Red Fury by James Swallow

(Be warned the Inquisitor-Text spoils most of the book!)

Vital Stats:
Page Count: 284

Era: 40k (no specified year)
Perspective: Blood Angels, Flesh Tearers, Angels Sanguine, Angels Vermillion, Blood Drinkers, Angels Encarmine
Major Characters: [Inquisitor-text]Brother Sergeant Rafen, Mephiston the Lord of Death, Chapter Master Dante, Corubolo, Chapter Master Seth, Brother Sergeant Noxx, Corubolo, Caecus

Special Guest Stars: [Inquistor-text]Fabius Bile

Location: Baal

One Sentence Review: A family reunion of Blood Angel successors gets crashed.

A Few Musings: James Swallow is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. He seems to get better with each 40k novel. Although I enjoyed his first two Blood Angels books - they suffered from being short. I think having both in an "omnibus" is a good thing because I have always suspected they were a single novel cut in half. Faith & Fire was a decent book and something from a Sisters of Battle perspective was a welcome change. However I think his Flight of the Eisenstein is one of the better Horus Heresy books and so I was looking forward to Red Fury.

What makes Red Fury highly recommended is that Swallow does something that few Black Library authors have done (or perhaps were allowed to do)...use the icons of 40k as major characters. He did a great job of this in Flight of the Eisenstein. Almost more so than in the first three Horus Heresy books, Swallow grabs the reader with fast pacing and then throws in major characters from the canon and uses them as major characters. This is repeated to great effect in Red Fury.

The basic plot is [Inquisitor-Text] that after the events of the first two Blood Angels books, the Blood Angels are greatly diminished in numbers. They call their successor chapters to Baal to discuss in a great conclave the future of the chapter. Since this is the 40k universe, this of course goes horribly wrong.

While I won't reveal in the regular text (read the invisotext at your own peril!), the use of characters such as [Inquisitor-Text] Mephiston and Dante is expertly handled. It makes a fairly mundane science fiction story [Inquisitor-Text] that seems straight out of Judge Dredd, Leviathan or any sci-fi story with clones and genetics really compelling.

There were a few canonical points in the novel that were new to me and very compelling. [Inquisitor-Text] In particular, the genetic experiments and failures of Corax in replenishing his Legion was news to me. However I have never paid a lot of attention to the Raven Guard. I hope that there is a Heresy era novel or short story that goes into this in greater detail.

The only criticisms I would make are that again I felt the novel was too short. This is not to say that there was more story to tell at this point, but the sub-300 page novels just have a general feel of being too short. But I must say that the ending does not feel rushed which is the cardinal sin of most Black Library books. The other criticism is that Swallow is better with the downtime between action sequences then his description of actual battle. This is almost the opposite of Abnett but in a novel about a "family reunion gone wrong" it works.

This novel is clearly a set up for a second novel (and hopefully third [Inquisitor Text] what is beneath the masks of the Angels Sanguine?). Personally, I can't wait. I just hope that [Inquisitor-Text] after dispatching his brother in the first two novels and the dreadnought sized bloodfiend at the end of this one that Rafen gets promoted to Captain or given a gold helmet at least!

This is one of the better offerings from the Black Library this year. I highly suggest it.

Bolters (Out of Five): Four

Update Coming Soon

I have read the first two stories of Planetkill. A full review is coming soon. The surprise so far was the story concerning the Relentless. It wasn't a "planet kill" story per se. But I really liked it. I am also reading the new Blood Angels book. I suspect I will have a review in the next week or so. So far so good.

Double Eagle by Dan Abnett

Vital Stats:
Page Count: 415
Era: 40k (773.m41)
Perspective: Phantine XX (Imperial Guard - Fighter Wing)
Major Characters: [Inquisitor-text] Commander Bree Jagdea, Captain Oskar Viltry, Vander Marquall, Obarkton

Location: Enothis (Sabbat Worlds Crusade)

One Sentence Review: Top Gun/Memphis Belle Meets Gaunts Ghosts

A Few Musings: I am admittedly a big fan of Gaunts Ghosts. However with some trepidation I bought this book about a fighter wing (who made an appearance in The Guns of Tanith) that is actually an Imperial Guard regiment during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. I can say with reservation that it is one of Dan Abnett's best.

[Inquisitor Text]The basic plot line is that the Phantine XX is deployed to Enothis. This includes both Thunderbolts (fighters) and Marauders (bombers). During the sorties a deadly chaos fighter (Obarkton) begins picking apart the imperial lines. As the chaos forces press ahead there are sorts of "classic" fighter scenarios - bombing runs, parachuting to safety, an elite "top gun" cadre, there is even a pseudo romance with a local (french accent??).

