Let’s start this review with a riddle: When is an author’s character not an author’s character? Taking the point aside that an author’s character becomes something else when the reader reads it, I believe that generally it’s often when the book/film/story is adapted into something else.

The relevance of that here? Well, this book uses a character often thought of as belonging to one of Fantasy’s most influential vintage writers, but in actual fact is by someone else. (I’m getting ahead of myself here. I’ll explain in a moment.)

From the publisher: “Hot-headed, charismatic and always unapologetically herself, Red Sonja, the ferocious She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania, has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She’s pursued all her desires, from treasure, to drink, to the companionship of bedfellows. She’s fought those who deserve it (and sometimes those who didn’t). And she’s never looked back.

But when rumours start bubbling up from her homeland – rumours of unknown horrors emerging from the ground and pulling their unsuspecting victims to their deaths – she realises she may have to return to the country that abandoned her. Sonja must finally do the only thing that ever scared her: confront her past.”

So: Red Sonja is often thought of (as I did, I’ll be honest!) as being the creation of Robert E. Howard, one of Fantasy’s all-time great writers. She’s seen as a counterpoint to Howard’s more famous creation, Conan, now about 100 years old. This identification with Howard may also be because of the 1985 film movie version of Red Sonja, starring Brigitte Nielsen, that was made to cash-in on the popularity of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film versions of Conan, which although poorly scripted, was visually striking, admittedly.

But here’s the thing, and also the connection to my riddle at the beginning – Howard’s character is not named Red Sonja but Red Sonya, in the story The Shadow of the Vulture, published in 1934. Furthermore, Sonya was not the swordswoman of popular image, but Red Sonya of Rogatino, a gun-toting 16th century woman fighting against the Ottoman empire.

So how has this connection come about? Well, it was Marvel Comics, with writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith who created the iconic sword-and-sorcery version of the redhead fighting in a chain-mail bikini that most recognise today, in 1973. Although Howard is credited as an inspiration in the 1985 film, it is not his Sonya that most people know.

And now we have the character reimagined by Gail Simone, who previously has been known for her work on the comics of Batgirl, Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman, not to mention Red Sonja herself.

So, with this in mind, what do we have here? Clearly, this is a re-imagining of the Marvel Comics character. And as is perhaps to be expected, this 21st century version of Sonja has characteristics that may have been less noticeable in 1973, never mind the 1930’s, but perhaps more in keeping with the expectations of new readers. Simone’s Sonja is an example of how Howard’s and Marvel’s stories of muscle-bound men and masculine prowess can be revalued. I’m pleased to say that there’s not a chainmail bikini in sight; instead, this Sonja is a more complex and nuanced creation.

Simone manages to interweave the events of the present with the backstory of Sonja’s origins, and her complex drives. We learn of her dreams, inspirations and desires. Whilst at times she can seem to be amoral, highly sexed and not one given to overthinking, as you read further into the book this description is rather a simplification of Sonja.

This modern attitude is reflected in Sonja’s sexual appetites, which are given some detail here (although not too graphically!) Sonja is unabashedly bisexual here (or is that polyamorous?) – she begins the book coming out of a relationship with Ysidra, the Queen of the Nomads (otherwise known as the country of Turan) and before long is having relationships with men, women and couples.

Such modern attitudes are also reflected in some of the graphically fruity language throughout. The expletives are upgraded to a more modern vocabulary. Whilst we get a few choice cries – “Mithra’s fist!” and phrases such as “insect-humping wretches!”, we also get invectives such as “Run right over this filthy bitch, oh lord of all steeds.”.

Thirdly, much of the book deals with outsiders – Sonja is one, an exile from her homeland of Hyrkania, which the backstory does much to explain. However, the theme of displaced people and refugees is a constant presence in the novel, a contemporary issue seemingly never far away from us even today.

On the bigger scale, much of the world-building feels like the supernatural feel of Howard’s Weird Tales stories. We have ancient artifacts and equally primeval gods, not to mention the vile creatures they create. Simone does well to hint at an ancient history, of ancient tribes and races and magical creatures from the occult that do the baddies’ bidding.

