend to make up insurgencies like this, another look at the brutality it requires to make an empire, and the very crude yet effective use of both carrot and stick. In one case Falki helps feed a community, and in another he hangs those who would help the insurgents.
This story never shies away from the fact it is a villain story, and Falki, while not seeing himself as a villain, manages to have some depth for a character who is, well, pretty clearly the bad guy. I do sympathize with him and his past (if not his actions) and I found him to be a very interesting viewpoint for this story. It's a well done villain, but not one we might see on a redemption arc.
Robert Dalton bears the unfortunate mantle of being one of the men who got this whole mess started. He was a freeholder who was, with others, forced from his home to make way for Grendel's veterans, and he wants revenge. Having once lived in the Camrose Confederation, he found his home absorbed into this new empire. Mistreated and marginalized, he fought back. It's a tale as old as civilization, and it resonated with me.
With tyrant lizards, gunfights and villains galore, this is a fun short story which I recommend checking out!
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