I particularly liked the plot line for the eponymous Thunderbolt (which coincidentally friends have named my car).

Overall, this book is well conceived, well written and does not feel rushed at the end. Abnett deftly handles combat (that is a hallmark of his writing). I was very impressed with the descriptions of the air battles. The entire book feels like an old world war 2 movie with a tinge of 40k tragedy. Unfortunately I can't give this book a perfect score because there are some flaws and dead spots. However I do recommend it very highly to fans of Abnett and 40k in general.

Bolters (Out of Five): Four

Desert Raiders by Lucien Soulban

Vital Stats:

Page Count: 245 (so short!)
Era: 40k (no specified year)
Perspective: Tallarn Desert Raiders
Major Characters: [Inquisitor-text]Battallion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Turk Iban, Colonel Nisri Dakar, Commissar Torrent Rezail, Kamala Noore
Location: Khadar, Barrases System

One Sentence Review: Twilight zone meets Baghdad

A Few Musings: This is the fourth Imperial Guard series - one shot books (although Rebel Winter felt like the first of a trilogy) focusing on different guard regiments. Speaking of where is the Mordian Iron Guard book where the first 100 pages are field drills. This book follows Fifteen Hours, Death World and Rebel Winter. Unfortunately this is the weakest of the lot.

[Inquisitor-text]The basic premise (similar to Fifteen Hours) is that two disparate groups of Tallarn Desert Raiders are marooned on a desert world (convenient enough). After landing and a dust storm, the navy pulls out. Unfortunately the two groups are both a backstabbing lot and only a wily commissar is able to keep them from killing each other. (Wait a minute wasn't this the plot to the first Ciaphas Cain book?!).

Well an overriding and compelling force enters their lives as they fight to survive on the desert planet. Nope it isn't his holiness the Emperor. It is of course the tyranids. The tyranids make fast work of the Tallarns (hence the short page count). There are a few twilight zone moments involving an underground cave. I would spoil the end - but only if it would mean you didn't waste your time with this one.
The book is actually well written. I liked a few of the ideas the author tried out. I also very much liked that each chapter had a day associated with it and the cast of characters at the end of the book. Of course ever since I read Dune 25+ years ago (sheesh), I have been a sucker for glossaries and character lists.

Overall the book fails unfortunately. Despite some well conceived ideas and good writing, the overall plot was not very imaginative and I wasn't intrigued with the Tallarns. I have to recommend that you pass on this one.

Bolters (Out of Five): One

Coming Soon Update - Assault on Black Reach

Thanks to Spencer at 40kradio...

40kradio will be doing an interview with Nick Kyme to discuss his new novel Assault on Black Reach. This will be a tie in to the new 40k starter set. It is set to debut (out of the blue!) next month. Here is a link to Black Library for more info http://www.blacklibrary.com/product.asp?prod=60100181092&type=Book

Note that it will only be available through the Black Library website or at your friendly local...Games Workshop store.

Angels of Darkness by Gav Thorpe

Vital Stats:

Page Count: 279

Era: 40k (no specified year)

Perspective: Dark Angels

Major Characters: [Inquisitor-text]Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas, Chapter Master Astelan, Zaul, Nestor, Hepaestus

Special Guest Stars: Two in non-speaking parts. (Can't say! It would be giving it away).

Location: Piscina System

One Sentence Review: Definitive Dark Angels novel with Lost-esque* flashbacks.

A Few Musings: [Inquisitor-text]This is a re-release of Gav Thorpe's 2003 novel about the mysterious Dark Angels. The novel is the story of Interrogator-Chaplain Boreas and his hunt for Fallen. In alternating chapters, one story concerns a "present day" Boreas and his duties as overseeing a chapter keep in the Piscina system. This story has some interesting passages about recruiting new space marines, the functions of apothecaries and techmarines.

The "flashback" story concerns the Interrogator-Chaplain's "attentions" to a captured fallen named Astelan. The Astelan story is compelling as Astellan gives a history after his "awakening" and a history of living during the Great Crusade. It is these juicy bits about Luther, the Lion and the Emperor that are very well put together. The book also leaves a lot of room for interpretation and extrapolation. As discussed in a new afterword by Thorpe, this was intentional. It is also probably the best "thing" about the book.

