Category: Audiobook

Crucible of Chaos by Sebastien de Castell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery15 Comments

Crucible of Chaos Cover

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (Audiobook – 7 December 2023)

Series: Court of Shadows – Book 0.5

Length: 12 hours and 32 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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In the mood for a witty, intense and highly unusual murder mystery?  Make sure to grab Crucible of Chaos, an outstanding and impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell, which serves as a prelude to his Court of Shadows series.

Earlier this year I was very lucky to receive the first book in Sebastien de Castell’s Court of Shadows series, Play of Shadows.  Set in the author’s Greatcoats universe, Play of Shadows was a truly epic and outstanding read that saw an unlucky actor with unusual gifts attempt to unravel a dark conspiracy inflicting his city.  I deeply enjoyed Play of Shadows, which was one of the best books I have read so far in 2024, and I was intrigued to check out more from de Castell, an author who had previously impressed me with his hilarious standalone novel, The Malevolent Seven.  While de Castell has several great series to his name, the book that caught my eye the most was the late 2023 release, Crucible of Chaos, which apparently served as a prelude to the other Court of Shadows novels.  Curious to see how this prequel would turn out, I grabbed the audiobook version of Crucible of Chaos and started listening to it, and boy was I glad that I did.

Travelling duellist and scholar Estevar Borros is a Greatcoat, one of the king’s legendary sword-fighting magistrates.  However, even amongst the unusual ranks of the Greatcoats, Estevar is peculiar, not just for his girth, but because of skills in deductive reasoning and his obsession with investigating the supernatural.  Known as the King’s Crucible, Estevar has travelled the lands of Tristia, seeking out unusual occurrences and trying to determine whether their cause is natural or supernatural.  However, even this renowned investigator of supernatural is unprepared for the chaos awaiting him in Tristia’s most holy site.

Summoned by his old acquaintance Abbot Venia, Estevar travels to Isola Sombra, an isolated island abbey considered the religious heart of Tristia.  According to Venia’s letter, the monks of the abbey are starting to fracture into factions following the recent murder of the gods, each with their own ideas of who the nation should worship in the future.  A frightened Venia needs Estevar, in his position as a magistrate and an authority on the supernatural, to arbitrate the debate and to help keep the fighting monks in line.

Despite his better judgement, Estevar, already suffering from a wound after a failed duel, agrees to travel to Isola Sombra, but what he finds there will chill him to his very soul.  Arriving amid a brutal storm, Estevar finds that the monks have fallen into madness, and now three factions are at war on the island, desperate to claim it for their own.  Worse, the abbot has been murdered, and evidence of dark magic lingers throughout the abbey.

Determined find a reasonable explanation for the insanity infesting Isola Sombra, Estevar begins his investigation, hoping to find the source of the chaos rippling across the island.  Alone except for a mysterious girl and his trusty mule, a wounded Estevar needs to face off against three very dangerous groups of monks, each of whom have deadly intentions for the interfering Greatcoat.  Worse, there are far more dangerous things awaiting the inhabitants of Isola Sombra, even if Estevar doesn’t believe in them.  Can the justice-loving Estevar stop the insanity of Isola Sombra with his deduction, sword and courtroom etiquette before it’s too late, or has the King’s Crucible finally found a mystery to insane for even him?

Wow, what an amazing and compelling novel.  Crucible of Chaos was another outstanding book from de Castell, and one that really grabbed my attention from the very beginning.  Containing an elaborate story, great writing, amazing characters, and so much more, Crucible of Chaos was a joy to read from start to finish, and one that I have little choice but to give a full five-star rating.

De Castell came up with an impressive novel that sets a classic detective story into The Three Musketeer inspired Greatcoats universe.  Readers are quickly introduced to two of the main characters, Estevar Borros and his trusty steed, as the dejected pair arrive at Isola Sombra to investigate a religious feud enveloping the island and its abbey.  While that is an interesting premise for a story, de Castell raises the stakes by introducing murder, mysterious mysticism, fearful locals, unnatural storms, and three warring factions of monks, which Estevar needs to unravel to get his beloved justice.  What follows is a complex and highly entertaining murder investigation as Estevar, with the help of a mysterious girl, begins to interrogate key members of the remaining monks to find out what they know and how their fighting and the resulting murder came about.  This proves to be quite addictive, and I found myself getting really drawn into this excellent mystery and the unique fantasy elements surrounding it.

The story takes a very interesting turn around halfway through as Estevar gets some dramatic proof that the events on Isola Sombra are more supernatural than he thought they would be.  This leads the protagonist into some dark places as he tries to fully understand everything that is happening, and who is ultimately responsible for the crimes committed.  De Castell cleverly lays out some intriguing revelations, as well as some tragic secrets that are cleverly hinted at by false memory and lies, and I had so much fun following all the breadcrumbs.  Everything leads up to several great confrontations, as Estevar first deals with some political intrigue that ties Crucible of Chaos into the rest of the series, before once again facing the strange powers haunting the island.  There are some inspiring moments here, especially as strange bedfellows fight together against the darkness, before the protagonist initiates a unique trial to reveal the whole truth.  The solution to the mystery is very clever, and I was really impressed with how de Castell pulled the whole thing together.  The conclusion really goes over-the-top as justice meets religion in some dark ways, and you will come away very impressed and satisfied with the dark, yet hopeful, story that emerged.

I love the tone that de Castell set out for Crucible of Chaos, mainly because there are so many elements that he managed to fit into his story.  The blend of mystery, character development, and unique fantasy inclusions from his pre-existing universe is extremely awesome, and I loved how the author managed to create such an elaborate and focused story.  The investigation element of Crucible of Chaos was the book’s true heart, and I have a lot of respect for the complex series of crimes that emerged, especially as de Castell managed to incorporate religious conspiracies, political intrigues and supernatural occurrences into the mystery’s solution.  There are so many moments of desperation, despair, and dark hope contained within this book, and the reader is constantly left feeling either intrigued by the mystery or shocked by the revelations that emerged.  It helped that de Castell’s characters are all so vibrant and entertaining, and there is a captivating humour that runs through the book that proves hard not to enjoy.  This whole novel comes together with a great pace that never lets up, and I honestly could not stop listening to Crucible of Chaos at times, especially when all seemed dire, or the protagonist was on the hunt for justice.

As I mentioned above, I came to Crucible of Chaos after reading Play of Shadow, so I was interested in seeing how it would fit into both the Court of Shadows series and the Greatcoats universe.  While there are obvious connections to both, for the most part Crucible of Chaos is more of a standalone novel than anything else, as the plot is primarily focused on the intense mystery the protagonist finds himself trapped in.  While there are a lot of strong references to previous Greatcoats novels, de Castell does an outstanding job of rehashing these events in a thorough and sensible manner, allowing the readers to get all the necessary context that they need.  Readers also do not need to get this book first to enjoy the next book in the series, Play of Shadows, which was reassuring in hindsight, and I kind of like how independent the two books are from each other.  The only real connection lies in a couple of revelations towards the end of Crucible of Chaos that hint at dark deeds on the horizon and a shadowy hand manipulating events from afar.  As such, Crucible of Chaos is a very accessible book for new readers and serves as a great introduction to the various series associated with it.

I will say that Crucible of Chaos did provide some interesting insights into the nation of Tristia, which serves as the primary setting for the Greatcoats series.  There are substantial examinations of the nation’s history, the backstory from the prior books, and other worldbuilding that de Castell has previously come up with, and I found this to be quite fascinating.  The often fractured and duellist obsessed nation of Tristia is an amazing background for this story, and I enjoyed the multiple discussions about the role of the Greatcoats as magistrates and keepers of the king’s peace, especially as the protagonist is quite passionate about the ideals of justice they represent.  However, a lot of Crucible of Chaos’ focus lies around the religion of the world, as the gods of Tristia become a major aspect of the plot.  Indeed, key events of the original Greatcoats series become vitally important here as the protagonist needs to consider the impact that the previous murder of the gods has had on the current religious institutions.  I really liked the constant contrasts between the philosophies of human justice and religious practice that becomes recurring theme in Crucible of Chaos, and I rather enjoyed seeing both unique elements of this landscape.

While I loved the story and the dive into the Greatcoats universe, the absolute best part of Crucible of Chaos were the exceptional characters that de Castell set his narrative around.  Each of them was complex and endearing in their own fun way, and I really enjoyed the powerful storylines that the author wrote around them.  The most prominent of these is protagonist and point-of-view character Estevar Borros.  A member of the king’s Greatcoats, Estevar was a very distinctive protagonist, mainly because he didn’t fit the typical fantasy protagonist mould that most readers would be familiar with.  A rather girthy and older duellist, Estevar is nonetheless a formidable warrior, often able to overcome younger or more in shape opponents through skill and trickery.  However, for this adventure, Estevar recently lost a duel due to his own arrogance and is forced to investigate the events on Isola Sombra while wounded and exhausted, and with his tools and authority missing.  I deeply appreciated the multiple handicaps that de Castell placed on his protagonist, especially as it enhanced the intensity of the plot, and it was compelling to see Estevar deal not only with his wounds but his own dark temperament, while trying to solve the case.  Despite his disadvantages, Estevar proves to be a capable investigator, and his deductive ability, which results in him being shown as a supernatural obsessed cross between Sherlock Holmes and Porthos.  I deeply enjoyed how determined and curious Estevar was throughout the plot, and he was a fun character to follow as he keeps up a genial and pleasant demeaner for most of the book, with some fun cracks of humour.  However, we do see some great flashes of emotion from Estevar at key moments, especially when he realises just how deranged the crime he is investigating is.  I was a huge fan of Estevar from the opening pages, and he is a protagonist I would love to see again in the future.

Aside from Estevar, de Castell features several other exceptional characters that you have a fantastic time following.  This includes the mysterious young female lead, Caeda, who serves as Estevar’s impromptu assistant during the investigation, determined to help find the truth on the island.  Shown initially as an energetic and enthusiastic figure, Caeda plays well off Estevar, and I liked the entertaining partnership they formed, even if Caeda is keeping secrets, which eventually leads to some tragic revelations.  However, the character you are most likely to fall in love with is Estevar’s mule, Imperious.  Much more than a stubborn mule, Imperious is the bravest, most rambunctious and expressive character in the entire novel, and de Castell has a lot of fun throwing him into the story in entertaining ways.  A dangerous and near unstoppable figure, Imperious stole every scene he was in, and you honestly end up caring for this heroic mule more than any other character in the book.  Throw in a cadre of mad monks, including an obsessive inquisitor, a wannabe general, and a lecherous sorcerer lord, and the cast of Crucible of Chaos proves to be really fun and intriguing to follow.

While I was tempted to grab a physical copy of Crucible of Chaos, I ended up getting the audiobook version instead, which proved to be an epic format to enjoy the book in.  Coming in with a runtime of 12 and a half hours, this was a moderately long audiobook, but it was one I managed to power through in less than a week due to how caught up I got in the story.  I found that the audiobook format really helped me to enjoy the complex narrative that de Castell came up with, and having it read out helped me to appreciate the depictions of the dark abbey and the elaborate mystery that much more.  It helped that Crucible of Chaos was narrated by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Joe Jameson, whose work I enjoyed so much in the Legacy of the Mercenary Kings audiobooks (The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen and The Voyage of the Forgotten).  Jameson has a great voice for fantasy fiction, and I loved how he brings the elaborate story of Crucible of Chaos to life with his recitation.  The narrator had some great voices for the various characters, and while a few are similar to those he used in other audiobooks his other works, they all expertly fit the character they were assigned to perfectly.  I particularly enjoyed the distinctive and overly accented voice that Jameson gave to the main character, Estevar Borros, which perfectly fit his foreign origins, as well as his personality and physical attributes.  This booming, cheerful, yet penetrating voice, really captured the protagonist, and I could always envision this amazing character whenever Jameson spoke.  This, and other great voices, really helped to turn the Crucible of Chaos audiobook into something really special, and I cannot recommend this format enough to someone interested in this book.

Overall, Crucible of Chaos proved to be a remarkable and highly impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell that I had such an outstanding time reading.  Combining a unique story with great characters and compelling elements from the Greatcoats universe, Crucible of Chaos was a truly epic novel that I could not get enough off.  I look forward to seeing what other intriguing adventures occur in the rest of the Court of Shadows books, and this is swiftly becoming one of my favourite ongoing fantasy series.

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Warhammer 40,000: Death or Glory by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer8 Comments

Death or Glory Cover 2

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 28 February 2006)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book Four

Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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After recently getting through awesome Warhammer 40,000 novels like Straight Silver and Sabbat Martyr, I was in the mood for even more fantastic fiction, so I decided to check out the always reliable Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell with Death or Glory.

The Ciaphas Cain books are an outstanding and highly entertaining Warhammer 40,000 series that shows the grimdark universe in a whole new light.  Written by talented author Sandy Mitchell (a pseudonym of Alex Stewart), the Ciaphas Cain books follow an unlikely hero, Commissar Ciaphas Cain.  Despite being a Commissar, officers who are supposed to be embodiments of duty, discipline and bravery, Cain is a highly practical and fearful man who wants to stay alive in the deadly Warhammer 40,000 universe.  However, his attempts to stay out of the fight usually result in him getting thrust into even more danger which he needs to survive using his trademark cunning and manipulation tactics.  His various adventures have also turned him into a legendary hero throughout the Imperium of Man, something that results in even more trouble for unlucky Commissar.

The Ciaphas Cain books are always a lot of fun to read, especially as Mitchell takes a comedic take to the Warhammer universe.  Loaded with unlikely coincidences, clever humour and over-the-top characters, the first three Ciaphas Cain novels, For the Emperor, Caves of Ice and The Traitor’s Hand, have been extremely awesome and this is easily one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 series.  As such, when I needed something particularly entertaining to listen to, I chose the fourth book in the series, Death or Glory.

Relatively young Commissar Ciaphas Cain is not yet the hero of the Imperium he is fated to become, although he has already started to gain a reputation he doesn’t believe he deserves.  After stopping a genestealer infestation, Cain and the artillery unit he is attached to are ordered to the planet of Perlia, which has fallen under siege by the orks.  Happy to spend the next war far behind the lines with the artillery, Cain is unprepared for the dangers to come.

