Book Review (In Brief): The Emperor's Gift

Hey there everybody! Old Man Chaos is back with another posting. Officially, there's only a few more days to go till the new Chaos Codex. I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on that. Speaking of, I did buy the Dark Vengeance boxed set finally, so I'll be reviewing that soon too (have to put the Chaos pieces together first). However, as a result of buying DV, I will have to wait on buying the big Chaos stuff, since the book alone is $50- of course, my birthday and Christmas are coming up (hint hint). Anyways, I will for sure rate the DV box and the Codex very soon.

However, right now, I just finished Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The Emperor's Gift. Now, you all know I think he may be the best Black Library writer out there- his Cadian Blood and Night Lords Trilogy are absolutely perfect works of 40K fiction. However, in this book he is focusing squarely on a Grey Knight brotherhood, which is far from his usual. So, did he knock it out of the park, or is it a swing and a miss? Let's find out:

 For sure, ADB is still the most fluid writer in the BL stable. His writing is concise, but still descriptive and occasionally poetic (for 40K, natch). ADB handles complex action scenes, emotions, and plots with ease. He gets the point across without beating you over the head with it, as some of the BL authors do. Nor is his writing "bolter porn" as it were- there's meaning in his action sequences, and his stories are about characters, not just action scenes staring the same character. Here, ADB primary focus is Hyperion, a new Grey Knight bonded to Castian squad. Hyperion is strong and brave, but he finds it difficult to coordinate his skills with his battle brothers, while at the same time trying to "re-figure" out human emotion from those mortals he serves with. However, trouble comes for Hyperion when word reaches his squad that the world of Armageddon is under attack from the forces of Chaos.

What follows is a very unusual story indeed- the book isn't about the First War of Armageddon- rather, it is how Hyperion becomes part of a task force sent to Armageddon, and then what happens after the wars. It is rather interesting conceit- the War itself is like two chapters long only. The war was longer, but the Grey Knights see battle only once- against Angron himself (very cool, by the way). The remainder of the book is about the moral conflict that follows: what should be done with the loyal soldiers and citizens of Armagedon who saw Daemons- standard Inquisitorial protocol says all must die for seeing "that which CANNOT exist". But the Space Wolves, who have fought for months on Armageddon, want to spare the innocents. Hyperion is torn- he wants to protect humanity, but allowing these people to live will only allow Chaos to spread, unwittingly perhaps, but spread nevertheless.

Therin lies the issue here, for both good and bad. The story has odd fits and starts- the War is truncated, and the first boarding action and subsequent mustering goes on for too damn long. Indeed, at one point I said "I get it- the ship is possessed- move on". And while the Armageddon scenes were cool, it was too brief, and relied on the fact that longtime fans knew the outcome already. On the other hand, the moral issues that Hyperion confronts are truly interesting and deep- we always know that the Inquisition will do such terrible things for the protection of humanity, but here it takes on a more realistic dimension as Hyperion wrestles with the moral implications of what the Inquisition must do. Since the story was told from Hyperion's perspective, it made for fascinating reading.

Even better, ADB has found a great "voice" for the good guys of the Adeptus Astartes , which can be tricky to write for(he can write Chaotic Marines quite well, as we already know). Hyperion is very sympathetic, a hero who wants to understand the humans that he fights to protect. To most humans, he seems cold and fearsome, but he is also capable of gentle warmth, which I thought was a great blend for the Grey Knights. Writing first person allows ADB do bring a great deal of depth here, and it makes up for the books flaws.

The other great thing that ADB does is he plants both feet firmly in the 40K lore. Not only is this about the First War of Armageddon, he also manages to tie this book to others, including The Battle of the Fang, Prospero Burns, and amazingly (and wonderfully, I might add) the Ravenor and Eisenhorn series. ADB did this with his Night Lords trilogy too, which makes his work feel like part of the mosaic of 40K, rather than just one author's take.

So, what to take away from this? ADB tries some risky things here- his first person Grey Knight narration, his willingness to forgo the battle that most would have expected going in, and his interest in the "clean-up", rather than the war itself, makes The Emperor's Gift very interesting and different from other BL tales. My only issue really was the pacing of the first third of the book, which takes too long. Perhaps if that had been trimmed, ADB could have done more with the Armageddon piece, which I think would have strengthened the weight of the moral questions  asked in the last third. Thus, I award this book 3 1/2 out of 4 Marks of Chaos. Its a good book in the chances it takes, but the pacing could have been better.

