Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

NOTE: Helsreach was a free review copy provided to Luke Reviews by the Black Library.


Aaron Dembski-Bowden has been getting some very spectacular praise lately, and quickly is becoming one of the favorite authors in Black Library’s stable. He burst on the scene with Cadian Blood, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and then started a new series of Space Marine novels. Now he has become the second author of the new line of books from Black Library, Space Marines Battles, which depict famous battles in the history of the Empire that involved Space Marines.

On the planet Armageddon, the citizens are recovering from a past ork attack on their ravaged planet, but are met with terrible news: another onslaught is on its way. They build up their defenses as best they can, and aid rushes to the planet, including the Black Templars Space Marines. The contingent on planet, lead by Grimaldus, are sent to Hive Helsreach, where the fight a seemingly never ending army of the greenskins, struggling, not to win, but simply to survive.

After my second Dembski-Bowden novel, I’m starting to wonder, can Dembski-Bowden write a bad book? Once again, he delves deep into his characters, from Grimaldus, who is mentally tormented at the loss of a father-figure, and at being sent to die in Helsreach, to the marines who rally around him, and the Imperial Guard that fight alongside them. Every character is full of depth, and very few are completely good or likable. Grimaldus is tempestuous to the extreme, with a very detached attitude at times, but at other times he reveals truly honorable characteristics. He is a fully formed character, rare in fiction. There is an occasional switch between third-person and first-person that I found odd at first, but as the book went on it made for a nice melding.

The war is sufficiently draining, as any siege warfare should be, but you never feel that all of the characters are safe. There are no fights that you know will be won without a price, and even at the end every thread of the plot may not end up happily. The full breadth of emotion is on display, played with in the brutal and violent setting to its maximum potential. For a very strong novel exploring the depth of war and the complex characters that fight it, this is an excellent place to go.

9/10

The Black Library Previews Catalogue May-August 2010

NOTE: The Black Library Previews Catalogue May-August 2010 was a free review copy provided to Luke Reviews by The Black Library. However, they are always free of charge at Games Workshop locations, so go out and snag a copy.


Just like an earlier Previews Catalogue I received from The Black Library, this one is full of excerpts from upcoming books, and is a nice way to peek into each. It is also a fun way to while away an hour, and learn more about the exciting things up for the offering from The Black Library. Below I append the schedule so you can see what is to come. Look for all of these to appear here at Luke Reviews:

MAY

Redemption Corps by Rob Sanders (an Imperial Guard novel) [Warhammer 40,000]

Legends of the Space Marines edited by Christian Dunn (an anthology) [Warhammer 40,000]

Helsreach by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (a Space Marines Battles novel) [Warhammer 40,000]

Brunner the Bounty Hunter by C.L. Werner (a Brunner omnibus) [Warhammer Fantasy]

“The Dark King” & “The Lightning Tower” by Graham McNeill and Dan Abnett (a Horus Heresy audio drama) [The Horus Heresy]

JUNE

Courage and Honour by Graham McNeill (the fifth Ultramarines novel) [Warhammer 40,000]

The Chapter’s Due by Graham McNeill (the sixth Ultramarines novel) [Warhammer 40,000]

Bloodborn by Nathan Long (the first Ulrika the Vampire novel) [Warhammer Fantasy]

“Fireborn” by Nick Kyme (a Salamanders audio drama) [Warhammer 40,000]

JULY

Path of the Warrior by Gav Thorpe (the first Eldar series novel) [Warhammer 40,000]

Sword of Justice by Chris Wraight (a Warhammer Heroes novel) [Warhammer Fantasy]

Enforcer by Matthew Farrer (a Shira Calpurnia omnibus) [Warhammer 40,000]

AUGUST

Grimblades by Nick Kyme (an Empire Army novel) [Warhammer Fantasy]

Nemesis by James Swallow (the fourteenth Horus Heresy novel) [The Horus Heresy]

“Throne of Lies” by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (a Night Lords audio drama) [Warhammer 40,000]

Zendikar: In the Teeth of Akoum by Robert B. Wintermute

Quite a number of years ago, I had an interest in Magic: The Gathering. I collected the cards, but my favorite aspect was reading the novels. I read a number of them, and then moved on to other hobbies. However, as I have been looking at tie-in fiction since I started up Luke Reviews almost a year ago, and enjoyed some Forgotten Realms novels (published by Wizards of the Coast, same as Magic: The Gathering is), I decided to give it a go again. I picked up the brand new release and dove in.


