Rate what you Read, or the fight against Necromancy

[DarkChaplain]

BotF also has the Magnus shard thing going, which would've played well into Ahriman. Too bad that The Crimson King kinda trampled all over both of these.

 

As for myself, I liked a great deal about Battle of the Fang when I read it. The worldbuilding and stuff like the Wolf Brothers reveal were great. Bjorn is one of my favorite characters in the setting - although I have to say that most of his Heresy appearances fell flat for me. Battle of the Fang sold me on his dreadnought presence, it justified my favoritism for the character.

 

But... it's a Space Marine Battles book. Lots of action taking center stage, pushing worldbuilding and dialogue scenes aside. The setpiece battles are cool, but I had my fill of those. But then, it is the defining transitory piece between the modern Wolves of M41, which existed both before and since, and Abnett's re-imagining of Prospero Burns. It sits in an era where the Wolves going out on big hunts in force, leaving only a garrison back at home, makes narrative sense. It's an era of cultural upheaval that I think Wraight managed to get across as far as the Wolves are concerned.

 

On the flipside, I don't think I'll ever re-read it. The action setpieces would bug me too much now, and there are a few points that haven't exactly been respected by publications since, or don't line up properly anymore. Magnus in particular comes in badly when you consider The Crimson King and Fury of Magnus, which is not the fault of Battle of the Fang, but the terrible editorial oversight and respect for previous works at Black Library.

This sentiment is also why I never got around to reading Hunt for Magnus, the prequel(?) novella. It released a lot later, by which point I had read the book but also would have needed a bit of a brush-up to fully appreciate Hunt. And now it's basically out of the question to read the novella without also continuing on to a re-read of the novel. And I really don't want to deal with all the boltgun shells at this point.

[byrd9999]

Chris Wraight is one of my favourite BL authors, and BotF was one of the first BL books I read, because of the Thousand Sons connection, but I found it tough going due to the amount of battles in it. I'm not a fan of too much bolter action, so maybe the Space Marine Battles series isn't really for me :) 

 

But I loved the non-battle stuff. The depiction of The Fang, and waking the dreadnoughts is superb.

[byrd9999]

Ravenor Returned and Ravenor Rogue, by Dan Abnett.

 

Also adding in the related shorts Thorn Wishes Talon and Playing Patience.

 

Just wow. These were so gripping that I found myself picking up the book (omnibus) at all times of the day, even just for a few minutes to squeeze in a couple more pages.

 

 

Although I "probably prefer" the Eisenhorn series, the Ravenor series is "probably better", but both are so good that comparisons seem churlish.

 

Thanks to all who contribute to the Finding the Links in the Abnett-verse thread in this forum, it's providing some great stuff for me to pore over 

 

10/10

[DukeLeto69]

@byrd9999 will be interested to know what you think of Pariah and Penitent when/if you get to them? If you do, make sure you read Pariah BEFORE The Magos. It will a much more mysterious and, IMO, interesting experience (as The Magos explains some of the mystery you encounter reading Pariah for the first time).

 

Just as the Eisenhorn books have a different style to the Ravenor books, so too do the Bequin books have another style.

[byrd9999]

Thanks, Duke. I was in two minds about reading The Magos next, but you've convinced me to wait until after Pariah.

 

It's interesting that there is a "third" style for the Bequin series, and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

I'm waiting for the paperbacks, and Amazon has Pariah listed as Feb 2022, so not too long to go now :) 

[DukeLeto69]

Both Pariah and Penitent are two of my favourite books (not just BL books). Be interesting to see how you feel. I think they are marmite (some love some hate but not sure there is much middle ground).

 

The Magos (and all the shorts) are a must read but the real joy is reading Pariah blind and thinking “wait what? Hang on a minute what the feth is going on here?!”

[DarkChaplain]

Feel free to pick up "Inferno! Presents: The Inquisition" as well, to read the included tie-in prequel short after The Magos. It's only been printed in the limited edition of Penitent before this point.

[Roomsky]

Revisiting: Flight of the Eisenstein and Fulgrim

 

I’m not sure what it is about the Heresy entries I consider pretty middle of the road that always draws me back to them. Why is it somehow books like Deliverance Lost that I’ve re-read the most, despite their glaring weaknesses? Maybe it’s because a year or two out always builds up that wonder of “did I miss something last time?”

 

Whatever the reason, here’s a couple re-reads.