Upon arriving in the Perlia system, the ship Cain is travelling aboard comes under ork attack and Cain has no choice but to rapidly disembark in an escape pod.  Trapped with his aid, Jurgen, Cain’s pod is shot down before they can be rescued, which results in them crashlanding on Perlia.  Hoping to find sanctuary after a harrowing adventure in space, Cain is horrified to discover that they have crashed into the wrong side of the planet and are currently stuck well behind enemy lines.

Knowing that the only way to survive the ork hordes is to rejoin the main Imperial army, Cain has no choice but to embark on a dangerous road trip across the continent.  However, with thousands of brutish orks in the way, Cain will need help to survive.  Pulling together an unlikely army of scattered troops and desperate civilians, Cain heads off into the desert, hoping to find his salvation.  Their resulting journey will pit them against the full ork army and help turn Cain into a legend known throughout the galaxy.

Death or Glory was another exceedingly fun and deeply captivating entry in the Ciaphas Cain series that once again places Mitchell’s complex protagonist in all manner of trouble.  Action-packed, clever, and filled with excellent humour, Death or Glory was an outstanding read that I could not get enough of.

I really enjoyed the awesome story that Mitchell came up with for Death and Glory, particularly because it was a somewhat fresh take on the usual narrative.  Rather than following Cain as he works with his regiment to stop a hidden threat, Death or Glory shows Cain alone (except for Jurgen) and behind enemy lines on an ork controlled world.  Acting as a prequel to the previous novels in the series, you see the slightly younger Cain attempt to find his way back to safety, only to encounter multiple groups of refugees and scattered soldiers who turn to him for leadership.  The resulting story turns into a hilarious combination of Mad Max, Laurence of Arabia, and Kelly’s Heroes, as Cain leads his band, many of whom are crewing crude ork vehicles, across the ork controlled territories, including a vast desert.  There are several amazing battle scenes that see the humans fight back against the orks in desperate situations, often won thanks in part to Cain’s tactical insight and his unlikely manoeuvres designed to keep him alive.  This is a non-stop story, and you get really drawn into the constant travel, fighting and attempts at survival that emerge.  The orks prove to be great antagonists for the story, especially as Mitchell provides them as a mostly serious enemy.  While they are slightly underpowered in the face of the unbeatable Cain, and you do see the inherently sillier side of them, Mitchell also makes sure to showcase their prowess and brutality, which keeps the stakes high and the story even more captivating.  Ending on a final battle where Cain showcases his unlikely heroism by pure chance, Death or Glory had me hooked with its story the entire way through, and I loved the fantastic scenario that Mitchell came up with.

I have mentioned in previous reviews of the Ciaphas Cain series that Mitchell has an outstanding style that really enhance the story and bring out the innate humour within.  This is once again the case for Death or Glory, as the story is primarily told in the chronicle form from Cain’s perspective.  These unvarnished insights into Cain’s mind paint a vivid and fun picture of the events he was involved in, and you get some interesting insights into his actual motivations.  This fun story is further enhanced by the fact the memoirs have been modified by Cain’s associate, Inquisitor Vail, as she adds in a variety of notes, additional information, in-universe historical texts and footnotes.  Not only are these delightful additions informative and serve as a great way to quickly insert details of the larger war into the plot, but they are also quite funny due to the author’s sarcastic tone.  I love some of the entertaining jokes that emerge in the footnotes, especially as it allows the author to quickly reference certain ridiculous elements of life in the Warhammer universe, many of which are parodies of classic British activities.  These additional notes really change the tone of the entire book, and I love how it allows Mitchell to turn Death and Glory into something far more than a typical war story.

While there is a definite focus on humour in Death or Glory, there is still a ton of action and intense adventure here, as Mitchell draws inspiration from classic desert war movies.  The carnage of the orks is bleak, the battles are hard, and the situation is desperate as Cain and his comrades navigate the desert.  These darker elements play off the humour of Death and Glory extremely well, and I loved the complex narrative that emerged.  I enjoyed how Mitchell kept up the same excellent level of humour and compelling story elements that the previous entries were known for, and there was a strong effort to keep it consistent with the previous books.  You do notice that Mitchell utilises a bit of repetition in his books, with similar lines and descriptions used again and again.  While this is not too noticeable if you take a break in between books, it is very apparent for chain readers.  Still, this is a minor issue that Mitchell does a good job of dispelling in Death or Glory with the more unique storyline.

Like most of the entries in this series, Death or Glory can be read as a standalone novel with no real pre-knowledge of the previous books needed to enjoy it.  Indeed, Death or Glory is set earlier than the other Ciaphas Cain books, so this is a good entry point to the larger series.  There are a few references to the other Ciaphas Cain books, which established fans will enjoy, and Mitchell also provides clever hints at future events Cain will have to encounter.  Death or Glory also serves as a very fun introduction to the ork faction, especially as our protagonist has never encountered them before.  This allows the reader to get a fresh outside perspective on these alien characters, while also including details that hardcore Warhammer fans will appreciate.  As such, Death or Glory proves to be an awesome addition to the series that will appeal to fans of all levels and could easily spark a new reader to fall in love with Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

A recurring highlight of this series is the fantastic characters who populate the narrative, particularly main protagonist Ciaphas Cain.  Cain is a particularly complex Warhammer 40,000 character, mainly because he is both a renowned hero and a self-serving coward who only wants to avoid a fight.  Portrayed as a fun combination of Blackadder and Flashman, Cain is shown to be purely selfish, with his every move calculated to keep himself alive.  However, through accident or something else, his plans often backfire, forcing him into over-the-top dangerous situations that ensure others see him as an amazing hero.  This is on full display in Death or Glory as Cain pulls together a band of survivors that gets far larger and more chaotic the further they get along.  Despite his plan being designed to get himself to safety, many see him as a heroic revolutionary leader, which he is forced to maintain to keep his band of protectors loyal to him.  It is quite fun to see everyone misinterpret his decisions, and several fictional historical texts showcase the process of overexaggerating his deeds in hilarious detail.  However, despite all his protestations to the reader about being a coward, you once again see that there is far more to Cain than he lets on.  Rather than being a terrible person, he is just a sensible and tactically aware figure in a universe where the actions of unachievably brave heroes are constantly lauded.  This has led Cain to completely underestimate his own self-worth, even though he is routinely shown to be an impressive fighter, clever tactician, and caring leader.  I love this complex look at Cain, especially as his self-deprecating account ensures he is even more likeable, despite his selfish habits, and you really get drawn in to his crazy adventures.

Aside from Cain, several other figures were impressive in Death or Glory.  The most prominent, at least from impact on the book, is Cain’s associate Inquisitor Vail.  Despite not actually appearing as a character in the main adventure, Vail’s presence is strongly felt as she is the one editing and presenting Cain’s fictional memoirs.  As such, you are constantly gifted with Vail’s overlying narration and notes, especially as she provides greater context to the story and translates some of Cain’s wilder claims.  Thanks to her sarcasm, as well as her personal insights into Cain’s actual character, Vail provides a fantastic alternate viewpoint of events, and it is always fun to see her call out Cain for his lies and terrible writing style.  The other major character you must talk about is Cain’s aid and reliable bodyguard, Jurgen.  The Baldrick to Cain’s Blackadder, Jurgen is generally shown to be an unhygienic, smelly, and slightly dim companion who is utterly loyal to Cain.  However, despite this appearance, Jurgen proves to be an interesting and likeable figure, and he forms an excellent partnership with Cain.  His skills are well on display in Death or Glory, mainly due to his intimate knowledge about orks, and he once again showed himself to be an unappreciated part of Cain’s ultimate victory.  Throw in a band of intriguing survivors who flock around Cain, including several capable soldiers, a somewhat insane Tech-priest and determined troop of civilians, and Death and Glory had some great characters you can’t help but root for.

I have mentioned multiple times in the past that the best way to enjoy a Warhammer 40,000 novel is in its audiobook format.  Nowhere is that truer than the Ciaphas Cain books, which make excellent use of multiple narrators to expertly adapt the fantastically funny content of the novels.  Death or Glory is an outstanding example of this, as the brilliant production and excellent narrators produced something that I powered through very shortly, even with its nearly nine-hour long runtime.  The intense action, compelling story and outstanding humour is all amazingly highlighted in this format, and I especially loved the four amazing narrators who were brought in to voice the characters.  This includes returning favourites Stephen Perring and Penelope Rawlins, who fulfill their respective roles perfectly.  Perring is probably the most prominent narrator of the bunch as he voices all the chapters told from Cain’s perspective.  Perring is an awesome narrator as he perfectly captures the chaotic characters featured within the book, especially Cain and  Jurgen.  His portrayal of Cain is probably the best, as he expertly showcases the protagonist’s exterior boldness, as well as his interior fear and deep humanity.  Jurgen of course also comes out very well, and I love how Perring captures Jurgen’s unique persona and unquestionable loyalty to Cain.

While Perring voices the main chapters, Penelope Rawlins is just as important as she voices Inquisitor Vail, who writes the prelude, chapter introductions, additional material and footnotes that are scattered throughout the book, providing editorial notes and material to make the story more organised.  Rawlins’ voice is seamlessly worked into the main plot multiple times throughout the course of the audiobook, and I like how well her inclusions work with Perring’s main narration, especially as Rawlins perfectly captures both Vail’s sarcasm and the clear admiration she has for Cain.  This audiobook would not be as entertaining or clever as it is without these clever insertions by Rawlins, and she adds just as much to the production as Perring does.  In addition, Death and Glory brings two new narrators to the series with Joe Jameson and Richard Reed, who voice in-universe historical texts and autobiographies included to provide additional context to Cain’s ramblings.  I was very happy to hear from both familiar narrators, as Jameson lent his voice to the Necromunda novel Fire Made Flesh by Denny Flowers, as well as the Legacy of the Mercenary King series by Nick Martell (The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen and The Voyage of the Forgotten), while Reed narrated The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath, The Twice-Dead King series by Nate Crowley (Ruin and Reign) and Grim Repast by Marc Collins.  I really liked Jameson and Reed’s performances as a result, although both were a little underutilised thanks to the constraints of the narrative.  Still, these four narrators provided some exceptional voice work, and I had an amazing time listening to them throughout the course of this audiobook.  As such, Death and Glory comes very highly recommended in its audiobook format, and there is no better way to enjoy this book.

Sandy Mitchell continues to write one of the most entertaining Warhammer 40,000 series out there with this fourth entry in the epic Ciaphas Cain series.  An outstanding and hilarious novel that I absolutely powered through, I cannot recommend Death or Glory enough, and you will fall in love with this brilliant book.

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The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller3 Comments

The Atlas Maneuver Cover

Publisher: Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 20 February 2024)

Series: Cotton Malone – Book 18

Length: 13 hours and 21 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The always exciting Steve Berry continues his long-running Cotton Malone series with the intriguing and addictive novel, The Atlas Maneuver, which once again blends modern plots with historical riddles.

Over the last few years, I have been having a wonderful time getting to know the works of acclaimed thriller author Steve Berry.  Known for his intricate and complex works that dive into the past, Berry is an amazing author whose style and story focus really appeals to me.  I have had a wonderful time getting through the last several books in his main series, the Cotton Malone books, as well as his standalone novel, The Omega Factor.  Cotton Malone is a particularly fun series following the titular Cotton Malone as he attempts to stop sinister modern-day plots that have their roots in ancient conspiracies and secrets.  All the Cotton Malone books I have read have been extremely epic in their own way, including The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web, and The Last Kingdom (one of my favourite books of 2023), and I cannot recommend them enough.

As World War II entered its final phase, the retreating Japanese hid vast quantities of looted gold and other stolen valuables throughout the Philippines.  Stored in hidden underground bunkers, the gold was supposed to be used to rebuild Japan after the war and expand its interests.  But with the location of the vaults lost, most of the gold remained hidden, except for a small fraction recovered by the United States government and the nascent CIA, who kept it for themselves in secret.

In the present day, retired Justice Department agent Cotton Malone, is in Switzerland, working for an old CIA friend to keep a potential asset safe.  However, when someone tries to take his target out, Cotton soon finds himself thrust into the middle of a dangerous battle between a shadowy branch of CIA and the Bank of St. George, one of the world’s oldest financial institutions, with whom the recovered gold was entrusted.

Forced to act, Cotton begins to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and discovers that the directors of the Bank of St. George are seeking to initiate a radical plot involving bitcoin, the elusive online currency, which could destabilise the entire financial world and leave them in control.  Working with a skilled Japanese agent, his lover, and a ghost from his past, Cotton seeks to stop the plot before it is too late.  But with a deadly team of CIA assassins also closing in, no-one is safe and everyone is a target.

This was a pretty interesting novel from Berry that I had an excellent time with.  Thanks to its unique thriller story combining historical secrets with contemporary mysteries and plots, The Atlas Maneuver proved to be an amazing and intricate novel that I found to be quite impressive.

I really enjoyed the compelling story that Berry came up with for his latest novel, especially as he once again successfully blends an elaborate historical conspiracy with an exciting modern thriller story.  This story came together extremely well and overall proved to be quite an exciting read as Berry comes up with several compelling story arcs that you become absorbed in.  Starting off with a glimpse at the origins of the hidden Japanese war loot, The Atlas Maneuver soon jumps to Cotton Malone as he finds himself drawn into a plot to disrupt the world economy by a powerful bank through bitcoin.  Working with an old flame whose financial brilliance is behind much of the bank’s plans, Cotton desperately tries to keep her safe, while also contending with a relentless Japanese agent.  At the same time, Cotton’s partner Cassiopeia Vitt and old CIA associate Derrick Koger attempt to discover the location of the lost wartime gold that was supposed to be in the bank’s possession.  Their inquiries lead them into conflict with the bank, as well as a shadowy arm of the CIA that attempts to take out everyone associated with the case.

The alternating thrusts of the hunt for lost gold and the attempts to stop the elaborate financial attack make for great reading, and Berry continuously raised the stakes while also dragging the story back to the past with the fun historical inclusions.  While the story did drag in places, especially around the middle, I honestly couldn’t turn away from this book at times, especially when the action got particularly intense and there were multiple fun figures to follow.  Berry perfectly sets up the big conclusion of The Atlas Maneuver, which has surprisingly more devastation than expected.  I loved the dark and ironic ending to some of the storylines that emerged, and I felt this strong finish enhanced the entire book as a result.  Berry also leaves the story on an excellent emotional cliffhanger, that I feel is really going to pay off later in the series, and I will ensure I come back for the next Cotton Malone book.

