Voidscarred by Mike Brooks

[The Scorpion]

I just finished this book and I have a few thoughts.

it is a book I liked, so let's get the negatives out of the way: this book, much like the one about Lelith Hesperax by the same author suffers painfully from "telling" stuff as a blunt statement instead of letting things be "shown". It is a problem most glaring at the beginning, but never quite ends up disappearing. I imagine Mike was concerned with (and rightfully so) fulfilling a checklist of other things that the novel needed to have and so let this escape his attention. Either the editor failed to see it, or it was left on purpose to let the book be an easy introduction to the Eldar, since it is a bit more than just about Corsairs.

Now, if the prose is serviceable but not spectacular, what makes the book good?
It is hard to explain, but I guess the book sets out to do exactly what it is supposed to do, and then hastily throws some tasty spice along the way.

The plot is simple at the beginning yet gains a surprising depth about 1/3rd into the novel without becoming complicated: it is more about dilemmas and meaning, and personal principle.

The characters punch above their weight imho.
We have a Corsair baron, dancing between pragmatism and principle, between bravado and insecurity, between indulging in schadenfreude and moving on from past wrongs.
We have a recent Craftworld exile, torn between personal desires and greater duty, trying to find himself without losing himself.
We have their rivals, their friends and companions, not always as nuanced but with clear goals and motivations.
Some minor characters get amazing characterization, such as the Farseer responsible for exiling the main characters. The book is about Corsairs, but it acknowledges that things are not as simple as "Craftworld councils are senile, they'd rather sit on their ass and play it safe than do something while Aeldari slowly go extinct".
I like that with the Eldar characters, Brooks takes the time to go into their psyche, since they are supposed to feel more profundly and more richly than a human does. Every now and then, some of their thoughts are overly romantic, idealistic, morbid, self-indulgent, or slighly perverse, and that is great.

Speaking of characters, Brooks pulled his best card for the antagonists: Orks.
Greenskins are often generic antagonists but say what you want about Brooks the man sure knows how to write Orks, and the Ork POV was one of my faves.
Every POV was a great reminder that while Orks have hopes and dreams and fears, the things they value or consider important is so much different to that of the other races in 40k. In this case, we follow a Mek and his struggle in dealing with a Freeboter Kaptin that is not as patient, as generous with scrap piles, or as tolerant with explosions (specifically with how local they are) as a Mek might want a Boss to be.

All in all. I liked this one. My main concern, which was Eldar characters feeling too human, was mostly avoided. Many characters, including random ones, had a pleasantly surprising depth, and da ladz are always fun to watch. Barely any human stuff in it too. By and large this book takes place in the galaxy outside of the Imperium, which helps the setting feel wide.