 

Fulgrim  - Well, I sort of know why I revisited this one. After a re-read made me better inclined towards Vengeful Spirit and really enjoying Mcneill’s Siege novellas (and even the audio of Nightbringer,) I thought “hey, maybe Fulgrim is also good!”

 

No. No, it is not.

 

I think Mcneill was going for a sort of Homeric style here. He was certainly going for something with this, because it’s more overwrought than his usual fair. Needless to say, it doesn’t work, and his attempts to be poetic yet declarative only read as tortured, and telling before showing. It’s bearable in the first half, but the moment the Avatar of Khaine shows up it borders on the unreadable. Descriptors are repeated several times per paragraph, characters give the world’s least convincing arguments to each other, and Mcneill somehow balances the book being over-long and thin at the same time.

 

All this seems to culminate in the scene where Fulgrim tries to convince Ferrus to turn traitor – a scene I’m convinced was a drug-addled fantasy because its happening not only makes the series worse, but based on the information shared, could not possibly have happened. In one fell swoop, Mcneill:

• Has Fulgrim somehow fail to grasp that his closest friend would not buy a total non-argument, and immediately try to murder him for suggesting sedition
• Takes all the air out of Flight of the Eisenstein by having Fulgrim reveal Horus is currently nuking his own sons
• Has Fulgrim state that LORGAR IS AMONG THOSE SIDING WITH HORUS

 

The scene is absurd and bad. The whole novel is basically absurd and bad. Don’t even get me started on how Mcneill writes women in this.

 

 

I also re-read Flight of the Eisenstein, which I came out of much more positively. Whether or not this is because it contrasted Fulgrim I can’t say – though many of my previous criticisms about this book still stand. Garro’s company outside of Voyen and Decius are forgettable clichés, and those two only succeed in being memorable clichés. In fact the whole first 100 pages or so are incredibly stock, and it doesn’t do the piece any favours. But there are a bunch of incidental things that I think work in the book’s favour.
 

Garro and co. come off as surprisingly believable here, because Galaxy in Flames necessitates they are peripheral to a lot of the major happenings on Isstvan 3. Basically, the book was charmingly restrained by virtue of its role in the story. Secondly, the Death Guard’s blandness sort of strengthens the idea that the legions of old are basically unrecognizable compared to those in 40,000, and it works (I maintain this is incidental because Swallow does the same thing in Fear to Tread, and it has the opposite effect – so any benefit here is probably an accident.) It really makes the legion’s fall hit harder when they, and especially Mortarion, were mostly pretty agreeable people before their fall (contrast obvious traitors like the World Eaters, Night Lords, Iron Warriors, etc.)

 

I’ve also been very vocal about my preference for the Heresy as a setting rather than a series, but I can’t help but think what could’ve been following this book. It really should have been a final passing of the torch to Garro and Qruze as the series’ marine protagonists. Imagine Qruze being Aximand’s nemesis, and being in attendance at Isstvan V as an advisor. Garro goes to Mars, and later to Beta Garmon. Maybe one of the two gets caught on the other side of the Ruinstorm and drops in on other plotlines. They could have helped form an emotional core that the brand lacks, along with Keeler and co. running around on Terra as the populace goes mad.

 

All in all, while I don’t think the Heresy’s quality has ever suffered, I can’t help but miss the energy and the focus these early books possessed, (though it’s also something I think was lost immediately after this in Fulgrim.)

 

Eisenstein end up being surprisingly solid, mostly in that it excels in ways later books, even better books, do not.

[mc warhammer]

strong agree on qruze and garro

 

kyme's "imperfect", as imperfect as it is, almost reads like an attempt to redo that hilarious first attempt to turn ferrus

[Fedor]

Yeah, McNeill completely botched Fulgrim's attempt to sway Ferrus. While not as important a stumble,the actual fight  that follows is also probably the worst in the series. Ferrus knocking himself out by blowing up the sword just falls completely flat, when considering he'd only taken a few punches and a cut on the forehead at the time. McNeill going for that symbolism without bothering about the setup making any sense.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Fedor

[Fire Golem]

A lot of McNeills books, including Fulgrim, I really liked when I first read them (although I was like, 15), and really struggled with when I came back to them later. 

[mc warhammer]

Revisiting: Flight of the Eisenstein and Fulgrim

 

I’ve also been very vocal about my preference for the Heresy as a setting rather than a series, but I can’t help but think what could’ve been following this book. It really should have been a final passing of the torch to Garro and Qruze as the series’ marine protagonists. Imagine Qruze being Aximand’s nemesis, and being in attendance at Isstvan V as an advisor. Garro goes to Mars, and later to Beta Garmon. Maybe one of the two gets caught on the other side of the Ruinstorm and drops in on other plotlines. They could have helped form an emotional core that the brand lacks, along with Keeler and co. running around on Terra as the populace goes mad.

