The Lot Lands

The Grey Bastards Bring on the Orcs... Jackal is a Grey Bastard, member of a sworn brotherhood of half-orcs. Unloved and unwanted in civilized society, the Bastards eke out a hard life in the desolate no-man's-land called the Lots, protecting frail and noble human civilization from invading bands of vicious full-blooded orcs. But as Jackal is soon to learn, his pride may be misplaced. Because a dark secret lies at the heart of the Bastards' existence - one that reveals a horrifying truth behind humanity's tenuous peace with the orcs, and exposes a grave danger on the horizon. On the heels of the ultimate betrayal, Jackal must scramble to stop a devastating invasion - even as he wonders where his true loyalties lie. The True Bastards Fetching was once the only female rider in the Lot Lands. Now she is the leader of her own hoof, a band of loyal half-orcs sworn to her command. But the hoof she inherited is on the brink of collapse. Tested to the breaking point by the burdens of leadership, Fetching battles desperately to stave off famine, desertion and the scorn of the other half-orc chieftains, even as orcs and humans alike threaten the Lots' very existence. Then an old enemy finds a way to strike at her from beyond the grave - and suddenly only one faint hope for salvation remains. The Free Bastards War has come to the Lot Lands - and Oats stands upon the frontline. The formidable armies on the horizon are bolstered by divine champions, dread sorcerers and gunpowder. But Oats has won impossible fights before. He's a thriceblood, after all, more orc than man. And he hasn't forgotten how to kill. He'll stack the bodies high for his chief and his brethren, if that's the price of freeing the Lots from human tyranny. Besides, the invading forces are getting a damned sight more than they bargained for. They're not facing a handful of half-orc hoofs, but a true army - one forged from all the peoples of the Lots. At its head are Fetching, in full command of the ruinous power that runs through her veins, and Jackal, armed with the blessings of a dead god.