The world of Zendikar is one infused with magic, and its inhabitants draw magic from the land. However, Nissa Revane, an elf from Zendikar and powerful with magic, and her town are under attack by strange creatures she has never seen before. As Nissa and a group of warriors press the creatures retreat, they are attacked again, and everyone dies except for Nissa, who is saved by a mysterious human. Accompanied by a vampire slave, the trio sets out to stop these creatures from destroying all life on the planet.

The premise of the novel is entertaining, and the characters aren’t bad. While every once in a while something grabbed me as a problem common to first novels, all in all what I read wasn’t bad. However, I didn’t finish the book. Why not? The back cover.

The plot of the book hinges on a couple of secrets. The bad news: these secrets are spelled out for you on the back cover. I don’t know if these count as spoilers, since I found them out from the back cover and not the novel itself, but there is the warning, just in case you don’t want to finish this paragraph: What is the secret that people try to warn Nissa about that involves the mysterious human? Why does he have an affinity for the vampire? Why does he smirk when Nissa cracks on vampires? Because he is, as the back describes him, an “ancient vampire” himself. So much for that surprise. Why does he know so much about these creatures? What is the secret of his past? According to the back once again: “He was among the original jailers of the æther-borne scourge.”

End of “spoilers,” if they are truly such. While the book isn’t bad, the back cover gives away the suspense that is meant to carry the reader along. It is hard for a story to recover from that. Not finishing the book wasn’t the story’s fault, so I’m not going to give it the low rating it would normally receive. And I will keep my eye out, both for future Magic: The Gathering novels, and work from Wintermute, who shows lots of promise.

My advice to you: If you are interested in this book, there is a lot to like, so give it a shot. Just don’t read the back first.

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, Volume One by Chuck Dixon

It seems like it is my week for “[Author]’s [Title] by [Different Author].” This time around, it is Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, Volume One by Chuck Dixon. Dixon wrote this novel as an adaption of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, a novel originally credited to Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson, but now credited solely to Koontz. This graphic novel is the first volume of a series that adapts the first novel in the Frankenstein series. As a fan of Koontz, the original novel by Mary Shelley, and graphic novels, I dove in.


In New Orleans, a chain of murders has detectives O’Conner and Maddison left with a puzzle, and things get no simpler when Deucalion arrives in town. It turns out that Deucalion has some ties to a famous monster, and that his creator is residing in New Orleans, looking to repeat his experiment. But when another creature goes on the loose, O’Conner and Deucalion may have to team up to stop the wave of murderers.

When it comes to adaptations of prose works into graphic novel form, the results vary. The graphic novel version of The Hobbit, also done by Chuck Dixon, was engaging, while Orson Scott Card’s Wyrms was okay in parts but wasn’t the greatest graphic novel to reach my shelves. So I was curious how this would turn out.

In this case, I hit the jackpot. Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, Volume One is one of the best adaptations since George R. R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight, also put out by Dabel Brothers Publishing, that time for Marvel, this time for Del Rey. From the moment you pick this book up, it is hard to put down. Dixon’s story flows through the pages with excellent art from Brett Booth, and the stories weave together wonderfully. The plot twists are masterfully executed, as I would expect from Dean Koontz, the characters are well-rounded, and the story is fun.

As a bonus, there is a short graphic story from Koontz, a look at a failed experiment from Victor Helios’ past. It is entertaining, if light fair.

This book will leave you begging for the sequel. If there is any single aspect of this work you think you could find yourself liking, go out and grab a copy. You won’t regret it.

10/10

Gary Jennings’ Apocalypse 2012 by Robert Gleason and Junius Podrug

With all of the furor that has arisen over 2012 in the media lately, the thriller genre has taken the opportunity to put out a number of books that play with that theme. Among those is Gary Jennings’ Apocalypse 2012 by Robert Gleason and Junius Podrug. I had wanted to dive into Gary Jennings’ Aztec series, and never had the chance, so when I saw this new novel, I decided to give it a try.


