[40k Review] Dead Men Walking - Steve Lyons

If you’ve played a game of Warhammer 40k, there’s a good chance you at least know who the Death Korps of Krieg are. They wear the greatcoats. They have the skull-faced rebreather masks. They look pretty badass. However, beyond the rather costly Imperial Armour books, there hasn’t been a ton written about them. Steve Lyons (Death World, Ice Guard) changes that with the Black Library’s most recent Imperial Guard output, Dead Men Walking.

Dead Men Walking tells the story of Hieronymous Theta, a mining world that unwittingly unearths a necron tomb, awakening the slumbering necrons within. As Hieronymous Theta has been a previously peaceful, ordered world, they only have a small PDF force to and enlist the aide of the Death Korps of Kreig to defend their world. To drive the narrative, Lyons breaks up chapters between three major characters: Gustaf Soreson, a mining overseer turned soldier, Constellin, the commissar assigned to the Kreig regiment, and Arex, Soreson’s would-be love interest that finds herself trapped in the under siege city. This is a calculated decision by Lyons that serves the narrative greatly, as it provides points of stark contrast between the protagonists in the novel. Lyons also does a really nice job of fostering the idea of hope in the face of extreme adversity in the novel. It serves his narrative well, though going too far into this idea would require some spoiling of the plot, which I won’t do.

The choice of the necrons as the protagonist serves its purpose well: to mirror the Death Korpsmen. To the other people of Hieronymous, both groups are eerily similar. They are unfeeling. They are calculating. Most of all, they are inhuman. The Korpsmen don’t go by names, merely numbers, and like the necrons, their skull faces are devoid of emotion, despite the gravity of war. Constellin serves as the Kreig commissar, but even more so as their go-between for contact and deliberation with other humans. Throughout the book, his exhaustion is tangible as he constantly struggles with his role as the commissar of a regiment that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t need one save to communicate with outsiders.

While Constellin is a good character and Arex serves to provide the ‘average citizen’ element to the novel (despite the fact that she is the Governor’s niece), it is through the eyes of Soreson that the narrative shines. In Dead Men Walking, Soreson serves to display the dehumanizing aspect of war, particularly one fought with the Death Korps of Krieg. Throughout the novel, we see Soreson’s descent from ordinary man to Korpsman. He moves from cowardly overseer to unfeeling automaton, willing to serve the Emperor at all costs. Lyons does a really nice job portraying this. Soreson’s agony through the change is believable, and ultimately painful to bear witness to.

Soreson’s is easily the best characterization in the novel, and is Lyons’ high point. The pacing of the novel is good, as the shifting focus helps to move the story alone without becoming too stagnant, but it does create some problems within Lyons’ prose. There are points in the novel that just don’t read ‘right.’ I had a hard time placing it, but it seems that the narrative voice Lyons employs shifts subtly at peculiar times. Were it to change per different character, I think I’d have appreciated it more, but as it stands, it simply stood out and bothered me. To be fair, it is a minor quibble, but it grated on me as I read, so it seems worth pointing out. I also particularly enjoyed the portrayal and description of the necrons. They are as robotic as one would expect, but Lyons does a nice job of mirroring them to the Death Korps. Additionally, he does a really nice job of integrating the well known units of the necrons without slapping the reader in the face with Immortals, or Flayed Ones, or Scarab Swarms. He refers to them as any human might, and it works well within the confines of the story.

Lyons has done a good job with Dead Men Walking. The narrative is solid, with good pacing, appropriate characterization, and solid battle scenes. His mirroring of the Death Korps in the necrons is a nice addition, and allows Dead Men Walking to be, overall, a very solid read. It is not, however, a happy read. The world of the Death Korps is bleak, cold, and calculating. Just as a Korps book should be.

(7/10) Recommended

[40k Review] Firedrake - Nick Kyme

The Salamanders have a special place for me. They represent the first fully painted force that I’ve had in miniature gaming. Vulkan He’stan was one of the first figures that I painted to what I would consider a “high standard.” Further, they represent the Space Marine chapter that most embodies the heroic ideals that I find so intriguing: chivalry and brotherhood.