I really liked how Berry set out his methodical and intense story as he once again relied on his classic style that prioritised historical inclusions, while also ensuring that the new book is accessible to all readers.  Thanks to the author’s excellent use of multiple perspectives, you get a great wide-angle perspective story, which allows you to understand the motivations, desires and actions of most of the opposing parties.  I always love books that show the story from the antagonist’s perspective, and this was a great example of that as you got to see the leader of the evil bank manipulate one of the other main characters, while also trying to implement her wider plan.  Berry utilises these multiple perspectives to tell an excellent overarching story, and while the parts focusing on Cassiopeia Vitt and Derrick Koger felt a little too detached from Cotton Malone’s storyline, for the most part this was a very cohesive tale.  The writing is also very tight and fluid in The Atlas Maneuver as Berry does a great job moving the story along, while also including his trademark historical lectures and flashbacks.  The mixture of modern-day action, elaborate schemes and examinations of the past was pretty on-point for this latest Cotton Malone book, and you really get drawn into the story as a result.  There were also some fantastic character interactions, especially as the protagonist is forced to interact with a love interest from his past who looks set to change the status quo of the series.  I had such a good time reading this book, and it proved to be an excellent addition to Cotton Malone series.

I always love the elaborate and compelling dives into various parts of history that Berry takes the reader on in the Cotton Malone series.  Berry, who clearly does his research on all things history, once again set his new novel around a unique piece of history, which has intriguing implications for the modern day thriller storyline.  In this case, much of the story revolves around Yamashita’s gold, the infamous treasure hoard supposedly located in the Philippines.  The author does a deep dive into the subject highlighting all the history surrounding it, as well as mentioning many of the intriguing details that followed it as people attempted to find it.  Much of the plot of The Atlas Maneuver revolves around the fate of this gold, and Berry really does a great job of highlighting its importance and the cultural implications surrounding it.  While certain elements of Yamashita’s gold featured in The Atlas Maneuver were exaggerated or changed for narrative purposes, you really get a good grounding in history surrounding it.  I found this focus on the lost treasure to be highly fascinating, especially as it wasn’t something I was too familiar about before.  However, this only proved to be the tip of the historical iceberg, as other intriguing historical events were also cleverly featured throughout the book.  compelling examinations about the early days of the CIA, banking history, the financial affairs of Switzerland and Luxembourg, and post-war recovery of Japan are also covered in interesting detail, much of which helps to give context to the current story and which are cleverly inserted into the modern-day plot.  These historical elements are truly fascinating, and I love the unique conspiracies and hidden secrets that Berry creates utilising them.

In addition to this 20th century history, Berry also chooses to dive into something a little more modern with a detailed look at bitcoin, which also has a significant impact to the plot of The Atlas Maneuver.  Berry dives into the history surrounding bitcoin, how it came into being and how it eventually expanded out in a major currency.  While some of this history is altered for the book, there is still a lot of detail about its origins and how it become prevalent throughout the world, which I honestly didn’t know a lot about, and was quite fascinating.  Berry also tries to capture other aspects of bitcoin, such as its function, how it is mined, and how it is currently viewed throughout the world.  There is a focus on bitcoin’s potential, and how it can be used to change economies and grant financial freedoms to people.  I liked how Berry took a neutral, if hopeful, stance around bitcoin, as while certain characters are critical of the cryptocurrency, many see its potential and hope to make the world a better place through its usage.  I honestly found the entire inclusion of bitcoin to be highly interesting, and the focus on its manipulation, creation and exploitation drove the plot to some cool places.

Another aspect of all Berry’s books that I really enjoy is his highly detailed examinations of various intriguing places that his protagonists end up in.  These background settings are always a key part of the book, and I like how well Berry incorporates them into the story, especially as the history or unique locations are invariably explored or utilised in the plot.  While The Atlas Maneuver lacks some of the grandiose sites that I enjoyed in the previous books, there is still a range of cool locations featured here that are well done.  This includes deep looks at several cities and locations with Switzerland and Luxembourg, as well as a lengthy excursion to Morocco.  Berry loving describes all the historical cities, lakes and other key locations in high detail, and it is always very clear when he is working from memory, especially as some of his characters’ reactions clearly mirror his own.  These detailed depictions always allow the reader to effectively envision the locations quite clearly, and it is a lot of fun imagining the daring exploits taking place in these picturesque locales.  I always love Berry’s descriptions of these locations, not only because I find the history fascinating, but because there are so many places featured in these books that I want to visit.  As such, this is a great part of The Atlas Maneuver, and I cannot wait to see what cool locations Berry features in his next book.

As has been my custom with most of the Cotton Malone series, I ended up listening to The Atlas Maneuver on audiobook, which ended up being a pretty great way to enjoy this book.  Coming in a nearly 13 and a half hours, this is a moderately long audiobook, so it took me a little while to get through it.  However, I felt that the way it helped to portray the intense action and thrilling storyline was very impressive, especially as having the story read out to me engrained the elaborate historical details a little better.  The Atlas Maneuver once again featured the fantastic voice work of veteran audiobook narrator Scott Brick, who has lent his voice to all the previous Cotton Malone books.  Brick has a very serviceable voice that works well for the thriller books he usually narrates, especially as it helps to highlight the great action sequences and elaborate conspiracies.  Thanks to his good voice work, the plot of The Atlas Maneuver moves along at a brisk pace, and I really got swept up in the elaborate story.  As such, I feel that the audiobook version is a great way to enjoy The Atlas Maneuver, and I had an excellent time getting through it.

Overall, The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry was an amazing book that I had an outstanding time getting through.  Once again successfully combining intriguing and elaborate historical conspiracies with an exciting thriller storyline, The Atlas Maneuver was a blast from start to finish and will be deeply appreciated by both fans of the long-running Cotton Malone series and new readers experiencing Berry’s writing for the first time.  A compelling read that comes highly recommended.

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Warhammer 40,000: Sabbat Martyr by Dan Abnett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer8 Comments

Sabbat Martyr Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 December 2002)

Series: Gaunt’s Ghosts – Book Seven

Length: 10 hours and 35 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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In addition to my review for Straight Silver, I also present a review for the impressive and epic seventh novel in Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series, Sabbat Martyr.  This was an outstanding and fantastic addition that perfectly followed on from some of the previous books in the series, including Necropolis, Honour Guard and The Guns of Tanith, while also throwing the beloved protagonists into all manner of trouble.

It is a time of miracles in the Imperium of Man.  As Warmaster Macaroth continues his extensive and exhaustive Sabbat World Crusade, the forces of the Imperium are stretched like never before.  However, word has reached the ears of all the faithful in the Sabbat Worlds that the legendary Saint Sabbat has reincarnated on the isolated and pious world of Herodor.  There, in Civitas Beati, a holy city dedicated to her, the reborn Saint awaits the faithful, the pilgrims, and the mighty warriors of the Imperium.

Amongst those summoned to Herodor are the battle tested and weary soldiers of the Tanith First-and-Only, better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts.  Thanks to their previous victories, as well as their involvement in miracles associated with the Saint, the Ghosts and their leader, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt, have been personally chosen by Sabbat to be her honour guard.  However, nothing on Herodor is as it seems, and Gaunt finds himself drawn into deceptive military politics and the manipulated beliefs of the city.  Worse, the forces of the Emperor of Mankind aren’t the only ones who have heard the call of the new Saint.

As Gaunt attempts to establish order in the city, an unstoppable danger appears on the horizon in the form of the infamous followers of Chaos, the Blood Pact.  Lead by the terrible Chaos warlord, Enok Innokenti, the invading forces of Chaos have one mission: find and kill the reborn Saint, and, by doing so, rob the Imperium of hope.  Desperately outnumbered and faced with impossible odds, Gaunt and his ghosts will need to do all they can to save the Saint and the city.  However, the dread Innokenti will have the Saint’s head by any means necessary and has sent nine deadly and corrupt killers to ensure this happens.  Can Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-Only pull off a miracle in the name of their blessed saint, or is this their final battle?

Abnett pumps up the feels and brings together some amazing storylines in this seventh excellent Gaunt’s Ghosts book.  An action-packed and highly intense read, Sabbat Martyr was another exceptional read, and one that I absolutely powered through thanks to its addictive and powerful story.

Sabbat Martyr has a pretty impressive story behind it, especially as Abnett wraps up the Saint sub-series within the larger Gaunt’s Ghosts books, in a big way.  Starting off fairly typically, with the Ghosts arriving on a new world to take care of some riffraff, Abnett quickly sets the scenes and revisits several of the key existing storylines and character arcs.  However, Sabbat Martyr goes in some intriguing new directions as Gaunt and his soldiers encounter what appears to be a reborn Imperial Saint, who has inspired a new bout of religious fervour and devotion in the region.  This proves to be an interesting new angle which ties this book into the larger concerns of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, rather than focusing on the fight of the common footslogger.  I liked this change of focus, especially as it fits with the hints raised in the preceding novels, and the initial intrigues of the novel added a level of uncertainty that worked quite nicely.  A fantastic, extended battle scene ended the first third of the book nicely, especially as it leads to some big revelations and sets the scene for the second half of the book.

The second half of Sabbat Martyr is where things get really interesting.  Abnett cleverly uses the start of this half to quickly extend several great character arcs, which sets some figures up for some dark times, while others are restored in interesting ways.  However, you don’t have a chance to fully appreciate that, as Abnett then launches the reader right into a new phase of war, as deadly enemies literally rain down around the protagonists.  Essentially the entire second half of the book is pure warfare, as the forces of Chaos arrive and harry the Imperial forces on every front, including with an extended space combat sequence.  From there, the enemy arrives on Herodor in force, including the nine promised deadly killers, and all the protagonists are thrust into a deadly battle for survival.

I loved this last part of the book, especially as Abnett knows how to write an exceptional war sequence.  Expertly splitting the story between numerous point-of-view characters, the resulting carnage is epic, with the protagonists forced into intense street fighting to survive.  All these battles are well crafted, and show the protagonists at their most desperate, as they are slowly pushed back with seemingly no hope to win.  I really loved these battles, as well as the simultaneous character arcs that tied into them, and you really get drawn in towards the big climax.  I did think that Abnett slightly rushed this last half, mainly because he was trying to fit in too much at once.  While the nine killers get a good introduction, they weren’t utilised as effectively as they could have been, and their appearances are a little briefer than you would have liked.  Indeed, there is so much potential material in this second half that Abnett could have honestly fit his story across two books and really expanded everything out.  Still all the big battles are very epic, and the big climatic fight sequence proves to be everything you could have wanted.  Abnett wraps everything up with some major tragedy, as multiple character arcs come full circle in a big and emotionally charged way.  As such, readers, especially established fans of the series, come away from Sabbat Martyr shaken while Abnett clearly and decisively ends a major chapter in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series.

Abnett does a really good job bringing this epic story to life, and I deeply appreciated just how dark and intense Sabbat Martyr got in places.  Expertly utilising multiple character perspectives to tell an elaborate story, you really get sucked into the massive carnage that emerges, and I really must commend Abnett for the impressive battle scenes.  Abnett has his methodology set for the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by this point in the series, and I love how smoothly his story unwinds.  The blend of character focussed storytelling and intense action makes for an exciting read, and I really got invested in this outstanding seventh entry in the series.  I did appreciate how Abnett took his protagonists into the much wider realm of faith, saints and holy power that is well established in other Warhammer 40,000 fiction, but not something we’ve typically seen in this series.  It honestly made for a unique change of pace, and Abnett does a great job wrapping ongoing storylines around it.  I also appreciated how several loose ends and antagonists from previous novels got revisited here, including one of the big issues I had with Honour Guard which got nicely resolved here.  This does mean that unlike the other Gaunt’s Ghosts books, Sabbat Martyr is less accessible for new readers, although Abnett does a good job of summarising old storylines where needed.  As such, this proved to be an epic entry in the wider series, and I really enjoyed how this chapter of the Gaunt’s Ghosts books came to an end.

As with all the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, the heart of Sabbat Martyr lays in the extended cast of protagonists from whom the elaborate story emerges.  Abnett has a very well-established cast of characters for Sabbat Martyr, and it was frankly moving to see how this story unfolded for them.  The author does a good job splitting the story amongst the cast, and I appreciated how this book, unlike the previous novel, didn’t overdo the number of primary cast members.  The resulting character arcs and personal stories proved to be very moving and intense to different degrees, and Abnett really got dark in places, especially when it came to bringing certain character storylines full circle.

Now, I won’t go into too much detail about the characters here, because I don’t want to ruin some major parts of the book.  However, I will say that Gaunt is once again a great central figure, and it was intriguing to see him impacted by his fate, as well as the many friendships he’s made throughout the series.  In addition, Gol Kolea gets a nice addition to his story, which I really appreciated, while one of the original Ghosts, Brin Milo, finds himself going on some bold new adventures that tie in nicely to his long-hinted destiny.  The feud between Lijah Cuu and Hlaine Larkin that was such a dark and memorable part of Straight Silver, comes to a great conclusion here, and Cuu really proves to be the ultimate villain of this series.  Agun Soric’s battle with his unusual messages is another highlight, especially as Abnett works in some powerful personal struggles, as well as a very dark ending that will leave you hurting.  All these character arcs, and more, are handled perfectly and all readers, especially those who have enjoyed the rest of the series, will really appreciate how Abnett continues or concludes them here.  However, I may never forgive Abnett for the big tragedy that occurs at the end that ensures the Tanith First-and-Only will never be the same again.

It goes without saying that I ended up listening to Sabbat Martyr on audiobook, especially after how impressed I have been with the previous Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks.  Coming in with a run time of 10 and half hours, Sabbat Martyr was another descent length Warhammer 40,000 audiobook that I just flew through.  This format works so well to tell epic Warhammer 40,000 stories, and I loved how effectively the fight sequences came through in Sabbat Martyr, as you can so easily envision Abnett’s massive action set pieces.  A lot of how effective Sabbat Martyr’s audiobook is comes down to excellent narrator Toby Longworth, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators.  Longworth, the established narrator for all things Gaunt’s Ghosts (as well as Abnett’s other audiobooks like, Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), has long perfected the voices he uses within these audiobooks, and it was great to hear his established tones and voices again.  The narrator really has all the key characters down and love the fitting and effective voice each of them has.  This impressive voice work deeply enhances an already awesome story, and you really get to feel the emotions and actions of each of the characters.  I honestly had such a great time listening to the Sabbat Martyr audiobook, especially in some of the more intense action scenes which swept my imagination away, and this is easily the best format by which to enjoy this amazing book .

