Mike Brooks’ Necromunda short story Dead Drop continues his impressive run of Black Library stories featuring strong characters with powerful familial bonds. Danner Grimjack and his Road Dogs, a close-knit gang of Orlocks, launch a carefully timed ambush of a rival gang, the Steel Crescents. Their goal is to relieve the Van Saars of what they hope is a valuable piece of cargo, recently arrived on Necromunda through illicit channels, and sell it on for a tidy profit. As ever in the underhive it’s a case of risk versus reward, but the Road Dogs trust each other to get the job done.
Opening with a daring, breakneck action sequence as the Road Dogs launch their high speed ambush, this packs a lot of variety into a short word count. There’s breathless action, intriguing locations (Port Mad Dog, Ashheap, Dust Falls), high stakes and tension, all built around the bonds between Danner and their gang-mates and a smart, compelling plot. It’s the sort of story you wish wouldn’t end so you could carry on getting to know the characters and exploring the underhive through their eyes, and it demonstrates once again that Brooks has the knack for bringing low-key, everyday characters to life in powerful, engaging stories.
Hello there, and thank you for the review! I know it’s a bit unusual, but I’d like to get a feedback from an English native speeker regarding the pronouns used by Mike Brooks for Grimjack (they/them). After some research, I came to the conclusion it means the character identified itself (themselves?) as gender neutral. Since French is not as specific, with only two genders to choose from, I’d like to make sure I didn’t miss the point.
Hiya. Yeah, gender neutral…or at least not specifically masculine or feminine. I imagine Mike would be happy to go into it in more detail if you’re interested – he’s pretty active on Twitter!