Book Review: Space Wolf

Space Wolf by William King
Release Date: November 2003
Publisher: Black Library
Audience: Everyone/Adult
Pages: 416
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5









The Warhammer 40k universe is tied to the Warhammer universe but, as the title implies, 40,000 years in the future. So, the elements that exist in Warhammer often continue on into the future in various permutations. The Space Wolves, a Space Marine Legion, are the 40k's answer to werewolves basically. By passing a series of initiations, a prospective Space Wolf will drink from the Cup of Wulfen (along with gene seed) and essentially gain power from both, but, like werewolves, have the animal inside threatening to take over.

Space Wolf follows the initiation of one of the legends of the Space Wolves, Ragnar Blackmane. As all Space Wolves are chosen from the best warriors their home planet, Fenris, can provide, the first part of the book follows Ragnar's life amongst his tribe. However, after proving himself in battle, Ragnar is chosen as a prospective initiate in the Space Wolves chapter. The second half of the book follows Ragnar as he is initiated, trained, and tested to prove himself worthy of the Space Wolves. However, Ragnar, despite his training, finds himself unexpectedly tested when he stumbles across the agents of Chaos on Fenris, a test where losing means death.

Granted, I don't play the tabletop and have not read the extensive codexes on the Warhammer 40k universe, but I feel that this novel does extremely well to introduce the reader to the Space Marines and Chaos, with especial attention paid to the many levels of initiation required to become a Space Marine, and also the various forces and technology that exists for the Space Marines. While the book has a good story arc, I felt that the climax of the novel did not entirely meet the standards of the novel, nor for a book of this length. That, and occasionally the novel would drag for ten or so pages. And a not so serious beef me and my friend have with William King: his extensive use of the phrase 'blood and sinew'.

If you are looking for good books to introduce you to 40k, or already are a fan of 40k, I recommend you check this series out (the amazon link leads to the first omnibus, $10 for three books ain't bad). However, if you are looking for a space opera or straight up sci-fi, I would look somewhere else or at other offerings by the Black Library, because this book doesn't leave the home world of Fenris, and most of that is in the chapter's stronghold. But subsequent novels in this series do go into space, so...

Book Review: Storm of Iron

Storm of Iron by Graham McNeill
Release Date: July 2002
Publisher: Black Library
Audience: Everyone/Mature
Pages: 288
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5









This book was the first entry in the Warhammer 40,000 (or simply 40k) universe that I read and, man, did it get me hooked on the books from Black Library and Warhammer 40k in general (though I have as of yet to look into the tabletop game, as I have neither the time, money, or inclination). And, from a few people I have talked to and perusing the internet, this book seems to be the first novel many people read in the 40k series, much like Ninja Scroll for anime (at least, 10-15 years ago anyway before the massive influx of anime on western shores).

The book follows a group of Iron Warriors laying siege to a Imperial stronghold to access the treasure inside that may shift the war in Chaos' favor and create a force that is the equal of the Imperial Space Marines. The story follows a number of higher ups in the Iron Warriors as they A. vie with Imperial forces for control of the stronghold and B. vie with one another for control of the campaign.

This book is long, bloody, full of battles and explosions, and a good read. I think McNeill does a really good job introducing the various elements of both sides (the Imperial forces and Chaos forces), the weapons they use, and their general socio-political organization. McNeill, while he focuses on the Iron Warriors, he also gives a decent amount of space for the Imperial officers who are protecting the stronghold. I really can't say too much more without ruining anything but this was a pivotal novel in the 40k universe, is extremely well written, and is highly recommended. If you like war and battles and some intrigue, you will like this book.

Book Review: Deathstalker War

Deathstalker War by Simon R. Green
Published: July 1997
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 528
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5
Audiobook Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 5/5







At last. The war that has been promised to the reader for over 1000 pages has finally arrived. Out of the three books I have read so far in the series, this is by far the best. Not only does the rising action of the first two books climax with the intergalactic war between the various rebellion factions and the empire, but we also get a fair amount of character development across the board with all of the main characters.

The book was surprising for me in that an number of unexpected twists occur in the final chapters of the novel, and that the author does a good job of setting up the series for the next book(s), and does it without taking 1000 pages to do it. The author also leaves a number of unanswered questions on a number of fronts as well. I suppose I would question the author as to why he went to the trouble of going into such detail about the empire when, by the end of the book, none of it really weighs in on the story itself and is implied by the end of the book that it will cease to be or mutate into something else entirely.

