Twice-Dead King: Reign

[StrangerOrders]

This doesnt have a thread yet and at the rate I am blazing through it at an a nutty speed I desperately want to talk about this already!

 

The cast, the cast, this is some of the funnest character work I have seen since the Fabius books and Crowley is already vastly outstripping his work on Ruin with the cast.

 

Dear god I demand a plushie of the giga-chad Smith Prince whose name I can't spell.

 

The sassy Technomancer would also make a fun four-armed plushie.

 

And Yeneck went from a somewhat 'eh' generic fallen character to a precious boy that I am hoping doesnt end up in a shallow grave by the end of the book.

Edited January 16, 2022 by StrangerOrders

[sitnam]

I too am devouring this novel. I'm 90% sure chapter 7 had a Duncan Rhodes reference

[Lord_Ikka]

It was a very...interesting novel. Quite unique I think, in its depiction of the curse and the eventual conclusion.

[nagashnee]

Great book, great work on the characters, necron culture and story arcs. Glad i picked it up ( tho with the first one being grand it was a no brainer)

 

Only complaint is the naval combat scenes...dont make much sense, like space combat in 40k is pretty set and established and the actions/engagements dont really add up in any way other then 'the plot needed it'. 

[sitnam]

I do think the time scale of the series doesn't quite add up. Big events like an Imperial crusade don't happen in just a matter of days

 

In addition to a Duncan Rhodes reference, I'm pretty sure chapter 7 also has a Battlestar Galactica reference

[caladancid]

I got the feeling time is not reported consistently, at least by the Necrons themselves, and that it was an intentional choice given their....unique perspective on time.

[sitnam]

Just finished this masterpiece. Just like the first book, this was truly a pleasure to listen to, and the plot was nothing that I assumed it would be. This book was just the perfect mix of grimdark, humour, and bizarre.

[Aramis K]

Finished. It was great. Plenty of fun eccentric characters. Lots more of the horror that the Imperium is.

 

These two books have made me realise what an interesting space the Necrons are in for telling fun, amusing and inventive sci-fi.

 

It's done what the best of Black Library does and made me want to start kitbashing character minis

Edited January 23, 2022 by Aramis K

[Fire Golem]

I wasn’t expecting it to unfold like it did but that was excellent. 

[Petitioner's City]

Wait was is the Duncan Rhodes reference? I just finished chapter seven and never saw it

[sitnam]

Wait was is the Duncan Rhodes reference? I just finished chapter seven and never saw it

[Roomsky]

The Twice-Dead King: Reign – Nate Crowley

 

I’m of two sub-minds about this book. The plot and characterization sub-mind is ecstatic, as it is essentially a perfect sequel in terms of both (not surprising as it was initially going to be a single book.) My stylistic sub-mind is a bit put-out, as certain elements of the first book aren’t in this one. Sure, there are plot reasons for these absences, but some of that content was why I thought Ruin was so special.

 

Getting my one disappointment out of the way, Oltyx’s subminds and the focus on his unique perception of time and memory have either stopped or have been greatly downplayed here. I adored how much effort Ruin put into giving a properly inhuman perspective to a xenos mind, and I’m sad Reign didn’t do as much legwork in this regard. Now, this is still probably the best xenos POV we’ve gotten in a full-length novel (excluding Ruin,) and Crowley does an excellent job helping the reader see humans as humans often see xenos in other BL works, and in fairness there art plot reasons for the changes listed above. But Ruin was really something special, and Reign is merely an excellent book. I can’t help but be a little sad about that.

 

Anyway, the rest is great.

 

The cast is greatly expanded in Reign, befitting of Oltyx’s new role as king. While I liked Oltyx’s personal journey a smidge more in Ruin, it also meant the supporting cast’s existence was much more devoted to Oltyx’s arc foremost. In other words, Ruin was a book about Oltyx, and Reign is a book about Oltyx and his court. Mentep and Yenekh both get a greater amount of agency here, and it makes them stand out far better. All other cast members are essentially new, even if featured in Ruin, such is the degree of added focus they receive here. The incredibly hammy Ogdobekh prince is a personal standout for the new personalities.

 

The plot of Oltyx’s rise and fall is just wonderful. Every setup is well paid off. Every action is believably character-driven and well justified in the narrative. The conclusion is somehow uplifting and incredibly depressing all at once, and that this is in a book about soulless space skeletons is no small feat. There's really not much to say, because there's so little to fault. Crowley has really outdone himself here, I honestly don’t think I’ve read a Black Library book this well put together in years.

 

So is it fair of me not to give a near-perfect score for a near-perfect book, just because it's intentionally cast aside some elements of another book I happened to really love?

 

Nope. Gonna do it anyway.

 

ANR: 8.5/10 Must Read

 

Bold of Crowley to drop a contender for best book of the year in January.

Bold of the first explicit mention to a binary transgender character in a BL novel to be the oblique mention of a Necron.