Chivalry

I recently bought a set of four limited edition novellas from Newcon Press and this is the first one I read.

Chivalry by Gavin G Smith concerns a knight called Thornto going to his first war, following his idol. I won’t say anything more as that would be spoilers, and if you’re interested in reading this short book, I would recommend you don’t even read the blurb.

The whole story had a similar vibe to Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold and achieves a similar arc in a lot less words. This is not to slag off Abercrombie’s books, by the way, as I think they are excellent, but rather to highlight the quality of world building here.

Smith has an eye for the gruesome, and some (many) of the deaths are detailed with glee and an attention to detail that might put some readers off. My favourite involved some chains and a door….

In all, this is a good fun, solid quick read.