BOOK NAME: The Bound Folio AUTHOR: Rob J. Hayes PUBLISHER(S): Ragnarok Publications FORMATT: Paperback / Ebook GENRE(S): Fantasy RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2016 In the Five Kingdoms, previously the setting of Rob J. Hayes’ Ties That Bind trilogy and now the setting of his new collection of short stories, The Bound Folio, injustice is a daily occurrence and the entire world can quickly become your enemy.

Throughout The Bound Folio’s eight-story connection, readers are introduced to lone protagonists battling the oppression of the powerful and struggling to stay alive. Of course, in Hayes’ world, that doesn’t at all mean that we see the same antagonists throughout. In the introductory story, “The Sword of the North”, the arbiters – the magic-wielding representatives of the church tasked with seeking out dark magic and destroying it – clearly play a menacing role. In the final story, “Black Blood”, our protagonist is an arbiter battling pirates and reanimated skeletons alike.

In the grim world of the Five Kingdoms, everyone has the potential to be a villain.

“The Sword of the North” kicks things off by introducing us to Derran, a young man whose father is not only a merchant lord, but also a drunkard. When his father suspects that Derran’s sister Leesa may be a witch, Derran learns first-hand the true power of an arbiter.

“A Game of Poisons” sees a mysterious man pit two legendary assassins against one another – with the survivor earning a massive payday. When the two assassins come face to face, finally finding someone who understands the trials and tribulations of the profession, they begin to share stories. But how long can it be before the violence begins?

“The Kid” introduces us to a city street urchin who seeks vengeance after the gang he runs with betrays him. Too small to avenge himself merely through violence, he finds a way to use the city itself against his bullies.

“The Battle of Underbridge” features a collection of squires briefly enjoying an evening at the local pub. Like most young men, they spend much of their time fighting amongst themselves – until the wights come, and the squires find themselves on the front lines.

“The Merchant of Truridge” is another revenge tale, this time featuring a young merchant’s son who sees his life upended, and is determined to avenge himself upon everyone involved.

“In By My Life and My Bloodline”, our protagonist, a Drurr warrior, truly finds herself alone as she seeks to hide her queen’s children from her own people. But hiding amongst the humans means hiding among the enemy.

“You Never Forget Your First Time” tells the story of a young woman sent to a school that was supposed to teach her how to serve a prince and become a queen to her people. But Shian soon finds herself at odds with one of her instructors, and goes to incredible, terrible lengths to return her cruelty tenfold. I was surprised to find this was my favorite story in the collection. It was a different tale than the rest, with the stakes seemingly less than the other tales. That is until Shian’s frustrations overflow and she attacks her nemesis using the skills she has been taught. Somehow, the story that looks like it will be the least violent in the collection become the most memorable for me, especially after Shian realizes the consequences of her actions.

The collection concludes with “Black Blood”, in which an arbiter finds herself working alongside a pirate crew to find a book of dark magic. But while Arbiter Beck plans to destroy the book, the pirates seem to have other plans.

One of the most impressive aspects of this collection was the consistency of the stories. I genuinely enjoyed all eight, especially seeing the different ways each of the characters approached their problems. Revenge was a common theme throughout, but the protagonists were forced to gain that revenge through a variety of means based upon their backgrounds, age and skill sets.

Even better, each entry tells a complete story. Too often, I have been frustrated by anthologies with “stories” that are really just a brief scene featuring a popular character from the author’s previous novels. In The Bound Folio, each story tells a definitive narrative. The character’s entire story may not be complete, and readers may find themselves wanting to read more, but each tale comes to a genuine stopping point.

A British author, Hayes previously published his It Takes a Thief duology and The Ties That Bind trilogy before Ragnarok Publications re-issued all three books of The Ties That Bind. He is now working on a new series, Best Laid Plans, featuring the pirate Drake Morass. The first book of that series, Where Loyalties Lie, will be released December 13, 2016.

The Bound Folio demonstrates Hayes’ strong storytelling ability and offers a wide range of options for future novels. The characters from “The Sword of the North” will probably show up in the Best Laid Plans series, and the titular kid may well have already appeared in one of Hayes’ novels. But regardless of whether we see these characters again, Hayes brings readers on a heck of a ride with a violent, morally ambiguous collection.

I really enjoyed reading this! I didn't know anything about the world or characters as this is my first taste of Hayes writing, but definitely won't be my last! Even without prior knowledge these stories were interesting and easy enough to follow. The world was well planned, the characters detailed, it was a joy following them in these snapshots of their lives. The stories were short, but still felt complete in that they didn't seem rushed, but we're also finish at a place that seemed right.

Wonderful fantasy from an author who writes beyond his years. Hayes is going places at a rapid pace. Highly recommended!

The Bound Folio returns (or introduces) readers to Rob J. Hayes’ First Earth fantasy world, and like his first trilogy, The Ties That Bind, this collection of short stories is not for the faint of heart. Rather, these tales are grimdark to the core, filled with execution, rape, revenge, cynicism, and brutality.

To my mind, all the stories in this collection fit into two very nice categories: the unexpected twist and the shock-fest. The former generally consisting of a straight ahead narrative which concludes in a surprising way, while the latter is all about the death, mayhem, and gore. “The Night Blade”, “The Battle of Underbridge”, “The Twins”, and “The Mistress of the West” are the examples of what I consider twist stories. “The Sword of the North”, “The Kid”, “The Merchant of Truridge”, and “Beck” are the tales which felt like shock-fests to me. None of these shorts are connected in any way, other than they take place in the same world as The Ties That Bind trilogy and showcase some of the characters which appear therein.

What Folio does extremely well is deliver a heaping dose of bloody, brutal grimdark for fans of the genre. The scenes of children burning at the stake, men being fed their best friends, husbands watching their wives gang raped and killed, and all the other memorable moments favorably compares to the most hardcore grimdark out there, so those who love that type of dark and gloomy fantasy should be pleased beyond belief.

The main problem I had with the collection was more than a few of the stories seemed rather pointless. There would be a lot of buildup, a great deal of foreshadowing of big events to come, but then the story would end abruptly. Usually, the narrative would be wrapped up by a few brief sentences or a couple of concise paragraphs, which did not really deliver the exciting ending which I personally had been anticipating.

Not being a true follower of Rob J. Hayes, I picked up The Bound Folio to experience more of his grimdark world and his storytelling style. Both things this collection certainly showed me. After reflecting on my time with these stories, I’ve actually discovered that even as a grimdark fan I still have a level of utter despair that I’d rather not sink to. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I still prefer to have a little bit of light in all my grimdark-ness to keep me motivated to continue reading, and Rob J. Hayes world was a little too realistic and a little too harsh for my tastes, though others might find it to their liking.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.