In 1001, Coyotl is a slave who was found as an infant. He is on the way to being a sacrifice when a group of Toltecs attack the camp, and set him free. The party, along with Coyotl and another slave, Desert Flower, set off for the great city of Tula, which is on the brink of breakdown during the middle of a terrible drought. In the present day, a group has gathered to face an upcoming disaster. Could the two be related?

While the premise of the novel is entertaining, the execution is terrible. The large portions of the book are about Coyotl and his story, and they are dry and unengaging. I never would have imagined that ritualistic human sacrifice could be so dry and unaffecting. Desert Flower is a blank character who does nothing but get scared and act very stereotypically female, while the two named Toltecs, Stargazer and Smoking Shield, and the only ones with a hint of depth.

And then we flash to the modern day, where we are given a point-of-view character who is a perfect example of political vileness. She is, without an explanation, violently against anyone and anything that doesn’t think as she does, to the point of verbally assaulting over and over a man who she simply disagrees with. We are expected to revel along with her as she acts vile.

I might have been able to hold on and keep looking at the dry historical tale, in the hopes that it would get better, but after a couple of flashes of my modern day protagonist, there wasn’t nearly enough in the historical section to keep me reading.

While Jennings’ name is attached to the book, I hope that it isn’t remotely like what he actually wrote. This seems to be yet another example of people wanting to tack onto an author’s legacy, and wind up smearing it instead. Avoid this novel.

1/10

200!

It seems like not too long ago that Luke Reviews hit its 100th post, but here we are again, with another hundred posts done. I really appreciate how this has been running along, gathering more and more speed. I’m picking up new publishers and keeping with old ones, and looking at even more books than ever. As always, thank you to the publishers and authors who trust me enough to send me copies of their works to be reviewed, and to all of the readers who keep coming back. I hope that some of you have found something on here that you didn’t know about or never would have picked up, and ended up giving it a try and loving it. Let me know what can be done to make Luke Reviews even better than before. My email is to the side, and don’t be afraid to use it! I hope you stick around, because there are some really exciting things on the horizon. Come on back, and tell a friend!

Flesh and Iron by Henry Zou

NOTE: Flesh and Iron was a free review copy provided to Luke Reviews by the Black Library


After the excitement that was built with Emperor’s Mercy last year, which earned him a Top 15 of 2009 spot, and the cliffhanger ending for one of the main characters, I couldn’t wait to dive into the sequel and see what was in store. Thus, I was a little disappointed to find out that the second novel in Zou’s Bastion Wars series was not a sequel, but a prequel novel. However, still excited, I dove into Flesh and Iron.

On Solo-Bastón, a local insurgency led by a group known as the Dos Pares is attacking the Imperial cities, and the Imperial Guard is called in to deal with the situation. However, Solo-Bastón has very little Imperial presence, and the insurgency is able to dig in and set up the best circumstances for their war. It is up to Colonel Baeder and the 31st Riverine to take a key gun emplacement and let the rest of the Imperial Army get into the mainland and root out the rest of the forces. However, as darker undersides to the fight begin to rise, the question of which side is right becomes murky.

The first novel in Zou’s series was very much in the vein of Inquisition novels, so it was a bit of a jump in the second to have what basically amounts to an Imperial Guard novel. However, Zou shows that he is just as adept at this segment of the Warhammer 40,000 milieu as with the Inquisition. He creates characters that feel very much alive, and he doesn’t just give one side. We see human characters fighting for both causes, and especially towards the end he drums up some substantial questioning of who is in the right, and the effects of corruption on those in power.

I couldn’t help feeling that this one was a little less engaging than Emperor’s Mercy in some way, but I couldn’t point to a cause of this. The action was hard and fast, and it didn’t let up. The only major issue I had was that the main storyline ended 100 pages before the novel did. The book kept on from there, in effect using the last 100 pages to tie this novel into the previous one and throwing twists at the characters. While that isn’t bad, the person who picks this up without reading the first book may not get much out of the end.

Pick up Flesh and Iron and it will be a fun ride. I wouldn’t suggest it quite as readily if you haven’t read Emperor’s Mercy, but I still think it would be enjoyable. One of the top Imperial Guard novels.

8/10