Until next time...

Newly Painted Terrain: Sanctum Imperialis

Hey there everybody. I'm back with another Warhammer 40K article. This time I'm going to show you the latest bit of terrain building that I've done. Truth is, I was never a fan of terrain making/painting, but lately, I've had the urge to work on that quite a bit. I've been building and painting a few buildings now, and I must say I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I will be getting back to Dark Eldar  soon enough- I just had the terrain bug, and since I don't do enough terrain wise, I figured I should while I have the will to do so.

Truthfully, I have a ton of the City Fight building terrain. My original plan, long ago when those sets came out, was to do a huge Imperial city with those GW pieces. Those, when combined with other buildings that I had (from Armourcast and Gale Force 9), would add up to an enormous city (or plenty of variety for smaller city battles). However, several years and armies later, that grand vision never quite materialized.

Well, until now, that is. I have been doing terrain off and on for the past several months (check out my older terrain articles for some of that). I put together the landing pad, a Chaos shrine, and recently I've been doing a whole factory complex (I'm working on the third part of that now).

However, I have just completed a Sanctum Imperialis building. I based it on top of a Warhammer Fantasy movement tray, just like I did the factories. It looks like city cement with those squares, so that fits with my city motif. I wanted to make the building a bit longer, so if I want to make a second building piece to connect it, I can, but I don't have to if I don't want to.

 I used the GW resin terrain bits/rubble for the detail work, as well as cutting pieces of the Fantasy movement tray borders and made them look like steel beams/girders. I also put big and small rubble pieces too. Finally, to round out the details, I put two street lamps outside, and a box of ammunition on the inside.

 To paint it, I used various browns. I used Khermi Brown as the base, with successive highlights of Graveyard Earth and Desert Yellow. I also streaked grey across some parts, to simulate age or damage. The rubble I did Scorched Brown, with the other browns as highlights. The buildings tiles I did with Adeptus Grey, followed by some Fortress Grey.

I must confess, it is not a perfect paint job. But then again, it IS a ruined building, so it doesn't have to be perfect. I am pleased with how it turned out. Many of my buildings are grey, so this brown was VERY different for me. Indeed, I don't know the last time I used Khermi or Desert Yellow on anything.

I've shown you some shots of the building, as well as some models on it to give it some scale and some action. The Inquisitorial forces don't stand a chance against the Traitor Legions, do they? Of course not! This is Chaos Corner after all! If you want lies and pro-Imperial propaganda, go elsewhere! Hahaha! I'm kidding! You Imperails take everything so seriously...

Well, I hope you liked the pics. Maybe this will inspire you to do your own terrain. Or maybe it will give you other ideas. Until next time...

 

Book Review (In Brief): Ravenor

Hey there Chaos fans! I'm back with a brief book review. I finished the Omnibus Ravenor by Dan Abnett a while back, but I never got around to posting my thoughts about it. So, away we go...

Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed the trails and tribulations of Inquisitor Ravenor. The stories were fun, mostly fast paced, and enjoyable. It takes a lot of guts on the part of Abnett to make the main character a crippled, physically broken man in an "action-packed 40K Universe". Indeed, I love the character of Ravenor almost as much as Eisenhorn. Almost. And I think that's they key problem- we never focus too long on Ravenor. It's telling that Eisenhorn is totally told totally from his point of view. We get to know Eisenhorn- his thoughts, his fears, his slow and seemingly irresistible slide toward "radicalism". In Ravenor, on the other hand, only parts of the story are from Ravenor's point of view. Abnett frequently pulls away from him. Of course, writing all first person can be problematic, for sure. However, the character of Ravenor is so interesting, that focusing on the other characters is just not as rewarding.

