The Band
#834.23 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2017–present Reading commitment Low Nicholas Eames Last reviewed 2026-08-26
Overview
A comic sword-and-sorcery series by Nicholas Eames in which a retired band of monster-hunting mercenaries reunites for one last job, in a world where adventuring companies tour and headline like rock groups, complete with fan followings, rival "bands," and hired hype men called managers. The debut novel, Kings of the Wyld (2017), follows the aging warrior Clay Cooper as his old bandmate Gabriel calls in a favor to reassemble their legendary company, Saga, for a rescue mission through monster-infested territory to save Gabriel's daughter's own trapped mercenary band. Its sequel, Bloody Rose (2018), shifts the perspective to Gabriel's daughter's band and a young bard chronicling their exploits. The series was widely praised on release for reworking sword-and-sorcery adventure through a rock-band framing device, blending genuine action and heart with self-aware humor about genre and celebrity, and helped establish Eames as a leading voice in the wave of comic, band-of-mercenaries epic fantasy that followed.
Sword & sorcery, Comic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Band Nicholas Eames
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Kings of the Wyld | 2017 | 1 | core | 4.26 (71,669 ratings) |
 | Bloody Rose | 2018 | 2 | core | 4.16 (26,114 ratings) |
The founding two novels of a comic sword-and-sorcery trilogy about a retired band of monster-hunting mercenaries; a third novel, Outlaw Empire, has been announced but not yet published, so it is not catalogued here per this project's standing rule against unpublished works.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Band? The Band's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Band? Publication order, starting with Kings of the Wyld. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Band finished? Ongoing (2017–present).
- How much reading does The Band take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,014 pages).
- How is The Band ranked? #83 in this site's official ranking, based on 97,783 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #83?
Ranked #83 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.23 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (97,783 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.10 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #82, The Winternight Trilogy (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 98k ratings · Ranks #83 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment sword-and-sorcery universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Kings of the Wyld (2017)
- Bloody Rose (2018)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Band and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Zothique Sword & sorcery / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.22
- The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox Historical fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
- Jon Shannow (Stones of Power) Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
- The Blacktongue Thief Grimdark / Sword & sorcery · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.19
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.23 across 97,783 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Band admitted; Core Canon = the two published novels accepted 2026-08-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Reader community series index Tier 3
- https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-kings-of-the-wyld-nicholas-eames/
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon is the 2 published novels (2017-2018). A third novel has been announced but not yet published, so it is not catalogued here.