Dead Winter by C L Werner

More than a thousand years after the Age of Sigmar, the Empire he struggled to create rests on the edge of destruction – the reign of the greedy and incompetent Emperor Boris Goldgather has shaken down the great and prosperous edifice of his erstwhile realm. Without warning, a terrible and deadly plague strikes, wiping out entire villages and leaving towns eerily silent through the long frozen months. As the survivors struggle to maintain order and a worthy military presence, vermin pour up from the sewers and caverns beneath the cities, heralding a new and unspeakable threat – the insidious skaven!

Finding myself reading another Time of Legends novel kind of happened by accident. As we mentioned back here, Liz and I went off to the inaugural Black Library Weekender a few weeks back. There I finally got to meet Clint Werner, the first and only man cool enough to carry off wearing a rattlesnake on his hat. After that, it was pretty much a given that I was going to have a go at something he'd written! 

Dead Winter is set in the Empire at a time when the scurrying hordes of Skaven are setting in motion a grand plan to destroy the world of man. Werner is no stranger to the ratmen of Skavenblight, having penned several novels centred on them already, and there's no mistaking how firm a grip he has on their shadowy culture as things get underway. But there's more to Skaven here- the backbone of Dead Winter lies with the plague-riddled lands of men, where the tightfisted arrogance of Emperor Boris 'Goldgather' is threatening to do the Skaven's job for them. 

What ensues is classic Warhammer- everything either balanced on a knife edge or teetering towards destruction as Werner starts building the pace, bringing together rat-catchers, a plague doctor, a fallen priest of the god of death, Skaven infighting, plagues and the occasional giant spider into an atmospheric whole that bodes very well for the rest of the series (but not so well for the poor Empire!)

Devious, bloody and fun, with a great cast of characters and a rich setting, this was a fast and enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing exactly how far Mr Werner can twist the knife.

You can read an extract here, or visit Clint's website here.

The Great Betrayal by Nick Kyme

Thousands of years before the rise of men, the dwarfs and elves are stalwart allies and enjoy a era of unrivalled peace and prosperity. But when dwarf trading caravans are attacked and their merchants slain, the elves are accused of betrayal and the peace begins to fracture..


This is the first instalment in a new six book series under the banner of the Black Library's Time of Legends series (essentially  the fantasy equivalent of the record breaking Horus Heresy saga) and delves into the story behind The War of Vengeance, the great conflict that would turn the dwarves and elves against each other.  I don't play Warhammer and only have a sketchy idea of the history behind the races, so it seemed a perfect fit to see if this was something that Joe Average could pick up off the shelf and enjoy- more often than not tie-in fiction comes across as having a lot of baggage of the do I need to read all 18 of the previous books to understand it variety. 

The novel opens with a huge, 42 page battle scene illustrating what the dwarves and elves had accomplished together, then switches to the story proper as cousins Morgrim and Snorri explore some of the ancient, abandoned tunnels beneath the mountain stronghold they call home. It's a decision that soon leads to Snorri earning his future nickname 'Halfhand' but it also sets them on a path that neither of them could have foreseen. Snorri, a prince amongst his people, burns with the desire to prove himself to his father, to try and match the glory his father earned in the long years of war it took to secure the mountains against the orks and other menaces that had plagued them. But it is a time of peace, and his ambitions are stymied and his frustration manifests itself in impetuous outbursts and biting retorts, all wedges in a widening gulf between him and his father. Morgrim is his steadying influence, a solid and sensible presence and a good foil for Snorri's brash arrogance.

The Elvish homeland at this time is beset by civil war between the High and Dark Elves, and commando- like parties of Dark Elves are loose in the mountains, seeking to stir things up between the dwarves and the High Elves. Their ruthless cunning and cruelty is matched only by their paranoia and one-upmanship, all of which is shown in the thread of the story that follows one such group. Suspicion and xenophobia soon follow in the wake of the rising bodycount in the hills, and much of the novel revolves around the resultant turmoil as the peacemakers on both sides strive to hold back the mounting tide of anger and fear. Snorri, never a friend of the elves and buoyed by the company of belligerent advisors, becomes the figurehead for the rebellion against his father's edicts while Morgrim fights to moderate his cousin's attitude and to pull his people back from a war that increasingly seems inevitable.