Many of the action sequences are average. There is nothing particularly gripping about space marines dealing with sub-PDF humans fighting them. I also did not care for a few passages where things inexplicably happen without any discussion of their consequences. For example Boreas' conversion of the Dark Angels following him (to something greater) was something that left a bad taste in my mouth. I just could not see that happening the way it did. The better parts of the book are long monologues told by the characters discussing their beliefs or their past history.

Thorpe has a tendency to take popular 40k quotes and spice up his prose with them. Sometimes they work and sometimes it feels like a stretch.

The ending was good and did not feel rushed (which is always a pleasant surprise from BL books). Although I disagreed with the ending, that is "OK." It was well written however. In all, I would recommend this book to hard core 40k fans and especially fans of Dark Angels. For the casual 40k reader, I would pass.

Bolters (Out of Five): Three

* I know this novel was written well before the TV show Lost. I just thought this was a good description.

Coming Soon!

Here is a run down of what we can expect from the Black Library in the foreseeable future. For each I am rating (Must Have Now!, Looking Forward to It, Yawn) - each self expanatory. All dates are UK dates with US one month later.


Blood Angels : Red Fury byJames Swallow Sep 08 - Looking Forward to It. The third Blood Angels book. I heard an excellent interview on 40kRadio with Swallow about the book. He described it as a family reunion gone horribly wrong. It is supposed to include many of the Blood Angel successor chapters.

Only in Death (Softback) by Dan Abnett Oct 08 - Read it. Fair to middelin Gaunt's Ghost Book.

Titanicus byDan Abnett Oct 08 - Must Have Now! Giant sized Sabbat Worlds Crusade book plus a Titan legion! Also there are ties between this book and the next Horus Heresy book (Mechanicum)

Ciaphas Cain : Cains Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell Nov 08 - Must Have Now! I think Mitchell is one of the best authors in the Black Library. I have loved nearly every Ciaphas Cain book. I hope that this is not the last.

Horus Heresy : Mechanicum byGraham McNeill Dec 08 - Must Have Now! McNeill has written the best of the Horus Heresy. I can't wait (although his Mechanicum short story in the Collected Visions book was middelin).

Dark Disciple byAnthony Reynolds Dec 08 - Looking Forward To It. The second Word Bearer book. The first was a nice departure. Stars the worst of worse and true 40k bad guys- the Word Bearers.

Ice Guard by Steve Lyons Jan 09 - Yawn. Most of the IG books have been poor in my mind. There are positives for Fifteen Hours. But the other books have been poor. See the Catachan book (Death World) where the lone wolf hero is Sly Marbo (which funny enough is the same letters for Rambo and Sly for Stallone) and the Tallarn Book (Desert Raiders) which read like an agonizingly long short story. Rebel Winter was "just ok." Lyons has a tall order to have the Valahallans measure up to the Valhallans in Sandy Mitchell's books.

Innocence Proves Nothing bySandy Mitchell Feb 09 - Looking Forward To It. Sequel to Scourge the Heretic. I really like Mitchell's prose. I though Scourge the Heretic was mostly a succesful book. I look forward to this one.

Gunheads bySteve Parker Mar 09 - Yawn. "an armoured company is sent to recover a long-lost battle tank from a planet overrrun with orks." I feel like I have read this book before...twice.

Dawn of War : Dawn of War II by Chris Roberson Mar 09 - Yawn. I am struggling to get through the Dawn of War Omnibus. I don't think a novelization of a story built for a game will work a second time (it sure didn't the first).

Souldrinkers : Hellforged by Ben Counter Apr 09 - Looking Forward To It. I have enjoyed the adventures of Sarpedon and company. I want to see where Counter is going with it.

Horus Heresy : Tales of Heresy Nick Kyme, Lindsey Priestley Apr 09 - Looking Forward To It. I am not the biggest short story fan. However short stories on the Heresy should be good.

The Grey Knights Omnibus by Ben Counter May 09 - Read It. Mostly enjoyed it.

Gaunts Ghosts : Blood Pact by Dan Abnett May 09 - MUST HAVE NOW! Added the all caps. Of all the books on the list, this is the one I want. I can't wait.

What is not on the official list? Abnett said in a 40kRadio exclusive that he and Graham McNeill are working on companion Heresy novels concerning the sacking of Prospero. Abnett also said that he is doing a third trilogy on Inquisitors. He dubbed it "Eisenhorn versus Ravenor." I dub it (to be) the most anticipated book from Black Library since Horus Rising. Also Mike Lee is doing a Heresy novel on the Dark Angels.

Stay tuned...