Twice-Dead King: Ruin is my top story of the year

[Tyriks]

Great, thanks!

[Tyriks]

So I started this a few days ago, thinking I would just read a bit here and there as I had time. This was surprisingly enjoyable. I found myself making time for it, which is not a common thing for me for BL novels. I had previously liked Crowley's short story Severed, but was worried this would be like that but longer. That story worked at the size it was but I didn't want to read a whole novel of it.

 

But this was not at all that. I truly enjoyed his portrayal of Oltyx. While his motivations were very human, his thought process and internal workings were very much Necron. He came across as a sympathetic character who was understandable and interesting despite the fact that he would gladly murder us without a thought.

 

I did think Oltyx's change of heart was a bit sudden. He is still ordering his subminds around while heading into Antikef but after being inside for an hour or two he apologizes for how he treats them and resolves to see them as equals. I think that development makes sense in the long run, but maybe should have happened after he gets back in touch with them. But that is a minor criticism.

 

All in all, I am really eager to get the next book, and I hope he keeps writing stuff like this!

[Petitioner's City]

It is interesting how you say the way Oltyx thinks is more necron-seemjng than his human motivations; I have loved this book, but nothing about the necrontyr or Necrons in it feels *alien*, they feel like people, and their civilization 60 million years ago feels equally human.

 

This was the issue I had had with the Infinite and the Divine, and even (the limited number of) eldar stories - these wildly different species with seemingly utterly alien ways of being - are so immediately familiar.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about this. While the foibles and challenges of the Necrons are presented well - dysmorphia, obsessive compulsive disorder, societal rigour suppressing individual desires, and of course something quite like dementia - they are presented through challenges familiar from contemporary mental health and gender identity literature, or realworld political ideology.

 

Nevertheless, that's a good, nutty, gnarly sci-fi thing to do - to take pieces of our culture and present it in a sci-fi/fantasy context. I'm not sure if i think Crowley is making a point, per se, but it's nice. Yet the consequence of it is that the Necrons don't feel alien or different from the humans or (outside this book, anthropomorphised) orks they fight, which I am somewhat disappointed. I kept wondered what in *this* universe ensures that despite their vast difference in origin, these many races are all pretty much "us" with different bits and bobs, and different focuses for their aggression. That's not bad, it's very star trek/star wars/etc.

 

Still this is so very well written with lots of good little moments. I also agree Nemesor about the jumps in text, the story did jump often, but that was also a nice (if inelegant) presentation of Oltyx's own unreliable psychology. I loved this, even if it kept making Oltyx feel very much like someone today aging through the challenges of dementia or aging that he refused to acknowledge.

 

I do feel like the Necrons are waiting for a Gene Wolfe 'soldier of the mist' style envisioning - soemthing that goes further into the elusive links of memory and identity that Crowley has really opened up well here.

 

So much still to think about, and as I've written this, I've realised there is more Crowley touched on around aging. Very glad this thread prompted me to read the book, and looking forward to more!

[Tyriks]

You aren't wrong there. I guess what I meant when I said it seemed inhuman is because his inner monologue is a dialogue. I haven't read many authors who have tried to have truly inhuman point of view characters but none have pulled it off satisfactorily, so I'm not bothered by the similarities there.

 

I forgot to mention previously, but I am curious about whether we will see what exactly Xott is. I'm guessing it is to Mentep what the scarab is to Oltyx by the end of the book, or something along those lines. Crowley mentioned the oddity of Xott's behavior too many times to not have that come up again later.

[Kelborn]

Just recently did I start listening to it and oh boy, Richard is killing it.

 

Regarding the time centred talk here, my take is this (about 2 hours into so maybe there's something I'm not aware of as of now):

 

In the Infinite and the Devine we got two very powerful Necron on the peak of their power. As members of the highest echelons, they sure have the resources, the patience and all that is needed to play the long game.

