Thursday 28 March 2013

Oh Brother!

Vote for your favourite of Jorg's road brothers!


I will graph the results as we go.




Say why you like your choice best:

(in the comments or by email/twitter/facebook) in a line or two (no more than 200 words) and you're in for the prize of a signed Emperor of Thorns hardback (to be sent out when they reach me). The more entertaining you are the more chance to win (you can get up to 5 'tickets' in the lottery) - pictures of your favorite are a great way to go - but even 'Rike because he's big' will get you a single ticket!



The Choices:

Brother Gemt:
Some people are born to rub you the wrong way. Brother Gemt was born to rub the world the wrong way.

Brother Maical:
Whatever broke Brother Maical left the outside untouched. He looked as solid and as tough and as sour as the rest of them. Until you asked him a question.
  --- I had a soft spot for brother maical... He lived like an idiot and died like an idiot... And revenge was just toooo sweet! (Joel, 2 tickets)

Brother Gains:
Brother Gains wasn’t the cook because he was good at cooking. He was just bad at everything else.
  --- I enjoyed him a lot. (Tom, 1 ticket)

Brother Jobe:
Every brotherhood has a pecking order. With brothers like mine you don’t want to be at the bottom of that order. You’re liable to get pecked to death. Brother Jobe had just the right mix of whipped cur and rabies to stay alive there.

Brother Grumlow:
Knife-work is a dirty business, yet Brother Grumlow is always clean
  --- I like him because he does his business and then melts back into the shadows. (Tyson, 1 ticket)
  --- Brother Grumlow...at least he's clean. And really, there is something impressive about going through all that blood, guts and gore and coming out smelling like flowers. (Nadine, 2 tickets)

 Brother Sim:
Assassination is just murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.
  --- because it seems like there's much more story to him, but we'll never know it. (Anna, 1 ticket)

Brother Makin (Sir Makin):
Brother Makin has high ideals. If he kept to them, we would be enemies. If he nursed his failure, we would not be friends.   
  --- Brother Makin. He's broken almost just like Jorg, loyal in his own way. Fun to read and support! (Johann, 2 tickets)
  --- Brother Makin
He's been with Jorg right from the start, refused to leave his side.
Turned bandit, rogue and vagabond but never lost his stride.
He's just the kind of man to wade knee-deep in mud and muck.
Your faith and trust won't be misplaced-- he'll never pass the buck!

It's--

Makintragicandheroictoughbutnottoovicious
Tall and dark with curly locks but two bits shy of gorgeous
Wields a sword, can cut and slice but still not over callous

Makintragicandheroictoughbutnottoovicious!
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye
Um-diddle-diddle-um-diddleye

(Mia, tickets noted on Rike)
  --- I'd say Brother Makin, because I found him to be an interesting character as he almost acts as Jorg's conscience, but at the same time he does horrible things along with the rest of the brothers. He also provides a link to Jorg's past, and his potential future. (Big Z, 3 tickets)
  --- He's a badass. He's loyal. He let "the record show the accused finds amusement in the facts of his crime." (Mark, 2 tickets)
  --- Between his idealism, internal conflict, failings, best efforts, and general baddassery, there's a great deal of depth to the character. (TheSupremeForce, 2 tickets)
  --- because he always thinks and doesn't give a fig about anything other than protecting his ideals along with Jorg (Samuel, 2 tickets)
Brother Kent (Red Kent):
Some said that Red Kent had a black heart, and that might be true, but anyone who had seen him take out a six-strong foot patrol with hatchet and knife would tell you the man had an artist’s soul.
  --- He's not a bad guy, not a good guy, a victim of sur com stance and his own success ( being a natural born killer ) He's a surviver but also loyal. Like Makin he will be with Jorg near the end I'm sure be it good or bad but still covered in blood." A red day". (Jean-Paul, 3 tickets)
  --- Pious as a priest but and artist with a blade - who else believes in God and worry about following the commandments even after they've murdered, stolen and ravaged? None of the other brothers have the such a contrast to their personality either! (Nathaniel, 3 tickets)

Brother Row:
Brother Row you could trust to make a long shot with a short bow. You could trust him to come out of a knife fight with somebody else’s blood on his shirt. You could trust him to lie, to cheat, to steal, and to watch your back. You couldn’t trust his eyes though. He had kind eyes, and you couldn’t trust them.

