Book Review- “Echoes of the Long War” by David Guymer

For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Black Library/Game Workshop’s year long event story from last year, The Beast Arises, is that it’s consistently given me things I’ve never seen or don’t regularly see in Warhmamer 40,000 novels. Those things all feel organic too; so they come off as fun, mindblowing twists. So far, we’ve engaged in political intrigues with the High Lords of Terra, seen Space Marines think and act politically, and have even had Xenos species set foot on Terra . . . twice! And that was just in the first five chapters!

Having now read the sixth installment, David Guymer’s “Echoes of the Long War,” I’m happy to report that the trend of fun, different, and interesting things continues as we reach the halfway point of the series. Plus the book sets the stage for an explosive and exciting second half of the series.

The Beast Arises series is about all the institutions of the Imperium, but so far when it focuses on the Adeptus Astartes the spotlight has firmly been on the Imperial Fists and all their successor chapters. In “Echoes of the Long War” David Guymer takes us on a deep dive inside the culture of the Second Founding Space Marine chapter known as the Fists Exemplar. What’s especially interesting about these guys is they sort of come off as a combination of Rogal Dorn’s Imperial Fists and Roboute Gulliman’s Ultramarines. They have the tenacity and stubbornness of the Fists, but they have the scholarly way of thinking and devotion to code of conduct of the Ultramarines.

Seeing that way of thinking collide with the tsunami of an interstellar invasion of super orks and their attack moons (I will never grow tired of typing that phrase! So fun! So METAL! And so 40K!) Was a lot of fun. And Guymer gives us a great point of view character to follow for most of the action in the form of a by the books Exemplar captain named Zeberyn.

What really makes “Echoes of the Long War” fun though is the characters Zeberyn and the Fists Exemplars run up against in their fight with the orks, the arch enemies of the Imperial Fists, the Traitor Space Marine Legion known as the Iron Warriors. Best of all, it was the Iron Warriors warband that we’ve been following for a few books now, the company lead by Warsmith Kalkator. I’ve grown to like Kalkator over the last few novels in The Beasts Arises, but Guymer made me love him.

That’s because in the book Kalkator and Zeberyn’s forces have a common foe. So the question then becomes can they work together to defeat the orks? I’m not going to comment on that except to say the dialogue and dynamic between Kalkator and the Fists Exemplar is a lot of fun.

The other thing that Guymer does in “Echoes of the Long War” is provide a scenario that turns the Orks into truly frightening foes. For me that’s been sort of the weak link of the series. It’s hard for me to get excited about the Orks as ultimate bad guys because there’s a lot about them that comes off as comical or sort of force of nature like. In this book though there’s an especially savage revelation about the orks that borders on horrific and gives the novel some really great stakes. It also leads to some fantastic action scenes and an incredibly powerful climax that I did not see coming.

On top of that, Guymer also introduces readers to a fascinating group of Tempestus Scions (Think Imperial Guard Spec Ops), while also continuing the stories of the Imperium’s master of assasins Drakan Vangorich, Koorland, the last Imperial Fist, and Magos Biologos Eldon Urquidex. Plus we get a chilling, final scene that digs back into established 40K lore, sets the stage for the back half of The Beast Arises, and makes me eager to read the next book in the series “The Hunt for Vulkan.” So “Echoes of the Long War” was a heck of a lot of fun.

Book Review- “Two Kinds of Truth” by Michael Connelly

Crime fiction may be full of grand mysteries and head scratching “who done its?”, but it’s just like any other genre in that the strength of its stories depend on the characters embroiled in them. That’s because character is where crime fiction really shines as a genre. You get to see how the best and worst people confront the horrors of modern day society. You get to see them beaten down by depravity and corruption, and you also get to see them rise again and try to make the world a better place.

So crime fiction with great characters is a truly special thing and in his latest novel Two Kinds of Truth veteran crime novelist Michael Connelly demonstrates that. The novel, starring detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch is the latest in a series that stretches back 25 years and is a showcase for why Bosch is one of the greatest police procedural protagonists ever. Best of all though is the fact that Connelly’s second most famous protagonist, Bosch’s half brother, defense attorney Michael “Mickey” Haller AKA the Lincoln Lawyer, is a major part of the supporting cast.

