Interceptor City

[Urauloth]

Ok, so I've been away for a while, and maybe I missed something, but I don't see a thread about this book and I'm surprised. This was pretty long-awaited, no?

 

Anyway, I'm partway through it, so I don't have a complete set of thoughts about it yet, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far. Double Eagle is one of my favourite 40k novels, and I'm very happy with this as a follow-up. Maybe there isn't much talk about it because it's so... polished? There's none of the odd plotting choices or experimental prose here that's made Abnett such a locus of discussion recently, he's just doing the thing he did so successfully for so long: this is a Sabbat Worlds book, and it does what it says on the tin.

 

Anyone else read (or reading) it, and if so what do you make of it?

 

Spoiler

I think the word "fightbird" is being oversold, but I know you can't have a Dan Abnett novel without a new term that overstays its welcome, so...

 

[grailkeeper]

I really enjoyed it although 

 

Spoiler

I wasn't mad about the new subplot introduced about 3/4s of the way through.

 

Whilst crumbs for the murder subplot had been subtly laid before hand, it still felt a bit tacked on. I think Abnett did an incredible job of setting up the world the characters live in, then decided after a while he better introduce a story. I was fine with the main plot. I'd have preferred it remain a war story than become a murder mystery set in a war.

 

The reveal of the killer wasn't great.

Still, Interceptor City, might be my book of the year.

 

Spoilers are for some important stuff that happens near the end. I tried to keep it vague but if you haven't finished it maybe don't open.

Edited March 5 by grailkeeper

[Preliminary Bombardment]

Yeah this is good Abnett, I didn’t get on with the never ending TotD but hes great here 

Edited March 12 by Preliminary Bombardment

[Preliminary Bombardment]

Just finished! This was great! Great fun all the way through 

[DukeLeto69]

What a great book. Easy fun read. Abnett’s prose just works and flows. So readable! Such a contrast to the heavy going of his siege of terra three parter that, while still well written, exhausted me to the point that I did not read a black library book for a year. Until now. Really loved Interceptor City. Need more Sabbat Crusade stories!

[LemartesTheLost]

I finally knuckled down and read this after dragging my feet because I just wasn't in an Abnett mood for the longest time. This was good! As others have said, the overuse of certain words and a somewhat rushed ending are staples of Abnett's writing, but what's new? I think Dan really poured a lot into this because it's been the first time he's written the Sabbat Worlds in years (last was The Vincula Insurgency IIRC).

 

He REALLY nailed a lot of the characters that make up a fighter squadron. I know nearly every pilot that appeared in the novel from experience. The call signs were really fabulous and made me think of all the wild signs and stories from my dad's own "Circus". Harlot, Dollface, Blowout, and Merry Death in particular stood out to me. The fact that every clown in the Circus had a different colored plane was too fun as well. The debauchery happening throughout Intercept 66 was almost up to snuff . The concept of the wet pilots was crazy, and I absolutely loved it. Aeronautica Dreadnoughts of a fashion, too cool. Typical Abnett worldbuilding here, which is to say nothing less than top notch.

 

Spoiler

This book's biggest issue was pacing. The first 90 pages were damned slow. Beautifully written, but slow. We all knew from the cover and synopsis that Jagdea was going to be killing bats. It shouldn't have taken the first quarter of the book just for us to get to the point where she is stripped of choices and forced to stay. I don't even think she dropped for combat until page 120. The middle half was excellent though, 10/10.

 

Then we get to the back quarter. I was also somewhat perplexed by the introduction of the murder/detective plot, but I really enjoyed it until Abnett ended it quite hamfistedly as is his wont. Not even upset though. Once I saw we were veering into left field with 130ish pages left, I just contented myself with the fact that the ending would be too rushed for my liking. 

 

I think we can all agree that this was a welcome change of pace from his Siege work. It didn't take me 6 days to finish this book at a healthy trot. As the other fraters have said, this book was extremely smooth/easy to read. Maybe I was just overly soured by TEATD, but this book has given me a little bit of faith back in Abnett. GW is sitting on Pandaemonium and he has to be good for at least one Scouring book, but where else does he go from there? More Sabbat Worlds? Potentially something Post Rift? I'm curious to hear what y'all think. 

 

[DukeLeto69]

Don’t agree on the pacing or the slow build. Too many times we are forced to rush in. This took its time and felt all the better for it. Also think the subplot was well signposted so came to a head at the right point in the book. But maybe just me!

[LemartesTheLost]

23 hours ago, DukeLeto69 said:

Don’t agree on the pacing or the slow build. Too many times we are forced to rush in. This took its time and felt all the better for it. Also think the subplot was well signposted so came to a head at the right point in the book. But maybe just me!

 

I should have clarified that I didn't really mind the slow build initially, and that I would have been more accepting of it overall had he actually introduced the subplot fully earlier or not at all. I think Abnett definitely could've trimmed 30 pages from the front in order to give it a little more breathing room.

 

Spoiler

 But between getting to 66, learning how to not die, then teaching everyone, then White Crow, then getting shot down, then more White Crow, the book just started to feel a little crowded for my taste. I would've loved it if the entire back half of the book was Jagdea trying to escape from the Hive.