With fire, blood and faith, Abnett wraps up a major part of his iconic Gaunt’s Ghosts series in a big way with the epic Sabbat Martyr.  Loaded with war, personal conflict, powerful developments, and some memorable tragedy, Sabbat Martyr was a worthy and intense addition to the series, and one that I couldn’t stop listening to.  I had such an exceptional time with this book, and Sabbat Martyr, and indeed the entire Gaunt’s Ghosts series, is required reading for all Warhammer 40,000 fans.

Sabbat Martyr Cover 2

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Warhammer 40,000: Straight Silver by Dan Abnett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer9 Comments

Straight Silver Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 December 2002)

Series: Gaunt’s Ghosts – Book Six

Length: 9 hours and 52 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After having a blast reading and reviewing The Traitor’s Hand, my desire for more things Warhammer 40,000 needed to be sated, so I dove into the exceptional and gritty Gaunt’s Ghost book by Dan Abnett, Straight Silver.

While there are some truly impressive Warhammer 40,000 authors out there, few can match Dan Abnett in terms of quality and impact.  One of the most significant authors of Warhammer fiction, Abnett has produced a great number of books in the franchise over the years, which includes several must-read series for all Warhammer fans.  These include his substantial contributions to the massive Horus Heresy series, as well as the iconic Inquisitor extended series.  The Inquisitor books include his impressive and highly compelling Eisenhorn trilogy, made up of Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus, and which are amongst my favourite literary trilogies.  While I am a huge fan of these novels, probably his most grounded and well-known contribution to the Warhammer 40,000 canon are the Gaunt’s Ghosts novels.

The Gaunt’s Ghosts books are an extended series that follows the members of the Tanith First-and-Only, a weary and battle-hardened regiment of Imperial Guard soldiers.  Led by Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and known for their stealth abilities and the destruction of their home planet, the Tanith First-and-Only have taken up the name Gaunt’s Ghosts and are fighting in the massive Sabbat World Crusades hoping to find a new planet to call home.  This series emphasises the common human soldier and the gruelling realities of war in the grim Warhammer 40,000 future, and it is one of the most compelling series out there.  I have had an outstanding time with this series and all the books I have read, including First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard, The Guns of Tanith, and the prequel novel The Vincula Insurgency, have been extremely epic and complex, perfectly blending great characters with intense action.  Despite still having several books to go, the Gaunt’s Ghosts novels are one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 series for a very good reason and I had no hesitation diving into the next book of the series, Straight Silver, when I needed something fun to read.

As the massive Sabbat World Crusades gain traction against humanity’s enemies, the Imperial forces finally have the capacity to send aid to the long-isolated planet of Aexe Cardinal.  There the loyalist nations of the Aexe Alliances have been locked in a gruelling 40-year war against the Chaos corrupted Shadik Republic.  Amongst the Imperial reinforcements sent to Aexe Cardinal are the veteran Ghosts of the Tanith First-and-Only, who are ready to make a dent in a new foe.

However, upon arriving on Aexe Cardinal, the Ghosts are surprised to find themselves under the command of the Aexe Alliance rather than their own generals.  Forced to serve the whims of their new allies for political reasons, the Ghosts are soon thrust into the archaic way of fighting that have led the war to linger for decades.  Worse, their new commanders refuse to use the Ghosts to their full potential, and the lightly armoured scouts find themselves fighting in bloody trench warfare.

Forced to endure confined conflict in ill-maintained trenches, the Ghosts find death constantly on the horizon as raids, bombardments, gas weaponry, and their own shattered morale begin to take their toll.  To keep his regiment alive and sane, Gaunt volunteers his troops for the most dangerous missions where the Ghost’s scouting skills can be best utilised.  However, the resulting campaigns will test Gaunt and his troops to the utter limit as the relentless forces of Chaos come crashing down upon them.

Straight Silver proved to be an exceptional entry to this amazing Warhammer 40,000 series.  Featuring some powerful and gritty action that took its protagonists to dark places, this sixth entry in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series was so damn good that I managed to power through it in no time at all.

Abnett did a brilliant job coming up with a particularly intense and dark story that plants the protagonists and the reader into the middle of a gritty warzone.  The main story is initially a little basic, with the Ghosts arriving on a new planet and finding themselves caught up in another long-standing war.  However, the book takes an outstanding turn when the Ghosts, who work best as a scout force, are forced into an elaborate trench warfare scenario.  Thanks to the excellent World War I inspired setting, the Ghosts are figuratively thrust back into the past and are forced to fight an old-fashioned type of war with their lasguns going up against firearms, chemical shells, and fixed lines of trenches.  The constant grim trench battles, raids and fights across no man’s land that dominate the first half of this book are very intense, gory, and pointless, and the reader is swiftly drawn into the unusual and dangerous scenario the Ghosts find themselves in.  Abnett masterfully captures so many aspects of this grim scenario, and you have to appreciate how brutal he makes the battles and the terrible conditions the characters find themselves in.

All these initial battles are expertly shown through the eyes of the many recurring characters of the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, and you swiftly begin to feel their despair and the rising tensions within them.  This works well with many of the existing character arcs, as several figures deal with grudges, uncertainty about duty, and growing relationships.  This excellent use of character arcs and perspectives humanises the fight, and you can’t help but get dragged even more into their hopeless situations.  I particularly enjoyed how Abnett deliberately made the antagonists a purely human force, with no named enemy characters serving as the villain.  This helps to reinforce that the true antagonist of the plot is human nature and their ability to wage unforgiving war, as the two opposing armies destroy everything around them.

While Abnett could have kept the characters in the trenches for a while and still had a good book, he chooses to accelerate the plot about halfway through Straight Silver, as the Ghosts are given a chance to prove themselves by going on two deadly missions.  This splits the story, as Gaunt leads half the characters on a series of deadly raids behind enemy lines, while another small group of key characters find themselves away from the fighting as they scout a critical location in the woods.  Naturally both storylines result in deadly chaos for the relevant protagonists, but I loved how they played out.  The storyline with Gaunt was brutal infiltration across no man’s land at its finest, and there are so many shudder-inducing moments as they continuously encounter the horrors of war.  The other storyline is much more a slow burn, as the characters find themselves isolated in the woods and only have themselves to fight with, as the grudges and resentments introduced at the start of the book are refreshed.  While the characters come together when an enemy presents itself, they are still caught up in their raw emotions, and this results in some dark moments.  Both storylines are resolve in an impressive and compelling manner, and the reader will come away enthralled, excited, and a little angry, as one excellent villain gets away with everything again.  You are honestly left wanting more, especially as Abnett throws in some tantalising hints for the future, and the bloody battles and horrors of Straight Silver will stay with you long after you’ve finished.

As with most books in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, Straight Silver can be read as a mostly standalone read, as many of the key characters and story arcs are expertly reintroduced throughout the course of the book.  While readers will always get more out of Straight Silver if they read the other Gaunt’s Ghosts books first, especially as that will allow them to become more attached to the characters, a new reader can easily pick up Straight Silver and have an outstanding time getting through it.  Straight Silver and the Gaunt’s Ghosts books can also be readily enjoyed by those people with minimal pre-knowledge of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  The Gaunt’s Ghosts books exist in their own little pocket of the universe, with the story completely focused on their own struggle as soldiers.  As such, this makes these books perfect entry level reads for those wishing to learn more about Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and anyone with a love for science fiction or military fiction is going to love Straight Silver.

I’m always impressed with the amazing range of characters that Abnett fits into each of his Gaunt’s Ghost novels, as the author tries to constantly capture the entire experience of the regiment in a Band of Brothers sort of way.  Unlike his Eisenhorn books, which had one perspective character, the Gaunt’s Ghosts follow many different protagonists, which allows you to see a massive picture of events unfolding.  This works really well, and I loved the huge range of unique perspectives and personalities that emerged, as well as the different views of the fights and internal conflicts.  I did think that Straight Silver might have featured a few too many different perspectives, as Abnett tried to bring some new characters to the fore.  This meant that several of the established cast from the previous book didn’t have a chance to shine here and were often sidelined, while the newer characters didn’t impress as much in their first big appearance.

There were still a ton of great character arcs going on, and even with less time in the spotlight, many of these characters made the most of it.  Main protagonist Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt gets a good showing, especially as he is forced into conflict with his friend, the highly moral Chief Medic Tolin Dorden, and he is forced to balance his responsibilities as a Commissar with the love he holds for his soldiers.  Newly promoted Sergeant Tona Criid proves to be an absolute badass character, and it was great to see her take command and kick butt.  Sergeant Agun Soric has some great scenes as he slowly comes to realise his latent psychic abilities, while the formerly charismatic Gol Kolea is a hard figure to read about, after suffering a head wound in the previous book and losing his intelligence.  However, the best storyline in Straight Silver involves the mad sniper Hlaine Larkin and the nefarious trooper Lijah Cuu (sure as sure).  Thanks to their interactions in the previous book, the slippery murderer Cuu has a major grudge against Larkin and is determined to kill him, just like he did Bragg.  This results in a deadly game of cat and mouse between the two, as Larkin tries to survive both the enemy and Cuu.  Cuu comes away as such a good villain for this book (even more than the enemy), and you can’t help but hate the guy, especially as there is something slick and scary in his every appearance.  These characters, and many more, helped to turn Straight Silver into an exceptional read, and you really get wrapped up in their unique experiences of war.

I doubt anyone who has every read one of my Warhammer reviews will be surprised that I ended up listening to Straight Silver on audiobook.  All Warhammer books are so much better in this format, and the Gaunt’s Ghosts audiobooks are a great example of this, especially with narrator Toby Longworth.  Longworth, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, has lent his voice to most of Abnett’s Warhammer audiobooks, and he always does a remarkable job moving the story along and describing the book’s epic battle sequences.  This is extremely evident in Straight Silver, and I very quickly powered through this audiobook because of how good it is.

I especially loved the awesome voices that Longworth came up with for the various characters featured throughout the book, and he goes out of his way to ensure that every figure has their own distinctive and fitting voice.  Many of these voices are carried over from the previous audiobooks, and it was great to get the continuity for each of the recurring characters, so much so that by this point listeners of the other Gaunt’s Ghosts books can figure out who is talking just by hearing their particular tone.  One thing I particularly appreciate is the range of accents that Longworth distributes across the audiobook.  Each group of soldiers, such as the original Tanith troopers, the new Verghastite recruits, and the soldiers of Aexe Cardinal, are given their own distinctive accents, and this cool attention to detail is what makes Longworth such a good narrator.  This was such an epic audiobook; with a runtime of nearly ten hours, most people can power through it, especially when they get caught up in the epic story.

Straight Silver is a particularly epic and impressive addition to the Gaunt’s Ghosts series as Dan Abnett takes his fame regiment down into battle hell.  Loaded with intense moments, a powerful background setting, and multiple engaging character arcs, Straight Silver is an exceptional read, and it is honestly one of the strongest Gaunt’s Ghosts books I have so far read.  An utterly addictive Warhammer 40,000 novel, I can give it no higher honour as a reviewer than to say the moment I finished it, I instantly grabbed the next book in the series, read it, and will be putting up a review for it now.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Traitor’s Hand by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer10 Comments

The Traitor's Hand Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 January 2005)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book Three

Length: 9 hours and 6 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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After updating my list about my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels last week, I was keen for more action from this awesome franchise, so I decided to quickly listen to the entertaining and fun novel, The Traitor’s Hand by Sandy Mitchell.

One of the things that I like most about the Warhammer 40,000 franchise is the sheer range of different stories and genres that can be found within it.  For example, one of the most popular series is a particularly funny and amusing series that focuses on a Blackadder-esque Imperial Commissar as he finds himself involved in all manner of over-the-top heroics.  This series is the Ciaphas Cain books, which follows the titular protagonist who has accidently become regarded as a great hero of the Imperium of Man, despite most of his actions being more for self-preservation.  The first two books in this series, For the Emperor and Caves of Ice, were extremely fun reads, and I have been meaning to check out the next book in the series for a while.  As such, when I had my recent Warhammer 40,000 craving, the third Ciaphas Cain book, The Traitor’s Hand, was an easy choice.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain, hero of the Imperium or unrepentant coward?  Constantly forced into the direst of circumstances despite doing everything in his power to avoid them, Cain has built up a reputation he considers entirely undeserved, especially as being known as a hero always seems to get him into trouble.  His latest assignment will test him like none other, especially when he is forced to go up against the great archenemy of the Imperium, the forces of Chaos.

With a Chaos fleet approaching the tidally locked planet of Adumbria, Cain and the soldiers of the Valhallan 597th are rapidly redeployed towards the planet to aid in its defence.  Despite wishing to stay off the frontlines, Cain’s experience and uncanny ability to find trouble forces him to join in the hunt for a Chaos cult hidden throughout the planet that has awakened in advance of the coming fleet.  However, the more he digs, the more he discovers that there is something far more sinister going on within the planet than anyone realises.

As the invading enemy arrives on the planet, it soon becomes apparent that two rival bands of Chaos worshippers are attacking Adumbria with very different goals in mind.  Leading the fight against the enemy, Cain needs to work out just what their objectives are before the world is destroyed in the Chaos crossfire.  However, with deadly enemy forces all around and a rival commissar determined to undermine him, can even the terminally lucky Cain stop them, especially when an old nightmare returns seeking revenge against him.

The Traitor’s Hand was an extremely awesome book from Mitchell that I had so much fun getting through.  Containing the outstanding blend of action, humour and intriguing characters that the Ciaphas Cain series is known for, The Traitor’s Hand was pretty damn epic, and I managed to power through it in about a day of intense listening.

