I Am Slaughter

I Am Slaughter by Dan Abnett. Book One in The Black Library's 'The Beast Arises' series, originally published December 2015. Approx. 238 pages.

The Beast Arises is The Black Library's ambitious project for 2016. It is proposed as a 12 novel (at least) series, centered on the greatest Waaaagh! of all; that of the monstrous warboss known simply as "The Beast", which put the Imperium on its heels in the 32nd Millennium.

At a time when many are complaining that The Black Library is losing it's focus, with too many short stories, audio books, and limited editions instead of just good old fashioned novels being released, The Beast Arises has the potential to be a refreshing throwback. It has a central theme, BL has committed some solid authors to it, the cover art and color scheme are excellent (in my opinion, at least. I've seen plenty of comments by those not so enamored with them). Kicking off the series is I Am Slaughter, a nice, trim little novel (another personal preference of mine. I usually prefer these succinct little novels over bloated doorstoppers) penned by 40K favorite Dan Abnett.

1500 years after the event of the Horus Heresy, there is a sort of "peace" born from laxity throughout the Imperium of Man. On High Terra, a High Council of Twelve, beset by all the expected conniving and power plays of any such ruling body, rules over the universe-wide affairs of humans. And on the planet of Ardamantua, roughly six weeks away from the Terran Core, the Imperial Fists are keeping in the practice of killing by engaging a race of insectoid xenos known as the Chromes.

As the purging of the Chromes progresses, a new anomaly manifests itself: massive noise bursts that accompany disruptive gravitic distortions. Is this a new weapon in the employ of the Chromes, a naturally occurring phenomenon of the planet, or the interference of yet another race?

The frequency and devastation of the noise bursts steadily increases, wreaking pure havoc on the world and atmosphere of Ardamantua, and putting the Imperial Fists - present in the near entirety of their Chapter - at grave risk. Will desperately needed help arrive from Terra in time? Or will the constant in-fighting and power grabs among the High Lords condemn the esteemed Chapter to oblivion?

Well, let's be honest here. We already know from the advertising blitz that there are orks involved. Tons of orks. But it's the hows and whys that matter. Does Abnett get us off to a roaring start here with I Am Slaughter? Or is this a stumbling start to a underwhelming series concept? I opt for the former. This is a very good, though not perfect novel. Let's take a look at the specifics.

Plot/Pacing: One of the things that has always distinguished Abnett is that he is not only possessing of an outstanding imagination, and solid concepts of speculative technology, but he is also a skilled novelist. All the authorial fundamentals are present: accessible writing, engaging characters and wordplay, and a complete story told by the end of the last page (well, to be fair, I Am Slaughter is an introductory novel, so the story threads are left intentionally open. But as an account of some opening moves in a grand chess game, it does its job well). I Am Slaughter moves along at a good clip, with no slogging or boring scenes. I will say, though, one thing that bugged me a bit is that Abnett uses a few too many cliffhanger endings to chapters.

I've seen some scattered dissent complaining that the big baddies - the orks, don't show up until too late in the proceedings. I disagree; Abnett made the best use of his time in establishing an overview of how things were going in the state of the Imperium circa M32.

World Building: An aspect where Abnett excels. He has been defining this universe and its denizens for two decades. Ardamantua, and its progression into decay, are detailed vividly. The images of High Terra are grand. And, best of all, the vessel carrying the ork Waaaagh! is extremely impressive (even though outstandingly ludicrous).

Characters and Creatures: A bit hit and miss here. Let's start with the creatures. The primary antagonist creatures for the first half of the book are the Chromes. With them, Abnett really captures the essence of "giant ant" creatures from sci-fi classics such as "Starship Troopers" and "Armor".

The orks are another big win, even given their limited page time. Abnett brings them to life in gruesome, vivid detail. If the rest of the series afforded them the same treatment that they receive here, then it would be an epic series indeed. That remains to be seen, of course.

As for humans and transhumans (the Space Marines), that is a far stickier matter. In my most recent rant, I mentioned how hard it is for even the best BL authors to make sympathetic characters out of the emotionally stunted Space Marines. Abnett is one of the few authors who can come close to doing so, on his best days. His Imperial Fists are enjoyable enough. Hell, all of Abnett's characters are "enjoyable". The thing is, Abnett has a very "cinematic" writing style. Meaning, his prose moves with the fluidity of a movie. Also, this means his characters are often presented in a manner most palatable for quick viewing, or, as is the case here, quick reading. All of these Fists have a distinguishing point of view, characteristic, or trait. And that is about all. One of the main ones, Slaughter (the Captain whose image graces the cover), is a solid enough character, but could have thrived much more with even two or three pages of solid detail. Another Fist, Daylight, one of the Palace guards on Terra, is a decent character as well. In a later chapter in the book, a moment of regret serves as the most emotional, and best written, portion of the book.