Brother Kashta (The Nuban):
Whoever made the Nuban must have fashioned him from bedrock. I never knew a man more solid. He held his words close. Few among the Brothers sought his counsel, men upon the road have little use for conscience, and although he never judged, the Nuban carried judgement with him.
  --- Brother Kashta, because he is... was a big one! (Allzweck, 1 ticket)
  ---The Nuban - also because crossbows are cool. Nuff said (Alicia B, 1 ticket)
  --- Brother Kashta for sure. Big strong quiet badass that dispenses street justice and doesn't mess around. (Jaack, 2 tickets)
  --- The Nuban. He's badass and smart and knows who's bad news. He's perhaps the most sympathetic of the brothers; it's clear he lives by a code, but he doesn't expect others to live to the same standards he holds himself. (Chilari, 2 tickets)
  --- The Nuban. Speak softly and carry a big crossbow. (Kurt, 2 tickets).
  --- He may have been the brother of conscience, but that didn't make him good. Honest men don't have to be good. When he spoke, you listened, even if you didn't like what he had to say. (Alicia, 2 tickets)
  --- Deep, silent, loyal and powerful. Surely one with the power to travel the river styx unabated (Anon, 1 ticket)
  --- he went after the Necromancer while everyone else was dealing with those weak skeletons. Also out of all the road brothers he seemed like the one who was less "bad" if thay makes sense (Brandon, 2 tickets)

Brother Rike (Little Rikey):
Most men have at least one redeeming feature. Finding one for Brother Rike requires a stretch. Is ‘big’ a redeeming feature?
  --- Brother Rike. The most bad ass. (Anirudh, 1 ticket)
  ---
BROTHER RIKE:
 
Say!

I like heads on a spike
That's why the Brother Rike I like.
He'll breach a castle with a moat
From folks inside he'll make a coat.
His list is long of those he's slain,
He revels in inflicting pain.
If Rike you see, go up a tree,
Go here, go there, but please do flee!

You cannot floor him with some rocks.
You cannot kill him with the pox.
You cannot spook him with some louse.
You cannot scare him with a spouse.
You cannot jolt him fair and square.
Say! You can't daunt him if you dare!

I do so like
heads on a spike
Thank you!
Thank you,
Brother Rike!  
(Mia, 4 tickets)
  --- He could drown the world in his spit. (Wiramu, 1 ticket)
  --- he makes the story even more interesting for me with his not too smart common sense and hack and slash approach at most things. He is like the big killing tool which Jorg uses for his own gains, which makes sense as Jorg is a very smart lad. Though I also like that Rikey has that a fear factor and that even Jorg I believe might be a little scared of him. (Richard, 3 tickets)
Brother Burlow (Fat Burlow):
Everyone likes to eat. One man marches on his stomach as much as an army does. Only Fat Burlow didn’t much take to marching, and took too much to munching. And some of the Brothers were apt to hold that against a man. Still, I had more time for old Burlow than I did for most of my road-kin. Of all of them, save Makin, he was the only one who owned to reading. Of course he bore watching for that. There’s a saying on the road, ‘Never trust a lettered man’.
  --- Brother Burlow. I just ate a pizza and can sympathize with his fault. I would like to figure out what kind of book Brother Burlow would read! (Longasc, 2 tickets)

Brother Liar:
I named him Liar the day I put a knife through his hand. The knife came out, but the name stuck. He was a mean bit of gristle wrapped round bone. Truth might burn his tongue but his looks didn’t lie.

Brother Elban:
The road may go ever on, but we don’t: we wear out, we break. Age makes different things of different men. It will harden some, sharpen them, to a point. Brother Elban has that toughness, like old leather. But in the end the weakness comes and the rot. Perhaps that’s the fear behind his eyes. Like the salmon, he’s been swimming upstream all his life, and he knows there’s no shallows waiting for him, no still waters. Sometimes I think it would be kindness to make a swift end for Elban, before the fear eats up the man he was.
   --- Brother Elban, because I'm firtht... (Davieboy, 2 tickets)

Brother Gorgoth:
There are men to walk to the mountain with and then there are men that are the mountain. Gorgoth, though I may not call him brother, was forged from the qualities I lack.
  --- Brother Gorgoth, for so many reasons. As stated, he's essentially the polar opposite of Jorg, so the contrast is nice to see. He's also a giant, post-apocalyptic mutant, and those are always cool. But, perhaps most importantly, he's the Troll King now. I feel there's a more to his story, and I'm hoping for a short story or even a novella somewhere down the road. (Donald, 3 tickets)

