I think one of the best compliments I can pay this book follows. I was laying in bed reading through one of the early chapters and was caught up in the story to the point I chuckled at one of the scenes. My wife, who is not a Sci-fi person in any way, asked me what was funny. In return I read aloud the scene I had just read. Her response was:
" Wow, that's really good! Very cinematic and all the words he uses really make you see whats going on. Its really too bad I don't like those kind of books, it sounds like its a good book."
Well, call me a fan boy, but I highly recommend this book. It explored areas of 40K that I did not expect, including the effects of the warp on the traitor legions. Its interesting to see the flash-backs of the main character to earlier parts of his life. In addition, the authors sarcasm drifts out of some of the characters in ways which bring realism and life to them.
With this caliber of writing, it is no surprise that Aaron has been chosen to join the Horus Heresy cast of authors. Now to track him down at Adepticon, grab an interview, get him out on the town, and get him drunk!
For those interested, check out his blog here: Aaron Dembski-Bowden
And a great picture from the Black Library!
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Would you still recommend it if I'm not familiar with the 40K universe?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! While there are strong links to the back story of the 40K universe, this is a great pulp-sci-fi book as well. The writing is very cinematic and I believe the questions raised for someone with no 40K background would encourage the reader to look further into the rich 40K story line.
ReplyDeleteI finished Soul Hunter this weekend. I thought it was fantastic. The writing was great and the characterization was fantastic for a sci-fi book. (_note_I'm a big fan of sci-fi and don't mean that as negative as it sounds). The flashbacks were nicely done and added a lot to the novel. Overall, I thought it was a great book and a top notch sci-fi book because its right up my alley with a good plot, great characterization with good dialogue, and excellent action scenes without the action taking up most of the novel. The last two sci-fi novels I've read are very popular (a Honor Harrington book and a John Scalzi book) and I thought this was better than both (way better than the Scalzi book).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did feel as if I missed a little bit with not being familiar with the 40K universe, mainly the last chapter (was it called epilogue?, regardless, the very last chapter), in that chapter I had no idea what was going on. And my only other quibble is I did not realize it was going to be a series. I've pretty much stopped buying fantasy books because they all never end (the Honor Harrington series is overly long as well), and I oh-so-wish I could fine one-off sci-fi and fantasy books. (personal taste though, and you better believe I'm going to buy the next book this author writes).