Firedrake is the second installment in Nick Kyme’s Tome of Fire trilogy and picks up where Salamander left off. Change is on the horizon for the Salamanders, with Da’kir, protagonist from Salamander, again playing a key role in the narrative. Da’kir has been elevated to librarian status, and the part he plays in the story has much to do with his Lexicanum training. Running concurrently to the Dak’ir thread is a story involving the abduction of Chaplain Elysius at the hands of Dark Eldar raiders. The two stories provide a nice balance for one another, as Dak’ir’s story is a bit more cerebral, focusing more on Dak’ir’s internal struggles, whereas the story of Elysius is a much more straightforward affair, a simple, yet interesting survival and rescue operation.

Da’kir’s story is interesting, if not a bit slow. Getting the chance to see his Lexicanum training is interesting, but often the pacing of his story is off and, as a result, can become a bit tedious. What becomes very clear is Da’kir’s power; he possesses unmatched raw talent, but his ability to control that power is really the focus of his story.

The survival of Elysius is a great deal more enthralling than the story of Dak’ir, if only because more ‘happens’—that isn’t to say nothing happens to Dak’ir, it does, but again, it is all quite cerebral. Elysius is abducted by Dark Eldar raiders. That alone is exciting; however, when Elysius, now sergeant Ba’ken, and Iagon (all from Salamander) are taken through the webway, the story becomes quite entertaining. The depiction of the Dark Eldar is spot on; they are malicious, they are violent, and they possess a graceful lethality. The presence of Lilith Hesperax enhances this, as she is the embodiment of all the aforementioned qualities. Further, Firedrake really provides a nice primer to the Dark Eldar for the uninitiated; I didn’t know much about them, but found their description, and that of the webway, really interesting.

On the rescue mission, we also get a chance to see Vulkan He’Stan in literary action. He is a mythic figure to the other Salamanders, and his portrayal is pretty cool. He seems larger than life, fights like a fire-born demon, and inspires the others around him to be greater. In short, he’s very cool, and I found it really cool that the Black Library is making a concerted effort to put characters from the Space Marine Codex into the literature. It really helps to tie the 40k universe together and make everything seem more fluid.

While I appreciated the stories of Firedrake, it leaves me feeling a bit torn. He furthers the notion that the Salamanders are protectors and that quality is unique to the Astartes. Their compassion is shown in droves. He provides clear narration and quality battle scenes, particularly the ones depicted in the webway. Kyme has a clear picture of what he wants from the Tome of Fire trilogy, there is no doubt. However, it was also clear that Firedrake is the middle chapter of a trilogy. In actuality, it shares a number of parallels with The Empire Strikes Back; Dak’ir’s quest and training is Luke’s training on Dagobah; Elysius’ capture is the capture of Han and crew on Bespin. And like Empire, there are major revelations that will affect the third chapter of the Tome of Fire trilogy. However, Firedrake lacks a bit of the ‘oomph’ that Empire provides in droves, mostly due to the difficulty grasping a similar level of emotional investment. That’s not to say the characters aren’t strong, or that we don’t care about them; the truth is quite the contrary. Kyme’s characters are fleshed out well, there are simply too many of them to invest in. Also, at times it becomes very clear that Firedrake is a middle chapter; Kyme does a lot of setting up future events that we presently see no payoff in.

I liked Firedrake, and again I’m excited to see how Kyme ends the trilogy. Kyme has a plan for the story, and once all three installments are released, I think the story as a whole will be worthy of much praise and a higher score. As it stands, Firedrake falls just a bit short, if only because it is an obvious middle chapter.

The Bottom Line

Nick Kyme’s Firedrake is very clearly the middle chapter of a trilogy, providing a nice filler narrative while advancing the overall story and further developing his characters. The story is strong, but the lack of resolutions—which are sure to come in the third installment—and the definitive absence of finality keep it from being great. Read it only if you’re previously read Salamander, as the novel will be confusing without the introduction Salamander provides. It is a solid novel, but requires previous reading, and some patience for the final book.

7/10 Above Average

[40k Review] The First Heretic - Aaron Dembski-Bowden

The Black Library’s Horus Heresy series has become no less than epic. Spanning 14 books thusfar, the Games Workshop Warhammer 40k IP is being worked hard and worked diligently through the Horus Heresy, and for the most part, each book in the series has been a decent addition to the overall story. With Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s (ADB) first effort in the Horus Heresy, we are treated to a story that is arguably the most important in the series so far, the story of the roots of the Horus Heresy itself, the story of The First Heretic.