Two Kinds of Truth is a continuation of the new era for Bosch that Connelly kicked off in the last entry in the series, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, where Bosch gets embroiled in two cases. One case stems from his work as a volunteer detective for the small San Fernando Police Force. The other ties back into his long career with the LAPD. Of the two cases the latter appears the most interesting, at least at first.

The former is a murder at a pharmacy, the investigation of which brings Harry face to face with a character we haven’t see in the Bosch series in quite some time, and I was genuinely surprised by how much I missed them. From there, the investigation leads Harry into a role I genuinely had never seen him take before, which was fun and fascinating, especially when you consider this is a series that’s been unfolding over the course of 25 years and 20 novels. So that portion of the novel is interesting, but ultimately the best part of that story comes near the end of the book. That’s because the aftermath of the investigation brings out a side of Harry that we don’t often see and it happened organically. It lead to some passages that were powerful, poignant and very timely.

The second case ultimately was more interesting in terms of plot because it involved some fun twists, turns, and revelations. What I loved about those sections of the book though is the role Mickey Haller and his investigator Cisco played in them. Haller truly is a flawed, fascinating, and fun character. So it’s always a delight to watch him work, especially when he has someone on the straight and narrow to play off of like his brother Bosch. I’m not really a fan of legal thrillers, but I have to say I’m a fan of Haller, especially after reading Two Kinds of Truth. He’s that great of a character. I didn’t realize how much I missed him, and I’d love to see Connelly do another novel with him as the protagonist.

It felt like Cisco really got a lot of moments to shine in Two Kinds of Truth as well. It was cool watching the motorcycle club member turned private investigator interact with both his boss and Bosch. He had an interesting rapport with both, and I honestly wouldn’t mind to see him taking a starring turn in a Connelly novel some day either.

So, Two Kinds of Truth is another great demonstration of Connelly’s skill at building and exploring characters. Best of all, it ends with a powerful, poignant, and very interesting climax that made me wonder about and excited for what’s going to happen next in Harry Bosch’s life. After 25 years and 20 novels thats a pretty extraordinary accomplishment.

Book Review- Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

A few months back I had a really great time reading Mark Frost’s novel The Secret History of Twin Peaks. It was a nice blend of real world mysteries and conspiracies with the lore and mythology of the titular TV show. It also really helped refresh my memory and gave me some added context for which to view, interpret, and enjoy Showtime’s Twin Peaks: The Return. So it was a really nice companion piece to the show.

Now about two months after the ending of The Return Frost has released another book, Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier. The ending to Twin Peaks: The Return left me cold at first, but the more I thought about it, and the more I thought about the clues and context of the other episodes I grew to really like it. So I was especially excited to read The Final Dossier since it could be the last world on Twin Peaks for some time, and perhaps for good.

I’m happy to say Frost did not disappoint me with the book. It was like getting one last thumbs up from Special Agent Dale Cooper. It was a quick and exciting read, especially the last half.

It’s going to be tough to talk about the book without spoiling anything, but let’s see what we can do. Essentially it’s a set of files from the P.OV. of Special Agent Tammy Preston, who’s perspective we got in The Secret History and who was played in The Return by Chrysta Bell. Basically, in the aftermath of The Return Tammy is providing her boss, Gordon Cole, with some detailed reports on the citizens and town of Twin Peaks.

Some of the info is stuff we know from watching The Return and a lot of it fleshes in details that Showtime series overlooked. So it was pretty fascinating and often heartbreaking read because many residents of Twin Peaks endured some pretty tough times in the time period since Gordon Cole last saw them.

There are also some clues about some of the series enduring mysteries and some of the new strange, twists and turns of The Return. If you’re looking for definite answers though you’re out of luck. Because most of the clues about the show’s weird and sinister phenomenon raise new questions about what’s going on. I personally love that, and I think most Twin Peaks fans do too. When Mark Frost, David Lynch and their collaborators showed you something weird or scary it was always mysterious which I think made things more creepy and cool. It’s more frightening if you have ideas what a monster might be then a definite explanation of what it is.

So Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier is a creepy and poignant read, but it’s also a lot of fun. There’s quite a bit of humor in there, and even though there are some dark parts the optimism and wonder of its signature and greatest character, Special Agent Dale Cooper, does shine through in parts too. If you’re a Twin Peaks fan I highly recommend reading this book. It’s a great way to say goodbye (at least for now) to one of television’s most unpredictable and enjoyable shows.

