Path of the Warrior

Sometimes being a sculptor just doesn't cut it. When the arts aren't enough sometimes you just have to take up a chainsword, and take on the Aspect of the Striking Scorpion. For the long lived Eldar, a race for whom indulgence is the path to damnation, learning to control emotions is a vital part of life. When Korlandril's world falls apart around him he finds himself suffused with impossible anger, his only solution: the Path of the Warrior by Gav Thorpe.

This Burning Life

The second novel based on the EVE Online massively-multiplayer cut-throat spaceship and economy simulator, This Burning Life by Hjalti Daníelsson takes the opposite approach to the universe from last years EVE novel, The Empyrean Age by Tony Gonzales (Pb $14.95).

This Burning Life starts right at the bottom of the EVE universe’s food chain, with a man named Drem and a girl named Ralea.

Drem is an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life. Well, alright, he lives in a domed colony on a low-orbiting spaceport moon, and is a citizen of a religious fundamentalist faction obsessed with blood. Drem’s relatively ordinary life is cut short by a rampaging Capsuleer, a human who through cybernetic enhancement is able to directly interface his mind with a spaceship, and through cloning is effectively immortal, his consciousness being downloaded to a new clone in the event of his death. Drem survives the attack on his colony, but loses everything. Consumed by a desire for revenge, Drem seeks out the militant wing of his people, the Blood Raiders, and engages in an impossible quest for vengeance, only to be pulled from the claws of oblivion at the last second by the most unlikely of saviors, and given a fresh start. But will the benevolence and good-will of his new benefactors cure Drem of his lust for revenge? Or give him just the tools he needs to accomplish it?

On the other side of the New Eden star cluster, the hedonistic excess of two Gallente mission agents ends in murder. The power of the wealthy and prestigious profession of liaising with Capsuleers, and the guilt and depression of the responsibility for those dead at the ‘hands’ of her clients, drives Ralea to the darker side of society. When things spiral out of control, Ralea’s friend Heci drags her out of both her personal hell, and the entire Gallente Federation. Ralea and Heci travel the cluster, in an effort to both evade detection by Federation forces and to find new meaning in their lives, but it seems everywhere they go they run in to more corruption and hypocrisy, and that they can never quite escape the reach of their home nation. Is there a true purpose out there for Ralea and Heci, or are they chasing ghosts in a universe riddled with conflict and prejudice?

This Burning Life explores the lives and motivations of the little people in EVE Online’s society, detailing the lives of the everyman in both the high security space of the four empires, as well as the lives of those living under the pirate factions that stalk the low security regions of New Eden. The book is an intriguing open window on the realm of the secondary characters, not just in EVE, but in media in general. This is a book about the extras, the stand-ins and the background characters. This is a book about the characters that work hard behind the scenes to give us the worlds in which the ‘main’ characters operate.

To quote Eldon Tyrell “The light that burns twice as bright burns for half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly”

Helljumpers

Helljumpers, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers of the 105st division, go into battle feet first and red hot, cutting through the alien Covenant like the proverbial knife. But when a distress call from an archaeological site uncovers a massive Covenant operation, can the best of the best take on the galaxies worst?

Eisenhorn Omnibus

Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abnett

When heresy breaks out across the Helican Sub-Sector it’s up to Gregor Eisenhorn to track down the source of the corruption, and the man with the blank eyes who haunts his dreams. Will Eisenhorn be able to defeat the forces of chaos and the xenos threat? Or is the power of the Inquisition insufficient to save the hardworking citizens of the Imperium?

Halo: Evolutions

I really enjoyed Halo: Evolutions... but having said that...

The whole book is a huge downer. Everyone gets wasted, betrayed, condemned, or made redundant. This book and the Halo Encyclopedia both paint a picture of the post-Halo 3 universe being just as volatile and conflict ridden in what seems to be a blatant set up for future titles, going so far as to even hint at certain characters involvement and possible plot points.

Don't go reading this looking for happy endings. This isn't 'saving the world by the skin of your teeth' stuff, this is 'sacrificing yourself for little or no gain' stuff.

This isn't to say that it isn't enjoyable, or well written.

But it is an emotional slog the the trenches. In particular the first story, Pariah, about a SPARTAN II recruit called Soren, was very powerful.

The book is held back from greatness, I feel, by neglecting the humour and the tales of victory against the odds that make Halo great.

If I want grim dark I'll read Warhammer 40,000.

Ultramarines - A Warhammer 40,000 Movie

Ultramarines, a CG movie in development at Codex Pictures featuring Games Workshops eternally popular blue armoured servants of the Emperor, now has a writer and a director.

Martyn Pick, director of the film Age of Stupid, will be helming this epic undertaking.

But it is the writer of this upcoming film that will knock the socks off regular readers of Warhammer 40,000 fiction. The movie will be written by none other than Dan Abnett, author of some of the best of the current crop of Warhammer titles, including working on the Horus Heresy, Malus Darkblade, and writing the hugely popular Gaunt's Ghosts series!

I must admit to having had a certain amount doubt as to how this film would be handled, but my fellow readers will surely agree that this movie could be placed in no better hands. While Dan Abnett is most often praised for his ability to capture the unique warfare of the grim future, it is the humour and warmth he instills in his characters that makes one really feel the rocket propelled bolter rounds fly past.

If anyone can make 8 foot tall armour plated walking death into real human characters that the audience truly feels for, its Dan Abnett.


Keep up to date, and follow movie related news at the Ultramarines - A Warhammer 40,000 Movie website.

Image courtesy of Games Workshop via Wikipedia, used under fair use.

Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City

In my preview of this title I talked about my experience playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. As I read The Infernal City, I was stunned by how Greg Keyes managed to capture the feel of the game, and constructed characters based on classic role playing game archetypes, without the book feeling cliche or formulaic. The Infernal City has made me want to go back and give Oblivion another go, if only to get a better picture of the background against which this book is set.

When the infernal city of the title, known to its occupants as Umbriel, threatens the lands of Tamriel and Morrowind with unprecedented levels of death and suffering, and as the major political powers sit on their hands rather than deal with the potential threat, its left to the self-obsessed heir to the imperial throne to find a way to stop the city from consuming the souls of the innocent. Cut off from Imperial aid, the prince must make do with the help of a mage with a chip on his shoulder, an amateur alchemist, and a tribe of the cat like Khajiit, in his quest halt Umbriels advance.

Umbriel is a city of secrets, with a darkly beating heart, and a trail of destruction in its wake. Will the prince overcome his fears and find a way to stop its path of destruction?