nraptor's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
majorrawne's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
echotechne's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
trackofwords's review against another edition
5.0
Book two in the Vaults of Terra series featuring Inquisitor Crowl and Interrogator Spinoza, The Hollow Mountain picks up pretty much straight away after the end of The Carrion Throne. Though disaster was averted on the throneworld, Crowl believes that the powerful people behind the conspiracy to bring a xenos creature to Terra are still at large and need to be brought to justice for their crimes. Despite Spinoza’s misgivings, they continue to investigate – albeit in secret, fully aware of the dangers involved in doing so – even while Terra seethes in a worrying atmosphere of unusual friction and unease.
As with The Carrion Throne, Terra itself is a powerful presence upon this story, offering a clear metaphor for the Imperium as a whole – vast, bafflingly complex and locked into ever-degrading patterns and rhythms yet still somehow thriving. It makes for an appropriately brooding and oppressive setting as Wraight explores more of its varied locations, this time concentrating more on focused, low-key infiltrations of larger institutions than trawling the slums. There’s a gradually-increasing sense of pace as the plot develops, building up momentum as the darkness rises, and while this relies even less than last time on large-scale action scenes, when the bullets start flying there’s a real intensity to events. Overall it’s a gripping, character-led story which feels like a natural extension of the series, providing a satisfying and suitably dramatic tale in its own right while clearly setting things up for the next instalment.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/06/10/vaults-of-terra-the-hollow-mountain-by-chris-wraight/
As with The Carrion Throne, Terra itself is a powerful presence upon this story, offering a clear metaphor for the Imperium as a whole – vast, bafflingly complex and locked into ever-degrading patterns and rhythms yet still somehow thriving. It makes for an appropriately brooding and oppressive setting as Wraight explores more of its varied locations, this time concentrating more on focused, low-key infiltrations of larger institutions than trawling the slums. There’s a gradually-increasing sense of pace as the plot develops, building up momentum as the darkness rises, and while this relies even less than last time on large-scale action scenes, when the bullets start flying there’s a real intensity to events. Overall it’s a gripping, character-led story which feels like a natural extension of the series, providing a satisfying and suitably dramatic tale in its own right while clearly setting things up for the next instalment.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/06/10/vaults-of-terra-the-hollow-mountain-by-chris-wraight/
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