Book Review- Ahriman: The Omnibus by John French

Everybody loves a “bad guy.” Even people like myself who generally read more about the more heroic defenders of Games Workshop/Black Library’s Warhammer 40,000 universe. In fact I’m a big fan of the Imperium of Mankind and the Loyalist Space Marine legions that protect it, but some of Black Library’s best novels have been about the traitorous Space Marine Legions. Horus Heresy books like Legion by Dan Abnett, A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill, and 40K books like Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s Night Lords Omnibus have been some of the most exciting, powerful, and even poignant 40K fiction I’ve ever read. And now having become fascinated by the Thousand Son’s thanks to McNeill’s Horus Heresy novel I can add another set of stories to that list; the ones featured in John French’s Ahriman: The Omnibus, which I just finished and was absolutely blown away by.

You don’t have to have read A Thousand Sons to appreciate or understand the stories in Ahriman: The Omnibus, but I’m glad I did. I feel like they heightened my appreciation of the book because I already knew the tragic story of the Thousand Sons Space Marine Legion and loved many of their members, especially Ahriman, their chief sorcerer. McNeill introduced me to Ahriman back when he was still a loyal servant of the Imperium. I got to know him and became fascinated by him there, but French made me love him.

In Ahriman: The Omnibus, which contains three novels and several short stories, French picks up with Ahriman several hundreds of years later when his title character is firmly entrenched in the forces of chaos and wracked with guilt over the spell he cast to try and solve the mutation problems that plagued his Legion, but only made it worst by transforming many of his Space Marine brothers into zombie like Ruricae. Essentially they’re semi sentient dust trapped in power armor that can be commanded by other sorcerer/psychic members of the Thousand Sons. In the Omnibus, we go on a journey with Ahriman as he seeks to rectify that mistake.

As I traveled with Ahriman and the fascinating characters he drew into his orbit I couldn’t help but be reminded of something. I’m a life long fan of comics, particularly Marvel ones. Part of my living comes from writing feature interviews with the creators of their books. One of Marvel’s best villains is the character of Thanos, created by Jim Starlin, and after I finished Ahriman: The Omnibus I couldn’t help, but compare Ahriman to Thanos. He’s that fascinating of a character. I think the comparison is especially apt because both are driven by very human qualities in Thanos’ case a love for the physical embodiment death, and in Ahriman’s a need to atone for what his Rubric spell did to his brothers in the Thousand Sons.

Those needs push the characters forward against seemingly unstoppable odds. So Ahriman is a genetically altered human driven by an indomitable will. It allows him to challenge Empires and even cosmic forces like demons and gods. That makes him a fascinating and even, dare I say, kind of an inspiring protagonist.

Ahriman isn’t the only intriguing character in French’s stories. There’s a whole host of them especially Space Marines like Ahriman’s fellow Thousand Sons; the swordsman Sanakht, the mathematically minded Ignis who’s protected by a faithful robotic bodyguard, and Ctesias a sorcerer who specializes in summoning and trapping demons. French also includes some fascinating human characters as well. My favorite of those is the Inquisitor Iobel, who has dedicated herself to thwarting and destroying the legacy of the Thousand Sons.

I don’t want to say much about the plot of the three novels and short stories that make up Ahriman: The Omnibus because in a way the entire book is one long story, and each novel and short story builds upon what’s come before. So by the time I arrived at the the third and final novel in the trilogy Ahriman Unchanged I was utterly hooked.

The journey to that book and the journey in it was pretty fascinating and fun too. During it French takes readers to some legendary 40K locales and brings his characters face to face to with famous 40K faces, including one entity I had never seen brought to life in a novel before. French did a fantastic job with it too.

The stories are action packed and often have a fun horrific feel to them. Best of all though is there are plenty of organic twists and turns that unfold along the way. So, in a lot of ways, the Ahriman stories felt like great heist and caper tales. That may sound weird, but when you think about it it’s pretty fitting because the Thousand Sons are tied to Chaos God known as Tzeentch, which is the god of change, fate, and conspiracies.

So if you love Chaos or consider yourself a loyalist of the Imperium you really need to check out John French’s Ahriman: The Omnibus. It’s a fun, epic tale featuring one of the most fascinating characters in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.