The Man who Never was

Descender, Vol. 3: Singularities by Jeff Lemire My rating: 4 of 5 stars Events have gotten decidedly darker. Which is a weird thing to say, seeing as how our prologue was a literal multi-planet sized genocide. But I suppose, we as readers are not good at understanding death, when it's a death toll. When we get to know the tragedies of individuals, that's when our empathy glands start working overtime. There is much to go around this time around. As we go about exploring the pasts of our characters, biological and synthetic. Somehow the latter hitting harder. The plot hasn't progressed much, seeing as how this volume seems devoted primarily to character. But makes you care for their fate all the more. And remember, 'Driller is a real killer'. View all my reviews

The Traitor's Hand by Sandy Mitchell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Summary Commissar Caiphas Cain, hero of the Imperium, returns; this time to face the vile heretics who worship the ruinous powers of chaos. Assigned to the Imperial planet Adumbria, with no gravitational spin, and thus each hemisphere is stagnant in its orientation. Where one side is always facing the sun and is scorched, but habitable. While the side, facing the darkness of space, is perpetual Winterland. The caveat being, a narrow stretch of land in between, in the equatorial region, called the shadow belt, where the climate is barely habitable, and where most of the populace resides. It’s quite a unique geography this planet has, reminiscent of some of the wackier islands from One piece. I bet there is some point in the shadow belt, some mountain, where you could stand on, and see the contrasting land masses; the desert on one hand, and a frozen tundra on the other. Suspected heretic

Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire My rating: 5 of 5 stars It's been a while since I read a good robot story. This one, Descender, is a largely minimalistic, tightly written, gritty tale, which feels like a more emotionally mature version of A.I., with a more empathetic version of David. The world building is detailed, and that narration gives you just the right amount of exposition, enough to keep you hooked, but not boring you with the details. The characters are not one note, and each have their own personality. There's a mixing and matching of various groups and factions, all out for their own goals, but circumstances put them in unlikely teams, where they have to work together for mutual benefit and survival. All the action and fights are not glorified, or bombastic, but serve the purpose of progressing the story, which I appreciate. As is customary in such stories, there is an overarching plot, world ending threats, and secrets

Outer Dark by Robbie MacNiven My rating: 3 of 5 stars Left a bit disappointed after reading, the last outing (which I know), of the Carcharodon chapter. Although we got an appearance of big boy chapter master Tyberos , as well as the pleasure of seeing him single handedly eviscerate an entire Tyranid boarding group, little else was known about his character. Also, the book has an issue with pacing. With the entirety of the first half devoted to slow investigations which go nowhere, and negotiations which seem set up just for the purpose of the plot. Then, in the last arc, things come to head, more like things literally start spilling out from behind the doors, walls, curtains, crevices. They transpire and climax faster than.... //I was going to make a joke related to horny teenagers here, but then thought better. Although, just by adding this disclaimer, you must've already figured out the punchline. Well, it's the thought that counts. // It

Krieg by Steve Lyons My rating: 5 of 5 stars You know how I love reading stories featuring our favorite shovel boys, right? But the problem with reading a full-length novel named Krieg, despite the solid lore and action, is just how morose it seems to get. Who knew, reading about an irradiated planet full of religion fueled child soldiers who venerate a cult of suicide can be so depressing; go figure. For context, the infamous Death Korps of Krieg are a regimental army hailing from the death world of, you guessed it, Krieg. Hailing from a world where horrendous nuclear fallout had turned the surface into a frozen, dark, irradiated wasteland where nothing can survive, the Kriegsman carried a great burden. Of treason and betrayal against the emperor, by their ancestor some millennia ago. Even after the loyalist factions won, and rejoined the imperium, their subsequent generations were forever scarred and changed due to what they see as this ultimate tr

Down Amongst the Dead Men by Steve Lyons My rating: 4 of 5 stars Despite being amongst some of the emperor's most loyal and formidable guard regiments, most other Imperial guard don't relish fighting on the same battlefield as them. The reason? They're damn depressing man. Which is expected, when your entire planet, history and upbringing centers around sacrificing yourself for the emperor. Where you as an individual have no value, less value, compared to other 'essential' resources like, you know, bullets. After all, bullets take time, resources and expertise to craft. Your average nameless numbered Kriegman are legions strong, ready to buy vats grown, trained, indoctrinated and shipped. So, what if you end up suffering ten times the casualties as your average guard regiment, who themselves are no stranger to grievous battlefield casualties. So, what if your value is so low, you're not even given a name, just a serial code pr

Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell My rating: 4 of 5 stars You know that joke, where the punchline is 'I slipped and fell into it'? That's Caiphas Cain when it comes to his accomplishments. The man has the collective compendium of common sense that most Imperials, including Space Marines seem to lack. Plus, has luck of the gods, not the chaos ones, that would be heresy. Another observation which came to mind after being regaled by the second in his series of adventures is that, if you're not the phlegmatic Jurgen or Amberly Vail, the last place you want to be, in the same squad as Cain when he's sent out on a dangerous assignment. This time around, it's two different squads that were either decimated or completely obliterated, while acting as his meat shields. If his previous history is any indication, that is a regular occurrence. But on the other hand, this is 40k, and the Imperial guard, who're sacrificed by the millions, j

Extinction by Aaron Dembski-Bowden My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read this story if you want to see some filthy traitor Astartes being hunted down and mutilated by their other traitorous allies. Serving as a prologue to the main stories of the Black Legion series, Extinction sets the stage of the disparage fragmented bands of the erstwhile Sons of Hours, now a shadow of their former selves. Being hounded and eviscerated on a hundred different chaos realms, like a bunch of mongrels. Setting up their inevitable resurgence as the newly formed Black Legion, under former first captain Abaddon. Seeing as how, Aaron Demski Bowden has a track record of writing traitor legions as engaging characters, (go and read his Night Lords series if you haven't yet), I'm intrigued in looking forwards to how he handles the broken legions of the arch-traitor. View all my reviews

A Sanctuary of Wyrms by Peter Fehervari My rating: 5 of 5 stars You remember the Silent Cartographer mission from Halo: Combat Evolved Game. The whole sense of mystery and horror, as the Master Chief arrives at the dark swamp, and slowly descends into the maw to uncover an ancient evil? That's the sense of atmosphere you get while reading 'A Sanctuary of Wyrms'. The story starts without preamble and ends without a climax. Detailing the internecine period which forms the meat of this all too short, but engaging narrative. A group of tau and human turncoats are researching a mysterious yet overwhelming backwater planet, which is a world of exile for broken and unneeded tools of the greater good. There, they discover a sealed bunker complex, littered with dead bodies of Space marines, of the deathwatch. For those of you who know what this entails, might be able to discern just how soon shit is gonna hit the fan. In the face of a greater evil