This third Ciaphas Cain novel had a great story behind it that I had a wonderful time listening to.  While it does follow some similar story conventions to the previous books in the series, in that Cain and the Valhallan 597th arrive on a planet to face one foe, only for Cain to inadvertently discover another threat hidden under the surface, I think Mitchell did a good job distinguishing this book from the previous entries.  The introduction of a rival Commissar and alternating bands of Chaos worshippers makes for a great central storyline, and you get really involved in the battle for the planet and the attempts to discover a hidden Slaaneshi cult who are performing dark rituals.  The entire story evolves in a familiar manner, with Cain’s attempts to avoid a fight leading him into darker situations each time, while his keen insights allow him to determine where the true threat to the planet is located.  The big final sequence for The Traitor’s Hand was pretty damn awesome, as Cain leads a small force into a massive battle royale between warring Chaos warbands while also facing a dangerous foe from his past.  While the big bad’s identity was overly foreshadowed, their inclusion was very intense and lead to a gripping conclusion.  I do wonder if this repetitive story structure is going to be sustainable for the series in the future, but I really got stuck into this entertaining and exciting narrative and powered through it so damn quickly.

I absolutely loved the fun style of the Ciaphas Cain books which Mitchell once again uses to tell a fantastic story.  Primarily told from the first-person chronicle perspective as Cain recounts his many adventures, you get to see his insights into events that occur.  While on the surface this appears to be a typical Imperial Guard focused Warhammer 40,000 story, it is a much lighter read, as the book revolves around Cain’s continued attempts to get out of danger only to encounter worst problems.  It is really entertaining to see his excuses and manipulations, especially as nearly every action he does is calculated to avoid danger, which he shamelessly admits to.  The continued increase of stakes, desperate response from Cain and the inevitable lucky escape makes for some fun reading, and Mitchell does an excellent job of layering a strong amount of comedy into a usually dark universe.  This humour is expertly enhanced by the overarching narration of the book, provided by Inquisitor Vail’s editorial notes as she collates Cain’s memoirs.  Vail’s various notes, quotes and included histories of the story provides some much-needed context to the plot, while the entertaining and often sarcastic way they are delivered works extremely well.  I think that Mitchell got the right blend of humour, action, and dark moments throughout the course of The Traitor’s Hand, and I really got engrossed in the hilarious and action-packed story that emerged.  I did feel at times that Mitchell did get a bit repetitive with some of his phrases and lines, which you really notice with an extended read, but this is honestly a pretty minor complaint, and The Traitor’s Hand proved to be an amazing read.

I liked how well Mitchell featured the Warhammer 40,000 universe in The Traitor’s Hand, especially as he once again seeks to showcase the horrors of the franchise from the eyes of a human solider, even one as lucky as Ciaphas Cain.  The various Chaos factions prove to be great villains in this story, and I loved the cool comparisons between the Slaaneshi cult and the Khorne-worshipping warband.  You also get a great insight into the life of the common soldier or civilian, and it was fun to see the various responses many of them have to the reveals about Chaos and their dark designs.

Like most of the Ciaphas Cain novels The Traitor’s Hand can easily be read as a standalone book, and no real pre-knowledge of the Warhammer 40,000 universe is really needed.  Indeed, I really appreciated how efficiently Mitchell is able to ease new readers into the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe.  In addition, readers don’t really need to have checked out the prior Ciaphas Cain novels either, as Mitchell does a good job of summarising the necessary key points from these books when needed.  There were some strong references to the Ciaphas Cain short story, The Beguiling, which if you had read would have increased the impact of The Traitor’ Hand to a degree, however, it is also not necessary to have read it first, as Mitchell recaps it very well.  Overall, I felt this was a great piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that many people can get into.

A key highlight of any Ciaphas Cain novel is the excellent character work that Mitchell installs into the story.  This is certainly the case in The Traitor’s Hand, with most of the character work revolving around the protagonist and main point-of-view character, Commissar Ciaphas Cain.  While Mitchell has done a great job setting up this figure in the previous two books, it is always so much fun to see a story through Cain’s eyes, especially as the protagonist bears the duality of being a hero and a coward at the same time.  Fitted with a well-honed sense of survival, Cain is constantly trying to find ways to get out of danger and has proven quite adept at manipulating people to get what he wants.  However, due to bad luck or because he finds himself trapped by his own legend, Cain is constantly dragged into the most dangerous situations possible.  While it would be easy to dislike a character like this, readers quickly become aware that Cain isn’t as big a coward as he believes, and instead he is quite a skilled, brave and caring leader whose “cowardly” actions are often borne by shrewd assessment and tactical awareness.  Throw in his excellent sense of humour, his entertaining insights into the universe, and his vast experiences with the many different things trying to kill humans in the Warhammer universe, and Cain is such a great protagonist to follow.

Aside from Cain, The Traitor’s Hand features a raft of other great characters, each of whom bring a lot to the story.  For example, Inquisitor Vail, despite not appearing in person, serves a big role in the book, editing Cain’s unreliable manuscripts.  I loved her witty over-arching narration and notes throughout the book, and it was fun to have someone constantly calling out Cain for his wilder statements.  I also loved the continued inclusion of Cain’s aid, Jurgen, the man capable of killing anything in the galaxy with his trusted meltagun.  I love how Mitchell sets Jurgen up as the Baldrick to Cain’s Blackadder in this series, especially with his attitude, hygiene and loyalty, although he proves to be a vital ally.  It was also interesting to see Mitchell continue to explore just how vital Jurgen is to Cain’s success, especially due to his status as a Blank, and I love the entertaining team the two characters combine into.  New character Commissar Tomas Beije, an old school rival of Cain’s, serves as a great secondary antagonist for much of the story, and it was entertaining to finally see a character suspicious of Cain’s status as hero, especially as he looks deranged spouting out accusations we know to actually be true.  Finally, the various members of the Valhallan 597th, many of whom were introduced to us at the same time as Cain, continue to grow as characters and serve great supporting roles in the story, and it was touching to see how their relationship to the protagonist has grown over the years.

I have often said throughout my many reviews on the subject that the best way to enjoy a Warhammer 40,000 novel is its audiobook format.  Nowhere is that truer than the Ciaphas Cain audiobooks, which really capture the zany feel of the series through its excellent narration and style.  Most of this is due to the excellent use of multiple narrators, whose mixture of voices creates a particularly epic read (indeed this one of my favourite audiobook series with multiple narrators).  The Traitor’s Hand features four separate narrators, each of whom add so much to my enjoyment of this audiobook.  Each of these narrators has a distinctive role, with the amazing Stephen Perring providing the bulk of the narration in this series, as he narrates the chapters told from the protagonist’s perspective.  Perring serves as an epic centre for this audiobook, especially as he does such a good job capturing the larger-than-life Ciaphas Cain with his acting.  Perring’s take on Cain’s cocky dialogue, as well as his more honest chronicling of events, is impressive, and I love how he captured the various aspects of Cain’s character.  There are some other great voices featured throughout these chapters as well, as Perring assigns fitting and entertaining voices to each of the major characters.  My favourite of these is probably Jurgen, especially as Perring really tries to make him sound as much like Tony Robinson as possible.

While Perring does most of the narration in The Traitor’s Hand, the additional voice actors also add a lot to the story, especially Penelope Rawlins.  Rawlins voices the character of Inquisitor Vail, the Imperial Inquisitor and acquaintance of Cain who is compiling the memoirs for publication.  As such, Rawlins voices the prelude, chapter introductions and footnotes contained in this book to showcase the editorial notes that this character is adding in to make Cain’s ramblings easier to read.  Rawlins serves as a good contrast to Perring, especially as her character’s more serious tones are the direct opposite of Perring’s flippant take on Cain.  I love how seamlessly the production works Rawlins’ voice into the various points of the audiobook where her character cuts into the main story, and you really get into the groove of her explaining key details about the universe and the characters.  Throw in the additional voice work of Emma Gregory and new narrator Andrew Spooner, who give their voices to various in-universe texts that provide additional information for the reader, and you have a strong team who masterfully enhance Mitchell’s brilliant story.  These great actors really help to make this entire audiobook production so much fun to listen to, and with a runtime of just over nine hours, you can very easily sit back and listen to The Traitor’s Hand in one fantastic sitting.

With The Traitor’s Hand, Sandy Mitchell continues to showcase why he is one of the strongest, and funniest, authors of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  Filled with the series’ trademark humour, intriguing characters and intense action, The Traitor’s Hand was an entertaining audiobook from start to finish that I could not turn off.  An outstanding and highly recommend novel, The Traitor’s Hand was so damn good, and I cannot wait to see how Mitchell continues this amazing series.

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The Sandman – Act II (Audiobook) by Neil Gaiman and performed by a full cast

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Horror, LGBT+, Superhero, Tie-in Novel6 Comments

The Sandman - Act II Cover

Publisher: Audible Original (Audio Drama – 22 September 2021)

Series: The Sandman – Volume 2

Script: Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs (script adapter)

Director: Dirk Maggs

Length: 13 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The gloomy and complex fantasy adventures of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman continues in this epic second audiobook volume that once again brings Gaiman’s unique imagination and characters to life with an outstanding cast of actors.

Back in 2022 I had an outstanding time listening to the first volume of the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman comic.  The original series, which started in 1989, is one of the most iconic comics of all time and features a unique adventure that only someone as twisted and imaginative as Neil Gaiman can come up with.  Following Dream, the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and human imagination, The Sandman is a truly interesting comic that blends horror, fantasy and superhero storylines together.  Some people might be more familiar with the recent Netflix series that adapted the first couple of comics and which has a second season on the way.

While I loved the show, I personally had a much better time with the audiobook version of the comics that was released a couple of years ago.  Featuring a truly exceptional cast of celebrity and established audiobook narrators, the first volume of this series was so damn good, and I loved how well it established the characters and universe of The Sandman while also adapting Gaiman’s unique vibes and dark themes.  This first volume was extremely addictive, and I made sure to listen to the second volume shortly after.  The second volume, or Act II as it will be called in this review, continues the comic storyline and features some amazing stories, fun characters and new cast members.

In a universe of strange and deadly creatures, many beings are considered immortal, but only seven siblings can truly claim to be endless.  The Endless, each a personification of a certain universal or human concept, are powerful and mesmerizing in their own way, but the most enchanting and mysterious is Dream.  Known by many names, including Morpheus, this being governs the Dreaming, a vast realm of creation’s collected dreams and stories, protecting the imagination that makes life worth living.  But circumstances outside of his control have set him on a dark path that not even he can escape from.

Still dealing with the consequences of his forced absence from his realm, Morpheus is working to recover everything he lost while avoiding the enemies he made along the way.  The most powerful of these is Lucifer, the fallen angel and lord of Hell, whom Morpheus insulted when he stormed Hell to take back his stolen helm.  Despite not wishing to cross Lucifer again, Morpheus is convinced to set right the biggest wrong of his life and free his former lover from Hell.  However, he is unprepared for the reception that awaits him as Lucifer chooses to damn him in a far more sinister way: by gifting him control of his dark domain.

Finding himself in possession of the key to Hell’s gates, Lucifer must determine who will become the new ruler of Hell.  Setting up a gala in the Dreaming, Morpheus receives visits from an array of gods, demons, angels, and other immortal beings, each of whom seek to control Hell for their own reason.  Soon, Morpheus finds himself in the middle of a host of scheming beings, many of whom will turn on their host to get what they want.  At the same time, weird things are happening in the Dreaming, as an ancient and unstable realm begins to drag in inhabitants from the real world and influence the waking world.  Can Morpheus ensure his realm stays whole whilst dealing with the most dangerous beings in creation?

This was another outstanding adaptation of The Sandman comics that was so damn epic to listen to.  Adapted by director Dirk Maggs and featuring all Gaiman’s impressive storytelling and dark characterisation, The Sandman – Act II was extremely impressive, and you really get drawn into the unique world of the original comics.  Adapting issues #21-40 and #50 of the original comics, The Sandman – Act II brings together the stories of Season of Mists and A Game of You, and several entries from Fables & Reflections.  All these adaptations are so damn good, and I love the elaborate and epic cast that helps to bring the tale to life.

Due to how the audiobook is set out, there are three distinctive parts to The Sandman – Act II, which provided their own unique stories and characters.  The first of these is titled Season of Mists, and features Morpheus finding himself wrapped up in the fate of Hell.  Starting with an entertaining and dysfunctional family dinner, where Morpheus reunites with all his siblings (bar one), the story then turns to Morpheus’s biggest regret, his relationship with the ancient African queen Nada (whose story was told in the last audiobook), which trapped her soul in Hell.  Travelling to Hell to free her, Morpheus finds that Lucifer has banished all the demons and damned souls from his realm and is abdicating as ruler, leaving the key to Hell’s gates with Morpheus.  Morpheus is soon tasked with deciding the fate of the dimension, which results in a flurry of immortal beings arriving at his home to request the key.  The resulting conference proves to be highly entertaining as Morpheus is forced to deal with all manner of bargains, schemes and betrayals as everyone seeks his favour.  I loved how the entire dramatic conference unfolds, and the interactions between the various over-the-top figures and the implacable Morpheus results in some great drama and hilarious sequences.  The conclusion of this storyline is amazing, as a new irony overtakes the denizens of Hell, Morpheus finds himself meeting various beings who will change him in the future, and the seeds are set for a new story around Lucifer (as seen in his own comic and television series).

Honestly, this is probably the best part of The Sandman – Act II, as not only is Season of Mists particularly gripping, but it makes full use of both the existing voice cast and several new figures to really enhance the content.  The battle of wits between several larger-than-life characters is extremely compelling and clever, and Gaiman does a remarkable job expanding the canon of The Sandman.  There are so many subtle and delightful character interactions scattered throughout this storyline, and listeners will love the impressively devious stakes that are being discussed.  This includes some fantastic and deep soul searching for the protagonist, who is forced to revisit one of his darkest deeds.  Thanks to his own experiences of being locked away, Morpheus understands his harsh past actions a lot better, especially when prompted by members of his family.  I always appreciated how Gaiman shows that Morpheus isn’t really a hero but a force of nature who arrogantly follows his own whims.  However, in this case he is a somewhat better person, even if he is still selfish in his actions, and it takes some real prompting for him to do the right thing.