Here, Oltyx is an outcast, barely able to keep his forces together, which themselves are in a pretty bad shape. So time and resources are of the essence for them. Managing what they got and truly "caring" to avoid losses, forces you to spend every minute possible to make the best out of your situation.

 

The mentioned 300 years are like a heartbeat for the former, because they're in a luxury position while the latter are in a constant struggle for survival.

 

Again, I'm just into chapter 5 or so so there's clearly stuff I'm not aware of.

[Kelborn]

Finished it, yesterday.

 

Ho boy, what a ride. 

After the great Infinite and the Divine, I thought that other authors might have a hard time coming up with a Necron story as intriguing, entertaining and overall great than this. 

I was entirely wrong.

 

The Twice Dead King Ruin is a blast from front to back. There's nothing I could criticize upon (reminder: I'm not someone who can judge about prose or anything like that):

 

- The characters were great, Oltyx, Djoseras, Oltyx' sub minds got me hooked throughout the story and even brought me to tears at the end.

- The story was intriguing. It was great to read more about Necron + Necrontyr society; to witness them when they were still made of flesh. It was a welcome change to what we had with the Infinite and the Devine. The latter was way more centered around the two main characters. Here, we witness the Necrons themselves through the eyes of Oltyx.

- I saw some "critics" about them being too "human". I see what you mean but personally, it didn't disturbed me at all. Quite the opposite, it made the characters more accessible, if that makes sense. Like I said, the relation between Oltys and Djoseras was my personal highlight.

- Also the point that 300 years had such an impact on the dynasty is a minor point to me. Like I said after listening to five chapters, there's a key difference to make between Oltyx, Unnas and their dynasty and Trazyn + Orikan. The latter are at the peak of their power and Robert did some intensive time jumps to emphasize on the slow, long game they've played between the two of them. The Ithakan dynasty (although being a seemingly powerful one) is heavily suffering from the Curse. They're with their backs against the wall. At least that's the case for Oltyx on Sedha. Thought it was a great way to show the exact opposite to what we usually see with Necrons. 

- As I've listened to it, I just have to mention that, as well. Richard Reed is freaking killing it. Best choice as voice actor, imho! He's easily among my top 3 along with Jonathan Keeble and John Banks.

 

I'm not a review writing type of guy. Just my two cents on this magnificent novel. 10/10

 

If you're into Necrons, just get it already. ;)

 

Cheers,

Kel

[Fire Golem]

Managed to track down a hardcover copy finally, for RRP (from Mighty Lancer Games in the UK, they have 1 copy left I think if anyones looking) so I can get round to reading this shortly after Christmas hopefully. Looking forward to it!

[Fire Golem]

Yeah, this was really, really good.

[Scribe]

Why is this book not available?

 

I'm cautions around this subject matter based on some of the comments here, and hope its well done, but...why isnt it for sale as a hard cover?

[Sothalor]

It's sold out. Not uncommon with many BL publications these days, but this one vanished faster than typical, it seems.

 

Not sure if that's because there was massive demand, lower supply, or both.

[Scribe]

It's sold out. Not uncommon with many BL publications these days, but this one vanished faster than typical, it seems.

 

Not sure if that's because there was massive demand, lower supply, or both.

 

Yeah seems...wild? I never saw it. It never even got to my local shops, and its not available at all until next year, paperback.

[Fire Golem]

 

 

It's sold out. Not uncommon with many BL publications these days, but this one vanished faster than typical, it seems.

 

Not sure if that's because there was massive demand, lower supply, or both.

Yeah seems...wild? I never saw it. It never even got to my local shops, and its not available at all until next year, paperback.

It is wild. Their hardbacks seem to be only slightly less limited than the limited editions at times. And the delay for the paperbacks is ridiculous, particularly when the hb goes so quickly.

[Sothalor]

I am certain that not every title receives the same amount of printed copies. It makes sense from a business perspective - not every book will sell the same, after all.