Book Review: The Hero of Downways by Michael G Coney
Published in 1974 by Daw Books
Cover illustration by Josh Kirby
Welcome to Downways where the Trukids live and go to school, the Oddlies lurk around the cavern and tunnel corners, maggots recycle waste food and the blackfurs are raised and herded for their fur.
This is the strange world of Trukid Shirl, who meets with John-A a Vatkid and together they battle the fierce Daggertooth, relative to the Blackfurs, a near unstoppable killer to the dwellers of Downways. Only once before has someone defeated, killed, a Daggertooth, and that hero is long dead.
John-A is a Vatkid, the only one in the novel, made from a sliver of flesh from The Hero. He enters into a world unsuited to heroes, danger, or change. Still without his assistance the Trufolk are in danger. Shirl, a Trukid cursed with curiosity or perhaps blessed, has seen the Oddlies moving on the outskirts of the tunnels where she lives at. During the long hibes (periods when either they sleep or are awake) she either sleeps and is plagued with strange dreams or wanders searching for answers. She finds some, along with many more questions along the way. One question she has deals with the reason the Trufolk can see into the Infrared when the older humans could not. Also an illustration of a blackfur, titled a dormouse, sparks her wondering as to the relative scale of things.
Touching on the themes of acceptance, evolution and change, danger and enclosed in communities, The Hero of Downways is a superb story with a decent setting and some distinct characters. The actual setting along with the reasons for their living underground differed from what this reviewer thought was going to be answer up until the end portion of the novel.
There are few novels this reviewer has read in the years since 1974 when he started seriously reading, that are set in an underground situation. The only other one that comes to mind immediately is The Sunset Warrior by Eric Van Lustbader.
Links related to Michael G Conley and The Hero of Downways
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_G._Coney
http://members.shaw.ca/mconey/
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Book Review: Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams
Book Review: Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams
Published in 2009 by Night Shade Books
Cover illustration by Dan dos Santos
Walter Jon Williams is one of the foremost writers of Cyberpunk and related fiction living today. His novel Hardwired, is a classic in the CP genre, with Voice of the Whirlwind paving ground and expanding his repetoir.
His novel Angel Station is a CP (almost BioPunk) novel dealing with a pair of genetically engineered siblings fighting to save their father’s merchant spaceship, along with making a living and staving off larger more commercial shippers. It carried the CP envelope into the deep portions of space and the details of pharmaceutical use as well as planetary descriptions should be de rigueur required reading for the enthusiast.
From there comes the novel Aristoi, toeing the line between Cyberpunk Fiction and what would come to be called Singularity Fiction a few years after its first publication. This is an excellent read with some incredible concepts, several of which I really wish I had come up with, or were available in the Here and Now (Daemons mostly).
Now comes Implied Spaces. This novel came to the reviewers attention as a feature on the Science Fiction Book Club website (of which the reviewer has been a member of the SFBC since somewhere in the late 70s when it was all hardbacks and via the postal service), where it was spotted. Not until a copy was found in paperback at a Mass Market Bookseller was it picked up.
The novel is blazoned as A Novel of the Singularity and it fulfills this statement. There are AIs galore, wormholes as an everyday tool of civilization, uploading and downloading of personalities, and memes everywhere. It is a decent read, as the story progressed it felt more and more like a rehash or a reworking of the basic plot to Aristoi, which as the ending approached the 374 total pages, it really did remind me, the antagonist motives, etc, it really felt like a weaker version of Aristoi.
That said the ending was poignant and sweet, and while it is in this reviewer’s opinion the weakest of the five of his novels read so far, it is still worth picking up and giving it a chance. There are some superb concepts, especially the idea of The Implied Spaces (which bears investigation and elaboration) and the overall end ideas relating to the antagonist as well. Those are almost worth the price of admission by themselves.
Where to find him on the Internet:
Walter Jon Williams Website
Also a Gallery of Artwork for Dan DosSantos on Tor Books
Published in 2009 by Night Shade Books
Cover illustration by Dan dos Santos
Walter Jon Williams is one of the foremost writers of Cyberpunk and related fiction living today. His novel Hardwired, is a classic in the CP genre, with Voice of the Whirlwind paving ground and expanding his repetoir.
His novel Angel Station is a CP (almost BioPunk) novel dealing with a pair of genetically engineered siblings fighting to save their father’s merchant spaceship, along with making a living and staving off larger more commercial shippers. It carried the CP envelope into the deep portions of space and the details of pharmaceutical use as well as planetary descriptions should be de rigueur required reading for the enthusiast.