Simone’s reimaging takes Howard’s Weird Tales occultish leanings and turns them into something more contemporary, whilst still nodding to their past. The world is brutal and at time viciously unpleasant. The fight scenes are impressive, if rather gory. Limbs are torn graphically from bodies, entrails spread with seeming abandon, seemingly gallons of blood spilt along the way. This may not be for everyone!

Nevertheless, Red Sonja: Consumed is a bold reimagining of a classic character in a classic Fantasy setting; Simone manages to recreate Sonja as a more detailed character with nuances that go beyond the comic book version.

I will admit that I wasn’t sure whether I was going to enjoy this at first. Other re-imaginings in my experience have sometimes been too earnest, too reverential, too tied up with the setting and the character’s legacy to be wholly successful. I’m pleased to say though that my initial concerns were misguided. Simone’s version manages to give Sonja respect and also balance the legacy of the past with contemporary values. It is clearly a book written with a love of the past history of Howard’s and Marvel’s worlds, without being a slavish reiteration of the past versions. I enjoyed it a lot.

So, full disclosure. I know Red Sonja is a famous comic book character. And I know Gail Simone is a comics author with a strong reputation, and as someone with a highly entertaining Twitter feed. And I know she did some work on some recent Red Sonja comics. But that's all I knew going into this novel, and my expectations were, well, ambivalent. That out of the way...I was wrong. Red Sonja: Consumed is an adventure. It has blood and honour laced all the way through it, sure enough. And Sonja, as a protagonist, is largely focused on herself and her own needs, but she's also brutally honest about it. And its hard to judge her too harshly whilst she's carving up menaces in an arena, or getting into a fist-fight with a bear, or having the occasional unfortunate interaction with the forces of the nearest state. Sonja is who she is, a force of nature, a weapon, a killer. And sitting on her shoulder while she kicks arse and takes names is, in several senses, a bloody good time.
But also. Ah, but also, you see. Red Sonja isn't just a killer, a barbarian, a thief. I mean, yes, she is all of those things. And Simone manages to give her energy and fun with those things whilst not flinching away from what they mean. But Sonja is not just those things. She's a barbarian traumatised by a childhood that took a left turn into the horrifyingly unpleasant. A killer who still stands tall in matters of honour. A thief who has a near-spiritual relationship with her horse. There's more here than just a lone sword searching for profit and the next beer (and the next man). There's a depth and a history and a passion in here that make Sonja ring true, make her seem real. And at the same time, there's a flavour of the classic Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser about her - unapologetically fighting and screwing and drinking her way through today, and dealing with the problems that causes, tomorrow. Same as it ever was when Fafhrd and Conan did it, and more than equally entertaining. Sonja isn't a shy and retiring barbarian, contenting herself with daintily presenting her enemies with some mildly harsh language. This is a woman on the prowl, not afraid to get physical, and not afraid to make an end. She's a creature of passions, both sexual and violently visceral, and those do come up quite a lot in the text - but this is a story with the energy thrown all the way up to eleven, and the over-the-top nature of it all just makes it more fun.

So that's Sonja. And she really is great fun to read. I will say, that whilst I got a flavour of some of the world she travelled in, a little of its politics and history and old stories, enough to give it some context and flavour. I was left wanting more. Some of that we get from a diverse smattering of points of view through the text, dipping into, amongst others, some of her varied antagonists. We get a sense of where the spirit of things is, if not the exact geography. This is a story that is concerned with the story, with the highs and lows and emotions that the characters go through. Its a book of flash and glamour over pain and raw emotion, and if it doesn't delve lovingly into the mechanics of its magic systems, it knows that you can absolutely slow down a wizard by putting a knife between his shoulderblades. This is a story that isn't afraid to give you a protagonist who has no chill and no filter, but who has a vulnerability and a complexity that we can live with alongside the fiery sword, the monster slayer, the troubled lover, the lost daughter.

Ah hell, at the end of the day, this one is just a whole lot of fun. It draws from the sword and sorcery tradition, but puts a unique spin and flavour on it, with the protagonist being as unapologetically self-centred and as skilfully violent as those folks ever were, but also not being afraid to show us humanity and character, rather than caricature. This is a viscerally (and potentially viscera-lly, sorry) entertaining read, and I look forward to seeing more from Red Sonja in the future.

