A review by righteousridel
Avenging Son by Guy Haley
3.0
A Frighteningly Galactic Scope
Avenging Son is the humbly titled beginning of the Indomitus Crusade, one of the biggest changes to the storyline of the 40k universe in the past twenty years. It's written for true fans of the setting, as it doesn't bother to slow down for the basics and will casually discuss insights that are hard-fought revelations in entry novels. The narrative is a grand endeavour, trying to convey a sense of scale to both the galactic horror of the Great Rift and the impact of the Primarch's return. Guy Haley achieves these goals in-large but is caught up in the scope of the narrative with too many plots and subplots. The story feels like a novelization of historical events, and character growth is apparently a foreign concept.
The large number of POVs is likely at fault for the lack of character arcs - there are four major plots with 1-3 narrators each. This story would not warrant the tripling of page count needed to bring everyone to life. Instead, we switch viewpoints to the most convienent narrator for critical events, resulting in a very plot-centric book. As narrator after narrator is introduced in the beginning of the book, you'll likely find yourself ignoring their personalities to focus on subplots occuring around the galaxy. It's very overwhelming, but also unfocused.
The back-of-the-book describes the horrors that face the Machorta Sound, but for the majority of Avenging Son, it'll feel like that's a separate novel. Half the book is focused on Roboute Guilliman as he directs the Imperium into a brand new war footing. The description of the post-human Primarch is fantastic, and the author doesn't shy away from the details of the Imperial Regent's effort to retake the galaxy. These grand strategic and political machinations really help the novel feel epic, but when the narrative refocuses on Machorta Sound, the author reverts to writing requisite bolter porn. It feels odd, like two different books that happen to be in the same volume. They have different plots, characters, and even the tone of each story is different.
Despite all that, I really like this novel... more than my rating would imply. The sense of epicness is like none other. There are stand out moments that feel uniquely grimdark. Particularly worthy of praise is a plotline showcasing the horrors of bureaucracy and its consequences. This novel brilliantly conveys the feeling of the 40k setting. It's just unfortunate that in describing the universe, the author failed to tell a story about people.
Recommended for 40k fans with reservations.
Avenging Son is the humbly titled beginning of the Indomitus Crusade, one of the biggest changes to the storyline of the 40k universe in the past twenty years. It's written for true fans of the setting, as it doesn't bother to slow down for the basics and will casually discuss insights that are hard-fought revelations in entry novels. The narrative is a grand endeavour, trying to convey a sense of scale to both the galactic horror of the Great Rift and the impact of the Primarch's return. Guy Haley achieves these goals in-large but is caught up in the scope of the narrative with too many plots and subplots. The story feels like a novelization of historical events, and character growth is apparently a foreign concept.
The large number of POVs is likely at fault for the lack of character arcs - there are four major plots with 1-3 narrators each. This story would not warrant the tripling of page count needed to bring everyone to life. Instead, we switch viewpoints to the most convienent narrator for critical events, resulting in a very plot-centric book. As narrator after narrator is introduced in the beginning of the book, you'll likely find yourself ignoring their personalities to focus on subplots occuring around the galaxy. It's very overwhelming, but also unfocused.
The back-of-the-book describes the horrors that face the Machorta Sound, but for the majority of Avenging Son, it'll feel like that's a separate novel. Half the book is focused on Roboute Guilliman as he directs the Imperium into a brand new war footing. The description of the post-human Primarch is fantastic, and the author doesn't shy away from the details of the Imperial Regent's effort to retake the galaxy. These grand strategic and political machinations really help the novel feel epic, but when the narrative refocuses on Machorta Sound, the author reverts to writing requisite bolter porn. It feels odd, like two different books that happen to be in the same volume. They have different plots, characters, and even the tone of each story is different.
Despite all that, I really like this novel... more than my rating would imply. The sense of epicness is like none other. There are stand out moments that feel uniquely grimdark. Particularly worthy of praise is a plotline showcasing the horrors of bureaucracy and its consequences. This novel brilliantly conveys the feeling of the 40k setting. It's just unfortunate that in describing the universe, the author failed to tell a story about people.
Recommended for 40k fans with reservations.