From there comes the novel Aristoi, toeing the line between Cyberpunk Fiction and what would come to be called Singularity Fiction a few years after its first publication. This is an excellent read with some incredible concepts, several of which I really wish I had come up with, or were available in the Here and Now (Daemons mostly).
Now comes Implied Spaces. This novel came to the reviewers attention as a feature on the Science Fiction Book Club website (of which the reviewer has been a member of the SFBC since somewhere in the late 70s when it was all hardbacks and via the postal service), where it was spotted. Not until a copy was found in paperback at a Mass Market Bookseller was it picked up.
The novel is blazoned as A Novel of the Singularity and it fulfills this statement. There are AIs galore, wormholes as an everyday tool of civilization, uploading and downloading of personalities, and memes everywhere. It is a decent read, as the story progressed it felt more and more like a rehash or a reworking of the basic plot to Aristoi, which as the ending approached the 374 total pages, it really did remind me, the antagonist motives, etc, it really felt like a weaker version of Aristoi.
That said the ending was poignant and sweet, and while it is in this reviewer’s opinion the weakest of the five of his novels read so far, it is still worth picking up and giving it a chance. There are some superb concepts, especially the idea of The Implied Spaces (which bears investigation and elaboration) and the overall end ideas relating to the antagonist as well. Those are almost worth the price of admission by themselves.
Where to find him on the Internet:
Walter Jon Williams Website
Also a Gallery of Artwork for Dan DosSantos on Tor Books
Monday, October 4, 2010
Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
Originally Published in 1965
Dune is the story of a family, a family caught up in plots and machinations older than they are.
Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, heir to Duke Leto Atreides, son of the Duke and Jessica of the Bene Gesserit. He is trained in the subtle arts needed to rule in his time, by the Mentat Assasin Thufir Hawat, Master Swordsmen Duncan Idado and . His mother, the Lady Jessica, has broken with the traditions of her guild, the Bene Gesserit, and also trained him in the ways of her kind, how to read people, manipulate them with voice and body language, as well as opening his mind to deeper possibilities.
With the Guild of Navigators on one side with CHOAM and the Imperial House, and their mortal foes House Harkonnene on the other, the story of Dune is the story of how House Atredies, in the shape of Paul, will rise up to challenge their universe.
This is one of the great classics of Science Fiction. It is a political commentary, an ecological treatise, a study in manipulation along with warnings on eugenics and the pitfalls of politics. It is as well a coming of age story for the young Paul Atredies, as events beyond control conspire against him and his family.
The Dune Series originally consisted of the Dune Trilogy
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
The 4th book was God Emperor of Dune, taking place thousands of years after the end of Children of Dune.
The reviewer is not enamored of any books published past God Emperor of Dune, and admits to a bias against them. The original book has been adapted to the big screen, the tv, a role playing game and collectible card game, along with fanfic and prequels and sequels written by members of the Herbert household and licensed others.
It is one of the great novels in Science Fiction, and in this reviewers opinion deserves a place in the annals of great literature, where it should be required reading in high schools at least.
The first movie adaptation, while lush in the sets and a wonderful portrayal of St Alia of the Knife and the Reverend Mother and the Gom Jabbar, the rest of it could be edited out.
The TV miniseries for the SciFi channel is a stronger, more accurate depiction of the novel than the movie was. This reviewer has not had a chance to get the Roleplaying Game book yet, and the Collectible Card Game version attempts to straddle the book and the first movie in look and feel.
Dune should be read by everyone. There is something there for all readers.
http://www.dunenovels.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29
Originally Published in 1965
Dune is the story of a family, a family caught up in plots and machinations older than they are.
Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, heir to Duke Leto Atreides, son of the Duke and Jessica of the Bene Gesserit. He is trained in the subtle arts needed to rule in his time, by the Mentat Assasin Thufir Hawat, Master Swordsmen Duncan Idado and . His mother, the Lady Jessica, has broken with the traditions of her guild, the Bene Gesserit, and also trained him in the ways of her kind, how to read people, manipulate them with voice and body language, as well as opening his mind to deeper possibilities.
With the Guild of Navigators on one side with CHOAM and the Imperial House, and their mortal foes House Harkonnene on the other, the story of Dune is the story of how House Atredies, in the shape of Paul, will rise up to challenge their universe.
This is one of the great classics of Science Fiction. It is a political commentary, an ecological treatise, a study in manipulation along with warnings on eugenics and the pitfalls of politics. It is as well a coming of age story for the young Paul Atredies, as events beyond control conspire against him and his family.
