Book review: God Emperor of Dune
Book: God Emperor of Dune
How to start with this book... Well, first of all, beware the spoilers, as it is impossible to provide a review without speaking about the previous books and a bit of what happens in the current one.
So, on with it: At the end of the previous book, Leto Atreides fused with a sandworm. Thousands of years later (around 3500), he is a huge speaking worm, keeping only tiny arms and the face from his human past. He seems to have even more acute senses, be almost prescient of any future event, maybe even mind-reading, and apparently impervious to any damage (like laser weapons). He also seems to have become a despotic emperor, a strict ruler that maintains peace over the universe by fear as much as by being strategic.
Arrakis also has been terraformed, with the sandworms and thus the spice nowhere to be seen. It is now almost full of vegetation, and water is abundant, but the people seem not to be overly happy, although nobody would dare to mention it. "He who controls the spice controls the universe" (they say in the 1984's David Lynch movie adaptation), and indeed by keeping the remains hidden and deciding who gets how much, he now controls everyone: The Ixians, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit, and other houses (who have also become smaller and weak). Leto also has a special army of women soldiers, fanatically loyal to him. He also keeps asking for Duncan Idaho's new gholas (clones), and seems to be easily angered and dangerous when it happens.
But a descentant from the Atreides, Siona, seems not to care at all, breaking as many rules as possible to try to find a way to end the reign of this god emperor.
As you can imagine from the previous paragraphs, this book is way more into science-fiction than previous Dune titles. And similarly happens with it being "Dune"... Same as the terraformed Arrakis, at times it feels like Dune, but mostly it is vastly different from the past (books). The emperor is so powerful and capable, everything is so transformed and under control, that everything is... different, lesser than it was before. From the Fremen, to the Bene Gesserit, they all look weak and a shadow of the past. And this is my main issue, that it is a curious science ficton reading, but not a good Dune book.
While I was intrigued about how all this crazy setting would end, I don't think that it is a good Dune book. But it does make for a very different sci-fi one!
Tags: Books Dune Science-Fiction
Book review: Luther: First of the Fallen
Book: Luther: First of the Fallen
Luther has been one of those mysterious secondary Dark Angel characters, mentioned frequently but without much real background. This book comes to fill that gap, although with a narrative style and content that I'm not so sure it's the best...
Luther has being held captive in some secret jail deep inside the Rock, the Dark Angels flagship, for thousands of years. With the help of the Watchers in the Dark, they keep the prisoner in stasis, only letting him out to be interrogated over and over, by different grand masters and key characters from the chapter.
I don't want to dwell into details, as that's the main point of the novel, but it is really more of a collection of small stories about Luther's past, combined with the main interrogations arc. Remembering old times and certain key points and events sounds good, but when some of them are pretty generic sci-fi small tales... not so well executed. I am happy to learn something about the character's early days, but I'm not interested in too many great beast hunts with cheap morals/lessons. I can only imagine the interrogators falling asleep while their prisoner goes on an on giving precise details of useless information, instead of answering the simple asked question of "do you repent?".
It was not boring, but it felt a bit of lure into a generic sci-fi book. It does however contain some sparks of really interesting content, which I won't detail. So, a recommended reading only if you are a Dark Angels fan.
Book review: The Lion: Son of the Forest
Book: The Lion: Son of the Forest
As my Space Marines favourite chapter (and most miniatures) are Dark Angels, I picked The Lion: Son of the Forest out of curiosity to learn about the return of their primarch. I also have the miniature pending assembly and painting, but that's another story, let's focus on the novel.
One remark that I want to do is that I haven't read Arks of Omen: The Lion, but as far as I understood, the Son of the Forest novel happens before. The Lion awakes at The Rock, it is transported to the place where Son of the Forest begins, and I'm guessing that where the novel ends is more or less where the Lion "officially" reappears.
I also did not know about the Imperium Nihilus/Dark Imperium, caused by the Great Rift. It is a good trick by Games Workshop to make things advance at a different pace, by having half of the galaxy now blind to the Astronomican light.