Perhaps this was my own problem. I read the two trilogies back to back. Comparisons were simply bound to happen. I think the Eisenhorn trilogy is much more rewarding and better told than the Ravenor trilogy in just about every way. Again, that's not to say I didn't like Ravenor, I just felt that Eisenhorn just blew me away, and Ravenor didn't. Let's take the first books, for example. The first Eisenhor story had everything- cultists, intrigue, a forbidden tome, aliens, battles large and small, Inquisitorial rivalries, etc. Ravenor's first book, by contrast, has them chasing down "drugs", infiltrating a "carnival" of sorts, then going to a Mos Eisley type place which is not nearly as exciting as it sounds. The first book is OK, just blah. The next two books are better, but still not up to the high standards of Eisenhorn.Indeed, the next two stories in Ravenor have great ideas, like the computers that literally bore workers to death, the Fratery cult of "foreseers" is well conceived, and then there's the "door" in the last book that transcends time and space in a way that is fresh for 40K. Unfortunately, Abnett's story is so overstuffed that we don't explore those for very long, and the ultimate conclusion is both climactic and anti-climactic all at the same time.

The story arc of Ravenor centers around Ravenor chasing down a superbly trained Chaos cultist named Molotch, who has fast reflexes, and a faster brain. Molotch is meant to be an opposite of Ravenor, and he's fairly effective, though he is out-shined by a more interesting "cultist for hire", Culzean Orfeo, who is an expert at "setting things up" for other cultists. This character has a wit and style that sets him apart from most villains in 40K stories. However, there's also the "foretelling" of a daemon called "Slyte", who, if he gets into our material universe, will wreak havoc. Then there's criminals smuggling drugs, and then there's a cult trying to "birth" Slyte, and then there's another cult trying to gain the powers of "Enunciation" but they don't want Slyte to appear, and then... well, I think you get the point. The story is very, very convoluted. Whereas Eisenhorn was a fairly straightforward story with twists and turns, Ravenor's storyline is a bit all over the place.

And then there's our heroes. Gideon Ravenor himself is a genius and a "humane" Inquisitor. I found that combination to be very refreshing for 40K. Whenever the story focuses on him, the story comes alive. His "thoughts" are soaring, considering how broken he is physically. As a character, he's a wonderful creation- strong but vulnerable at the same time. However, the supporting characters are not all as interesting or well drawn. I didn't like Kara Swole in Eisenhorn, but she was a bit player there. Here, she's more center stage- and I still don't like her. She doesn't fit into the proceedings, and I find it hard to believe she's an Inquisitorial agent, as she's too "goody goody", not traits I'd consider worthy of being an Inquisitorial field agent. A better character is Patience, who starts of vague but becomes a mainstay as the book goes on- her tragic past haunts her, but her skills and coldness make her a great agent for Ravenor. Then there's Harlon Nayl, former bounty hunter that now works for the Inquisition- he's a tough guy but he also cares about his teammates- a great character if slightly 2 dimensional. There are some secondary characters like Frauka and Unwerth who are both funny but also memorable characters.

My main issue here however is Carl Thonius, who is Ravenor's apprentice (an Interrogator). He's an annoying character who whines constantly and is more worried about how he's dressed than anything else. My issue here is that I can't buy that he is "Inquisitor" material. I see nothing about him that says he'd make a great Inquisitor. He's good with computers and he "knows" a lot of random facts- but shouldn't that be more in keeping with a Tech Adept? I also couldn't see Ravenor putting up with Carl's antics and weaknesses, which puts the team at risk more than once. I simply don't/can't believe that this man is an Inquisitor, as he doesn't act like one at all. This is all compounded by the fact that Carl is central to so much of the plot- and he's unlikable. If he is supposed to be comic relief (and I don't think he's funny), how can he be what he becomes at the end? If he' supposed to be sympathetic, Abnett didn't make him likable. If you're supposed to hate him, then there's no investment in his final fate. Carl is a huge contradiction as a character, but not in a good, enigmatic way.

So, don't get me wrong, Ravenor is a worthwhile read for any 40K fan. It has some great ideas, and a few great characters. The action is always fast paced and occasionally brilliant (again- that "door" bit in the third book is amazing- I can't divulge it but its a blast). However, it is not Abnett's best work, not even close. Eisenhorn set the gold standard here, and it doesn't match up. Nor is it as good as say Horus Rising or Legion. So, I'd have to give it overall 2 1/2 marks of Chaos out of 4, though there are bits that are better than that. 

Well, that's all for now. Until next time...