Red Sonja: Consumed was one hell of a wild ride. It was packed with action, adventure, betrayal, treachery, violence galore and so, so much more. I enjoyed it. I loved the way the story was told. I also loved the writer's style of writing. Sonja is reckless, dangerous and larger than life. I love her and all her amazing feats. She is a law on to herself and I can't wait to go on another adventure with her. I definitely recommend this book.

A superb rendition of Red Sonja that delivers a propulsive sword and sorcery tale with a modern fantasy feel. Zero knowledge of Red Sonja's world or previous incarnations on page and screen is required; being new to the character may even be an advantage. With plenty of action centred on a compelling character - sometimes gritty but by no means depressingly dark, it's a proper adventure. Horror elements that are actually horrific, relationships that ring true and fun 'imaginary scholarship' chapter headings make this an infectious brew with a fresh feel. Raise your foaming tankard to Gail Simone and Red Sonja and enjoy the ride!

A decently constructed fantasy novel. I enjoyed the character of Sonja and the events of the story were interesting. However, I found the pacing of the overall story to be quite messy, especially with the majority of the big conflict taking up the last 40%. A slow build up to a quick resolution. Some of the relationships that have importance don’t have enough emotional weight to fully have me invested in the story.

Sadly not for me at all, I was hoping for so much from this, but I was just sadly let down, I couldn’t connect with the writing or story, so sadly I had to give up.

I really liked the sound of this one and though I didn't know too much about Red Sonja I believed that we would get some background/world-building to fill in the blanks.

I sadly ended up dnfing this one. I just could not get on with Simone's writing style and I felt like that characters just felt so flat. From what I did manage to read the world-building felt lackluster and I just wasn't enjoying myself.

Sorry to Orbit for dnfing!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This landed a little flat for me. Red Sonja is a classic Sword & Sorcery character and this does pay tribute to that genre. That said, I've recently read plenty of S&S from the 80s written by men and women which still managed to be complex, entertaining and have well developed characters. The genre gets a bad name tbh. This was ok but something was missing.

Nope. Nope, nope, nope, NOPE. The main character was the most cliche of a strong woman you could find in fantasy ever, she wasn't even shallow, she was straight up flat like a sheet of paper, except physically of course. The plot was boring, it was action sequence on action sequence and I like myself some action but with some slower scenes in between, not JUST that, develop your characters for Christ's sake!!! Bad, bad, bad.

I have seen quite a few negative reviews of this book, I can understand why, I read this book as I read all books, I switched my brain off from the stressors of the world and just tried to enjoy it, it’s a fantasy book in the style of Conan or Kull and as that quite enjoyable

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Orbit. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Red Sonja: Consumed.]

Rating: 3/5

Before jumping into Red Sonja, I was unsure if I should have background knowledge on who this character actually is. All I really knew was that she's a sword-and-sorcery Marvel Comics character and that she generally doesn't wear a lot of clothes. And I don't think you need to know much more than that to read this book, but I might have been able to sink into this story quicker if I already knew and loved this iconic character.

Written by the legendary comic writer, Gail Simone, Red Sonja is filled to the brim with adventure, rage and a main character that you will either love or hate. Described as a she-devil with a sword, Sonja is the hot-headed and ferocious barbarian you would expect her to be, and as much as she would prefer to drink and fight her way into the sunset, mysterious and horrific rumours from her homeland may be what it takes to bring her back to the country that abandoned her.

My favourite element of this story was the fast pacing, but unfortunately there were a lot of areas I had issues with that prevented me from fully enjoying the story. One of the main things I struggled with was the multiple POVs that are great at expanding the world but not as good at introducing us to new characters. I never felt like I fully understood the motivations behind each character and ultimately didn’t appreciate the high stakes because of this.

I also felt that a lot of things in this book weren’t given enough context from characterisation to worldbuilding which made the book sometimes tedious to get through. Perhaps if I’d known more about the character it wouldn’t have been so obvious, but as someone who isn't familiar with these characters and this world, I sometimes felt a little lost and like I was missing crucial information.

So yes, I had some issues with this story, but there's never a dull moment so it's easy enough to blast through. If you're looking for something fast-paced and can overlook some superficial storytelling, I’d still say this is worth checking out.