Guest Review: “Promethean Sun” by Nick Kyme (Black Library)

Reviewed by Abhinav

The Horus Heresy series has proven to be rather spectacular, right from the very beginning with Dan Abnett’s game-changing opener, Horus Rising. As an exploration of the entire origin-mythos that defines the Warhammer 40,000 setting, the series has done well in exposing how this galactic civil war happened, and how all the players reacted to it, each in their own way. Being a multi-author series (projected to go on to roughly 50 full novels and anthologies, plus additional novellas, short stories and audio dramas), the quality hasn’t been entirely consistent, and there have been some let-downs, or books that don’t seem to fit into an ongoing arc.

Two years ago, Black Library changed the game once more, by offering direct exclusive limited-edition novellas set as interstitials within the larger narrative at work. Being limited to a select few thousand copies, these hardback stories with extra content (such as special faux-skin and illustrations) gave way to a lot of controversy with regards to pricing for the series. This was compounded last year by the publisher’s inexplicable decision to change formats mid-series and offer books in hardback and hardback-sized trade paperbacks before the regular and familiar mass market copies were made available.

As such, novellas like Promethean Sun and Brotherhood of the Storm among others have had to field quite a bit of negative criticism completely unrelated to the actual fictional content within. And that’s what I wanted to focus on in this review. Promethean Sun was re-released a few weeks ago as a non-limited hardback with an accompanying eBook, which is what I got. The two-year wait in between definitely didn’t hurt my enthusiasm.

So, on to the review itself. Here’s the synopsis…

As the Great Crusade sweeps across the galaxy, the forces of the Imperium encounter a world held in thrall by the alien eldar. While the Iron Hands of Ferrus Manus and Mortarion’s Death Guard battle against the hated xenos, it is the Salamanders who brave the deepest and most deadly jungles, encountering monstrous reptilian beasts and foul witchery along the way. Ultimately, it falls to their primarch Vulkan himself to thwart the sinister designs of the eldar, if the Legions are to liberate this world and bring illumination to its inhabitants.

Another Look: “The Map of All Things” by Kevin J Anderson (Orbit)

With the paperback release of The Map of All Things just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to re-post my review from last year. Kevin J. Anderson’s Terra Incognita series is, in many ways, the first ‘big fantasy’ series I’d read, and it’s been great to follow it as each volume is published (although, I’m slowly adding ever-more ‘BF’ series to my library and TBR pile/shelves).

For readers who are a bit daunted about diving into a Big Fantasy series – perhaps because many are well established with multiple, mammoth novels already published (see Wheel of Time, Malazan, A Song of Ice and Fire) – Terra Incognita would serve as a great starting point into the genre. It’s accessible, touches on a lot of contemporary issues, interesting and realistic characters, and Anderson has a very fluid writing style.

I would, therefore, highly recommend it – and I can’t wait for The Key to Creation (coming July 2011). So, without further ado, here’s another look at my review of The Map of All Things:

*     *     *

The second instalment in Anderson’s awesome Terra Incognita series

After terrible atrocities by both sides, the religious war between Tierra and Uraba has spread and intensified – the series of skirmishes erupting into a full-blown crusade.

Now that the Uraban leader Soldan-Shah Omra has captured the ruined city of Ishalem, his construction teams discover a priceless ancient map in an underground vault – a map that can guide brave explorers to the mysterious Key to Creation. Omra dispatches his adopted son Saan to sail east across the uncharted Middlesea on a quest to find it.

In Tierra, Captain Criston Vora has built a grand new vessel, and sets out to explore the great unknown and find the fabled land of Terravitae. But Criston cannot forget his previous voyage that ended in shipwreck and disaster... and the loss of his beloved wife Adrea – who is now the wife of the soldan-shah in far-off Uraba, fighting to survive against palace intrigues and constant threats against her life.

Paperback: “Backlash” by Aaron Allston (Arrow)

Backlash, the fourth in the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi series, will be published on March 10th in the UK. In case you missed my original review of the book, I’ve posted a truncated and slightly tweaked version, below. Looking back on it, I still remember it as being one of the best ones in this new series so far.

If you’ve read my other Fate of the Jedi reviews, then you know I’m a little on the fence about the wisdom of continuously releasing nine-book stories, as the momentum can often be seriously effected in the middle – even when the publishers and authors promised surprises and major events in the middle volumes of previous large story-arcs, often it’s not enough to satisfy all fans (true, something that is never possible). I do wish they would hone their vision a bit, though – make the story-arks shorter, which would allow for tighter plotting and greater excitement and broader appeal. But maybe that’s just me.

[If you’ve not read any of this series, I should warn you that there might be some minor spoilers contained in the review.]