Gustav’s Greatswords

Gustav’s Greatswords is a sixteenth-century military-adventure series about Gustav von Altenburg and an elite company of two-handed swordsmen. The mercenaries operate in a fragmented German world where towns, nobles and hired soldiers compete for security and resources, and where professional Landsknecht formations can be either defenders or predators.

Forged in War, the first volume, centres on the defence of a disease-stricken town against bandits and an approaching mercenary army. The series uses the culture of paid military service, pike-and-shot formations and local feuds to frame questions of loyalty and responsibility among soldiers accustomed to fighting for money.