Shadow Point

Rating:
Summary: Excellant!!
Review: After reading the first few chapters of Execution Hour-I really did not think that I would enjoy this story line. In due time of course I became hooked and Execution Hour turned out to be a fabulous story. Its sequal "Shadow Point" takes place some time after the events of its precursor and though there are some open questions left unanswered the book is a truly gripping story. THe focus of this story is basically a build up of things to come in the next book, as the desperate Imperial forces attempt to forge an alliance with the Eldar in order to stop the powers of chaos from attaining an ancient powerful Eldar artifact. However the fragile alliance is threatened by the deceits of the Dark Eldar.
After reading through the book I can imagine several people disappointed at the portrayal of certain elements that do not adhere to strict Warhammer 40K rules or stats (ie. sheer power of the Avatar of the Eldar)---and I say to this that it is as it should be. The writers are portraying their vision of the Warhammer 40K universe and therefore do not need to create a balance between the armies that is necessary for "fair" game play. People are forgetting (or are blinded by favoritism) that the stats in the game are all equalized so that not one single army can said to be the best. Reality (if it were) would be far different.
Shadow Point is an excellant read and another fine book in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Rating:
Summary: OK, but a little flat
Review: Not nearly as good as the previous book, Execution Hour. This book starts well, but seems to be lacking the inspiration to carry itself all the way through. The plot is so straightforward that a lot of the suspense is lost. The dark eldar fail to inspire the dread, loathing and alien maliciousness which I feel they are capable of. Not a bad book, and it does have a few memorable moments. Gordon Rennie has a real gift for describing space battles.