There are multiple storylines woven through TGB that Kyme uses to flesh out his world, providing different viewpoints on the events that Snorri and Morgrim are at the forefront of, expanding the scope of the principal thread of the story, hinting at hidden plots and generally keeping it fresh and the reader hungry. The path that the story follows twists and turns, balancing gentle worldbuilding and intrigue with beautifully savage action and this, combined with a cast of well plotted and interesting characters, is what kept me turning the pages. He's managed to seed the novel with sense of the epic scale of the brewing conflict, making it a meaty and most satisfying read right up to the merciless death that brings TGB to a close. If you've never liked or understood Dwarves, either in Warhammer or general fantasy, you'll be wanting to grow a beard and carry an axe by the time you finish this. It approaches their culture with respect, eschewing cheap shots and short cuts, and in doing so, makes it all feel very 'grown up'.

So, could Joe Average pick up and enjoy The Great Betrayal? A resounding yes- and more than that, he should. This is good, solid fantasy writing that deserves a prominent place on any bookshelf. 

You can visit Nick's website here, or read an extract of TGB here.

Strontium Dog - The life and death of Johnny Alpha: The Project

Earth, the late 22nd century. Many survivors of the devastating Atomic Wars were mutated by Strontium 90 fallout. These ‘mutants’ became a victimised underclass- hated by the ruling ‘norms’ and forced into squalid ghettos, the only job left for them was bounty-hunting. 
 The best of the Search/ Destroy agents (also known as Strontium Dogs) was a man called Johnny Alpha. He became famous for fighting for mutant right and died defending his kind from ultimate destruction. 

But it seems even death can’t keep a good dog down and rumours are circulating about Alpha’s return..

When I first got wind of the potential return of Johnny Alpha, I was bitterly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong – I loved Strontium Dog, and Johnny Alpha was the template for every other RPG or PC game I played across my teenage years (and beyond tbh). I sobbed like a madman when he was killed. But it was a Good Death. He died for his convictions, and went down fighting, scant consolation for the mutant shaped hole in my life that his death left behind. I took some solace in the knowledge that the impact of his death was such that Carlos Ezquerra didn’t want to illustrate that issue. It made my grief feel a bit more legitimate.

 So. On one hand it would be good to have Johnny back, but that was far outweighed by the worry that his ‘resurrection’ would be a tawdry and cynical gambit that would cheapen his death and dilute the impact of such a powerful story. Then I heard that the story was being helmed by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra once again, the same pairing that created Strontium Dog all those moons ago, and some of my dread passed, although it still took some time before I found myself sitting down and turning to page 1 of The Project.

Ezquerra’s familiar and distinctive art immediately leaps out and welcomes you, a continuity of style that’s immediately reassuring. The story starts with and follows Precious, a writer compiling a true account of the events surrounding Johnny’s death. She teams up with a barely sober Middenface McNulty to start seeking out accounts from the surviving witnesses of his death regarding the rumour that contrary to the official account, Johnny’s body was brought back through the dimensional portal that he had given his life to open.

It’s a clever device that allows Wagner to feed through enough backstory that anyone unfamiliar with the original story won’t feel utterly lost. It also lets the story gather pace without feeling rushed, so that by the time that they’re closing in on Johnny’s resting place it's gathered enough gravitas that it doesn’t feel rushed, distancing it from the way that deaths in the Marvel/ DC universes have lost their impact.

 I have to say that I came away from this feeling optimistic about the resurgence of Strontium Dog. It’s handled very well, the story is as strong as anything that has gone before, laden with twists and revelations and, damn it, Johnny’s back!

A fine job by Messrs Wagner and Ezquerra, and well worth the wait.

Find the full story here.

The Bleeding Land by Giles Kristian

England is at war with itself. King Charles and Parliament each gather soldiers to their banners. Across the land men prepare to fight for their religious and political ideals.

Civil war has begun. A war that will rip families asunder and change everything. 

You know, if learning about things you were generally clueless about was always this much fun, the world might be a shinier place than it is right now. Sadly, that’s not going to happen, but at least history stands a chance with writers like this championing it.

I’ll freely admit that what I knew about the English civil war before opening The Bleeding Land could have been jotted down on the back of a postage stamp. It wasn’t on our school curriculum other than in a passing mention; two, perhaps three sentences to sum up such a bitter conflict. So I opened the covers with equal parts anticipation and trepidation- the last thing I wanted to find lurking in there was a political thriller. Intrigue, innuendo and the thousand possible meanings of a smouldering stare are wasted on me.

I really should've known better.