The Dune Series originally consisted of the Dune Trilogy
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
The 4th book was God Emperor of Dune, taking place thousands of years after the end of Children of Dune.
The reviewer is not enamored of any books published past God Emperor of Dune, and admits to a bias against them. The original book has been adapted to the big screen, the tv, a role playing game and collectible card game, along with fanfic and prequels and sequels written by members of the Herbert household and licensed others.
It is one of the great novels in Science Fiction, and in this reviewers opinion deserves a place in the annals of great literature, where it should be required reading in high schools at least.
The first movie adaptation, while lush in the sets and a wonderful portrayal of St Alia of the Knife and the Reverend Mother and the Gom Jabbar, the rest of it could be edited out.
The TV miniseries for the SciFi channel is a stronger, more accurate depiction of the novel than the movie was. This reviewer has not had a chance to get the Roleplaying Game book yet, and the Collectible Card Game version attempts to straddle the book and the first movie in look and feel.
Dune should be read by everyone. There is something there for all readers.
http://www.dunenovels.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Book Review: Starrigger by John DeChanc
Book Review: Starrigger by John DeChancie
Originally published in 1983 by Ace Science Fiction with cover art by James Gurney
Starrigger is the first in the Skyway Trilogy. The entire series consists of the following three novels
Starrigger
Red Limit Freeway
Paradox Alley
Starrigger opens up with Jake McGraw and his rig, complete with the impressed personality and memories of his deceased father controlling it, picking up a hitchhiker on their way to Mach City. Darla, it turns out, knows them, while they do not know her.
The adventure continues on from that point, rarely letting up across the 264 pages of tight furious reading filled with aliens, crooked law enforcement, monstrous floating aliens used as ships, as well as more and more characters pulled into the hunt for Jake and what he supposedly has found, a map to the entire Skyway, the endless black road that spans worlds linked by portals called tollbooths.
Driving from one world to another, Jake McGraw is the president of the Starriggers Guild, a very small independent truckers group working to make it in a tale of truckers between worlds. The Skyway predates human kind by millenniums, it runs from one world to another, and in driving along it, a person (or alien) can travel from one world to another. The Colonial Assembly strives to keep peace and maintain civil order in what is known as The Terran Maze, those worlds easiest to reach via the Skyway from The Sol System.
With over 60 alien races in all the Mazes (those sections of the Skyway clustered around particular areas), Humanity is not the oldest, nor the youngest, just one of the newer ones plying the road between the stars.
As Jake and Darla cruise towards Mach City on the world called Hothouse (covered with massive jungles where the anti-aging drugs are harvested, they are waylaid early on by his main business competitor, Corey Wilkes owner of Tatoo, a rival shipping concern. The laser beams fly early and mayhem ensues almost from the beginning as Jake and his father Sam (killed and subsequently with his personality and memories implanted into the rig that Jake drives) work to understand the rumors suddenly circulating about them and what they might have access too. Which is supposedly a map to the entire Skyway, showing in theory where the Roadbuilders could be found at, and unknown scientific discoveries.
This all unfolds across the entire novel as Jake’s sense of goodwill leads him into helping more and more travelers, bringing them into his fold.
At the heart of it this is a story of meaning, about discovering essential truths about reality and who and what we truly are. All wrapped up in a rollicking great read filled with aliens, characters with personality, near noir excitement and a truly one of a kind original setting.
Originally the reviewer picked the book up new, traded or lent that first copy away, bought several other copies over the years new and used, always sharing this book with any that might like it as well. This particular book was bought used somewhere, years ago back up in Iowa or perhaps Virginia.
This is one of those SF novels that is just begging to be read over and over. It cries out to be adapted to the RPG field; it demands wider circulation as a superb piece of writing. This is an awesome novel. The depth of the setting comes out as the pages unfold, drawing the reader into a believable world filled with the spectacular.
Reviews of Red Limit Freeway and Paradox Alley forthcoming once they are located again in the reviewers library so he can read them once again.
The author's official website
Originally published in 1983 by Ace Science Fiction with cover art by James Gurney
Starrigger is the first in the Skyway Trilogy. The entire series consists of the following three novels
Starrigger
Red Limit Freeway
Paradox Alley
Starrigger opens up with Jake McGraw and his rig, complete with the impressed personality and memories of his deceased father controlling it, picking up a hitchhiker on their way to Mach City. Darla, it turns out, knows them, while they do not know her.
