The Wraithbone Phoenix by Alec Worley

[DarkChaplain]

Surprised nobody is talking about the new Crime novel yet.

I'm on chapter 9, so about a quarter through, and enjoying this new Baggit & Clodde adventure a great deal. They're still delightfully chaotic.

A highlight for me is that the book really goes to town with the fact that, yes, the Imperium is bloody racist. It's not just those xenos, or blatant mutants, but also abhumans who are on the receiving end of the stick. They're tolerated, but treated like garbage, indoctrinated into believing their uncleanliness is a sin and that the standard humans are basically saintly figures who "forgive" them for it, even as they brand them for punishment and enslave them by way of labor camps.

The first chapter alone drives the point of this ideology home wonderfully - and it's also part of a core plotpoint, because this attitude backfires heavily on the humes.

Baggit & Clodde meanwhile are in a labor camp on the outset, hiding from the consequences of their previous screw up. It serves well to highlight this human-abhuman dynamic from the ground, while also allowing for some of the expected hilarity. And frankly, Alec is nailing the dialogue in the book. It's gritty but entertaining, sometimes it's even deliberately sloppy, as we're not working with high-minded academics but simple gutter trash with their own dialects. It's very atmospheric, and puts to rest what worries I had when Baggit & Clodde went from audio drama performances to prose.

Can't wait to see where this'll end up, because damn I'm having genuine fun. More than I've had with a BL novel in a long while.

[aa.logan]

A third into the audio and loving it. Highlights so far- the effective use of swears and how (surprisingly?) moving it is…

[aa.logan]

Just finished this. If there’s a better BL book this year I’ll be very impressed.

[DarkChaplain]

Very disappointed by how little this is being talked about here. My experience - not having finished it yet, but well on the way - is about the same. It's an excellent novel with engaging characters, and a surprisingly large cast. Mysteries are built up well, the rivalries between "gangs" and opportunists shine. There's a lot of familiar concepts... but also interesting spins on them. And the humor is as through the roof as Clodde when faced with tight, cramped spaces.

It's a wild ride that is simultaneously very different from the previous Crime novels, while still being highly familiar, just as oppressive in atmosphere, just as bleak... but also manages to still be genuinely fun regardless. Because Baggit and Clodde are a fantastic duo.

[DukeLeto69]

Not reading it yet hence not talking and carefully avoiding spoilers (for a change)

[cheywood]

Wow, what an excellent book. I went into this excited by the premise but trepidatious given my past ambivalence towards Worley’s work. Turns out I needn’t have worried, this is maybe the best crime novel yet. It’s a wonderful mix of humor, action and pathos. Worley shows an eye for character and dialogue while juggling a number of plot threads, keeping things enjoyable throughout. There’s a lot of social commentary too, more than I expected given the madcap pitch and Worley comparing the book to Smokin’ Aces in an interview. Anyone interested in the premise, or good 40k stories, should check this out. 
 

The good: 

The characters. This book has a lot of POVs and just about everyone comes across as well realized. Not necessarily empathetic or multi-dimension, but compelling. I would’ve liked more time with them.

Baggitt and Clodde. Yes I know they’re characters, but they’re so immediately iconic I’d like to single them out. Between Clodde’s philosophical commentary and Baggitt’s fast talking wit the two are immediately likeable, but as the story progresses they show a wonderful love for one another. With a few more books like this they could easily be among BL’s best protagonists. I’d love to see more of their time in the Auxilla as well as their time on Varangantua.

The social commentary. Like Clodde’s musings, Worley has a lot to say about the Imperium and how it treats those who are divergent. It’s not necessarily overly deep by the standards of the world at large, but it feels incisive and appropriate to 40k. The opening chapter is especially brilliant. 

The plot. I really like the premise and the way Worley interweaves so many character perspectives. Absolutely great reading. 
 

The bad:

I don’t really have many complaints. Worley’s prose is fine but not especially remarkable. He keeps the descriptions relatively sparse in this, which it lets the characters and dialogue stand out. I could see it being a great audiobook for that reason. 

The pacing at the beginning and the end isn’t quite as high-octane as the middle, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does feel like a bit of a comeup/comedown situation

Overall 9.5/10. Up there with TDK: Reign and Assassinorum Kingmaker as one of my books of the year so far (I haven’t read EoE or Warboss). Cool that they’re all by new authors too. 

[Alec Worley]

Hullo, all!

A mate just pointed me in the direction of this thread.

Just wanted to hop on and say a MASSIVE THANK YOU for reading! So glad to hear you’re enjoying it.

Baggit and Clodde say ‘hi!’

If'n you're interested, I’ve been sharing some behind-the-scenes bits-and-bobs over on my Substack... https://alecworley.substack.com/p/why-wont-characters-do-as-theyre

I also did an interview with good old Track of Words: https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/08/18/rapid-fire-alec-worley-talks-the-wraithbone-phoenix/

Aaaaaaaand I shared my Baggit & Clodde writing playlist on Spotify... https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ESgcmgD8pccGq0OS4gDib?si=d708f27d58d54975

Enjoy!

All the best and thanks again! Really appreciate every reader!

