Book Review: Deathwing
Deathwing is a collection of 10 Short Stories set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Overall I thought the book was good, though in some cases a lack of familiarity with the source material may prove detrimental. Most of the stories do a fairly good job of standing on their own though. Oddly enough, the first and last stories are about the Dark Angel Chapter of the Space Marines, and the last story very nearly renders the first apocryphal. I don't worry about such things too much as it is easily explained away. When you have a history and universe as large as the one we are dealing with here, it's certainly possible that all of the stories follow something of a "legend" moreso than actual facts.
Of note there are two stories here by Ian Watson, who wrote the so-so Inquistion War series. The two submissions by him are included in the Inquistion War omnibus, with one of them altered to replace a supporting character in the story with one of the main characters in the Inquistion War! Not sure why he did that, since it really didn't add anything to the story. On the other hand, the Alien Beast Within is excellent. If he had written more like that, than perhaps his following work would have been of higher quality.
Despite the novels name being derived from a company of the Dark Angels, the stories ran the gamut of the Warhammer 40K universe. All are told from the human perspective, however. They are chilling, gritty, and very grim. These are not stories you probably want to read when looking for something to lift your spirits. I would recommend a strong dose of prozac (or, my preference, Glen Livet) prior to reading.
It's a great read for existing fans, but some of the stories might leave those not "in the know" a bit in the dark. Keeping in mind that most of these stories have previously appeared in publications intended to be read by existing Warhammer 40K players.
Overall I thought the book was good, though in some cases a lack of familiarity with the source material may prove detrimental. Most of the stories do a fairly good job of standing on their own though. Oddly enough, the first and last stories are about the Dark Angel Chapter of the Space Marines, and the last story very nearly renders the first apocryphal. I don't worry about such things too much as it is easily explained away. When you have a history and universe as large as the one we are dealing with here, it's certainly possible that all of the stories follow something of a "legend" moreso than actual facts.
Of note there are two stories here by Ian Watson, who wrote the so-so Inquistion War series. The two submissions by him are included in the Inquistion War omnibus, with one of them altered to replace a supporting character in the story with one of the main characters in the Inquistion War! Not sure why he did that, since it really didn't add anything to the story. On the other hand, the Alien Beast Within is excellent. If he had written more like that, than perhaps his following work would have been of higher quality.
Despite the novels name being derived from a company of the Dark Angels, the stories ran the gamut of the Warhammer 40K universe. All are told from the human perspective, however. They are chilling, gritty, and very grim. These are not stories you probably want to read when looking for something to lift your spirits. I would recommend a strong dose of prozac (or, my preference, Glen Livet) prior to reading.
It's a great read for existing fans, but some of the stories might leave those not "in the know" a bit in the dark. Keeping in mind that most of these stories have previously appeared in publications intended to be read by existing Warhammer 40K players.
Book Review: Fifteen Hours
The Warhammer 40,000 universe has always been intriguing to me. For about a year I played the table-top game, but the habit was too expensive and being a newlywed I had to give it up. My wife was less than understanding of the hobby anyway. However, I always remained interested in the setting.
Recently, due to regular travel, I have begun reading novels on a frequent basis. There are moments on the plane that you cannot have any electronic devices, but they never tell you to put away books. So for those times when I cannot load up my computer or palm pilot, I read. I have been reading the Warhammer 40K novels to keep myself busy, and although much has changed in the universe since I last played the old table-top game, I have been following alone without much confusion. Indeed, I am surprised how accessible these novels have been even if you don't have foreknowledge about the setting.
The Imperial Guard have always been interesting to me as one of the "armies" of the Warhammer 40K universe. They are the "everyman", the normal schmoes who stand as the last defenders against the forces that would destroy humanity. There is nothing special about them. The Eldar have mystical technologies beyond the understanding of man, Orks are brutes, the Space Marines are super-human, the forces of Chaos possess daemonic powers, and so on and so forth. What does the Imperial Guard have? Just resolve and numbers, and sometimes that's enough.
Fifteen Hours, by Mitchel Scanlon, is the tale of an ordinary guardsman. He is no hero, no celebrated champion, but just another conscript sent off to fight the enemies of the Imperium. It follows him through his training and to his ultimate destination of arriving at a world where the conflict is so brutal that the average life expectancy of a new soldier is just 15 hours. It is the tale of this recruit's resolve to survive while maintaining his faith and keeping ahold of what little hope he has.