Gaiman also makes sure to feature some additional amazing character arcs, the most intriguing being Lucifer’s when he decides to perform the ultimate rebellion against his father by abandoning Hell.  Lucifer’s portrayal by a returning Michael Sheen is exceptional, especially during his interactions with Morpheus, and his take on the events that led him to rule Hell are very powerful.  In addition to Sheen, Season of Mists also features the inclusion of several amazing new actors, each of whom are used to their full potential.  Jeffery Wright and Kristen Schaal are perfect additions to the Endless, voicing the taciturn Destiny and the bubbly Delirium respectfully.  However, it is the one-two punch of Bill Nighy as Odin and David Tennant as Loki that really sold this chapter to me.  Bill Nighy and David Tennant are two of my absolute favourite actors, and their takes on these two Norse gods are just amazing.  While Nighy brings gravitas and cruelty to Odin, Tennant’s wheedling, manipulative Loki was so damn fun, and both were the highlight of every scene there were in.  The rest of the cast in this chapter were epic as well, and this entire section was such a highlight of The Sandman – Act II, with its placement at the top of the book successfully drawing listeners in and ensuring they don’t go anywhere.

The other main storyline in The Sandman – Act II was titled A Game of You, and is an adaptation of one of the less popular comic arcs.  This story is an intriguing female-led additional to the series, which primarily follows Barbie, a minor figure from the previous The Doll’s House arc, who has uprooted her life and moved to New York to live with an eclectic mixture of residents in an apartment building.  When figures from Barbie’s long-lost dreams arrive in the waking world, Barbie is dragged back into a fantasy adventure, while her friends in New York deal with minions of the mysterious Cuckoo, a dream parasite preying on Barbie’s mind.  The resulting attempts to help Barbie result in chaos and tragedy as they trespass into the Dreaming and come face to face with Morpheus as a he fulfills an old bargain.

Now I must admit that A Game of You was a little weaker than I was hoping, especially when compared to the preceding Season of Mists.  The decision to focus on Barbie, who honestly didn’t stand out too much in her previous appearance, was an interesting choice by Gaiman, and this arc doesn’t have the most engrossing story.  However, I did still have a great time listening to this part of the audiobook, especially as it focuses on showcasing both the magic and danger of dreams, as well as the impacts that interactions with Morpheus can have on mortals.  The more distinctive fantasy focus of this story makes for a nice change of pace, and I liked how well Gaiman simultaneously showed events occurring inside and outside of the protagonist’s dreams.

One side effect of listening to A Game of You immediately after Season of Mists is that the less substantial cast is a lot more noticeable.  That’s not to say that A Game of You doesn’t have great characters.  There are some amazing figures featured here, including several unique protagonists who have compelling connections to previous story arcs from the series.  There are also some nicely progressive LGBT+ elements for a comic released in 1991-92, especially when it comes to the trans woman character, Wanda, who is handled with tact and who has a particularly impactful story arc.  There are also fewer celebrity voice appearances in this arc, although I did rather enjoy the inclusion of actress Emma Corrin of The Crown fame as the ancient witch Thessaly, as her intense and distinctive voice added a lot to this fantastic character.  While it is easy to nitpick A Game of You, especially after some of the previous arcs, this is s till a particularly impressive storyline, which is masterfully brought to life with this production, producing something that is very fun to listen to.

These two main storylines are impressively augmented by a series of short stories scattered throughout the course of the audiobook.  Most of these short stories fall between Season of Mists and A Game of You, with several more wrapping events up.  There is also a short story in the middle of Season of Mists that showcases the impacts the closure of Hell has, which leads to the Dead Boy Detectives series.  Gaiman comes up with some truly interesting and unique shorter stories to add to the main plot of the book.  Most of these stories involve various mortals or other supernatural creatures encountering either the Endless or some of Morpheus’s creations, and they usually serve as some form of cautionary tale.  I loved the intriguing underlying themes that Gaiman loaded into each story, including about the impermanence of power and examinations of the human condition, and the author also has fun in launching his distinctive characters into various historical periods.

While all the shorter stories contained in The Sandman – Act II are awesome in their own way, a couple do stand out due to their excellent stories and fantastic performances.  For example, the complex story Three Septembers and a January, retells the tale of Joshua Abraham Norton, self-declared Emperor of the United States, with Dream and his siblings shown to be responsible for his strange actions.  This story is both fascinating and dark, as you witness a man torn apart by the whims of the ethereal siblings.  Listeners grow particularly attached to this tale due to the performance of John Lithgow as Joshua Norton, who adds some excellent humour and no small amount of tragedy with his moving voice work.  Other great stories include Thermido, which sees the return of Lady Johanna Constantine from the first audiobook.  Voiced by the absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley, this story follows Constantine as she steals into France during the height of the revolution to steal something from Robespierre.  This story was fast-paced, clever, and substantially dark, all of which helped it to stand out, especially with the compelling twists and ironic historical fates.  It was also amazing to get a whole story told by Joanna Lumley, who was somewhat underutilised in the first audiobook.  Finally, the tale August, which follows Augustus Caesar as he disguises himself as a beggar and tells his life story to a dwarf, proves to be quite impressive, especially with Brian Cox playing the titular character.  Each of these shorter stories are masterfully presented, and I loved how complex and powerful their stories were, even with the shorter length the author had to work with.

Overall, I really appreciated the entire story of this volume.  The blending of two fantastic main storylines, as well as the scattering of intriguing and unique short stories, makes for quite an epic continuous listen.  The short stories were well utilised as the director spread them out amongst the audiobook providing a good break between the two extended plotlines, as well as some fun listens in the epilogue.  Not only were all the entries in The Sandman – Act II fantastic and compelling, but each of them had such a distinctive feel that really highlights the author’s style and ability to blend various genres together into one powerful story.  The interesting array of over-the-top characters makes for quite a fantastic listen, especially as Gaiman attempts to capture the many burdens of having cosmic responsibility, while other stories look at how characters are affected by dreams and imagination.  The mixture of fantastic tales and dark moments is always cleverly undercut with moral lessons or complex observations about the human experience.  You honestly come away from The Sandman in deep thought while still being traumatised or wildly entertained by how events unfolded.  There is honestly nothing else quite like The Sandman in fiction, and I always have great admiration for the elaborate and multifaceted tales that Gaiman comes up with.

Just with the first volume of this epic audiobook collection, the production really captures the epic nature of the comic, which makes it a real joy to listen to.  Even with its runtime of nearly 14 hours, this is such an easy and addictive audiobook to listen to, and it proves hard to ever stop listening to the elaborate story that emerges.  A lot of this is down to the impressive nature of the production surrounding this audiobook, as the director goes out of his way to enhance the audio experience for the listener.  Everything about this audiobook, from the emotionally charged music, the elaborate sound effects, and the brilliant cast of actors and narrators, is designed to remind you what an imaginative and unique story you are listening to.  Heck, even the way that the various chapter titles are announced is epic, and I always get a kick out of the impressive way they are read out.  Honestly, the entire audiobook production is just perfect, and anyone who listens to it is in for an exceptional time they will not forget.

As part of my hyping up of the audiobook production, I have to highlight the sheer range of talent lending their voices to this audiobook production, without whom The Sandman – Act II would be nowhere near as exceptional as it was.  I have mentioned several of the newer voice actors in the review already, but The Sandman – Act II also featured the exceptional returning cast from the first audiobook, each of whom provided fantastic new performances that really stuck in the mind.  For example, Andy Serkis is so much fun as Matthew the Raven, while Justin Vivian Bond and Miriam Margolyes serve as fantastic and fitting versions of Desire and Despair respectively.  Kat Dennings proves to be an outstandingly effective incarnation of Death, especially as her positive portrayal captures the more compassionate and likeable version of Death that Gaiman envisioned for his comic.  Even Neil Gaiman has a key vocal role in the production, serving as the narrator who highlights events and details not captured by the dialogue.  Gaiman proves to be an impressive narrator for this story, and his distinctive and wise voice matches the feel of The Sandman perfectly.  However, most of these are overshadowed by James McAvoy, who plays the titular Sandman, Morpheus, in this production.  McAvoy is honestly perfect in this role, and the gravitas, sense of unknowing, and great sadness of this character is so perfectly portrayed by the actor’s voice.  McAvoy does such a good job portraying the imperialistic and arrogant tone and personality of Morpheus and the reader can really envision his actions and thoughts.  McAvoy honestly does the best presentation of this character it is possible to do (television series included), and you will fall in love with his take on this sinister and mysterious figure.

The Sandman – Act II is an outstanding and incredible audiobook production that does such a remarkable job of bringing more of Neil Gaiman’s iconic comic to life.  Perfectly adapting the distinctive and dark comics into a new format, listeners get the benefit of both an excellent narrative and some amazing audiobook production with a remarkable cast.  An absolute joy to listen to from start to finish, The Sandman – Act II was a brilliant follow-up to the first production, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Peace Talks Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 14 July 2020)

Series: Dresden Files – Book 16

Length: 12 hours and 52 minutes

My Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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After nearly four fantastic years, I have officially come full circle with the epic Dresden Files series as I check out the final book I needed to read with the entertaining and compelling entry, Peace Talks.

Back in 2020, I had the very great pleasure of discovering Jim Butcher’s iconic Dresden Files urban fantasy series.  A powerful, action-packed, and intense read, Battle Ground was one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020, even though I started with the 17th entry in the series.  I had so much fun with Battle Ground that I instantly went back and listened to the first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front, which cemented my love for the series.  Since then, I have been slowly working my way through the entire Dresden Files audiobook collection, loving every second of it.  There are so many exceptional entries in this amazing series, with some of my favourites including Fool Moon, Dead Beat, Small Favour, Changes, Ghost Story, and Skin Game, just to name a few.  There was frankly not a single book in this series I didn’t love, and I had such a wonderful time with each of them.  I have been on the final stretch of this series for the last couple of months, which ended when I got through the intriguing Peace Talks.

Harry Dresden, professional wizard, White Knight, and supernatural defender of Chicago is adjusting to many of the changes in his life, including a new romance and his duties as a father.  However, things always have a way of becoming even more complicated for Dresden as the sins of his past and his twisted loyalties come back to haunt him, especially when an important gathering of supernatural entities is set to take place in his city.

Ever since Dresden destroyed the Red Court of vampires, the Fomor, an ancient and long hidden kingdom, have been making a play for power.  Their dark exploits have led them into conflict with many supernatural nations, and after years of skirmishes, the Fomor are finally ready to talk peace with the larger supernatural world in Chicago.  Assigned to summit as security for the White Council of wizards, as well as a liaison between the wizards and the Winter Court of Queen Mab, Dresden has his hands full, especially as he expects all hell to break loose.

As the various delegations descend upon Chicago, Dresden is proved right when his vampire half-brother, Thomas Raith, instigates a diplomatic incident that could lead to his death.  Forced to work with Thomas’ sister, Lara Raith, Dresden works to free his brother without starting a war.  But his actions soon draw the ire of several people close to him, especially as his loyalty to the White Council are in doubt.  Worse, an ancient evil has arrived in Chicago, one determined to destroy all chances of peace and bring about untold disaster.  Can Dresden save his brother while preparing for a force capable of destroying everything he has sworn to protect?

Peace Talks is a compelling addition to the long-running Dresden Files series that takes readers on an interesting ride in the lead up to the next big adventure.  Filled with great character moments, intriguing revelations, and some cool world-building, this was a solid addition to the series that I absolutely powered through.

Butcher comes up with a good story for Peace Talks that not only sets up some interesting plot points for later, but also tells its own unique narrative that is hard to put down.  To fully enjoy Peace Talks, you must appreciate that it is primarily a prelude for Butcher’s other 2020 release, Battle Ground, and as such a lot of story elements from it don’t get any real payoff until the second book.  As I’d already read Battle Ground before getting to Peace Talks, I could see where a lot of the hints, character arcs and storylines were going, so I think that gave me a bit more appreciation for what Butcher was doing here.

The story itself is an excellent character-driven narrative that contains a lot of great elements I really appreciated.  Starting off by showcasing the new normal for Dresden as a parent and partner, the story quickly moves along to the introduction of the summit, which brings several recurring characters back into the mix.  As various troubles begin to build on the horizon, the story introduces its major hurdle as Thomas apparently attempts to assassinate the leader of a supernatural nation.  Convinced of his innocence, Dresden reluctantly works with Thomas’ sister Lara to try to free him, resulting in a prison break sequence during a busy event.  Dresden’s determination to save his secret brother even at the risk of war begins to alienate several of his allies, including his grandfather, eventually resulting in an epic confrontation that was the highpoint of the book.  At the same time, the peace conference proves to be an intriguing addition to the plot, as you get to see some compelling interactions from multiple supporting characters, including many who haven’t been in the same book before.  The conclusion of the summit comes rather fast and shockingly, with the major antagonist for the next book arriving and making their intentions clear, and you come away greatly anticipating the chaos to come in Battle Ground.

I loved how Peace Talks came together as Butcher brings his usual charm, sharp writing and entertaining wit to the table in a big way.  Peace Talks features the trademark blend of mystery, adventure, character development, fantasy elements and snarky humour that I deeply enjoy about all the Dresden Files books, and it’s hard not to get caught up in the story.  There is a great focus on intrigue, politics and personal perception in this book, and I liked how a lot of the threats were more subtle and in the realm of future consequences rather than direct action.  Butcher also focused on setting up for the next book, and much of Peace Talks is geared towards providing context and character introductions for the coming war in Battle Ground.  While in some ways this reliance on setting things up for the next book made the events of Peace Talks seem a little less important, it was an overall strong book, and a great entry to the wider Dresden Files series.  While I do think that people should be really starting the series earlier than the 16th entry, new readers could slot themselves into the Dresden Files series here as Butcher continues his accessible style, minus a few references to some short stories.  Peace Talks also features some clever and subtle clues to major twists and big events in Battle Ground which you don’t fully appreciate until you read the following book.  I honestly came away from Peace Talks with an even greater appreciate for Butcher’s long-term writing skills, as well as his ability to expertly telegraph some major events.

I did feel that certain elements of Peace Talks did feel a bit rushed, especially when it came to the big bad who was revealed at the end of the peace summit.  Having already read Battle Ground, I was expecting more buildup for the villain Ethniu in Peace Talks, especially as she hasn’t been mentioned at all in any of the preceding 15 books.  However, she kind of just shows up, kicks ass for a few seconds, and then leaves, making her threats for the next book.  You don’t even get any history for her aside from the fact that she’s a long-dormant Titan who is annoyed at the world.  In hindsight, this is a little weak, and some explanation about who she is, how she took over the Fomor, or her history with the other magical leaders would have been good.  Butcher also failed to really set up any connection between her and Dresden before their fights in Battle Ground, which I think you needed.  This and other rushed bits of character interaction towards the end of Peace Talks weakened the overall story of both books, and it was clear that Butcher was keen to finish Peace Talks off and get into the major war sequences of the sequel.

