I listened to the audiobook narrated by RJ Bayley, whose range of voices and overall style of delivery was a perfect fit for this material.

Although this was a short book I was really impressed with the variety of characters we meet in this story, all with their distinctive voice (literally, in the case of RJ Bayley’s narration) and outlook on life. The tone is decidedly grimdark as the reader is plunged straight into the muddy, bloody, chaotic aftermath of an epic battle in the Fractured Kingdoms. What lightens the mood of what would otherwise be a rather depressing book is Devens has a terrific turn of phrase and a wonderful author voice. He brings the scenes to life with sardonic wit, using it to skewer the pompous, uncaring nobles who, through their arrogance and self-importance, have brought ruin to the land.

Brig and her loyal warrior Dag were some of my favourite characters, whilst Ebar, a thief conscripted to fight in the war and still serving his captain Anassia (more out of habit than anything else), was always entertaining. Ebar was my favourite when it came to RJ Bayley’s narration – I loved the voice he used for him. The inclusion of so many characters does make this a little hard to get into at first, especially as Devens moves back and forth through time to offer different perspectives on the same events. However, this lays the groundwork for a compelling story.

RJ Bayley’s performance adds suitable depth and soul in his delivery of these parts, which really brings them to life

The Scroungers does include one of my pet hates in fantasy fiction – poetry. I should probably clarify here that this is directed at authors who do this badly. Fantasy poetry is incredibly difficult to write well but, to give Devens his due, I think he pulls this off. At the start of each chapter he alternates extracts of poems and songs with excerpts from the history books of the Fractured Kingdoms. It lends itself well to building the wider world in the reader’s mind and RJ Bayley’s performance adds suitable depth and soul in his delivery of these parts, which really brings them to life.

The result is poetic grimdark and I liked how the history and verse conjured up an image of traditional epic fantasy, which is contrasted with the brutal, vicious reality the characters are facing when we return to the main story. This in turn mirrors the difference between the ruling lords and the ordinary people, who ultimately decide they’re not willing to die so someone who doesn’t even know their name can wear a crown.

The story is essentially an essay about the futility of war. Despite the grim subject matter I enjoyed this tale, especially since Devens keeps you guessing right until the end. This was a great introduction to his writing and he’s definitely an author I’ll be reading more in the future.