There’s a line from a Marilyn Manson ditty that goes ‘the death of one is a tragedy, but the death of millions is a statistic’ – it’s an insidious but undeniable truth. The reality of war loses its sting when it’s rendered down into faceless numbers. The battle of Stalingrad saw at least 1,970,600 casualties. It’s just a number you skim over. But each one of those was a life, each with its own story and The Bleeding Land, while set in a time of epic conflict, isn’t about the numbers. Far from it. It’s about a family caught up in that conflict, about the awful decisions they’re forced to make as the world they know crumbles around them and allegiances, both old and new, become matters to fight -or die- for. It’s about the all too real complexities and emotional toll of trying to balance heart against mind. And it was that solid grounding, combined with well realised characters which drew me in and made me care and coloured every single action sequence with tension.

The story centres on the fate of Edmund and Tom Rivers as they are drawn into the gritty, sordid reality of that war, and the consequences of the decisions that set them on different paths. Paths that you know are destined to collide and most likely with tragic results. Anyone who’s read Giles’ Raven series (and if you haven’t , you should, asap) will know how good he is at bringing his characters to life, and TBL proves no exception.  The mad heroism is scaled back, and the pace is a steady one rather than the headlong rush of that series, but TBL is a different animal and the story benefits from it. The scope, research and smooth delivery that made Raven impossible to either ignore or put down shines through again, vividly evoking the chaos of battle and bloody glory of the age in with a definite and unmistakeable energy.

Marvellous stuff all round.

Buy it! Read it! 

You can read our wee interview with Giles here, visit his website here or watch the amazing trailer:

Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress - by Sarwat Chadda

Varanasi: holy city of the Ganges.

In this land of ancient temples, incense and snake charmers…
Where the monsters and heroes of the past come to life…
One slightly geeky boy from our time…
is going to kick some demon ass.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Sarwat’s two previous books, Devil’s Kiss and Dark Goddess, and had my appetite whetted by his guest blog last month, I'd been looking forward to getting to grips with Ash for some time. The concept behind Ash is very cool, and the fact that it's set in India made it even more so (particularly given that up to now my knowledge of Indian mythology was largely a product of the vacuous offerings of the Temple of Doom).

The titular hero is a chubby thirteen year old boy who, as the story begins, is starting to seriously regret accepting his archaeologist uncle’s invitation to visit an India which had had hitherto only experienced through history books and photographs, none of which could have prepared him for the noise, the crowds, the dust or the flies. Ash doesn’t consider himself Indian per se- he’s a Londoner, and would normally be spending his summer hooked up to a LAN and armed with nothing more than a bucket of KFC and a litre of Coke. Instead, he’s stuck in a sweltering, dusty city and starting to worry about his aunt’s plans to find him a nice girl to marry.

And then he goes to find his little sister who's wandered off at what should have been a run-of-the-mill and thoroughly boring party hosted by Lord Savage, a rich philanthropist with a penchant for ancient Indian history. But a few wrong turns amidst the old fortress puts Ash’s destiny onto a path he could never have imagined, because Lord Savage harbours a secret as dark and terrible hunger as his hunger for power.

Ash's accidental discovery of a hidden chamber sets a chain of events in motion that sees him question his own sanity as all hell threatens to break loose.

The pace of the story accelerates steadily as the new reality facing Ash and his sister begins to bite, and Sarwat doesn’t take his foot off the pedal from here on in. The good vs evil theme within the story might be familiar, as the classic story of the eternal hero, but the richness of the setting and how vividly it come across give the story a great, fresh flavour. The demons are truly creepy, terrifying beings without a shred of humanity, and the imagery surrounding them is wonderfully dark and chilling, particularly when Ash and his bad-ass but subtly tragic companion reach the ancient, demon ravaged citadel in the desert. The myths and legends feel new and exciting- they’re integral to the story, and they're blended in very well; it never felt like I was sitting through a Mythology 101 lecture. In fact, I would have been happy to have had more of it in there. I mean, what’s not to like about demon-hunting goddesses with six arms, magic weapons, buried cities and golden demons?

This is a phenomenally fun book, with a great supporting cast, an insanely over the top plot and a believable, likeable Asian hero who undergoes a blistering yet believable hero's journey. This entire package is testament to Sarwat's passion, research and innate ability to tell a damn good story.  It's Percy Jackson with extra chapati.

The American cover, because it's awesome.

You can visit the very spiffy Ash Mistry website here.