While the book was quite good, full of action and intrigue, I suppose, upon reflection, what the first three books have in common is not exactly filler, but tangential material that doesn't bear upon the plot or, if it does, to little effect. For example, the storyline of the masked gladiator that runs through all three of these books, upon its conclusion, has no bearing upon the story and served no point really in the first place. So, if that's the case, why add it? All you need to say is that Finley is a superb warrior. There. Done. I have communicated the information to you that took pages upon pages in the books. Does Finley's double personas matter? No (or at least thus far) so, why have it? It doesn't add to Finley's character, or enrich the book per-se other than. The Empire has arena battles for entertainment. Bam! Information communicated. Also, the dark void device, the MAIN plot of book 1, is not  mentioned except in passing in books 2 and 3.

I suppose the novels being a space opera in part does allow for the embellishment of the storyline, but it seems that there are just too many bells and whistles in this series that bog down the reader and slow down the story. That being said, Deathstalker War is a good read.

Book Review: Deathstalker Rebellion

Deathstalker Rebellion by Simon R. Green
Release Date: July 1996
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 508
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5
Defiance Audio Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 3.5/5







Deathstalker Rebellion is similar to the first book in the series-Deathstalker-in that it, too, seems preoccupied with staging the pieces for the third book in the series, Deathstalker War. The main story arc in this book is the rebels various attempts to financially sabotage the empire and to destroy the new stardrive factory on Technos III while simultaneously trying to unite the various rebel forces and come to terms with the changes wrought on them by the madness maze. In addition, this book also introduces a number of enemies to humanity, including Ghost Warriors and two unknown alien species.

I think that the series, at least to this point, suffer from too many characters and too many things going on, the resulting books being slightly bloated and some of the characters getting lost in the shuffle, or pushed towards the back of a large crowd of tertiary characters. You have: the main part of rebels and all the things they are dealing with; the various rebel groups of humans, clones, and espers; Lionstone and her cohorts; the court and the various families vying for power; infighting in the families; humanity fighting aliens; humanity dealing with the Hadenmen and the A.I. from Shub; and the list goes on. . . It is not surprising that both the first and second books in the series are over 500 pages apiece.

However, that being said, the book kept my attention for the most part. There were moments when a group of rebel factions were arguing or scenes with talking that really doesn't do much but serve as filler that my attention waned. But the entire section on Technos III was really good, and Silas and Frost's (my favorite characters) storyline was really good. Although, I was listening to the audiobook on the drive to and from work, so I can't say if I had been given the book to sit down and read, I wouldn't have gotten bored with it and turned to something else.

For all the main characters, other than dealing with the changes imparted by the madness maze, really can't be said to evolve to show personal growth in this novel. Yes, Jack Random comes into his own again, and the various members of the main group start to work better with one another, but other than that, things stay pretty much the same for the characters from the first book.

Overall, this book, while entertaining, is still setting up the pieces but, like a freight train, is slowly, but surely, gathering speed.

Book Review: Deathstalker

Deathstalker by Simon R. Green
Release Date: February 1995
Publisher: ROC (Penguin)
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 528
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4/5
Defiance Audio Length: 15 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: Defiance Audio
Audiobook Rating: 3.5/5






I am a bit torn on this book. I attempted several times to read the book when I picked it up at a thrift store, but it moved too slowly to keep my attention. However, as an audiobook it kept my attention and interest. In short, this novel takes it time telling the story of a corrupt empire and the people, willingly or forced, who rebel against the empire. Owen Deathstalker, an aristocrat, is outlawed by the empress in order to obtain the Dark Void device, a weapon capable of destroying 1000 suns. The story follows Owen Deathstalker as he flees from world to world, collecting a eclectic band of pirates, warriors, and rebels, to locate and keep the device out of the empress's hands.

I enjoy the book primarily because of the heavy doses of political intrigue that abound in the Deathstalker books I have read thus far. From the many aristocratic families trying to kill one another, to the various rebel factions bumping heads, if you desire a book that could be based off of Risk 2042 (provided it covered the entire empire) you will enjoy the book. However, for a sci-fi book, it is slow and while there are aliens and strange devices and new technology, they are few and far between and seem almost like placeholders until the multi-book story gets up to speed. Both Deathstalker and Deathstalker: Rebellion seem like their purpose is to explore this empire as its being created by the author and setting up the pieces for later books to play with.

As a stand-alone book it feels like a series of mini-arcs confined to specific planets than a story-wide arc so, if you plan to just read this and walk away I would recommend reading other sci-fi books in your queue. However, I think once you get into the book (by that I mean several hundred pages) it will keep your interest and you will continue on with the story as it progresses in subsequent books.

Audiobook Content:

While the Deathstalker series aren't rife with sound effects and background music and atmospherics, they do have a full cast, and the narrator from the Deathlands series narrates these as well. However, when the effects are used they stand out more than the Deathlands series and, sometimes, they clash with whats in the story and pull you out of the story. Not bad audiobooks in my opinion.