Alec

[DukeLeto69]

Loved all the WH Crime releases so far and looking forward to this very much. Should arrive next week for me and goes straight to top of the reading pile!

[SkimaskMohawk]

I finished echoes of eternity on Sunday, got this on Monday and wrapped it up last night.

I liked echoes; it was a good book and I basically thought it was a 9. Wraithbone Phoenix was better. Maybe it's the more intimate nature of Crime vs SoT, maybe it was the tight focus on a handful of characters and a plotline fully under the authors control, maybe the abhuman throughline hit harder than the fall to chaos due to its roots in racism, maybe it was the mystery of not knowing the end of te plot. Whatever the reasons, I liked it more than echoes; it made me want to re-read Bloodlines and Noctis and Lux, something echoes did not inspire me to with its predecessors at all. 

[Roomsky]

This one's hard for me to rate because I think it's a better book objectively than I appreciate, it just didn't hit for me personally. Took me a while to figure out why, too, because the characters are good and the action is minimal. In part, it's just because I'm not huge on the heist/caper genre. I know the hardboiled detective solves conspiracy thing's already overdone in the Crime range, but damn, I just like that sort of story. 

Spoiler

I think it all comes down to formula for me. From the very start, by it's very nature as a "Baggit and Clodde Novel," you know they won't be getting the Phoenix, selling it, settling their debts and retiring to a life of luxury, nor will they be dying. By the time your about a hundred pages in, you can easily predict the following: 

• Baggit and Clodde will live to crime another day, but will not keep/sell the Phoenix
• Rozlyn will go her own way by the end after making up with our heroes
• The many other parties will thin themselves out as the story goes
• Scratchwick will somehow survive til the end, then die like an idiot
• Death is an Eldar looking to retrieve the Phoenix

And once that's all clear, I just had a hard time caring for Baggit and Clodde for much of the story. I don't dislike them, but it's not until Baggit runs off on his own and really gets to reflect on Prongfork that I found him especially engaging. Clodde doesn't really go anywhere, and his potential for more meaningful stuff wasn't paid off. Really it was that ~250 page mark that really marked the uptick for me, because by then the intros were done and most of the perfunctory stuff had been dealt with. I had the most fun following the other competing parties in all honesty, because I didn't know how their stories would go and most of them were made very compelling in an impressively short amount of time considering how many there were. Still, that's over half the book devoted to set-up for things I actually found gripping.

And again, I get this isn't entirely fair because I read a whole bunch of Black Library books that are strictly formula and give those elements a pass, it's just I'm not huge on this particular template.

Anyway, despite pages ~250 - ~375 being the only section I was really into, there is a bunch of stuff here that must be praised:

• The small chapter breaks, especially the ones taken from propaganda-reels, were all brilliant
• A lot of the world building here is really solid. You really get a feel for what it's like to be part of Alecto's skeevy underworld
• If nothing else, it's a solid enough "Ratling book"
• The history of the Sunstriker is generally fascinating, and the actual exploration of the ship was very cool
• Some of the deaths are gnarly. When they aren't, they're mercifully quick as is appropriate for a Crime story

All in all, it's good, but I didn't love it. Others will likely enjoy it more, especially if the Heist genre is your thing.

[Ubiquitous1984]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:09 PM, aa.logan said:

Just finished this. If there’s a better BL book this year I’ll be very impressed.

I'm going to download this on audible based on the feedback in this thread.  

[DarkChaplain]

Harry Myers has done a magnificent job with the audiobook. He balances the tone of the various characters very well!

[Orange Knight]

I'm about half way through.

It's so refreshing to have a crime caper/heist story in the 40k setting. My one complaint is that there might be a few too many characters/players in the game, but I can't judge if that's actually the case until I finish it.

[Ubiquitous1984]

5 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

Harry Myers has done a magnificent job with the audiobook. He balances the tone of the various characters very well!

Thanks - I'm always concerned when it's not a BL staple narrator like Banks, Keeble, Longworth etc .  Always good to get positive feedback on others as it gives me more confidence to give the audiobook a try.

[DarkChaplain]

Honestly, I've enjoyed almost all of the narrators they've had in recent years.

I don't think the choice on the Hamilcar audiobook was great, especially considering that Guymer says that Longworth's Cain from the audio dramas was a big inspiration for the titular character, but most picks - especially with Horror and Crime - have been pretty on point. The Hamilcar narrator did exceedingly well with his Horror contribution (The Bookkeeper's Skull) earlier this year, actually; my concern this time was one of tone and pitch, not performance.

But in this case, the casting for The Wraithbone Phoenix was wonderful. The language throughout is rough, some characters are more refined than others, with extremes on either end being hit. Myers manages to pull off the ultra-arrogant admirality and dinner guests as well as the lowly gutter ratling. Even nervous laughter from a certain character was well done, as well as the "too old for this"-attitude of another. And Baggit & Clodde are just perfect. I was worried about them considering how well the audio drama worked with their respective actors, but Myers nailed them and their flair.

[aa.logan]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:09 PM, aa.logan said:

Just finished this. If there’s a better BL book this year I’ll be very impressed.

Ok, so I think the Vorbis Conspiracy might be it’s equal.