REVIEW: Bedlam Unleashed: Instrument of Extinction by Steven L. Shrewsbury and Peter Welmerink

Bedlam Unleashed: Instrument of Extinction by Steven L. Shrewsbury and Peter Welmerink
Publishing Information: Paperback; 104 pages
Publisher: Belfire Press; 29 October 2011
ISBN: 978-1926912448
Series: Bedlam Unchained #1
Copy: Provided by author
Reviewer: Tyson

Amazon

Synopsis: "Pieced together from recovered scrolls of sagas and skaldic poetry, here begins the journeys of Norse mercenary Alanis Johansson and berserker Erik Bedlam. In this first installment of Bedlam Unleashed, we open with Alanis and Erik fighting for the High Irish King, Brian Boru. They leave this battle at Clontarf with hopes of heading home, however the North Sea brings an ominous drakkar into their path, and Erik and Alanis soon find themselves in a scrimmage on this ship filled with the dead. They land in Scotland, where they encounter dragons, druids, and treachery. Then, with a bounty of gold, they head south, where Alanis experiences a vision rank with specters from his haunted past."

My review of Bedlam Unleashed is for the first book in a trilogy that is now available as an omnibus. The entire collection is now available in a single easy to read format. However, for this review I will not be reviewing the omnibus but the first collection of stories.

Bedlam Unleashed: Instrument of Extinction tells the tale of two viking warriors. Alanis Johansson and Erik Bedlam. Alanis does his best to keep Erik from as much trouble as possible.

the berserker, Erik Bedlam is a force to be reckoned with, while Alanis is the voice of reason, he takes care of Erik and does his best to avoid any unnecessary entanglements. Erik is an often violent and unpredictable warrior that still has most of an axe blade lodged in his skull. The two of them remind me of Icarium and Mappo from Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

When Bedlam Unleashed begins Alanis and Erik are mopping up the remains of a great battle. From there it really has the feel of Robert E. Howard's Conan series as each story picks up where the last one left off and adds to the legend of the deadly duo. The pair take on a witch that threatens a Irish village and a dragon terrorizing the Scottish countryside.

Bedlam Unleashed has a classical feel while keeping the reader interested with modern sword and sorcery. I was a little disappointed I didn't received the entire collection but what I read was quite the adventure. Shrewsbury and Welmerink do a tremendous job of creating their own characters while paying homage to those that came before them. Recommended.

Plot 7.5/10
Characters 9/10
Style 7/10

Overall 7.5/10