The weakest characters, however, are the humans on Terra. The main focus there is centered on Drakan Vangorich, Grand Master of the Officio Assassanorum. While not one of the High Twelve, Vangorich still weaves some high level of maneuvering and manipulation behind the scenes. The main issue that I have with Vangorich is that he is a prime example of the type of character that Abnett (and AD-B) so often writes: he is always the coolest cucumber in the room. His thinly veiled threats and promises resonate with a well-orchestrated combination of coolness, sarcasm, and snark. I mean, it's fine and believable that he is more efficient than almost anyone he comes across, but the character comes across as such by design, not as the result of a well-created character. The scenes with him become predictable; for example, one chapter opens with a page-long description of all the security measures in place in the residence of an Inquisitor. Before finishing the description, the reader can already predict that Vangorich will, of course, be in the room anyone. Why? Simply, because he is so awesome, I guess.

Something else that falls flat is the depiction of political intrigue. One example stands out glaringly. Vangorich and one of his allies are looking to convince the High Lord of the Imperial Navy to commit ships to the reinforcement of the Fists. Their grand plan? Phrase their proposal in a way that the High Lord will agree, in the hopes of grabbing glory. That's it. I mean,not every writer is effective in describing delicate power plays, but that is just juvenile. But, it all falls into the "cinematic" aspect. In a movie, that's how a situation like that would play out. In actual universe-spanning politicking, I highly doubt it.

The fact is, none of the characters here are well-rounded or thoroughly fleshed out. They all have good dialogue, and get their moments to shine, but that is it.

A few other things did not work well for me, either. I personally did not care for the concept of nicknames for the Imperial Fists. I don't know how long this has been canon, but it was a tad, well, corny to me.

Also, Abnett decides to have some "doubles" here. There are contrasting "Slaughters", both of whom get to utter the titular declaration.

To the detriment of the novel, this Slaughter did not make the final draft..

There are also two "Beasts", both of whom get a chance to "arise". I'm sure this all seemed clever in concept, but it isn't so much in execution.

All in all, I Am Slaughter is a solid entry book for this new series. It isn't Abnett's best (or worst) by any means, but it delivers on every promise that it makes, and it does so in a nice looking, trim novel. If the characterizations strengthen up in subsequent novels, this will be a great ride.

Final Score:

8/10


Cover Score:

As mentioned before, I really like the cover art for these novels. The human and Space Marine ones are decent, but the ork ones are truly excellent. Lots of detail abound as well. I also personally like the white background with the green trim. A bookshelf full of these titles in hardback would look spiffy on any shelf. Here's a pic of the cover with its original background:

Cover Final Score:

8/10

Double Eagle

Double Eagle by Dan Abnett. Originally published 2004, approx. 416 pages.

For about a decade and a half, uber-talented author Dan Abnett has been churning out quality books for the Black Library (as well as quality work for other publishers as well). Abnett's work smashes the stereotype that tie-in fiction needs to be poor quality or produced by third-rate hack authors. Then again, if you are reading this and already aware of the basics of WH40K fiction, you already know all about Dan Abnett. If you are new to this stuff, acquaint yourself with Dan Abnett (Gaunt's Ghosts series, Eisenhorn and Ravenor series, Horus Heresy contributions, standalone works). Is Double Eagle a good starting point for reading Abnett, or WH40K fiction? I'm not sure. Is it still a enjoyable piece of military sci-fi? Yes, although don't expect any surprises.

One of the most interesting things about Double Eagle is that it does not fit squarely into any one specific WH40K series. It is not entirely a standalone novel, as it has ties to other series. It is not a Gaunt's Ghosts novel; as they do not feature in the story (save a name drop). However, the story takes place in the Sabbat Worlds, which coincide with a story arc in the Gaunt's Ghosts canon. It is also not an Imperial Guard novel, although the Phantine XX are indeed a Guard regiment (and quite an anomaly, since they are an air regiment which would fall under the Imperial Navy umbrella). Perhaps the best category to place Double Eagle, then, with its strong focus on air combat, is as the only Aeronautica Imperialis novel put out by Black Library.

Look at those beauties soar.

The events of Double Eagle transpire on the war-torn planet of Enothis. As the bulk of the story unfolds, the Imperial ground forces have already taken a severe drubbing at the hands of an incredibly strong Chaos Force. As the land forces stage a retreat from Chaos-held territories, they re-focus their assault maneuvers to air strikes. A large air force is assembled from the remaining planetary wings (Commonwealth fighters), detachments from the Imperial Navy, and the aforementioned Phantine XX (Imperial Guard). While this is conceptually sound, the forces of the Imperium do not hold complete air superiority. The forces of chaos have a drastic numbers advantage, and are pushing their assault via massive carriers (land-born aircraft carriers). They also have a good number of aces, including one notorious, elusive killer that plagues the Imperial forces.