Brother Gog:
Skin, bones, and mischief comprise Brother Gog. Monster born and monster bred but there’s little to mark him from Adam save the stippled crimson-on-black of his hide, the dark wells of his eyes, ebony talons on hand and foot, and the thorny projections starting to grow along his spine. Watch him play and run and laugh, and he seems too at ease to be a crack in the world through which all the fires of hell might pour. Watch him burn though, and you will believe it.
  --- Brother Gog, since I loved the volcano subplot and how it expanded my view of the world. (Paul, 2 tickets)
  ---  My favorite was Brother Gog. He was always that innocent, yet ignorant child who looked up to Jorg. He also sparked my favorite quote: "Some people are scared of spiders. I'm afraid of immolation. Also spiders." (Michael, 2 tickets)
  ---  Gog all the way, [spoiler]! (Rody, 1 ticket)
  --- Brother Gog, because he's innocent in his own way and his demon seems to bring out the humanity in Jorg. (Debbie, 2 tickets)
  --- He was a monster by appearance, but was actually pure innocence surrounded by real monsters, his fellow brothers. (Doug, 2 tickets)




65 comments:

  1. Brother Elban, because I'm firtht...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brother Rike. The most bad ass.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brother Kashta, because he is... was a big one!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brother Gog, since I loved the volcano subplot and how it expanded my view of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brother Burlow. I just ate a pizza and can sympathize with his fault. I would like to figure out what kind of book Brother Burlow would read!

    ReplyDelete
  6. My favorite was Brother Gog. He was always that innocent, yet ignorant child who looked up to Jorg. He also sparked my favorite quote: "Some people are scared of spiders. I'm afraid of immolation. Also spiders."

    ReplyDelete
  7. Brother Makin. He's broken almost just like Jorg, loyal in his own way. Fun to read and support!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gog all the way, that kid went out like a champion!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Brother Kashta for sure. Big strong quiet badass that dispenses street justice and doesn't mess around.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Nuban. He's badass and smart and knows who's bad news. He's perhaps the most sympathetic of the brohters; it's clear he lives by a code, but he doesn't expect others to live to the same standards he holds himself.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Brother Grumlow:
    Knife-work is a dirty business, yet Brother Grumlow is always clean

    I like him because he does his business and then melts back into the shadows.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Brother Gorgoth, for so many reasons. As stated, he's essentially the polar opposite of Jorg, so the contrast is nice to see. He's also a giant, post-apocalyptic mutant, and those are always cool. But, perhaps most importantly, he's the Troll King now. I feel there's a more to his story, and I'm hoping for a short story or even a novella somewhere down the road.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brother Grumlow...at least he's clean. And really, there is something impressive about going through all that blood, guts and gore and coming out smelling like flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  14. brother Gog, because he's innocent in his own way and his demon seems to bring out the humanity in Jorg

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had a soft spot for brother maical... He lived like an idiot and died like an idiot... And revenge was just toooo sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Little Rikey. He could drown the world in his spit.

    ReplyDelete
  17. My favourite is is Brother Rikey, he makes the story even more interesting for me with his not too smart common sense and hack and slash approach at most things. He is like the big killing tool which Jorg uses for his own gains, which makes sense as Jorg is a very smart lad. Though I also like that Rikey has that a fear factor and that even Jorg I believe might be a little scared of him.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'd say Brother Makin, because I found him to be an interesting character as he almost acts as Jorg's conscience, but at the same time he does horrible things along with the rest of the brothers. He also provides a link to Jorg's past, and his potential future.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Brother Makin. He's a badass. He's loyal. He let "the record show the accused finds amusement in the facts of his crime."

    ReplyDelete
  20. Brother Makin. Between his idealism, internal conflict, failings, best efforts, and general baddassery, there's a great deal of depth to the character.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Brother Kent ( Red Kent ) He's not a bad guy, not a good guy, a victim of sur com stance and his own success ( being a natural born killer ) He's a surviver but also loyal. Like Makin he will be with Jorg near the end I'm sure be it good or bad but still covered in blood." A red day".

