What Price Victory

Rating:
Summary: Only so-so, a far cry from some of the other 40k anthologies
Review: The first story in this antho is "Thorn Wishes Talon" by Dan Abnett. This is something of a prequel for Abnett's _Ravenor_ Warhammer 40k novel. Those who have read Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy or short stories might recognize the title as a prhase used often by characters in those works. We have a cast of characters not totally unfamiliar, though the new additions are not fleshed out as well as one might hope. Still, this story seems to work as a bridge between the Eisenhorn trilogy and the _Ravenor_ novel, as I mentioned, as something of a passing of the torch. It is OK, and really lends a better view to the events in that novel.

Next up is Mitchel Scanlon's "Forever Loyal." In this story we have a records clerk from an imperial world attempting to acquire some relics or riches in order to escape his dreary life. This story is OK, but I rarely appreciate stories that go nowhere for the sake of a specific ending as this one seemed to be. There is no character development, but simply a lot of suffering (on the characters' parts, as well as the reader's) leading... well, nowhere.

Simon Spurrier's "Elucidium" is a mammoth of a story, over 90 pages in length. This one deals with a less well-written race in the WH40k universe, at least in terms of depth. Often we see genestealers simply as enemies. In this case, we have a story from the point of view of one of their mutated descendants, one who lacks the unadulterated savagery of the pure genestealers. The reader sees something of the culture of the genestealers and their motivations. There are a number of twists and turns, which are only acceptable in that the point of view is limited in nature. The ending is good, though the story relies upon the ends justifying the means, as one character must eliminate people on his own side simply because he disliikes their specific methods.

Darius Hinks' "Calculus Logi" is not so great. I was into it initially, as there was good story advancement. The resolution, however, was a disappointment. A servitor and several non-augmented human prisoners are the survivors of a crashed ship. They are trapped in a cave by the local environment and wildlife, forced to make repeated deadly voyages in order to survive. The party gets whittled down, and betrayal becomes the order of the day. That much is fine, but some of the events that immediately preceed the conclusion seem poorly designed.

"Crimson Night" by James Swallow is one of the better efforts in this collection. A Space Marine unit arrives to take over a planetary garrison from a vicious fellow Space Marine unit. The two units are almost immediately at each others' throats, as their philosophies are somewhat opposed. There is also some unsavory legendry associated with the relieved unit, and some past with the arriving unit's commander. The plot seems to exonerate the departing space marines in one fashion, incriminate them in another. I actually liked this story, as it threw in some random events unique to the planet, not seeming like a retelling of other stories.

"Hunter/Prey" by Andy Hoare is the next story. This one deals with a Guard unit near the Eye of Terror facing off against some invading Chaos Marines. The enemy has some powerful members, and the guard unit does not fare well. Suddenly, the humans get a new ally, literally from nowhere, who then disappears as fast as he arrived. I found this story a mite abrupt and unsatisfying. I just think more could have been done with it, though the notion of eternal conflict between the hero and his enemies gave a nice touch to the story.

Sandy Mitchell's "The Beguiling" wraps up this collection of stories. This is a Ciaphas Cain story, one of which appeared in another WH40k antho. Cain is an imperial commissar who would rather not get into trouble, so he tries to find back area places to kick back and relax and stay safe. However, he never seems to get his wish, and though he only ever tries to protect himself, he is always hailed as a hero for his actions against the enemy. This story places him in the middle of two warring bands of Chaos minions, with results not unlike those described above. I enjoyed this story as I did the prior one I read, as it has a pulp fiction kind of film noir feel to it. Great stuff.

I was a little disppointed in the spelling and grammar errors that were evident throughout this book. Abnett's story seemed to have more than the others, which I consider very atypical. I consider only three of the stories herein really to be worth reading, but they all go fast at least.

Rating:
Summary: Only so-so, a far cry from some of the other 40k anthologies
Review: The first story in this antho is "Thorn Wishes Talon" by Dan Abnett. This is something of a prequel for Abnett's _Ravenor_ Warhammer 40k novel. Those who have read Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy or short stories might recognize the title as a prhase used often by characters in those works. We have a cast of characters not totally unfamiliar, though the new additions are not fleshed out as well as one might hope. Still, this story seems to work as a bridge between the Eisenhorn trilogy and the _Ravenor_ novel, as I mentioned, as something of a passing of the torch. It is OK, and really lends a better view to the events in that novel.

Next up is Mitchel Scanlon's "Forever Loyal." In this story we have a records clerk from an imperial world attempting to acquire some relics or riches in order to escape his dreary life. This story is OK, but I rarely appreciate stories that go nowhere for the sake of a specific ending as this one seemed to be. There is no character development, but simply a lot of suffering (on the characters' parts, as well as the reader's) leading... well, nowhere.

Simon Spurrier's "Elucidium" is a mammoth of a story, over 90 pages in length. This one deals with a less well-written race in the WH40k universe, at least in terms of depth. Often we see genestealers simply as enemies. In this case, we have a story from the point of view of one of their mutated descendants, one who lacks the unadulterated savagery of the pure genestealers. The reader sees something of the culture of the genestealers and their motivations. There are a number of twists and turns, which are only acceptable in that the point of view is limited in nature. The ending is good, though the story relies upon the ends justifying the means, as one character must eliminate people on his own side simply because he disliikes their specific methods.

Darius Hinks' "Calculus Logi" is not so great. I was into it initially, as there was good story advancement. The resolution, however, was a disappointment. A servitor and several non-augmented human prisoners are the survivors of a crashed ship. They are trapped in a cave by the local environment and wildlife, forced to make repeated deadly voyages in order to survive. The party gets whittled down, and betrayal becomes the order of the day. That much is fine, but some of the events that immediately preceed the conclusion seem poorly designed.

"Crimson Night" by James Swallow is one of the better efforts in this collection. A Space Marine unit arrives to take over a planetary garrison from a vicious fellow Space Marine unit. The two units are almost immediately at each others' throats, as their philosophies are somewhat opposed. There is also some unsavory legendry associated with the relieved unit, and some past with the arriving unit's commander. The plot seems to exonerate the departing space marines in one fashion, incriminate them in another. I actually liked this story, as it threw in some random events unique to the planet, not seeming like a retelling of other stories.

"Hunter/Prey" by Andy Hoare is the next story. This one deals with a Guard unit near the Eye of Terror facing off against some invading Chaos Marines. The enemy has some powerful members, and the guard unit does not fare well. Suddenly, the humans get a new ally, literally from nowhere, who then disappears as fast as he arrived. I found this story a mite abrupt and unsatisfying. I just think more could have been done with it, though the notion of eternal conflict between the hero and his enemies gave a nice touch to the story.

Sandy Mitchell's "The Beguiling" wraps up this collection of stories. This is a Ciaphas Cain story, one of which appeared in another WH40k antho. Cain is an imperial commissar who would rather not get into trouble, so he tries to find back area places to kick back and relax and stay safe. However, he never seems to get his wish, and though he only ever tries to protect himself, he is always hailed as a hero for his actions against the enemy. This story places him in the middle of two warring bands of Chaos minions, with results not unlike those described above. I enjoyed this story as I did the prior one I read, as it has a pulp fiction kind of film noir feel to it. Great stuff.

I was a little disppointed in the spelling and grammar errors that were evident throughout this book. Abnett's story seemed to have more than the others, which I consider very atypical. I consider only three of the stories herein really to be worth reading, but they all go fast at least.