As with most Dresden Files entries, Peace Talks excelled in the character department, which was a major highlight of the book.  Peace Talks features a huge cast of characters, most of whom are being reintroduced from previous novels so Butcher can feature them in Battle Ground.  As such, Peace Talks is loaded with some compelling interactions and character moments, especially as the protagonist must deal with a range of friends, family and foes who he hasn’t seen in years.

Naturally, most of the character work revolves around protagonist and point of view character Harry Dresden.  Dresden is such a fun character to follow, mainly because of his immaturity, sense of humour, and the lack of fear and respect he holds for powerful beings.  However, while deep down Dresden is still the same loveable rogue we’ve been following for years, he has been experiencing some major changes in his life that have had some intriguing impacts on his personality.  Peace Talks sees him dealing with a lot of these major life events in various ways, and it was interesting to see how much Dresden and his situation has changed since the start of the series.  Much of the book revolves around his changing relationships with certain people, including his new romance with Karrin Murphey, which finally came official in the previous book Skin Game.  This romance is one of the nicest parts of the whole book, and the two characters are just perfect for each other, which twists certain future emotional knives a little deeper.  It was also sweet to see Dresden as a father, even with their complicated relationship and the trauma surrounding them.

However, I think the most dramatic character relationship that was featured in Peace Talks involved Dresden and his mentor/recently revealed grandfather Ebenezar McCoy.  The two of them have been rocky for years, but their emotions finally spilled over in Peace Talks, especially when it came to Dresden’s relationship with Thomas and his plans to raise his daughter.  The anger between the two bubbles over throughout the course of Peace Talks, mainly because Dresden is forced to hide the true reasons for helping Thomas due to McCoy’s hatred of vampires.  The eventual and inevitable confrontation is very brutal as the two are unable to come to common ground and both think they are in the right.  The big fight between them is one of the best scenes in the book, and it simultaneously showed how powerful McCoy truly is while also highlighting how much more skilled Dresden has gotten over the years.  The eventual result is very heartbreaking, showcasing the fact that no one can hurt you more than family, while also containing a fun bit of sneakiness from Dresden.  It will be interesting to see where this relationship goes in the future, but it’s clear this family has some major issue to work out.

In addition, it was also particularly interesting to see Lara Wraith, leader of the White Court and Thomas’s half-sister become such a prominent character again in Peace Talks.  Butcher spent a good chunk of Peace Talks reintroducing Lara as a major character who is going to be a big part of the series going forward.  While this does result in the usual overly sexualised shenanigans that have accompanied Lara since her introduction in the infamous adult-film focused Blood Rites, Lara mostly proves to be a compelling and complex character.  Indeed, there were some moving examinations of her relationship with Thomas that showed just how much she cared for him.  While the differing goals and expectations for Thomas result in some conflict between Dresden and Lara, they prove to be an effective team, with a bit of hostility buried beneath them.  Considering these two are going to be forced to spend a lot of time together in the future, I liked how Butcher built up their relationship here, and it will be interesting to see how it develops in the future.  Overall, I felt the characters featured in Peace Talks were handled really well, and I loved the unique and powerful interactions that emerged.

As with the entire Dresden Files series, I ended up listening to Peace Talks on audiobook, and frankly there is no better way to enjoy one of these epic novels.  Coming in with a runtime just shy of 13 hours, this was slightly shorter Dresden Files book, especially when compared to the other later books in the series.  This shorter runtime allowed me to power through Peace Talks in no time at all, especially as I was once again wrapped up in the silky tones of narrator James Marsters.  Marsters, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, primarily due to his work in this series, is so damn good, and I love how effective he is at telling Butcher’s story.  Marsters honestly gets the tone of each scene perfectly and the way he inhabits each of the featured characters is just amazing.  I once again must highlight how well he portrays protagonist Harry Dresden in this book, and you can really sense the character’s conflicted emotions.  Due to the large cast associated with Peace Talks, Butcher needs fill in quite a few roles, including a ton of recurring figures from previous novels.  I felt that he did a great job voicing all of them, and it was fun to see him dust off a few voices that we haven’t seen in a few books.  Everything came together perfectly with Masters narration in Peace Talks, and this was another epic Dresden Files audiobook that I just loved listening to.

Jim Butcher provides another powerful and intriguing addition to the Dresden Files series here in Peace Talks.  Simultaneously setting up the events for the sequel Battle Ground while also telling a powerful, character-driven tale of betrayal and family trouble, Peace Talks was a great read that proves hard to put down, especially for established fans of the series.  A highly recommended book that leads to bigger things.

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Warhammer 40,000: Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer16 Comments

Da Big Dakka Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 24 February 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000: Ufthak Blackhawk – Book Two

Length: 9 hours and 25 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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I have been really punching out the Warhammer reviews this week, and the final one I want to bring up is the exceedingly fun novel Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks.

Mike Brooks is an outstanding author, who has been killing it with his amazing novels in the Warhammer 40,000 universe with elaborate tales featuring some unique figures.  I really enjoyed his dark novel, Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, and The Lion: Son of the Forest was one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023.  However, out of all of Brooks’s books, the most entertaining, exciting and outright funny are his novels that focus on the ork faction.  Orks are always a fantastic group in Warhammer fiction, but Brooks has some amazing insights into these rowdy creatures.  His previous ork novels, Brutal Kunnin and Warboss, have both been awesome, but I honestly think his latest book, Da Big Dakka, is his best yet.

Ufthak Blackhawk, big boss of Da Tekwaaagh! is in trouble.  Sent far away into the stars by his Warboss, Da Meklord, to find loot and a good scrap, Ufthak has found barely anything to steal or fight, and now Da Meklord wants his tribute.  Determined to find one big score, Ufthak is awarded a unique opportunity when his new grot servant reveals the webway, mysterious ancient portals which can lead to all sorts of unusual places.  However, he has no way of entering the webway, that is until someone opens it for him.

Dhaemira Thraex is a powerful and ambitious drukhari archon, who seeks to empower her cabal and become leader of her section of the dark city of Commorragh.  To that end, Dhaemira brings Ufthak and his horde into Commorragh, hoping to use the threat they present to unite her rivals behind her.  Confident of a swift victory against the unorganised orks, it quickly becomes apparent that Dhaemira has underestimated the danger she has unleashed.

After years of fighting and getting stronger, Ufthak is no longer the simple ork he once was.  Instead, he is now a monstrous foe who excels at killing, and who has a plan to get everything he wants.  But can even the new and improved Ufthak stand against the worst that the twisted and malevolent drukhari have to throw at him, especially when treachery sprouts within his own ranks in the most unlikely of places?

Mike Brooks presents one of his funniest and most exciting novels yet as Da Big Dakka hits all the right notes for me.  Utterly hilarious, loaded with over-the-top characters, and featuring two extremely awesome factions from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Da Big Dakka had me hooked from the moment I started listening to it and refused to let go until the very last laugh.

Da Big Dakka had a great story behind it, and I liked how Brooks set it up as a direct sequel to Brutal Kunnin (which I read recently in preparation for the release of this book), while also featuring elements from Warboss.  Da Big Dakka is more of a dark comedy than a serious Warhammer 40,000 novel, which is to be expected when you have a book focused on the orks.  The premise behind Da Big Dakka is simple: the orks under the command of the evolving Ufthak Blackhawk have found themselves inside the drukhari city of Commorragh and must pit their savage battle skills and crude intellect against the subtle tactics of their drukhari hosts.

The drukhari, whose scenes are primarily told from the perspective of Dhaemira Thraex, initially see the orks as a minor threat, and they are more concerned with their intrigues to take them seriously.  However, underestimating the orks never works out for anyone, and soon Ufthak has launched a series of insane and unpredictable counterattacks that force the drukhari to work together.  As this happens, Ufthak finds himself being secretly undermined by one of his grots, Snaggi Littletoof (who previously appeared in Warboss), who his determined to lead a grot uprising and finds himself in all manner of trouble as a result.  All three of these storylines come together in a big way towards the end of the book, as all the schemes, outrageous plans and badly organised rebellions, are decided in one big brawl.  The final results of Da Big Dakka are pretty damn awesome, as there are some deliciously ironic comeuppances, interesting character development, and entertaining hints about what Brooks plans to do in the future.

While there are notable similarities between Da Big Dakka and the previous novel, Brutal Kunnin, as the book follows a similar thread of orks rampaging across a new world facing off against arrogant enemies, it’s hard not to fall in love with this book.  You can clearly see that Brooks has evolved his style since Brutal Kunnin, and this sequel was a much stronger novel.  A lot of this was down to the inclusion of one of the best characters from Warboss, who added in an extra comedic angle to the plot that vibed wonderfully with the other storylines.  Brooks also amped up the petty political intrigue and plotting with the non-ork parts of the book, with the drukhari serving as an excellent antithesis to the orks.  There was also a great deal more character development when it came to the protagonist, which helped to strengthen a lot of the plot.  This split between these three main point of view characters was pretty damn perfect, and their alternating views of events helped to produce a very strong story.

In addition, there was excellent added complexity to Da Big Dakka’s humour, which I had a brilliant time with.  While most of the comedy is based around the over-the-top antics of the orks, there is also some darker, more subtle comedic elements spread throughout the plot which plays off the other jokes extremely well.  A lot of this based around ironic events, in-universe jokes, and hilarious betrayals, which really added up as the book progressed.  I found myself laughing out loud multiple times while listening to Da Big Dakka, and this was one of the funnier books of 2024.  Throw in a ton of over-the-top fight scenes, most of which serves to enhance the already epic story, and you have an outstanding and captivating book with pure fun at its heart.

One of the things that I always enjoy about Warhammer 40,000 fiction is the shear range of different stories and styles that can be told.  Da Big Dakka for example is a much more light-hearted book that focuses on two alien races that don’t always get a lot of focus in the extended fiction.  As such, this book has a great deal of appeal for those unfamiliar with Warhammer, as Brooks is required to dive into these factions without weighing the reader down with too much heavy plot.  New readers can easily enjoy this book without any real pre-knowledge or conceptions about the Warhammer 40,000 universe and still have an outstanding time with the unique story and characters.  It can also be readily enjoyed by those who haven’t read the preceding two novels, Brutal Kunnin and Warboss, as Brooks makes the story very accessible.  Naturally, established fans and those who have read Brooks’ prior novels will get a lot more out of Da Big Dakka, mainly because there is some interesting progression of character arcs, and because Brooks provides outstanding look at the orks and the drukhari.

As with his previous two novels, I was deeply impressed with how Brooks portrayed the orks in Da Big Dakka.  The orks are always a very entertaining bunch, and their hooligan-esque actions, desire to fight, and unique outlook on life makes for some fun reading.  Pretty much every book that features an ork character is bound to be more on the comedic side, and Brooks delivers this in spades, loading up the story with a ton of funny observations, in-jokes and outrageous behaviours that proved to be exceedingly entertaining.  Brooks really amps up the unpredictable nature of the orks in Da Big Dakka, and there was a good recurring theme about being underestimated.  While Brooks went a little light on describing ork technology and the different clans, mainly because he’s covered that before, there was an interesting look at ork psychology and biology which showcased why they fight and how it benefits them.  The author also featured a great look at the ork sub-race known as the grots, who have an expanded role in this book.  Smaller, weaker and extremely bullied members of the ork race, the grots serve as a snivelling slave caste, and offer some fun comedic relief.  A good part of the plot revolves around the grots and their cowardly nature, and it was really entertaining to see Brooks’s take on their mindset and place in ork society, especially when one of their number tries something different.  Honestly every scene featuring a major ork character was entertaining or interesting in some way or another, and I really love how well Brooks portrays this awesome faction.

While Da Big Dakka is mostly dedicated to the orks, Brooks also spends a ton of time focusing on one of the more intriguing factions in the canon, the drukhari.  Previously known as the dark eldar, the drukhari are one of the more underutilised groups in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, and it was great to see them here.  Essentially evil space elves, the drukhari live in an extra-dimensional city and require the pain of others to survive (think the Cenobites from Hellraiser).  As Da Big Dakka is primarily set in a section of their city and features a drukhari as a main character, Brooks showcases a lot of the drukhari lore in this book, which was really cool.  This book features an in-depth look at the drukhari, with their unique units, weaponry and vehicles strongly featured.  However, Brooks goes even deeper than that, focusing on the politics of the drukhari characters, the various alliances that bind them, and entire basis of their existence.  I loved the fascinating examination of why they require pain to survive, as well as their thoughts on mortality, and this became a key part of the book’s plot.  You get a real clash of styles between the two factions, and the orks are constantly frustrated by the hit-and-run tactics of the drukhari (or the spikiez, as the orks know them).  I also loved how cool the city of Commorragh proved as a background to the plot, and Brooks features several unique drukhari structures and locations that made for some great battlefields.  The entire final sequence takes place in one of their arenas, and it was very fun to see the protagonist face off against some of the drukhari captives.  I honestly really loved that Brooks featured the drukhari here, and I hope we see more Warhammer authors use them in the future as they are so underutilised.

I also must highlight the excellent character work featured within Da Big Dakka, as Brooks featured some amazing figures whose unique insights added so much to the impact of this book.  The primary character is the ork big boss, Ufthak Blackhawk, who previously served as the protagonist of Brutal Kunnin.  Since we last saw him, Ufthak has literally grown into his role as a boss, as his victories have transformed Ufthak into a massive monster.  This physical growth has also resulted in him becoming smarter, and a lot of his storyline revolves around him utilising this new intellect for the first time.  It also makes him more ambitious and insightful, and it was fascinating to see him interact with the other characters in the book, especially the main drukhari figure.  Indeed, the one scene where they have a frank conversation was probably one of my favourites in the entire book, with Ufthak proving to be her intellectual match.  Despite this newfound and somewhat unwanted ability to think, Ufthak is still an ork at heart and he acts accordingly, with lots of destruction and carnage coming from him alone.  Ufthak is also a major source of comedy as his cynical, hilarious, and often surprisingly accurate insights into the drukhari, his fellow orks, and the other races of the galaxy, are so funny.  It will be interesting to see what adventures Brooks has planned for Ufthak in the future, as he is clearly positioning him to be a major recurring figure in his books.

