I enjoyed this trilogy so very much.  Epic fantasy where half-orcs ride real hogs and patrol a desert against incursions of orcs and insane centaurs - what's not to like?  There's also the occasional wizard and elf.

The three books follow a trio of childhood friends.  The first book, "The Grey Bastards", was told from the point-of-view of Jackal as he foolishly tried to wrest control of his hoof from their old - and possibly crazy - chief.  He failed and he became a nomad; later being forced to accept a gift from a god he didn't believe in that just about made him invulnerable.  The second book was from the point-of-view of Fetching who became the chief in the aftermath of the destruction of the hoof's home; she also was gifted with supernatural powers.  She eventually rallied all the hoofs in a play to short-circuit an anticipated attack from Hisparthia, the kingdom that nominally rules everything.  The hoofs tend to discount any attempt to control them.

This last book is told, of course, from the point-of-view of the third friend - Oats.  Oats is probably more complicated that either of the first two; although appearances are to the contrary.  Oats is left in charge of the hoof while Fetching travels across the Lot Lands on her captive rokh; rallying the other hoofs and making alliances.  He continues to struggle with the guilt of knowing the orc-plague still resides in his old mentor, War Boar, and a young innocent boy, Wily.  He petitioned the Elves to remove the plague from them and give it to him; but they couldn't do it.

He and others from his hoof made a raid into Hisparthia to rescue two of their own held captive. Unfortunately, the enemy caught them before they could get home and sent a wizard who couldn't be killed.  The encounter cost Oats a great deal; almost his life.

Fetching and Jackal planned a raid on a Hisparthian fortress but failed in the attempt.  Their old friend, Crafty - the half-orc wizard who destroyed their home in the first books - appears and convinces Fetching that the only way to stop a Hisparthian invasion of the Lot Lands is to go and meet the Queen herself.  Fetching assigns Ahlamra as her ambassador and sends the hoof with her.  They do manage to make it to the capital, but not without adding to their troupe the Queen's possibly mentally deficient half-brother.  They are feted with more food and comfort than any they have ever known.  But when the Queen makes it plain that she considers them more entertainment than a real embassy; they have a difficult time keeping to Fetching's plan.  Although, as it turned out, Fetching's plan was a bit different than she had confided to Oats; apparently she had a different version that included trying to kill the Queen.  It's a problematic scenario…would they be able to broker a peace with the Queen that would allow the hoof to continue to be self-governed?  Or, would they be better off with Crafty as King; the person who has continually tricked and lied to them; causing untold suffering.

This was a very satisfying read.  The first book did give us more interaction between the three friends; setting up the relationships and basic story.  The second book put Fetching in the spotlight with Jackal off-screen, mostly.  In this book, Fetching and Jackal pretty much just had cameos.  But by now, both of them are almost mythic heroes; Oats is still the same big, kind-hearted mongrel.  He suffers greatly in the first part of the book and is then swept up in Fetching's schemes while he spends much of his story agonizing over his guilt and the people he loves.  I liked the story resolution very much although not much was said about Jackal.  The worldbuilding was good, the plot was sufficient, and the characters were the best thing in the books.  I will definitely look forward to anything new that French develops; so long as it's equally entertaining. ~~ Catherine Book

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