Nemesis is another side story to the main events of the Heresy and like the excellent Mechanicum it takes a refreshment break from the slugging match between Superhuman siblings; this time focusing on the shadow world of the Officio Assassinorum.
This novel is an uneven read, in places it shines, expanding on the different Assassin Clades, delivering some great action and death dealing scenes, utilising all the Assassins various skills and arsenals.
But Swallow has set himself a hard task with both his subject matter and plotline. To produce an engaging story with characters you are willing to invest in, he has to humanise what should be to all intents and purpose, remorseless fanatical killing machines and whilst he ably achieves this, it just doesn't feel quite right.
The choice of plotline (with my usual caution towards spoilers) rendered the journey fairly pointless for anyone with a passing knowledge of the Heresy. There are a few plot holes, some clunky devices and an interesting parallel story that sadly runs out of steam before being dumped into the main tale.
On the whole this is an ok read that would probably have fared much better if it had been reworked as a standalone 40k novel rather than struggling against much stronger works in the Heresy series.
As a final observation, am I the only one who detects a hint of a Firefly/Serenity nods in James Swallows writing style? Couldn't shake the impression that Iota the Culexus bore all the hallmarks of another young lady who could 'kill you with her brain'.
6 comments:
I didn't mind it but got confused a lot remembering who everybody was and the cult they belonged to but maybe that's me...
lol no it's not just you Angry, the 31st Millennium seems populated by people who insist on having such damnable difficult names, working for equally extravagantly named cults, lodges, departments or retail outlets. ;o)
I remember you saying a long while back that you were reading this and me saying I would get round to it...well I finally did.
As per the review, it was ok; at least the book didn't get a flying lesson which is more than I can say for his latest Blood Angel Book 'Black Tide'.
But that’s another story...
For me the most boring volume of HH, few times I almost fell asleep ;) Luckily recent volumes - especially last two - are much, much better.
Hi Kadrinazi, thanks for your comment & dropping by the Veil's Edge.
Yes I'm very much looking forward to catching up to the most recent books. I know they say don't judge a book by its cover but that awesome artwork promises so much. :)
The firefly mention has me sold - I'll be reading this as soon as I'm done with battle for the abyss.
Hi Grovel, thanks for the wave and travelling all the way out here into The Black ;o)
Just so long as you don't get your hopes up too much; wisps of reference & inspiration are there (least I think so) but the crew of the Ultio are heroes of a different stripe.
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