This is not a happy book, it is grim and pretty well defines the term "gritty". The supporting cast have been under such constant pressure and conflict that they have no faith left, no resolve but to survive as long as they can. Our new recruit is young, hopeful, and naive and he is literally thrown into a pit full of battle-hardened cynics and grizzled veterans. While the battle scenes are very well written, it is the character interaction in this incredibly grim scenario that really gives the book polish. The incredible dichotomy of old and new in the midst of circumstances that seem impossible to bear. The book pulls no punches in this regard.
The book gives a great soldier's eye view of the warfare as well as the workings of the Imperial Guard. It also speculates on close combat with Orks without the benefit of an epic hero present. The struggle to survive is paramount to the story, and it should be no surprise that the protagonist receives his fair share of lumps. His peril is very real, and since this is a stand-alone story that is not about some epic hero, his survival is not guaranteed. I was really concerned throughout the novel if he would survive, and often switched between being convinced that he would survie to being convinced he was doomed. I think when I was in the final act I was completely unsure of what was going to happen. Oddly enough, we're given a glimpse of his possible fate at the beginning. In a way the novel starts out similar to another favorite, Starship Troopers, but fortunately it borrows little else after that.
Overall it is an excellent read. Something that anyone familiar with Warhammer 40K should check out and a definite hit for fans of science fiction.
DISALLOWED (Random)
Recently, due to regular travel, I have begun reading novels on a frequent basis. There are moments on the plane that you cannot have any electronic devices, but they never tell you to put away books. So for those times when I cannot load up my computer or palm pilot, I read. I have been reading the Warhammer 40K novels to keep myself busy, and although much has changed in the universe since I last played the old table-top game, I have been following alone without much confusion. Indeed, I am surprised how accessible these novels have been even if you don't have foreknowledge about the setting.
The Imperial Guard have always been interesting to me as one of the "armies" of the Warhammer 40K universe. They are the "everyman", the normal schmoes who stand as the last defenders against the forces that would destroy humanity. There is nothing special about them. The Eldar have mystical technologies beyond the understanding of man, Orks are brutes, the Space Marines are super-human, the forces of Chaos possess daemonic powers, and so on and so forth. What does the Imperial Guard have? Just resolve and numbers, and sometimes that's enough.
Fifteen Hours, by Mitchel Scanlon, is the tale of an ordinary guardsman. He is no hero, no celebrated champion, but just another conscript sent off to fight the enemies of the Imperium. It follows him through his training and to his ultimate destination of arriving at a world where the conflict is so brutal that the average life expectancy of a new soldier is just 15 hours. It is the tale of this recruit's resolve to survive while maintaining his faith and keeping ahold of what little hope he has.
This is not a happy book, it is grim and pretty well defines the term "gritty". The supporting cast have been under such constant pressure and conflict that they have no faith left, no resolve but to survive as long as they can. Our new recruit is young, hopeful, and naive and he is literally thrown into a pit full of battle-hardened cynics and grizzled veterans. While the battle scenes are very well written, it is the character interaction in this incredibly grim scenario that really gives the book polish. The incredible dichotomy of old and new in the midst of circumstances that seem impossible to bear. The book pulls no punches in this regard.
The book gives a great soldier's eye view of the warfare as well as the workings of the Imperial Guard. It also speculates on close combat with Orks without the benefit of an epic hero present. The struggle to survive is paramount to the story, and it should be no surprise that the protagonist receives his fair share of lumps. His peril is very real, and since this is a stand-alone story that is not about some epic hero, his survival is not guaranteed. I was really concerned throughout the novel if he would survive, and often switched between being convinced that he would survie to being convinced he was doomed. I think when I was in the final act I was completely unsure of what was going to happen. Oddly enough, we're given a glimpse of his possible fate at the beginning. In a way the novel starts out similar to another favorite, Starship Troopers, but fortunately it borrows little else after that.
Overall it is an excellent read. Something that anyone familiar with Warhammer 40K should check out and a definite hit for fans of science fiction.