 

here i am with a little trivia again

 

post by LG in 2016 re qruze:

 

No, Iacton Qruze's death was decided before 'Galaxy in Flames' was written.

 

And I quote:

 

"Qruze (Half-heard) takes a backseat role until he proves himself by killing Maggard. He will then join the loyalist efforts in some way, barely trusted, until he dies revealing Horus' weakness to others. He knows more than other people give him credit for. He's like Kup from Transformers."

 

There were notes on lots of characters in the HH, at that stage.

 

Interestingly, Loken was always intended to survive Isstvan, but the BL crew almost changed their minds when it hit the readers so hard. An impactful death is worth more than a timely resurrection.

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by mc warhammer

[SkimaskMohawk]

And both decisions have really added....nothing to the narrative.

[Roomsky]

That’s interesting. I’d always heard rumours Loken’s survival was planned, but I’m surprised there was ever even a plan for Qruze.

 

Not that it makes things any better. If Loken was always going to come back, it should have been by book 10, in an actual novel; his “death” lasted too long for any resurrection to feel planned or impactful. And apologies to any Star Wars stans out there, but multi-media projects suck. If audio was the destiny of Garro and crew, nothing important should have happened in them.

 

Anyway, I still wish they’d have changed their minds. To echo Red Letter Media, “Post-Isstvan Loken and Nathaniel Garro should have been combined into a new character, called Nathanial Garro.” Maybe then they could have had Garro’s character go somewhere interesting instead of I AM VERY STOLID AND FAITHFUL.

[Sothalor]

I agree with you that Loken and Garro should have played more prominent and consistent roles throughout the main series of novels.

 

However, I'd disagree that the characters should've been combined, and that comes from an appreciation for Chris Wraight's thematic work in Warhawk about the groundwork for the transition from the Great Crusade-era Imperium to the 41st millennium-era Imperium.

 

I think Loken and Garro should have been partners, even friends, as Knights-Errant. However, each one should have represented a different worldview; Loken should've been the paragon Astartes of the Imperial Truth and the Great Crusade, fighting to restore what he sees as the Emperor's original vision and purpose. Garro on the other hand should've been representing the new and growing cosmological perspective of the Emperor as deity and everything that entails.

 

The two would both be fighting against the forces of Horus and the traitor legions, but would disagree about what exactly they're fighting for, and what course the future Imperium would chart.

[DarkChaplain]

....and instead Loken turned into a giraffe, uh, psyker with split personality issues and took on much of what Garro was supposed to do by dealing with Keeler, and while both him and Garro were shown as finally having reunited at the end of The Buried Dagger, they've remained separated throughout the Siege anyway, with Garro being a no-show even in his own Legion's book....

 

This is one of those occasions where the community here seems to be better equipped to handle these characters and narrative arcs than the editing & planning team at Black Library, who seem to think reinventing the wheel is good and necessary, and what the fans really want is upset expectations.

[Roomsky]

Loken being a psychic giraffe is an excellent analogy for why he doesn't work, IMO. The reason I stand by his being folded into Garro, or replaced by Qruze, is simply because Loken's been so mishandled by the series. They could have had their cake and eaten it too with Garro and Qruze, but instead we get Garviel Cerberus-PTSD-Psyker-Knight-Errant-Straight-Up-and-Down-but-also-conflicted Loken, who I would describe as an interesting non-character (contrast Garro, a boring character.)

 

Loken cannot do anything at this point that would make me say "no, he'd never do that." If you tell me Loken kills Keeler? I can see that. Loken dies saving Keeler? I can see that. Loken rejoins Horus? Sure. Loken is Ollanius Pius? Sure. Loken is a giraffe? Why not.

 

I like Loken. I've found his actions in the Siege satisfying, but I can barely even qualify it as pay off. It's no fun speculating about what Loken's fate is, because he could turn out to be a giraffe, and I would not be surprised.

 

Garro you can theory craft about. I don't know why you'd want to, but he does have consistent characterization, and he clearly has setup which will eventually be paid off. And he could have been interesting, if he was a shared character instead of having Swallow do all the legwork. Ditto Qruze. And I fully agree with A Melancholic Sanguinity, Garro should have been a foil to someone looking to the past. I just think that person should have been Qruze.