    ReplyDelete
  22. Brother Sim, because it seems like there's much more story to him, but we'll never know it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Brother Makin because he always thinks and doesn't give a fig about anything other than protecting his ideals along with Jorg

    ReplyDelete
  24. The Nuban. He may have been the brother of conscience, but that didn't make him good. Honest men don't have to be good. When he spoke, you listened, even if you didn't like what he had to say.

    ReplyDelete
  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Its got to be brother Kashta. Deep, silent, loyal and powerful. Surely one with the power to travel the river styx unabated

    ReplyDelete
  27. The Nuban, he went after the Necromancer while everyone else was dealing with those weak skeletons. Also out of all the road brothers he seemed like the one who was less "bad" if thay makes sense

    ReplyDelete
  28. Gog. He was a monster by appearance, but was actually pure innocence surrounded by real monsters, his fellow brothers.

    ReplyDelete
  29. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Red Kent - Pious as a priest but and artist with a blade - who else believes in God and worry about following the commandments even after they've murdered, stolen and ravaged?

    None of the other brothers have the such a contrast to their personality either!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Mariano Maldonado28 March 2013 at 15:09

    Brother Makin. Not because he's basically playing the 'good guy' role, not because he's Jorg's conscience as many people have correctly pointed out. Personally I love Makin because -A he's the only one that tries it on a bit with Jorg and seems to get away with it. -B He's part of one of my favourite scenes, when Jorg comes to 'save' Makin when he is trapped in a dungeon in his fathers Castle and Makin realizes within a split second that Jorg is going to leave him because he is injured and likely to slow him down. And -C one of my other favourite scenes, when Jorg calls him old friend, and Makin totally calls him on it.

    ReplyDelete
  32. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gog and Rike stand like forces of nature.. Fire and sheer strength, and everyone else has their niche or theme to simply bolster Jorg's power, but Gorgoth was the only member of the group who wasn't really a member of the group. He stood to protect Gog, and when he was left without a charge, he didn't just latch onto Jorg, he found his own new calling and led the trolls. The others rely on Jorg... Gorgoth keeps his own.

    ReplyDelete
  34. The Nuban. He seemed the wisest of all the brothers and seemed to have deeper motivations than the pure greed or violence driving the others.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Brother Liar, because he seemed lonely...and well reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Brother Rike. Nobody loves loot like Rikey, and fecking bog-farmers be damned, he is gonna get some, even if it's the farmers' daughters. You've got to admire his passion at least.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Woops, I misread the rules and thought it said you can enter up to five times, not that you could get up to five tickets.

    Hopefully I didn't disqualify myself by being stupid.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I loved Makin from the start - the depth of his character and the struggles he has went through that are not unlike Jorg's, along with the loyalty, his wit, and that 'guarding me had turned a duty into a habit, an imperative.'. And, of course, for his 'bromance' with Jorg that my friend is completely and utterly obsessed with...

    ReplyDelete
  39. Loving Brother Makin is certainly NOT a bad idea.
    Terrible pun, but oh well =P

    ReplyDelete
  40. I couldn't decide between Brother Gorgoth or brother Makin, so I just picked one at random: Gogo won, the poor sod. Anywhohows--Gorgoth struck me as the most realistic, the one who wants to do good in the name of grey shades. He is the one, the underdog which no one wishes to ever see. The child trapped in the tapestries and looking glass. Except, this beast is no child and not trapped in any illusions. He is a man debauched by Fate who, herself, has the gall to fuck (pardon my French) us all over from time to time, and then make us pay for it. I...like Gorgoth for he is the most truest of your characters, the one no one can see, yet is so very obvious. --Emily

    ReplyDelete
  41. Brother Gog, because sometimes I just want to watch the world burn.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Reading the quotes I think again that each of those would have deserved an own book. They're completely broken and so far away from normal - if they could read they would see the word "normal" in mirror writing, approaching it from the other side.
    What makes them believable, human and us able to feel with and for them (maybe not with Rike) is the tragedy of their lives and their (mostly unknown) history. Fate didn't even pretend to be nice to them.
    The one sticking out is Gog. He's still a child and despite all that happened managed to keep his innocence in a way Jorg never did. They're alike, and not only because both saw their brother die. I think Jorg learned a lot about himself watching Gog. Who knows, maybe that's what will save him in the end?