Outpost by Adam Baker

Kasker Rampart: a derelict refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean. A skeleton crew of fifteen fight boredom and despair as they wait for a relief ship to take them home. But the world beyond their frozen wasteland has gone to hell. Cities lie ravaged by a global pandemic. One by one TV channels die, replaced by silent wavebands.

The Rampart crew are marooned. They must survive the long Arctic winter, then make their way home alone. They battle starvation and hypothermia, unaware that the deadly contagion that has devastated the world is heading their way..

Outpost was one of a handful of books I picked up after Christmas courtesy of some very welcome gift vouchers. I like dystopic/ apocalyptic stories, and the premise was an intriguing one (the great opening line helped too) and while it took me longer than expected to get a chance to read it, in retrospect the timing was good as I finally got stuck in as an unexpected cold snap hit us.

Outpost opens with a suicide bid by what will be one of the main characters, and the tension begin to trickle in almost immediately afterwards as news of the worldwide pandemic finally filters through to the rig. The information that comes through is sketchy, and not knowing what is actually happening out there keeps you from pigeonholing the story and adds to the atmosphere.

Suffice to say that things start going awry sooner rather than later, more often than not due to very real, very human fears, all accelerated by dwindling food supplies and the first terrifying and bewildering encounter with the reality of what is waiting out there. Hard decisions need to be made as conflict tears the crew apart, and while there are some solid action sequences, the real impact comes from the conflict between the characters and the slow implosion of their hopes and dreams in the face of the utterly bleak and alien future that awaits them.

Outpost surprised me at several turns, evolving as it did from the expectations of a survival-horror into the sinister lovechild of The Thing and 28 Days Later. As a debut novel it punches way above its weight, and Adam Baker is certainly someone to keep an eye out for in the future.

Liz says: I read this one before Mark and was smitten by the slow creeping horror of the story, about how this handful of survivors would survive. It's a slow burning psychological thriller that freaked me out. In fact, it took me ages to finish it, after the initial rush of reading more than two thirds of the book in a day. I wanted to believe that everything was just an awful dream. Needless to say, it wasn't. Adam is definitely an up and coming horror writer and one I'm looking forward to reading more, specifically in Juggernaut, his 'prequel' to Outpost.

You can visit Adam's blog here.

Know No Fear by Dan Abnett

Unaware of the wider Heresy and following the Warmaster’s increasingly cryptic orders, Roboute Guilliman returns to Ultramar to muster his Legion for war against the orks massing in the Veridian system. Without warning, their supposed allies in the Word Bearers Legion launch a devastating invasion of Calth, scattering the Ultramarines fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way.

And so begins the 19th book of the Horus Heresy series.

The first thing you notice is that KNF is presented in the style of a chronicle of the battle of Calth rather than an out-and-out novel like its predecessors, the heading of each chapter showing the countdown to when Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, gives the order to return fire. It’s a very clever device, adding to the tension as the Word Bearers make their final preparations amidst the unsuspecting Ultramarines who are denied the reader’s knowledge. It’s a bold move, perhaps borne of the fact that the subheading on the cover is ‘The Battle of Calth’, or that ultimately the entire Horus Heresy is a retrospective study of what shaped the 41st millennium into the no-hugs-just-war hellhole that the rest of 40K is set in. Whatever the root of the idea, it works. This is a huge confrontation, one that ranks right up there with the Dropsite Massacre in terms of impact, and it deserves the epic tone that this approach gives it. It’s tricky to put exactly why and how it works into words, but it does (hence Dan being the NYT bestselling author and not me).

It’s a hybrid approach, made up of varying percentages of found footage, military report and typical third person narrative, and what that does is enable Dan to convey the sheer scope of the battle while seamlessly blending in the facets of the battle from the perspective of a range of Space Marines and troopers scattered across the battlefields. Through their eyes we are afforded a glimpse of uncounted moments of otherwise unseen heroism and bear witness to their deaths. The scope and intensity of the unadulterated violence that is unleashed is no less than awesome. There’s a very real sense of how utterly lethal and unforgiving a battle between Space Marines would be. You can tell Dan was having some real fun with this, and has really pulled the stops out in the action stakes; it’s crisp, dark and relentless, and reaffirms why he’s the crown prince of military sci-fi.