[mc warhammer]

yeah, i don't think it's any secret here that i broadly vibe on what dc and roomsky are saying.

 

that tidbit from LG...i mean...you can fit that on a post-it note. it's vague. qruze's story as printed more or less hit the marks of the post-it and little else. it would've been nice to have filled out his efforts a bit more, made him more of a feature of the loyalist efforts in the main story and maybe had him die somewhere during the siege. as it is, i pretty much skipped his entire contribution (as well as loken and garro's) and i don't feel like i missed much.

 

also, how can they compare him to kup and not have the old wolf refer to petro rabbits? missed. opportunity.

 

on the topic of LG trivia (and at risk of going too far off topic here) some more of his the first expedition posts, re aximand:

 

Did anyone ever really doubt that Loken would return to get his revenge? 'Luna Mendax' certainly sets the stage for it...

There is no artwork of Little Horus, not even in the new 'Visions of Heresy'.

 

 

i get the impression that aximand's fate, like qruze's was post-it noted well in advance and then not really explored or expanded beyond that.

 

and:

 

 

Sor Talgron has appeared in precisely ONE book ('Tales of Heresy') *so far*. If you think we won't tell the story of what happened to him in the novels, then you're perhaps not giving us enough credit that we know what we're doing...

We know he fought at Terra. We know he becomes a Dreadnought ("the Warmonger") later on, and that Marduk has a lot more dealings with him. Marduk only just appeared in the HH series.

 

this was obviously posted pre release of the purge, but has sol even popped up in the siege books yet? what about his little daemon bomb under the palace?

Edited November 14, 2021 by mc warhammer

[byrd9999]

My impression of the "main characters" of the HH is that, as the Heresy turned from a narrative to a setting, it became very difficult for authors of transitionary books (most of the HH) to do anything definitive with major characters. The lack of a grand oversight, or plan, meant that authors were wary of handling a character in a specific location or time, because that might cause a clash later on.

 

It was much easier to invent new characters, re-inventing the wheel as DC put it earlier, so they could do what they wanted with them.

 

As a result, we got plenty on Zardu Layak and Argonis, at the expense of Kor Phaeron, Erebus, Abaddon, Little Horus Aximand, etc...

 

The interplay between Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, that they both spoke highly of, should have happened with all authors throughout the series, so authors could share characters and set up arcs, rather than having to pick up the scattered pieces each time someone started a new book.

Edited November 14, 2021 by byrd9999

[Fedor]

Anthony Reynolds moved to california to head the Riot Games LoL lore with McNeill, did he not? I doubt we'll be seeing much of Sor Talgron and related plots again. Maybe in a short story if we get any comps for the siege

[mc warhammer]

fair, but i don't think you need reynolds or even sol to work the wreth-bomb angle into the siege.

 

that being said, if they don't feel it adds anything, i'm fine with the writers not touching it.

[Roomsky]

 

As a result, we got plenty on Zardu Layak and Argonis, at the expense of Kor Phaeron, Erebus, Abaddon, Little Horus Aximand, etc...

 

My thoughts on this are a bit more complicated.

 

Argonis' screen time is hard to diagnose without knowing what was actually going on behind the scenes. Yes, Aximand could have filled his shoes in both Tallarn and Slaves to Darkness - but is French to blame because he didn't rectify the guy's lack of screen time, or the rest of the series to blame for making any Sons of Horus cast besides 2 members of the Mournival feel egregious? We have no Sons of Horus POV at Isstvan 5, Abaddon and Aximand do nothing in Nemesis despite there being an attack on their legion command, and their presence is at the barest minimum in Wolfsbane and Titandeath. We don't even see Abaddon persecuting Corax and Russ. That's not even starting on how a very reasonable "what are you doing" visit from Argonis in Tallarn isn't done for things like Fulgrim faffing about the galaxy on personal errands.

 

Basically I agree we needed more Abaddon and Aximand, but I think that's as much the fault of everyone at the table for ignoring their legion as French is for using Argonis instead.

 

I adore Layak in Slaves to Darkness, because 1: he doesn't have plot immunity (which is why I'm always wary of too much screen time for Abaddon, Erebus, etc.) and 2: he's a great device for Lorgar finally getting what's coming. He manipulated Kor Phaeron and Erebus, then discarded them. He manipulated Argel Tal, then treated him as completely expendable. He planned to go 3 for 3 with Layak, and it backfiring is great pay off.

