I am Slaughter
(Warhammer 40,000 / The Beast Arises #1)
by Dan Abnett
science fiction
copyright 2015
read in April 2016
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
My first read in the Warhammer universe. Interesting...!
First, the genre. Military science fiction? Military fantasy? Space opera? Or what?! I have my own understandings of the various genres.
The book is about war, and armies, but it's not "military science fiction". There is a series of battles, linked by a thin plot. But there is no overall strategy. No tactics. Other than, one for all and all for one, there is no overall military thinking.
The science is fantastic. The characters are clear versions of the fantasy standards, including elves and men. But they are a scientific version... Sure, they fight with hammers and axes and swords. But these are space hammers and space axes and space swords. They work the same way but are enhanced by undescribed science rather than by ancient spells. The book is not fantasy.
The spaceship controls are straight out of the Lensman series. The action is waaay over the top. But it's not space opera. Because space opera uses rapidly increasing levels of science, major discoveries made just on time to defeat the current wave of baddies. Slaughter uses "existing" technology. The question is, will it be enough?
All that's left, is "science fiction".
There may be a specific, named genre for "science fiction based on a dungeons and dragons gaming universe". I'm not ready for it :-) So, this book is "science fiction".
I did some Wikipedia reading on the Warhammer games. As far as I understand it, this book is a good match for the games.
The book is a series of pitched battles, linked by a thin but consistent plot. The battles are mainly hand to hand. That matches the key protagonists, the Space Marines. (My apologies if they are not really Space Marines. I'm a bit confused by reading one book in an already well-defined universe.)
So that's the background to this book.
I was prepared for a simplistic, blood and thunder trail of heroism and gore.
And at the end -- I was pleasantly surprised!
The plot is thin -- but well structured. The battles are the main feature -- but the story develops. Quite well. With a couple of surprising... surprises...
Who is the "greater foe" which the blurb promises will arise? When this is revealed -- with less excitement for me than for a regular Warhammer fan -- I realised that I had missed a clue. A "good" clue. The sort that is clear, noticed, yet ignored. A kick-self sort of clue. Very good!
Actually, I'm not sure if it's a clue. Or just an accidental spoiler :-)
And then there's the name of the book. I am Slaughter. Which lead me to all sorts of expectations. Which were then... dashed.
Don't get me wrong: this is not a great book! It just has pleasantly unexpected surprises. There is more than just a series of blood and ichor soaked battles... Not much more :-) Just enough to make it enjoyable.
Enjoyable?
If you are a Warhammer fan, this book is probably enjoyable without the surprises. As a non-fan I could take it or leave it. Except that the few small surprises made me glad to take it.
Mostly mindless violence. Linked by a thin plot. With a couple of extras that made me glad that I had read to the end.
I enjoyed this book. I would not go out of my way to read others in the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment