The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart - Softcover

Bullington, Jesse

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316049344 ISBN 13: 9780316049344

Publisher: Orbit, 2009

Synopsis

Hegel and Manfried Grossbart may not consider themselves bad men -- but death still stalks them through the dark woods of medieval Europe.

The year is 1364, and the brothers Grossbart have embarked on a naïve quest for fortune. Descended from a long line of graverobbers, they are determined to follow their family's footsteps to the fabled crypts of Gyptland. To get there, they will have to brave dangerous and unknown lands and keep company with all manner of desperate travelers-merchants, priests, and scoundrels alike. For theirs is a world both familiar and distant; a world of living saints and livelier demons, of monsters and madmen.

The Brothers Grossbart are about to discover that all legends have their truths, and worse fates than death await those who would take the red road of villainy.

About this title

About the Author

Jesse Bullington spent the bulk of his formative years in rural Pennsylvania, the Netherlands, and Tallahassee, Florida. He is a folklore and outdoor enthusiast who holds a bachelor's degree in History and English Literature from Florida State University. He currently resides in Colorado, and his blog, as well as fan art, news and exclusive content can be found at www.jessebullington.com.

Reviews

With liberal inclusion of vomit, gore and turnips, Bullington's bizarre debut follows two monstrous siblings across 1364 Europe and the Middle East as they seek ever-richer graves to rob. The Crusades, the papal schism and the Black Death all make appearances, as do the obligatory witches, priests and knights. In addition to robbing, torturing and murdering innocent peasants, the brothers dispatch demons and imitation popes while debating theology and the nature of mercy, e.g., finishing a victim off rather than leaving him for the crows. The mix of grimmer-than-Grimm fairy tale tropes, spaghetti Western dialogue (Yeah, can't suffer no traitorous churls to keep on bein traitorous) and medieval history is striking and often funny, but it may not be compelling enough to keep readers slogging along with the brothers' endless travels and copious letting of bodily fluids. (Nov.)
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When the Brothers Grimm published their celebrated folktales, critics took aim at the inclusion of disturbing material unsuitable for children. Modeled after the grimmest of the Grimm tales, Bullington’s debut about a pair of villainous medieval brothers throws aside any concerns for children from the first chapter, aiming instead at gross-out horror fans. Aside from plundering graves and waylaying strangers, Manfried and Hegel Grossbart’s one consuming interest is crossing plague-ridden fourteenth-century Europe to an imagined Egyptian palace, where their grandfather is hoarding stolen treasure. Along the way, the brothers cross paths with assorted brigands, witches, madmen, and fallen priests, robbing when expedient and killing where necessary. In one escapade, the Grossbarts incinerate the family of a neighboring farmer who mistreated them as children. In another, they befriend a priest who recounts his own horrific adventures during the Crusades. Bullington makes little attempt to cast his protagonists as sympathetic anti-heroes; the Grossbarts are cutthroats to the core. Yet Bullington’s masterfully engaging style marks him as a writer of considerable promise. --Carl Hays

Edition details

• Publisher: Orbit
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316049344
• ISBN 13: 9780316049344
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 465