 

But considering the gets pretty generic at the Siege, I agree there's no reason not to have Erebus there to take command, especially since Lorgar isn't around. I'd probably be singing a different tune if Layak's personality hadn't degraded a bit, but here we are. 

 

TL;DR there's no reason not to have Layak and Argonis (and similar characters) present, because the series could absolutely have had them co-exist with characters established earlier on with minimal effort.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Roomsky

[StrangerOrders]

That’s interesting. I’d always heard rumours Loken’s survival was planned, but I’m surprised there was ever even a plan for Qruze.

 

Not that it makes things any better. If Loken was always going to come back, it should have been by book 10, in an actual novel; his “death” lasted too long for any resurrection to feel planned or impactful. And apologies to any Star Wars stans out there, but multi-media projects suck. If audio was the destiny of Garro and crew, nothing important should have happened in them.

 

Anyway, I still wish they’d have changed their minds. To echo Red Letter Media, “Post-Isstvan Loken and Nathaniel Garro should have been combined into a new character, called Nathanial Garro.” Maybe then they could have had Garro’s character go somewhere interesting instead of I AM VERY STOLID AND FAITHFUL.

Looks at the Founder of the Grey Knights

 

Well, there would be precedent for it.

 

I just want to echo a particular bone I have always had to pick with Garro and to a lesser extent alot of the 'older' space marines in 30k.

 

Namely, that they have no damned cultural context beyond 'what if vanilla was the apex of strong flavor?', its annoying that Garro is repeatedly mentioned as 'not being very Deathguard-y' but at the same time completely lacks any sort of Dusk Raider character.

 

What makes him Alban? What makes him a Dusk Raider? We know what those things are, we have tons of background to really clearly envision old Albyon and the way they imprinted on the Legions that drew heavily from them. Yet Garro is just... idk, the most generic template of a marine possible, he does not really have any vestiges of the things we are told he finds the XIVth uncomfortable in contrast to.

 

He is sort of a hollow shell of a character.

 

The most amusing example I can think of is the contrast with Loken in Saturnine, whereas Loken (who is as you correctly noted) 'fairly meh' himself on identity (I have seen chipmunks more Cthonian), the magnificent 'screw you' he picks to wear at the climax of that book tells you he cares about his past and the visceral scorn it provokes in the traitors.

 

Garro meanwhile is, appropriately enough, still wearing armor so equally bland to his personality that it is literally unpainted.

 

 

 

 

As a result, we got plenty on Zardu Layak and Argonis, at the expense of Kor Phaeron, Erebus, Abaddon, Little Horus Aximand, etc...

 

My thoughts on this are a bit more complicated.

 

Argonis' screen time is hard to diagnose without knowing what was actually going on behind the scenes. Yes, Aximand could have filled his shoes in both Tallarn and Slaves to Darkness - but is French to blame because he didn't rectify the guy's lack of screen time, or the rest of the series to blame for making any Sons of Horus cast besides 2 members of the Mournival feel egregious? We have no Sons of Horus POV at Isstvan 5, Abaddon and Aximand do nothing in Nemesis despite there being an attack on their legion command, and their presence is at the barest minimum in Wolfsbane and Titandeath. We don't even see Abaddon persecuting Corax and Russ. That's not even starting on how a very reasonable "what are you doing" visit from Argonis in Tallarn isn't done while for things like Fulgrim faffing about the galaxy on personal errands.

 

Basically I agree we needed more Abaddon and Aximand, but I think that's as much the fault of everyone at the table for ignoring their legion as French is for using Argonis instead.

 

I adore Layak in Slaves to Darkness, because 1: he doesn't have plot immunity (which is why I'm always wary of too much screen time for Abaddon, Erebus, etc.) and 2: he's a great device for Lorgar finally getting what's coming. He manipulated Kor Phaeron and Erebus, then discarded them. He manipulated Argel Tal, then treated him as completely expendable. He planned to go 3 for 3 with Layak, and it backfiring is great pay off.

 

But considering the gets pretty generic at the Siege, I agree there's no reason not to have Erebus there to take command, especially since Lorgar isn't around. I'd probably be singing a different tune if Layak's personality hadn't degraded a bit, but here we are. 

 

TL;DR there's no reason not to have Layak and Argonis (and similar characters) present, because the series could absolutely have had them co-exist with characters established earlier on with minimal effort.

 

I agree but would contend 'oh look! a character that is not confirmed to live another 10 millennia is not vacuuming up the screentime!' as you noted is a very damned good reason to include them.

