Above and Beyond - Denny Flowers

[Roomsky]

This is 100% the best book to drop last year (which I have only just now read, because paperback delay.) That it didn't have its own thread is rank heresy.

Anyway, this book is amazing. Every page is a delight. The writing is snappy, the pacing is immaculate. Gosh, it's harder to write at length about a book I have no problems with.

 

When I say every page is a delight, I mean there wasn't a single moment where I didn't just want to keep reading. I read this book in 2 sittings, and would have done it in 1 if time allowed. It is clever and stuffed with black comedy, but the drama is never undermined. Simlex is allowed to be a crippled civilian the whole way through, and thus the military culture he's caught in the middle of gets far more attention than any monotonous fighting. What excitement he does get involved in keeps you on the edge of your seat precisely because he's so physically weak, and for the most part he doesn't even have a weapon. The plot is intrigue after intrigue, logistical breakdown after conflict of personality, and what seems like the world's most obvious twist ends up being a double-subversion that resolves well before the finale.

 

Simlex and Shard are of course the stars of the show, and both are repeatedly forced to accept that however attuned to the reality of the Imperium they are, thinking about it is only a road to misery. Philisophical types can only be ground into powder by eternal war; defiance is punished and considering the implications of one's situation does no favours. Between the two, the hot mess that is Shard frankly has the better idea: get drunk so you can ignore the little voice in your head. Book 1 Simlex discovered the truth, book 2 Simlex needs to learn how to bury the truth (or die trying.)

 

The side characters are also excellent across the board. Commissar Tobia is probably the most fun, both for being the "dellusional but content" foil to our protagonists and for being incredibly effective at what he does. Plient is still Plient and thus a lovable cinnamon roll (also one of the few with a modicum of happiness for his refusal to comprehend the horrors around him.) I won't list them all, because there are many, and I don't want to spoil what may be a reader's favourite side character.

 

I will of course acknowledge that Lucille will annoy some readers for being a horrible person. I personally appreciate that she's not a jerk with a heart of gold, she's a jerk all the way to her core who is, nonetheless, a layered human being. I think she's well used, not being the POV was always a good choice, but I can see how she won't vibe with some. I however, as a firm supporter of women's rights, must support Lucille "women's wrongs personified" von Shard.

 

10/10. My personal favourite book of the decade so far. It's out in paperback now. Please go read it.

[Jareddm]

My theory for a third book (and good lord does this series deserve a third book) is 

Spoiler

The third book antagonist will be Necrons. The only other real options for aircraft is Chaos, Tau, or Necrons. Chaos feels unlikely since the series has mostly shied away from the dangers of the warp. Tau could work but their tactics might feel a bit too similar to our Aeldari antagonist. Which leaves Necrons to also tie in as a likely source for Esec's illegitimate technology. I'm not fully ruling out Tau, but I would also like to see more of Shard's Rogue Trader aunt and that feels like more of a Necron-esque encounter than Tau.