With that out of the way, let's go with a small, spoiler-light review.
The Lion is back! I'm happy to see my beloved Dark Angels have their lore finally advance, both regarding having the primarch again, and his attitude towards The Fallen.
The novel is a decent read, with good amounts of action, and entertaining enough that I read it quickly. It didn't felt boring at any point, opens the right amount of plot threads and gracefully closes them (except a main question, as I'll mention), and it mostly feels appropriate of what you would expect from a super-human being that it's still disoriented after so much time "out".
Two points felt unsatisfactory to me. First, we are given zero reasoning as for why the Lion awakes, when it does and where it does - it simply happens, and it is what it is. And the second one is that I feel that the author went too far in giving so distinctive personalities to some of the fallen characters. I'm sorry but I don't buy the image of a Space Marine becoming a peaceful hermit, chasen by Dark Angels or not.
All in all, not a bad return, although neither a grandiose one. And the multiple open questions, like how he'll reintegrate in the Imperium, or what will happen regarding Luther or the mysterious Cypher, leave the door open for multiple future novels, which is always good.
Book review: Silo - The Wool Trilogy
Book: Silo - The Wool Trilogy
I did not know about this trilogy until I saw the first season of Apple TV's show, Silo, more than a year ago. After watching it, I got interested and picked up the book. I don't want to undervalue the show, as the first season is really good, but as it very often happens, the book is richer, slightly different, and I'd recommend starting with it instead of the series. I also stopped watching it midway through the second season, so I don't know if the divergences from the book become more accused, or stays mostly faithful to the source material.
With that out of the way, here comes the review itself. I really enjoyed this book. The apocalyptic, maybe sci-fi but not unsure if really so, setting; unsettling and cruel at times but not in excess (as could have very easily been the case). With well defined characters, who, for the most part, fit nicely in the story, and at times surprisingly leave it. With a narrative that dares to be different in the second book (I won't say why to avoid spoilers) to then come back with a vengeance in the final book. With sub-stories and variety, but not too much that you get lost on the main one.
If I had to mention something to improve, I have two tiny points: - A few characters feel like they are going to have more weight, and then they fade out into a very secondary role. This is one point that the TV show seemed to want to address differently (again, no spoiling). - The ending felt a bit abrupt: So much happens before, and then it ends a bit suddenly... too quickly without much detail.
In summary, a ~1300 pages great science-fiction tale, apt even for non sci-fi fans.
Tags: Books Science-Fiction
Book review: Art & Arcana: A Visual History (Dungeons & Dragons)
Book: Art & Arcana: A Visual History (Dungeons & Dragons)
August has been for me the Dungeons & Dragons themed month. After the Lore & Legends book, I picked another history lesson book: Art & Arcana. As the title hints, the main topic is about how D&D art and style has changed during on each edition; From the original, black and white and a bit amateurish drawings, to the astounding coloured depictions of adventures, adventurers, and monsters of the later editions.
One thing that stands out when you read the book, is that there is a lot of information. It is not a mere visual journey, and even focusing only on the textual content, I feel the quality and depth of it to be superior to Lore & Legends. There are so many interesting stories and details of the evolution of TSR, its illustrators, the art direction... I went for it because of the drawings, but it was a pleasant surprise to find so much content.
The illustrations are spectacular and, of course, the main focus. Being able to see all five evolutions of many creatures, book covers, the TSR logo itself, even some maps! Going from clearly hand-drawn irregular maps to the ultra-detailed and dense most recent iterations is such a joy. Learning the fun source of quite a few monsters (spoiler: plastic children toys), and then watching how they evolved into more serious and colourful depictions, is also very cool.
I've always been drawn into D&D because of its amazing book covers and incredible drawings, and this book contains the reason why. Moreover, In my case I began with the 2nd edition and its more professional but still mostly mono-color images, so experiencing how much everything has evolved, and expanded, and matured, was very fascinating.
A remarkable reference book.
Tags: Books Dungeons & Dragons Reviews
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