The stars of the show are the Ultramarines and how they react to the invasion as they’re steadily pushed to the brink of destruction. It’s a good insight into their psyche at that time, and an interesting take on how they assess and deal with such threats. Guilliman too gets a similar treatment, and while he doesn’t get as much attention lavished on him as, say, Corax did in Deliverance Lost, he’s nonetheless fleshed out and given more character. And he swears. I hooted with childish glee when Lorgar resorts to calling him a “giant pompous arsehole”. Thank you, Dan. They’re Primarchs. Soldiers, albeit on a scale we can’t really appreciate, but they’re not saints.

KNF clocks in at a respectable 412 pages and is a novel of epic, brutal proportions. I finished it over two days of commuting, including two jealously guarded lunch hours where I sat transfixed by blood, betrayal and heroism next to my cold and forgotten coffee. To say that I enjoyed it is an understatement, and my only complaint is that I want more.

You can watch the trailer here, read an extract of KNF here and visit Dan's blog here.

Remember that Dan will be at Games Workshop Plaza, Oxford Street on the 18th Feb (starting at 12 noon) where he'll be signing of Know No Fear!

13 Bullets by David Wellington

Laura Caxton thought she was just a State Trooper working highway patrol. Tonight she’s going to find out her true destiny: hunting down the immortal, nearly invulnerable predators that haunt the night searching for our blood. Her only ally is Jameson Arkeley, a US Marshal who has devoted his life to hunting down vampires, long after everyone else thought they were extinct. The two of them are our only chance—assuming they can survive the night.

I really like this cover. It's striking, edgy, and hints at the carnage that lurks within. I had an urge to read some vampire fiction recently, and this was one of the titles suggested to me. By happy coincidence we had a copy lurking on the shelves and I jumped straight in.

13 Bullets opens with a transcript of federal agent Arkeley's report on the incident in which he apparently killed the last vampire back in the mid 80's, a feat that nearly killed him several times over. This bit's in first person perspective, as befits a copy of a report, and quickly lets you know a) how ruthless and inhuman the vampires in this world are and b) that Wellington isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the action.

The story skips ahead after that, and we get to meet Trooper Laura Caxton, a seemingly normal, dedicated State Trooper who's dragged into Arkeley's orbit when a routine traffic stop opens a can of distinctly vampire flavoured worms. From there on Wellington really puts her through the wringer both mentally and physically- there are few books I've read recently where the main character is given such a rough ride, and the combination of that vulnerability and tenacity is what keeps her real and someone you care about. You can feel her aches and her exhaustion radiating from the page as she and the hardbitten Arkeley set about trying to stymie the vampires' resurgence and the rapidly increasing bodycount.

There's little subtlety en route but that's no bad thing. It's full throttle from start to finish, packed with punchy action scenes, gallons of blood and some cracking set pieces. Shiny :)

13 Bullets is the first book in the Laura Caxton series and I'm looking forward to picking the others up (oh look, it's almost Christmas...)!



You can visit David's website here

Embedded by Dan Abnett

 

The colony planet of Eighty-Six looks as dull as all its fellow new worlds to veteran journalist Lex Falk, but when a local squabble starts to turn violent, and the media start getting the runaround from the military high command, his interest is seriously piqued.

Forbidden from approaching the battlezone, he gets himself chipped inside the head of a combat veteran – and uncovers the story of a lifetime. When the soldier is killed, however, Falk must use all his resourcefulness to get back home again… and blow the lid off the whole damn thing.--
It was always going to be interesting to see what direction Dan went in when he slipped off the Black Library reservation, and I was very pleased to see that he was staying firmly in military sci-fi territory.

Embedded is set on a newly colonized world designated ‘Eighty Six’, and set in a future that’s not so far off as to feel remote, and a bit worn around the edges. There’s no obvious info dump waiting in the shadows, which is nice for a sci-fi. But then the concept of colonization of new planets has been out there for a while, so it’s easy enough to get on board with the basic idea about what’s going on. The finer details are gradually eased in along the way as Falk starts nosing around, the scent of a major story lifting him from the bone-deep fatigue that has become as much a part of him as his cynicism.

What gives Embedded that essential air of authenticity is that Dan understands that whatever gadgets and impressively destructive weapons the soldiers on the ground have available, at the end of the day those are just tools, and it all comes back to the men who wield them. It’s their ability to work as a team that makes the difference between success and failure, life and death. The same is true for the story- it’s the characters that make it work, not the geegaws they’re playing with. And again, this is something he keeps in mind throughout; the main characters are sympathetic, well defined individuals you want to care about, more so when the shit inevitably hits the fan. It’s what makes Falk’s unexpected stint in the veteran’s head work so well.