    So I'll vote for Gog, the most innocent but nevertheless bad ass little fire demon child ever mentioned in a story.

    ReplyDelete
  43. @travisrgriffin29 March 2013 at 16:50

    Little Rikey. He's such a piece of garbage that even young Jorg is appalled with him from time to time. He's the reason that the word sociopath can't be thrown around lightly. He provides proof that the universe has no justice. If it did the midwife that delivered him would die in a fire just for not snapping his neck when he was born.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Brother Grumlow, because, you know, cleanliness is next to godliness. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  45. Brother Makin, for his 'sensuous lips' as Jorg puts it. =P

    ReplyDelete
  46. Sim because assassination is art XD

    ReplyDelete
  47. Nuban, as much as I like the brutality of the other road brothers, Nuban puts them into perspective by holding standards of his own, the fact he doesn't force them onto others and keeps his opinions mostly to himself allows you to see a different side of Jorg's road brothers.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Brother Kent, great fun to try and work out what is going through his mind at any point in time. The man is as pious as any priest and yet has killed as many as any of the other brothers and often in more extreme circumstances - also his proclamation of 'Red Jorg' was a great moment!

    ReplyDelete
  49. The Nuban gets my vote. It is hard to even explain why I was drawn to him, maybe because he was so mysterious. The fact that Jorg sought his approval says volumes. I want to know more about him so badly. Why can't you give me more ?!?! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Kashta. There's something miserable about a principled man in a situation like his, and I like the way he echoes through King of Thorns as part of Jorg's developing semi-conscience.

    ReplyDelete
  51. As Much as I would like to go against the flow, hispter style, I have to admit, my favourite brother is definitely Makin. Because he's a fucked up knight. Jorg put it best when he said he's "almost" this or that. I can't explain it any better, so I'll just shut up now.

    ReplyDelete
  52. You have to love Makin. Tough in a fight, easy on the eyes, and not above some gallows humor. Almost the type you'd want as a fun neighbor, except if you stole his newspaper he might dump gallons of weed killer on your lawn to fry the grass.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Can't believe Makin is winning this, he's a big girls blouse. He's good in a fight but his honorable attributes will be his ultimate down fall. Little Rikey would have him because he's a proper nasty fighter and built like a tank and Makin wouldn't fight dirty enough to win. Jorg knows this but we all know Jorg would do what ever it took to win. Which brings me to RedKent again, he is hell on the battlefield, quick and ruthless. He would have Makin and Rikey on the floor before they realised they were in a fight...KO Red wins !

    ReplyDelete
  54. My favorite brother is Gog. I knew as soon as I began to like the Nuban that he would die, so I distanced myself, but in Gog's case, I neglected the apathy. You see, when Jorg grabbed Gog in the Volcano and Gog died, I. . .might have. . .thrown the book across the room and screamed bloody murder. Then I fumed quietly for awhile, squeezing my giant spherical penguin plushie, until I could stand to pick up the book again and read on.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Makin. 1. Because I'd probably marry him. 2. Because he's the only one who would think *a little bit* before knifing you while you slept. 3. Power behind the throne. :D

    ReplyDelete
  56. Brother Sim. I was intrigued by his story and saddened at his end.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Red Kent , because he reminds me of one of my favorite villains Red John ! I like me my psychopaths :)

    ReplyDelete
  58. Brother Sim.
    I have a soft spot for assassins and it's refreshing to read about an assassin who doesn't have or even need a creed, an old magical artifact, a royal heritage or a bunch of poisions and knives, but is still as deathly and precise as all the others assassins I ever encountered in various books. I admired that and was sad at his end.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Sim and Elban, i found them the most 'real' characters and felt they were the two most unique characters i have read about, not to say any of the brothers aren't unique

    ReplyDelete
  60. Red Kent, because of Katherine's reaction to him, and her confusion as to where the "Red" came from. He's great.

    ReplyDelete
  61. I love Red Kent. A really nuanced character with ideals that seem to clash (devout yet reluctantly murderous) and I love the way he ascends from a run of the mill brother in the first book to one of Jorg's trustiest right hand men and an interesting character in his own right. I'd love to know more about him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a short story about him in Grimdark Magazine issue 1. It also appears in my collection, Road Brothers.

      Delete
  62. first i was for Makin but after Road Brothers i'm definitely for Kashta.

    ReplyDelete