The adventure continues on from that point, rarely letting up across the 264 pages of tight furious reading filled with aliens, crooked law enforcement, monstrous floating aliens used as ships, as well as more and more characters pulled into the hunt for Jake and what he supposedly has found, a map to the entire Skyway, the endless black road that spans worlds linked by portals called tollbooths.
Driving from one world to another, Jake McGraw is the president of the Starriggers Guild, a very small independent truckers group working to make it in a tale of truckers between worlds. The Skyway predates human kind by millenniums, it runs from one world to another, and in driving along it, a person (or alien) can travel from one world to another. The Colonial Assembly strives to keep peace and maintain civil order in what is known as The Terran Maze, those worlds easiest to reach via the Skyway from The Sol System.
With over 60 alien races in all the Mazes (those sections of the Skyway clustered around particular areas), Humanity is not the oldest, nor the youngest, just one of the newer ones plying the road between the stars.
As Jake and Darla cruise towards Mach City on the world called Hothouse (covered with massive jungles where the anti-aging drugs are harvested, they are waylaid early on by his main business competitor, Corey Wilkes owner of Tatoo, a rival shipping concern. The laser beams fly early and mayhem ensues almost from the beginning as Jake and his father Sam (killed and subsequently with his personality and memories implanted into the rig that Jake drives) work to understand the rumors suddenly circulating about them and what they might have access too. Which is supposedly a map to the entire Skyway, showing in theory where the Roadbuilders could be found at, and unknown scientific discoveries.
This all unfolds across the entire novel as Jake’s sense of goodwill leads him into helping more and more travelers, bringing them into his fold.
At the heart of it this is a story of meaning, about discovering essential truths about reality and who and what we truly are. All wrapped up in a rollicking great read filled with aliens, characters with personality, near noir excitement and a truly one of a kind original setting.
Originally the reviewer picked the book up new, traded or lent that first copy away, bought several other copies over the years new and used, always sharing this book with any that might like it as well. This particular book was bought used somewhere, years ago back up in Iowa or perhaps Virginia.
This is one of those SF novels that is just begging to be read over and over. It cries out to be adapted to the RPG field; it demands wider circulation as a superb piece of writing. This is an awesome novel. The depth of the setting comes out as the pages unfold, drawing the reader into a believable world filled with the spectacular.
Reviews of Red Limit Freeway and Paradox Alley forthcoming once they are located again in the reviewers library so he can read them once again.
The author's official website
Friday, October 1, 2010
Book Review: The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock
Book Review: The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock
Published 1969/1977 Revised Edition 1977
Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey
Map by John Collier
The Runestaff The Fourth and Final Volume in the History of the Runestaff
In the final Volume of the History of The Runestaff, the fate of the Kamarg and all of the world rests on the shoulders of Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, Servant of the Runestaff and a Manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Without his effortst the Dark Empire of Granbretan will conquer and consume the entire globe.
It opens with Hawkmoon and Huilliam D’Averc bound for Europe on the boat provided to them from the grateful inhabitants of the city of Nawleeen. On board the vessel, the two heroes were thought to be bound to that city at the behest of the Runestaff.
Events prevent their direct return to Europe, instead ending up at D'Nark and once more fulfilling the plans of the Runestaff as well as thwarting further Dark Empire Machinations. The Runestaff is revealed and more mysteries are indicated as well.
However our heroes do return to The Kamarg and preparatiosn are made for the return to Europe potentially in force to aid in battling the Granbretan advance, when the dark science of Baron Taragorm wrested them from the alternate world and back into the one they had fled from. The final battle with Granbretan would ensue, and not all the heroes would survive.
As the final novel in the History of the Runestaff it brings the short series to a conclusion. As with other Eternal Champion novels not all the companions make it. Life is dangerous being a companion to a manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Still in the case of Hawkmoon, it is a bit less dangerous than for others, such as Elric or Erekose. Still for the length of the novels, there is a wealth of superb ideas to dig into.
It is recommended for any steampunk fan as well.
RPG Note:
If someone is interested Mongoose Publishing has created the Hawkmoon Roleplaying Game. It is no longer in production per Sales at Mongoose Publishing. The author has not had a chance to pick up a copy so no impressions are available. There was another one based on the Runequest game system, which I had seen once many years ago. There are no RPGs currently in production covering this manifestation of The Eternal Champion.
Also is a revised Elric oriented RPG from Mongoose Publishing as well, for the updated Runequest II game system.