The main action of the book consists of various dogfights and bombing raid. The Chaos hordes increase the ferocity of their push, and the Imperials harry them as they find themselves becoming more and more cornered with each scrap. At the end, it is an all out Chaos onslaught versus the last remnants of the air defenses for the ultimate fate of Enothis. Fairly standard. The rest of the book deals with the cast of characters and their interaction. I would say it focuses on character development, but these are fairly stock character templates. Abnett's strength makes them enjoyable and engaging; yet it would've taken a miracle to make them unique. There are some interesting detours from the normal WH40K fare with regards to characters as well; Abnett gives us strong female Guard members (including Bree Jagdea, the Phantine leader who is that all-too-convenient mix of capable and caring). Also, there is the fledgling romance between two lost souls (the beyond war-weary Viltry and the widowed Beqa).

Abnett offers up an ensemble cast in Double Eagle, there is no clear-cut main protagonist. There is the already-mentioned Jagdea, Viltry, the bomber pilot who has seen too many crews lost, Marquall, the wannabe ace, Kaminsky, a former Commonwealth pilot sidelined by injury, and Darrow, a highly skilled Commonwealth cadet placed in Operations by an over-protective senior officer. The rest of the Phantine pilots round out the supporting cast. I do not even need to make a spoiler section to tell you that as the stakes are raised, the background players fade away first. Stevie Wonder could see most of the plot points coming.

Now, for the storytelling itself, there's a strong WWII feel to this story. It's strongly implied that the Battle of Britain was an inspirational basis for the narrative. And therefore, the book has one of those old-timey WWII movie feels. But, like other 40K books that tap into the vein of a historic conflict (Fifteen Hours and WWI, Imperial Glory and the Zulu conflict), there are times where you might forget you are reading about an intergalactic story in the 40th Millennium. Ergo, when I am supposed to be imagining brutal dogfights between muscular Thunderbolts and sleek, vector-flight capable Chaos Hell talons, I am drawing a mental image of RAF and Luftwaffe fighters and the rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns (not lasguns and quadcannons). And no, I am not narrow-minded, nor has my imagination atrophied. And this happened fairly often throughout the book. Luckily, it never descends into a tiresome read.

Okay, so with cookie cutter characters and a fairly episodic storyline, will the action save Double Eagle? Now there, we have a definite yes. This book would've been a total failure if Abnett didn't deliver on the air combat. And I have to say, he succeeded in portraying something that I would assume is fairly hard to put into words. You feel the chaotic claustrophobia of the cockpit, the banks, the turns, the G-forces, the fear of an enemy on your tail, and the frustration of a target getting away. The terminology and jargon seems legit, so it is either spot-on or completely convincing malarkey. Well-played either way.

Will 40K fans like this book? Well, if you swear by anything Abnett, that's a no-brainer. If you can really enjoy Imperial Guard novels, then yes. I know I do. But there are no Astartes (Space Marines) here. None at all. And the baddies are, as mentioned, Chaos minions (including a nice appearance by the Blood Pact). But, that's it. No Chaos Space Marines, No orks, eldar, or tau. If any of that is an issue, consider yourselves warned.

Will this work as a standalone for the uninitiated? I think it can. I am not up to the Sabbat Worlds arc of the Gaunt's Ghosts storyline, so I had to read up on the Blood Pact. I had to do some image searching for good pics of the planes involved. There's a Thunderbolt on the cover, but a lay reader might be lost for a good idea of what the other craft look like. Will it even be worth their time to search? I can't guarantee the payoff will be worth it for everyone.

Here's what it is: 
The Black Library's sole Aeronautica Imperialis venture is an entertaining romp, with enjoyable, yet completely forgettable characters, and solid depictions of air combat. Another satisfactory outing for Abnett.

Final Score:

74/100


Cover Score:

Ah, what can I say here. Centered on the cover is a targeting sensor with a lock on.....a Thunderbolt model. Seriously? Look, I get that some of the codexes (codices?) use these mock-up action shots of the models to stir up excitement with the tabletop crowd. Which is fine since those are reference guides for the tabletop players. But this is a mass-market paperback. I love modeling and respect people who can construct detailed dioramas, but I won't buy a Gundam DVD with a picture of a 1/100 scale model on the front. No disrespect intended to Forge World, who are credited with the cover. A subsidiary of Games Workshop, they were distributing the old Aeronautica Imperialis models and continue to make the best quality tabletop miniatures on the market. I mean, at least they tried to play with color effects to make it look like an action shot.

Cover Final Score:

21/100