 

The only problem is that it took the Heresy a very long time to realize that a Legion is more than five dudes that are literally immortal and too insane to have meaningful suffering might be necessary (I still cannot fathom why Lucius comes up as often as he does). 

Edited November 15, 2021 by StrangerOrders

[Noserenda]

Just finished the Jain Zar phoenix lord book, good not great and its B plot lost me a bit in the middle but overall great for Lore hounds obviously :D 

It had been a while since i read Asurmen but it covered things well enough you probably dont need to have read the first book, it does make me sad that we probably wont get the rest of the series though, they are only up to three Phoenix Lords by the end and the real dramas of that era are still not even approached! That said the B plot gives some great character development/cameos to a Vect and Eldrad though, even something of an Arc for the latter and increased my interest in him tenfold.

Jain Zar and Leman Russ have a ridiculous number of parallels too which amused me a little :P 

Essentially, everyone go buy it so GW commission the rest of the series! 

[Roomsky]

Priests of Mars – Graham McNeill (Audiobook)

 

Depending on who you ask, Forges of Mars is about as likely to be brought up as A Thousand Sons when discussing Graham McNeill’s best work. After finishing Priests, I think it deserves that title at least in part despite not being my cup of tea. I’m thankful the audiobook dropped so I could finally start enjoying it – I’ve probably tried and dropped Priests a good 3 times before now.

 

There’s a balance to be struck in an adventure story for me to really enjoy it, and I think not meeting that balance is why I’ve never been able to get into it before now. Any adventure story is going to be devoting a certain amount of time to the cool adventury stuff, and a certain amount of time to the development of the characters on said adventure. I’m not knocking predominantly cool adventury stuff stories when I say I just can’t get into them. This book really does have a great cast, but the trials and locations they encounter feel less like they’re facilitating character growth and more like they’re neat ideas we need a colourful cast to prop up. They aren’t flat, but they are largely static – I don’t get much emotional payoff out of it. This combines with a premise of exploring completely unknown territory with little else in terms of goals or details. It feels like instead of the “bomb under the table” analogy, I’m stuck with a “something could be under the table, maybe” which is far less thrilling.

 

So why do I think it’s fair that this is seen by some as McNeill’s opus? Everything else, really. The characters, while static, are a really memorable and diverse cast (though ever since I first met him in Storm of Iron, the name “Hawke” has always made me roll my eyes. Hard to say why in a setting featuring the likes of Corvus Corax, but it’s the truth.) This strikes me as a pretty great introductory book not just to the AdMec, but for all of the Imperium or even 40k at large. You’ve got Rogue traders, Tech Priests of several competing views, Cadian Guard, Black Templars, Press-ganged slaves including an Ogryn, and Titan Legions all on one ship. It shows the diversity and scale of the Imperium on the back of a semi-believable premise, and the backgrounds of the characters themselves facilitates very natural exposition about each faction from an outsider’s POV.

 

This also shows a strong understanding of the Imperium’s dysfunctional nature. Power struggles abound, and the book is as much about surviving the trip to their uncharted space adventure in the first place. Heck, it’s one of the most momentous voyages in Imperial history and the galaxy largely doesn’t care, such is the scale of the universe. It’s all in the spirit of 40k and McNeill’s grown enough as an author by this point that it’s not terribly bogged down by his lesser habits (a statement I have to redact ever so slightly, as I happened to read Fire & Honour while writing this and rolled my eyes when I saw Hawkins.)

 

And honestly, I just have to praise how far the book goes in terms of world and cast building compared to similar works by BL. Action is at a minimum, and when it’s present it’s often a perilous situation before it’s a perilous foe. The fact that the main antagonistic outside force here are Elder treated as appropriately dangerous is just icing on the cake.

 

There are a few minor things I still find a bit annoying. For all the cast is well drawn, there are so many of them that there’s not even a nominal protagonist – not always a problem, but exacerbated when the first third of the book has no narrative thrust beyond “people get ready to board a ship.” Meanwhile Galatea, despite being wonderfully creepy and having a great introduction, comes across as too conveniently competent after the entire cast was built up with obvious flaws and weaknesses. It alternates between being really effective and a bit unbelievable.

 

All in all, though, despite not sucking me in like so many of its peers, this really is a showcase of McNeill’s skills as an author. It’s hardly my favourite work of his, but that’s a me problem.

 

To Taste

6.5/10, throw on an extra point or two if it sounds like your kind of story.