Links Section:
Michael Moorcock Online
http://www.multiverse.org/
Published 1969/1977 Revised Edition 1977
Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey
Map by John Collier
The Runestaff The Fourth and Final Volume in the History of the Runestaff
In the final Volume of the History of The Runestaff, the fate of the Kamarg and all of the world rests on the shoulders of Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, Servant of the Runestaff and a Manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Without his effortst the Dark Empire of Granbretan will conquer and consume the entire globe.
It opens with Hawkmoon and Huilliam D’Averc bound for Europe on the boat provided to them from the grateful inhabitants of the city of Nawleeen. On board the vessel, the two heroes were thought to be bound to that city at the behest of the Runestaff.
Events prevent their direct return to Europe, instead ending up at D'Nark and once more fulfilling the plans of the Runestaff as well as thwarting further Dark Empire Machinations. The Runestaff is revealed and more mysteries are indicated as well.
However our heroes do return to The Kamarg and preparatiosn are made for the return to Europe potentially in force to aid in battling the Granbretan advance, when the dark science of Baron Taragorm wrested them from the alternate world and back into the one they had fled from. The final battle with Granbretan would ensue, and not all the heroes would survive.
As the final novel in the History of the Runestaff it brings the short series to a conclusion. As with other Eternal Champion novels not all the companions make it. Life is dangerous being a companion to a manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Still in the case of Hawkmoon, it is a bit less dangerous than for others, such as Elric or Erekose. Still for the length of the novels, there is a wealth of superb ideas to dig into.
It is recommended for any steampunk fan as well.
RPG Note:
If someone is interested Mongoose Publishing has created the Hawkmoon Roleplaying Game. It is no longer in production per Sales at Mongoose Publishing. The author has not had a chance to pick up a copy so no impressions are available. There was another one based on the Runequest game system, which I had seen once many years ago. There are no RPGs currently in production covering this manifestation of The Eternal Champion.
Also is a revised Elric oriented RPG from Mongoose Publishing as well, for the updated Runequest II game system.
Links Section:
Michael Moorcock Online
http://www.multiverse.org/
Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell
Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell
Published in 2009 by The Black Library
Innocence Proves Nothing is a sequel to Scourge The Heretic, the second in the novels set in the Calixis Sector, in the Imperium of Man in the 41st Century. As can be ascertained, it is one of the Warhammer 40K novels, focused on The Inquisition.
This novel has a very RPG/Gaming/Campaign feeling to it. There are two separate groups of Acolytes (the term used in the Dark Heresy RPG for all Player Characters, used here to mean those people with talents and skills that have been chosen by faith or acts to aid an Inquisitor in their duties), working on separate lines of inquiry that eventually in the last portions of the book intersect.
The first team consists of characters introduced in Scourge The Heretic. Former Guardsmen Drake returns, along with the Assassin Keira and member of the Adeptus Mechanicus Vex with the team leader Mordecai Horst. They are aided on and off by other lesser supporting characters. The psyker Elyra is accompanied by former Guardsman Vos Kyrlock both also present in the book and following other leads on their own from the main group. The second team is affiliated with a different Inquisitor and the majority of them die in the first encounter they have, which comes about two thirds the way through the novel. Only two of those characters survive and join the main characters right before the puzzle pieces start to fall together.
It is suspected those two characters will play larger roles in the next novel, the ending ties up none of the plot threads and it is obvious this cannot be the end of the story. Where the different plot threads will end up can be guessed at, but it is not certain at all. With their inclusion it makes for about 7 core characters to be accounted for in the opening of the next, and presumed, novel.
There is a definite different feel to this novel compared to other WD/BL novels. This is due, it is believed, to the very strong influence of the Dark Heresy RPG on the composition. The worlds, the planets visited, the foes faced, are drawn from the RPG corebook. As the novel progressed it could be imagined that it was several game session to get to the action. The fights felt like encounters, well gauged to be a challenge, with little chance of failure. Each character has a chance to shine, in and out of combat, again making it a great resource for pacing and plotting tips to writers and gamers alike. It would be easy to make the novels characters for gaming purposes easily. This could add to a gaming session bringing in more flavor and intrigue. However nothing official could
The look and feel of the WH40k setting comes through fine, some new terms, very few flavor text terms from previous works and novels arrive. One welcome change from most WH40k novels is the inclusion of a Librarian of the Space Marines. Rarely are these characters included in novels, the Soul Drinkers novels by Ben Carpenter are a notable exception. The novels from fifteen some years ago (along with the army lists and wargear cards) featured the psychic powers of Librarians more. More recent novels seem to have moved away from this aspect.