The First Heretic details the story of the Word Bearers chapter over nearly 60 years of the Great Crusade, continuing through the Isstvan V Massacre. Detailing the events largely through the eyes of 7th Company Captain Argel Tal, we are taken on a journey that details the fall of the Word Bearers legion from the initial setting off point at Monarchia, where Lorgar and his Word Bearers are forced to kneel in deference to both the Emperor and Roboute Guilliman, to the ultimate point of betrayal at Isstvan V. The story reads much like a Shakespearian tragedy; we know the ultimate fate of our players, yet we can't help to hope that, at the eleventh hour, the story will change. As such, it provides a driving narrative that moves deftly through ADB's adept prose.

The prose that drives the story is, much like the other ADB books, gripping and readable. ADB is one of the best of the Black Library authors at varying sentence structure and creating a narrative that has consistent pacing. He has a great feel for establishing an ebb and flow to the narrative structure that allows for slower, more relaxed portions of story to counterbalance the more tense ones. It all works very well, but mostly due to ADBs biggest strength: his characterization.

Rich characterization is a skill ADB always brings to the table. He has a laudable knack for being able to create characters that the reader can both relate to and cares about, and thus is able to draw his reader further into the story. The First Heretic is no different. Argel Tal is a wonderfully portrayed character. He is deeply loyal, but unlike many of his Word Bearer brethren, his loyalty doesn't turn into zealotry. It makes him stand out as character, particularly because it provides such a strong point of internal conflict. We also get a healthy dose of Kor Phaeron and Erebus, characters previously introduced in other Horus Heresy books, and who, unlike Argel Tal, are certainly not conflicted about their conviction of purpose. Suffice it to say that, in The First Heretic, the roles that both Erebus and Kor Phaeron have to play in the greater space opera that is the Horus Heresy come into even greater light. Though we do see much of the story through the eyes of the Astartes, it Is through the characterization of the Primarch Lorgar that ADB's prose really shines.

Lorgar is an incredibly polarizing figure in this novel. Unlike the primarch’s we’ve seen in other books, Lorgar is, and I’ll quote a friend here, “a bit of a douche.” He isn’t Hurculean like Ferrus Manus or Leman Russ. He isn’t magnanimous like Gulliman or Dorn. He isn’t influential like Horus or Magnus. Lorgar is the Golden Primarch and is described as, essentially, a Primarch-sized Egyptian boy-emperor. He’s whiny, he’s petulant, and worst of all, he’s far more naïve than any Primarch should be. In a particularly telling, and poignant scene, Lorgar asks his advisors what his fault as a Primarch is. He is told, “you trust too much, and too easily.” It is a weakness that makes Lorgar far more human than any previous Primarch, and perhaps could make his fall all the more bitter; however, the manner in which his naiveté leads to his downfall makes him appear simply weak. That’s not to say his is a bad, or poorly developed, character—he’s quite the contrary. Lorgar is a really well fleshed out character that is simply hard to like or sympathize with because of his faults.

This is a complicated book in many respects. On one level, The First Heretic is similar to Fulgrim and A Thousand Sons, in that it is a chronicling of the fall from grace of one of the Emperor’s chosen sons. Unlike the other primarchs, Lorgar is a far less sympathetic character than both Fulgrim and Magnus. Where both Fulgrim and Magnus fall due to their arrogance in service to the Emperor despite the best intentions, Lorgar’s fall is much less pitiable as his naiveté and blind faith serve to betray him. That faith, and the nature of faith itself, serves to set this book above as not simply a science fiction novel—as so many Black Library novels are cast aside—but as a piece of literature. We saw a glimpse of this depth in the short story “The Last Church” from Tales of Heresy, but ADB really explores this theme at great length in The Last Heretic. Now, there’s no confusing The Last Heretic for Aquinas, but I really applaud both ADB and the Black Library for tackling these very real and applicable themes.

In The First Heretic, Aaron Dembski-Bowden has crafted a very important book in the scope of the Horus Heresy, the Warhammer 40k canon and IP, and the Black Library. Echoing the epitaph on the novel’s cover, ADB explores the roots of the Heresy and we are introduced to information that is both staggering and heartbreaking. Additionally, The First Heretic marks the first time themes beyond good and evil are explored to such an extent in a Black Library novel. The Horus Heresy novels are quickly becoming the vessel for the Black Library to create ‘real’ literature, to craft stories that examine those universal themes that turn books into literature and movies into films. The First Heretic leads the charge, and Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s work is a wonderful entry to the Horus Heresy series and a superb piece of literature that should not be missed.

9.5/10 Masterful