The "Band of Brothers" -- A Few More Fantasy Favorites!

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So far this year I've talked bands of brothers -- and sisters -- and how they lie at the heart of the Fantasy genre, as well as scooby gangs, the much-loved bromance, and sister acts. Last month, I also honed in on when brotherhoods and bromances go bad -- and although not nearly so many, they're definitely there in the genre.

Brothers in arms

This month, I'm going to share a few more favourite brotherhoods and where to find them, i.e. characters and books I have not yet mentioned in any other context. My plan is to feature some older and newer titles, starting with a subtheme of bridges...

The Bridgeburners that is, in Steven Malazan's Gardens of the Moon, which is the first book in his ten part series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The series has a ker-zillion characters and many bands of brothers, of varying degrees of hero to anti-heroism, but Captain Whiskeyjack and the Bridgeburners are my favourite. They're a very-rough-around-the-edges company of veterans who have been assigned a suicide mission to destroy infrastructure inside enemy territory. For my money, they're a quintessential "brotherhood" in the best epic style. If that kind of storytelling is your jam, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

The Bridge crews, or Bridgemen, in Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, Book One in the Stormlight Archive series. The Bridgemen are slaves, whose job is to carry wooden platforms (bridges) to wherever the armies they serve are fighting on the Shattered Plain, enabling the fighters to bridge the chasms that criss-cross the terrain. A former soldier called Kaladin turns his crew into a well-disciplined tight-knit band, which eventually becomes the personal guard of the army's overall commander -- although there's a lot more to it than that, of course!

Another of my favorite bands is the following that Hari (Harimad-Sol) pulls together in Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword. Perceiving a gap in her country's undermanned defenses against a demonic foe, Hari defies her leader and cobbles together an unlikely "band" of allies, comprising personal friends, enemy soldiers (think British soldiery like the Corp of Guides in colonial India), and legendary archers -- as well as fighting cats and warhounds.

No one does a Band of Brothers / Scooby Gang quite like Tamora Pierce, but the first I encountered was Alanna and her friends in The Song of The Lioness quartet. Alanna's 'gang' comprises Prince Jonathan and their page and squire friends, who grow up to become a true "band of brothers", fighting and serving together. It also includes less likely allies such as George Cooper, the Rogue or prince of thieves, and Sir Myles, a scholar knight. 

Although the star-crossed romance between Karou and Akiva is the heart of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (and the subsequent books in the trilogy of the same name), I've always liked the brotherhood between Akiva and his fellow seraphs, Liraz and Hazael -- especially when his love for Karou tests their warrior bonds.

When it comes to sisterhood, it's hard to go past Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education, and sequels in the Scolomance series. El, Aadhya, and Liu, and later Chloe, form a tightly knit unit to try and ensure their own survival and that of their fellow students. It's a kind of counter-culture on Harry Potter and Hogwarts, but in a world that is far darker and more dangerous from the outset.

From older titles to new, one with blue in its name but none -- so far as I know -- borrowed, if you haven't read 'em all already, I hope you find something to like. :-)

I'll be be back again on 1 October. In the meantime, read on! 

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About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

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Previous Posts:

February: Honing in on 2021—Celebrating the "Band of Brothers"
March: Celebrating the "Band of Brothers" in Fantasy #2
April: Celebrating the "Scooby Gang" #3
May: Celebrating the "Band of Sisters"
June: From Band of Brothers To Bromance!
July: Sister Acts: from the "Band of Sisters" to True Sisterhood
August: When Brotherhoods -- and Bros -- Go Bad!