Having said all that, the weapons and equipment are cool. Many of the weapons are almost familiar (in the way a house cat resembles a sabretooth), likely extrapolated from existing weapons systems, but far nastier than anything you’ve seen before. But there are also some new toys, particularly beam weapons that make Star Wars’ blasters look like nerf guns. There’s no such thing as a flesh wound here- the action is furious and hard hitting. The tech isn’t overwhelming, and is as integrated into the character’s day to day lives as mobile phones are in ours; there’s nothing flashy on offer to draw the spotlight away from the characters or the story.

And it’s a great story, a dangerously more-ish mix of corporate engineering and boneshaking action. It feels fresh, it’s accessible to everyone and permeated with the vivid and immersive action that's become Dan's trademark. I devoured it in a couple of days and my only complaint was that there wasn’t more of it! Lovely stuff.

Ciaphas Cain -Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain, Hero the Imperium. Defending mankind against the myriad of enemies seeking to tear down the Imperium of Man. A stalwart champion for the people, a selfless hero who cares about the rank and file soldier fighting alongside him, an inspiration to all.

If only it were true.

Ciaphas Cain’s number priority in the dysfunctional and perennially violent 40K universe is, in fact, Ciaphas Cain. Appointed as a commissar to front line battalions, his purpose is to maintain discipline and shore up the morale of the fighting troops; not an easy task when all he wants to do is tear off towards somewhere as far as possible away from the fighting to while away the rest of his days gambling, drinking and carousing.

A thwarted act of cowardice at the start of his career is the snowball that sets everything in motion, an event given a sheen of heroism by fate and Cain’s opportunistic mindset. Cain’s predicament is a masterstroke by Sandy- given Cain’s position as commissar, cowardice is a one way ticket for a very short trip with a messy end. However, by giving him a reputation for heroism he’s forced to live up to in order to avoid being unmasked as a fraud, he creates a plausible and fertile foundation for Cain to be plunged into the thick of the action time and time again.

It’s how Cain squirms on the hook that makes the series stand out; he’s an intelligent, entertaining and well defined character who carries the story with ease.

The books themselves are presented as the collated memoirs of a long retired Cain, the texts assembled and edited by Amberley, an Inquisitor who Cain worked and fought alongside for a fair sized chunk of his career. So, while the main body of the story is written from Cain’s perspective, the chapters are interspersed with Amberley’s footnotes and snippets from third party accounts of the same events, a nice touch which imparts some extra depth and flavour.

I admit I was a bit apprehensive about tucking into a series which seemed to be angling towards a more lighthearted approach to a notoriously dark and deadly universe. However, Cain’s moments of levity and fun are strictly of the gallows variety; there’s never a doubt that he occupies the same universe as the rest of the Black Library’s stable.

All in, it’s a great series populated by believable, likeable characters and plenty of scorching action. None of the 6 books in the series (Hero of the Imperium comrises the novels For the Emperor, Caves of Ice and The Traitor’s Hand, plus three bonus short stories) disappoints; Sandy's writing is consistently entertaining and engrossing.

Not only is it all but essential reading for any existing 40K fan, it holds up as a standalone read for anyone new to the game or simply looking for some futuristic military action.

You can read a sample extract from Hero of The Imperium here (courtesy of the Black Library).

The Ten Thousand, Paul Kearney

Official blurb:

On the world of Kuf, the Macht are a mystery, a seldom-seen people of extraordinary ferocity and discipline whose prowess on the battlefield is the stuff of legend. For centuries now, they have remained within the fastnesses of the Harukush Mountains. They have become little more than a rumour.

In the vast world beyond, the teeming races and peoples of Kuf have been united within the bounds of the Asurian Empire, a continent-spanning colossus. The Empire rules the known world, and is invincible. The Great King of Asuria can call up whole nations to the battlefield. His word is law across the face of the earth.

But now the Great King’s brother means to take the throne by force, and in order to do so he has sought out the legend. He hires ten thousand mercenary warriors of the Macht, and leads them into the heart of the Empire.


When we meet Rictus, he’s made peace with the fact that he’s about to die. What he doesn’t realise is that fate has other plans for him, plans that will see his youth burned away in the forge-heat of battle.