Aside from Ufthak, the other two major characters of the book are the drukhari archon, Dhaemira Thraex and the grot Snaggi Littletoof, both of whom add some great alternate elements to the story.  Dhaemira is a ruthless drukhari strategist, who revels in schemes, plots and ambitious powerplays.  The person ultimately responsible for much of the carnage in Da Big Dakka, Dhaemira proves to be a fantastic figure to follow, especially as the reader gets most of their view of the drukhari from her.  Dhaemira proves to be an excellent alternative protagonist to Ufthak, mainly because the two are so different, and it was fascinating to see their clash of styles and personality, even though they have more common ground then you would expect.  I really loved Dhaemira’s narrative, which goes in some interesting directions, including an unlikely romance, and it really played off the ork perspective chapters so well.

The final key ingredient to this mix was Snaggi Littletoof, the self-proclaimed Grotboss and prophet of Gork and Mork.  Snaggi, who previously appeared in Warboss, is determined to lead a grot rebellion to overthrow the orks and place him in charge.  Unfortunately, Snaggi is held back due to the stupidity of his minions, as well as his own inaccurate sense of self-importance.  His entire storyline of attempted rebellion was a welcome addition to the plot as it served an interesting middle ground between Ufthak’s direct actions and Dhaemira’s more subtle plots.  It also added some excellent additional humour, as Snaggi’s various schemes to take over the ork band, go in some interesting directions that often balance unlikely success with massive failure.  This fantastic combination of characters was so much fun, and I really loved how well Brooks introduced them and balanced them out throughout Da Big Dakka.

I checked out this Warhammer novel in its audiobook format, which is the best way to enjoy the over-the-top action and big personalities of this franchise.  Da Big Dakka is a great example of this, and I love how all the amazing scenes and fun fights really come to life when they are read out to you.  In Da Big Dakka’s case, a lot of this is due to narrator Harry Myers, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite Warhammer audiobook voice actors.  Not only has he really impressed me in Brooks’s previous ork audiobook, Warboss, but Myers was also brilliant narrating two of my all-time favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels, Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky and The Wraithbone Phoenix by Alec Worley.  Myers has such an amazing and booming voice and a great British accent that really fits the hooligan-aesthetics of the orks.  He effectively works through a series of voices in Da Big Dakka, that includes the commanding voice of main character Ufthak Blackhawk, and the high-pitched whiny voices of the various grots.  While his voice wasn’t always the most effective for conveying the subtle mannerisms of the ethereal drukhari, Myer still did an excellent job portraying them throughout this book, and I loved how efficiently and entertainingly he moved the plot along.  I honestly don’t think I would have had as much fun with Da Big Dakka without Myers’s narration, and with a run time just short of nine and a half hours, this is a very easy audiobook to get through and enjoy.

Mike Brooks continues to impress me with his outstanding and epic contributions to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, especially as he so clearly grows as an author with each book he writes.  His latest novel, Da Big Dakka, is a captivating and deeply hilarious piece of Warhammer fiction that tells an awesome story, while also expertly using the franchise’s most unique factions.  Wildly entertaining, incredibly funny, and subtly clever, Da Big Dakka was particularly fun to read and comes highly recommended.  I cannot wait to see what wonderous piece of Warhammer fiction Mike Brooks will write next, as I know I am going to love it.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer8 Comments

Dead Men Walking Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 30 November 2010)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 10 hours and 42 minutes

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Two relentless foes face off in the intense Warhammer 40,000 novel, Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons.

Dead Men Walking was an epic novel released back in 2010, that featured a brutal and compelling story I really fell in love with.  This novel follows the trend of books that highlight the adventures of specific regiments or units of Imperial Guard, such as Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley, Kasrkin by Edoardo Albert, Steel Tread by Andy Clark, and the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by Dan Abnett, which has been very fun.  Dead Men Walking was the author’s first look at the legendary Death Korps of Krieg, one of the most distinctive and dark regiments of Imperial Guard soldiers, who he covered again back in 2022 with Krieg.  This new novel sets the Death Korps onto a whole new battlefield with deadly results.

Hieronymous Theta is a small and relatively young world in the Imperium of Man.  Populated by nearly nine billion people, it is slowly becoming an important industrial hub, as its cities and massive spires build up.  But as the inhabitants of the capital, Hieronymous City, expand their mining operations deeper they encounter something unexpected and terrifying, the Necrons.  Unfeeling and inhuman ancient xenos encased in living metal, the Necrons are an unrelenting force determined to exterminate the human pests they find inhabiting their world by any means necessary.

As the citizens of Hieronymous City begin to panic, unable to stand against the encroaching Necrons and their deadly technology, their apparent salvation lands on the planet in the most unlikely of forms, the Death Korps of Krieg.  One of the most feared and mysterious regiments of the Astra Millitarum, the Death Korps of Krieg come from a world destroyed by civil war which seeks to redeem itself by producing soldiers solely dedicated to the Emperor and his victory.

As the Death Korps land on Hieronymous, they take the war to the Necrons and begin a determined siege to retake Hieronymous City from the outside.  But as the Krieg regiments push forward, the people of the planet soon begin to realise that the Death Korps might not be the salvation they hoped for.  The soldiers of Krieg’s only goal is to defeat the Emperor’s foes, and they are willing to sacrifice anything to achieve victory, including the citizens of Hieronymous.  With battle joined, the fate of Hieronymous hangs in the balance.  But does anyone truly win when two implacable and unrelenting armies go to war?

This was an extremely interesting, intense and dark novel from Steve Lyons, who follows up his previous Krieg novel in a big way with this outstanding read.  Featuring a moving, action-packed and highly cynical story, Dead Men Walking was probably one of the better Warhammer 40,000 books from last year, and I had an exceptional time getting through it.

I really liked the fantastic story that Lyons came up with for Dead Men Walking, especially as it successfully showcased both opposing armies, the Death Korps and the Necrons, without actually featuring any perspective characters from either side.  Instead, the focus is reserved for the other humans caught in the middle of the conflict, including the Imperial Commissar attached to the Death Korps, the governor of the planet, and several citizens who find themselves caught in the crossfire of the war and are forced to adapt to survive.  I love how Lyons set the early narrative out, with the perspective characters slowly becoming aware of the dangers beneath them.  The slow build introduction of the Necrons, a force the humans don’t know but the reader is very aware of, was handled perfectly, and there is a lot of great anticipation that pays of well when they finally attack.  The scenes of carnage and utter terror that emerge for the characters stuck in the city really hit home with their realism and intensity.  Indeed, there is a bit of a horror vibe to the story at this point, and Hieronymous City turns into an excellent wasteland setting for the characters to subsequently attempt to navigate.

Once the city is in ruins, the book turns towards the landing Death Korps, who begin prosecuting a deadly war against the Necrons.  This moves the story into a fascinating new zone, as you get some fantastic battles while also witnessing several characters soon caught up in the city as everything changes around them.  I loved the various unique, personal stories that emerged, and the focus on characters watching both the Krieg and Necron forces battle it out proves very powerful.  As the story continues, each of the main characters suffer in various ways, especially as they begin to realise that the unrelenting, victory-focused Krieg are just as dangerous as the Necrons, and there are some deeply powerful moments as they lose their humanity in the carnage of war.  All of these mostly independent character narratives go in some dark directions, especially as the background war gets even darker, and not everyone survives the various conflicts to come.  These storylines either end or coalesce together as the book comes to a head, and you really appreciate the impressive narrative that Lyons weaves together.  I loved how grim and cynical the story got at the end, and Lyons provides a particularly memorable conclusion that really highlights just how unfair the Warhammer 40,000 universe can be.

Lyons really came up with a brilliant story for Dead Men Walking, as he balanced the need to highlight two interesting Warhammer 40,000 factions, while also telling his own unique narrative.  Telling the story of the Krieg and Necrons from the perspective of the third-party characters caught in the middle of their war was such as clever move, especially as it provided some fascinating contrast between the two factions.  The author provided such a dark vibe for Dead Men Walking, and the terrified civilians, the crumbling city and the relentless troops waging war without a care for those around them were all handled brilliantly.  I think the narrative split between the various characters caught up in the fray was done well, and you get to see all sides of the conflict, and the darkest actions of both opposing foes.  I also loved how well Lyons showcased the main city setting throughout the book, as the collapse of the once proud city mirrors the loss of humanity for the various protagonists.  Dead Men Walking can easily be read as a standalone novel, and new readers can just fall into its dark and unique story.  Indeed, this might be a pretty good entry point, as the views of the confused and horrified civilians provide some good opening observations about two key factions.  Naturally, established fans of the franchise will get a lot more out of Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons really showcases both iconic groups in some fantastic ways.

I absolutely loved the portrayal of the Krieg soldiers in Dead Men Walking, and they really are some of the most entertaining figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon.  Unlike his other novel, Krieg, where Lyons spent a great deal of time focusing on the origins of the Krieg soldiers with flashback sequences, Dead Men Walking showcases them purely through the eyes of other human inhabitants of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  To the common soldier or citizen of the Imperium of Man, the Death Korp are unnaturally dedicated, unwavering and heartless, focussing on the battle to the exclusion of all others.  Thanks to their harsh training, indoctrination, and history, they have a very black-and-white view of the universe and will stop at nothing to win, even if that means sacrificing their comrades or allies for a strategy.  Lyons really highlights their near-inhuman mentalities throughout the course of Dead Men Walking, and thanks to the perspectives of the non-Krieg soldiers, you see them in a much more sinister light.  There is something very concerning about the simple mathematic they put behind their strategies, and I loved how well Lyons captured how similar they are to the Necrons.  Thanks in great deal to the actions of the Krieg soldiers, this ended up being a particularly bleak book, which really hammered home how there are no good guys in this universe.

In addition to the Krieg soldiers, Dead Men Walking also featured the Necrons as the antagonists, who served as worthy opponents to the Krieg.  As with the Krieg soldiers, you don’t get a Necron perspective in Dead Men Walking, which honestly enhanced the unique story Lyons was going for.  Unlike books like other more recent Necron focussed novels like Ruin, Reign or The Infinite and the Divine, you only see these characters through the eyes of normal humans, who have no idea who or what they are.  This makes for some particularly terrifying scenes as the humans encounter overwhelming attacks from unkillable metal monsters, and Lyons really captures how the unknown is just as bad as the devastation around them.  Even when the Krieg soldiers arrive, there is very little knowledge about the Necrons, due to the secrecy of their origins, and the only intelligence about them comes from rumours of prior encounters (which includes a cheeky reference to the Ciaphas Cain novel, Caves of Ice).  I really appreciated this shrouded look at the Necrons, and it proved to be interesting to see the how a normal person would view them.

I really liked the characters in Dead Men Walking, especially as Lyons focuses the story on several normal humans who suddenly get thrust into hell and find everything they thought they knew completely upturned.  Much of this upheaval is due to the interactions with the Krieg soldiers, whose unreasonable actions cause even the most stoic soldier or commander to falter in different ways.  Watching each of these characters slowly change for the worse makes for some gripping reading, and you end up feeling great sympathy for all the point of view characters.

These great characters include Gunthar Soreson, a mine supervisor who loses everything in a single night and tries to find redemption as a soldier fighting for the Krieg.  It was absolutely fascinating to see Gunthar, who starts the book as a relatively normal and nice character, slowly lose his humanity in a similar manner to the Krieg soldiers, and his story hits particularly hard at times.  I also must highlight the character of Commissar Costellin, one of the commissars attached to the Krieg regiments, and one of the few non-Krieg soldiers featured in the book.  Commissars are fantastic figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, mainly because they serve as implacable disciplinarians charged with maintaining order and morale through lethal means and ensuring that the soldiers due their duty.  However, due to the unnatural discipline of the Death Korp soldiers, Costellin finds himself acting more in the role of a liaison between the Krieg and the citizens of Hieronymous.  Lyons writes some intriguing storylines around Costellin, and it was fascinating to see a commissar character who fears the resolve of his own troops, as the Death Korp leaders go too far even for him.  Finally, I really enjoyed the inclusion of the governor of Hieronymous, Hanrik, who finds both his planet under attack and his authority taken away from him when the Death Korp takes over.  I felt the storyline around Hanrik was very clever, and you had to feel for him at times, especially when he finds his loyalties tested.  All these character arcs and more are really well written and hit hard emotionally, especially with their resulting dark ends.

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that I grabbed Dead Men Walking on audiobook, as frankly no other format does Warhammer 40,000 fiction justice.  The resulting audiobook was extremely awesome, as the intensity, action, and darker elements of Dead Men Walking’s story came through in this format.  Coming in with a run time just short of 11 hours, Dead Men Walking was an easy Warhammer 40,000 audiobook to power through quickly, especially once you get stuck into its awesome narrative.  It helped that they brought back talented narrator Timothy Watson for this audiobook adaptation.  Watson, who did a great job narrating Krieg and The Lion: Son of the Forest, was in rare form again in Dead Men Walking, especially as he has the perfect voice for this darker and exciting story.  His voice work really captures the chaos and desperation of the story, and I loved the unique tones he comes up with for the various characters.  The featured Krieg soldiers all have the typical German-esque accent, which matches the regiment’s World War I aesthetic, and I liked how Watson worked to enhance these figures relentless and unwavering nature through his voice work.  The other characters of the plot, who are allowed to have emotions, are also portrayed extremely well, and Watson provides them with excellent and fitting voices that captures their feelings on the situation, especially as their encounters with both the Krieg and the Necron, wear them down.  This audiobook version of Dead Men Walking was so damn good, and it is easily the best way to enjoy this epic novel.

Steve Lyons continues to showcase why the Death Korp of Krieg are some of the most memorable figures in the Warhammer 40,000 canon with the brilliant and dark read Dead Men Walking.  Presenting a grim scenario of war and sacrifice that only gets worse when the ‘good guys’ arrive, Dead Men Walking was a particularly harrowing piece of Warhammer fiction, that I still cannot stop thinking about.  Clever, intense and a little traumatising, Dead Men Walking comes highly recommended, and I cannot wait to see what great tale Lyons comes up with next.

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