This novel while having multiple psyker characters in it, does not feature or make them very prominent. This is a quibble from a long time reader (over twenty years) of materials in this setting. Other minor quirks are the prevalence of Bolt Weapons compared to the core setting philosophy. This trend does seem to have started about 8 or 9 years ago. These are just minor inconsistencies, which are easily explained away in light of the age and size of the setting, making local differences all too common.
Another glossed over element is the level of character information into what have been previously mysteries of the setting. Elements such and the Powers in the Warp, the role Horus played, mentioning Abbadon, how prevalent warp beings are in the novel, all run somewhat counter to past writings. It is very open feel to this novel, and the full on fanaticism prevalent in the overall setting is diminished to an extent in this reviewer’s opinion.
Overall it is a definite read for fans of the Warhammer 40K setting. For gamers playing Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Combination of the two, or a homebrew, it is an excellent source on pacing and decent flavor text. Especially for someone new to the overall setting, that desires to have a low key introduction to the War Torn Future.
Published in 2009 by The Black Library
Innocence Proves Nothing is a sequel to Scourge The Heretic, the second in the novels set in the Calixis Sector, in the Imperium of Man in the 41st Century. As can be ascertained, it is one of the Warhammer 40K novels, focused on The Inquisition.
This novel has a very RPG/Gaming/Campaign feeling to it. There are two separate groups of Acolytes (the term used in the Dark Heresy RPG for all Player Characters, used here to mean those people with talents and skills that have been chosen by faith or acts to aid an Inquisitor in their duties), working on separate lines of inquiry that eventually in the last portions of the book intersect.
The first team consists of characters introduced in Scourge The Heretic. Former Guardsmen Drake returns, along with the Assassin Keira and member of the Adeptus Mechanicus Vex with the team leader Mordecai Horst. They are aided on and off by other lesser supporting characters. The psyker Elyra is accompanied by former Guardsman Vos Kyrlock both also present in the book and following other leads on their own from the main group. The second team is affiliated with a different Inquisitor and the majority of them die in the first encounter they have, which comes about two thirds the way through the novel. Only two of those characters survive and join the main characters right before the puzzle pieces start to fall together.
It is suspected those two characters will play larger roles in the next novel, the ending ties up none of the plot threads and it is obvious this cannot be the end of the story. Where the different plot threads will end up can be guessed at, but it is not certain at all. With their inclusion it makes for about 7 core characters to be accounted for in the opening of the next, and presumed, novel.
There is a definite different feel to this novel compared to other WD/BL novels. This is due, it is believed, to the very strong influence of the Dark Heresy RPG on the composition. The worlds, the planets visited, the foes faced, are drawn from the RPG corebook. As the novel progressed it could be imagined that it was several game session to get to the action. The fights felt like encounters, well gauged to be a challenge, with little chance of failure. Each character has a chance to shine, in and out of combat, again making it a great resource for pacing and plotting tips to writers and gamers alike. It would be easy to make the novels characters for gaming purposes easily. This could add to a gaming session bringing in more flavor and intrigue. However nothing official could
The look and feel of the WH40k setting comes through fine, some new terms, very few flavor text terms from previous works and novels arrive. One welcome change from most WH40k novels is the inclusion of a Librarian of the Space Marines. Rarely are these characters included in novels, the Soul Drinkers novels by Ben Carpenter are a notable exception. The novels from fifteen some years ago (along with the army lists and wargear cards) featured the psychic powers of Librarians more. More recent novels seem to have moved away from this aspect.
This novel while having multiple psyker characters in it, does not feature or make them very prominent. This is a quibble from a long time reader (over twenty years) of materials in this setting. Other minor quirks are the prevalence of Bolt Weapons compared to the core setting philosophy. This trend does seem to have started about 8 or 9 years ago. These are just minor inconsistencies, which are easily explained away in light of the age and size of the setting, making local differences all too common.
Another glossed over element is the level of character information into what have been previously mysteries of the setting. Elements such and the Powers in the Warp, the role Horus played, mentioning Abbadon, how prevalent warp beings are in the novel, all run somewhat counter to past writings. It is very open feel to this novel, and the full on fanaticism prevalent in the overall setting is diminished to an extent in this reviewer’s opinion.
Overall it is a definite read for fans of the Warhammer 40K setting. For gamers playing Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Combination of the two, or a homebrew, it is an excellent source on pacing and decent flavor text. Especially for someone new to the overall setting, that desires to have a low key introduction to the War Torn Future.
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