I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going at first; having the hero spitting blood and making peace with his gods isn’t how I expected things to start. The setup is the snowball tipped over the edge of the mountain though. It builds on itself and becomes a thundering behemoth that bullies you into staying up late at night with the promise of ‘one more page’.

Paul paints a wonderfully gritty, solid feel to the legion of the Macht. The Kuf are rendered both exotic and mundane, alien and human.. but it’s what happens when these worlds collide that gives the second half of the book that extra va-va-voom that keeps you turning the page long after you should have turned the lights off. The battles bring the filth, fear and brutality of war to vivid life; the desolation of the aftermath lingers long after the swords are sheathed.

I'm pretty fussy when it comes to action; Liz can attest to the number of books I've binned after losing interest in a character's fate; I'm happy to say that Ten Thousand was never in danger of sharing their ignominious fate.

If you’re looking for intelligent action, look no further. Give those nice people your money and take Ten Thousand home with you.



(I'm still pretty depressed about Jason though. Poor bugger.)

The Killing Ground, Graham McNeill

I love the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I love the rich history that stands behind it, the depth of the all-pervading darkness that pervades every corner of humanity, the sheer morbidity of it all.

Most of all, I love the Space Marines, the genetically modified super-soldiers of The Emperor, who watches over humanity from his Golden Throne upon sacred Terra. The Marines are, by all accounts, larger than life, the embodiment of the warrior ideal, bound by their allegiance to their Chapter and thereby The Emperor.

The Killing Ground plunges us into this universe, to the planet of Salinas, a planet torn by civil strife in the wake of a brutal suppression of alleged treason and where the voices of those souls lost in a terrible slaughter are about to be heard.

Uriel Ventris and Pasanius, warriors of the Ultramarines chapter are thrown into this simmering powder keg by a twist of fate, having narrowly escaped a hellish Chaos ridden world whilst fulfilling their Death Oath (see The Ultramarines Omnibus). All they want to do is return to their homeworld, to be reunited with their battle-brothers and return to duty.

But that’s far too much of a happy ending for this universe. Mix in some mutants, a bloody handed tyrant, civil rebellion, a psychic tornado and a reality tearing final battle and you’re on your way to a cracking slice of fun, 40K style.

Graham is a man so fully immersed in the mythos of the 40K universe I’d be surprised if he doesn’t refer to his car as a Land Speeder. He handles the shock and ferocity of the battles that rage throughout the book with deft confidence, and still manages to bring Ventris and Pasanius to life as both men and Marines with sickening ease in between the explosions and screams of the dying. What is equally satisfying is how the supporting cast stand out as more than handy plot devices masquerading as people or cannon fodder- they have their own lives and stories that you can relate to and understand. Even the 'monsters'.

I really enjoyed this book, bearing in mind that I read it as a standalone story, not having had the pleasure of devouring The Ultramarines Omnibus yet, which is a testament to his ability to craft a world you can lose yourself in without further ado.

You can read a sample extract here.

Small Favour, Jim Butcher

No one's tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she's calling in her marker. It's a small favor he can't refuse...one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills-and loyalties-to their very limits.

It figures. Everything was going too well to last...

---

More than his magic, Harry is defined by his ability to get himself into deep trouble without any effort and his stubborn loyalty to his friends and personal ‘code’, even if he wouldn’t necessarily describe it as that himself.

Harry and the usual cast of the Dresden Files are so well established that Jim has the luxury of catapulting us into the thick of things within the first dozen pages, and from then on, solidly hooked, you have no choice but to hold on tight for the rest of the ride.

And what a ride! White knuckles all the way as Harry goes up against a full contingent of fallen angels, while trying to keep his friends alive, friendships intact, and trying to escape the machinations of the Sidhe courts. I really enjoyed the tangible impression of how Harry has grown and matured since Storm Front (the first in the series); he’s not quite embittered by his experiences, but you do start getting a sense of the toll the war has taken on him personally; as a result, he's that much more believable. Not some super-hero above us all, just another Joe trying to do his best.

If you’re a Dresden fan (who isn't?), you probably won’t need much in the way of encouragement to get your hands on this. If you’re not, well, you’d be better served starting from Storm Front and working your way up to the current instalment; newcomers to the series won’t get many of the references or the depth of the characters shared history. It would certainly be worth the investment.

But then, I wouldn’t expect people to jump into a series at the tenth book in the first place.


I found myself reading this book anywhere I could, like an alcoholic trying to sneak a drink in rehab.

Ace!