Somehow it’s the end of November already, which means it’s time for me to take a look back at what I’ve been reading for the last few weeks in another Monthly Highlights roundup. It’s been a phenomenal month packed full of brilliant books, so narrowing things down has been tricky – I could happily have included several more novels, not to mention short stories and audio dramas. In the end I settled on two novels and a few novellas, while I’ll also talk very briefly about the Black Library Weekender which took place earlier in the month.
I’ll stick with the usual format, talking about each of my highlights and why I enjoyed them so much in turn before taking a quick look ahead at what I’m looking forward to in December. Without further ado, then – let’s get straight on with the highlights.
Mark of Faith by Rachel Harrison
I can’t think of a better way to mark the return of the Adepta Sororitas to their deserved place within Warhammer 40,000 than reading Rachel Harrison’s latest novel, a book which took my breath away from the first page and didn’t let me breathe again until I finished it. It’s told in first person perspective, alternating between the viewpoints of Sister Evangeline of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and Inquisitor Ravara of the Ordo Malleus, two brilliantly-developed and fascinating characters. They each see the world around them in very different ways, but still loosely want the same thing – for Evangeline to find the Shield of Saint Katherine, lost in Imperium Nihilus.
Clearly this was designed to demonstrate just how compelling the Sisters of Battle can be, and the Inquisition too, and it certainly achieves that over the course of a plot which while fairly standard – pretty much a hellish journey through the Warp from A to B – gives Harrison the opportunity to really dig into what makes both Evangeline and Ravara tick. I was struck by how emotional the book is, with every character hurting, grieving and fundamentally driven by love. How often do you see love as a key motivator in 40k? Not very often, that’s for sure. It’s as dark and powerful as I’ve come to expect from Harrison’s writing, often brutally so, and there’s so much depth to these characters and what they’re going through that it becomes a visceral, often heartbreaking experience reading it. I simply can’t recommend this enough.
Check out my review of Mark of Faith.
The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack by Nate Crowley
My first exposure to Nate’s writing was with his first Black Library short story – The Enemy of My Enemy – but I knew he had written a sci-fi/horror novel already before he started working with BL and I’d been keen to read it for ages. I finally got round to that in November, and oh my word where has this book been all my life?! In my review I called it “part science fiction, part horror, part black comedy and entirely bonkers” and I stand by that description – if nothing else because to try and neatly pigeonhole this book into just one genre is a fool’s errand. It’s all those things and more, a wild melange of influences and subverted tropes and awe-inspiring world building that comes together into a magnificent whole which utterly blew my mind.
Don’t get me wrong, this probably isn’t a book for everyone. For example, if you want everything to be explained to you up front, if you’re squeamish about zombies and gore, if you don’t think that psychically-puppeteered deep-sea beasties are awesome…then maybe this won’t be your cup of tea. If, however, you’re happy with all of those things, and if you want to read about zombies singing sea shanties, fighting back against oppressive overseers and struggling with the ethical dilemmas inherent in reanimated life, then in my opinion this book should skip straight to the top of your TBR pile. It’s bonkers, without a doubt, but I absolutely loved it.
Check out my review of The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack.
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
I love a novella – more on that later – and the opportunities they offer to tell tight, insightful stories with none of the fat that sometimes comes along with full-length novels. I went into Sisters of the Vast Black knowing very little of it, taken in only by the premise – nuns in space, living on a sentient space-ship at the edge of the galaxy – and found a fantastic little story which does exactly what I wanted it to. Great characters, themes of fragile faith, hope and love set against the cold emptiness of space, and a plot which starts off sweet and thoughtful before gradually ramping up towards something much bigger and deeper.
It’s a beautifully self-contained story, perfect for the novella length, which digs into its characters in unexpected ways while hinting at the vast scope of the world (well, galaxy) in which it’s taking place. On the one hand the story is everything I hoped it would be, deeply satisfying in its own right, but on the other hand it also introduced me to a setting that I would explore in more depth in a heartbeat. It’s only teased really, with snatches of history and characters backstory revealing the shape of what else might be there, but that was more than enough to hook me in – and what more could you want than that?
Check out my review of Sisters of the Vast Black.
The first three stories in Black Library Novella Series 2
Having already mentioned how much I love novellas, it probably comes as no surprise that I’m over the moon to have no fewer than TEN new Black Library novellas to read. At the time of writing I’ve only managed to read three of those, but rather than only picking one I thought I’d quickly talk about each of them as I’ve had an absolute blast reading all three. I’m not reading them in numerical order (that was the plan, but…it failed), just picking what to read based on what I feel like at the time, and three books into the series I couldn’t be happier.
Starting with Thomas Parrott’s Isha’s Lament; despite what you might think from the cover, this is a human-centric Blackstone Fortress story, although it does feature a couple of great aeldari characters. Parrott cleverly balances lots of different objectives – exploring the Blackstone Fortress, dovetailing with other stories in the same setting, digging into the history and psychology of its main protagonist (ex-soldier Brakus Andradus), and just telling a pacy, action-packed adventure story – all at the same time, which is an impressive achievement. I’d listened to The Beast Inside just before reading this, and the two complemented each other brilliantly – if you’re interested in the Blackstone Fortress, I’d recommend you check this out.
Nate Crowley’s Severed – yep, another story from Nate which I loved this month – is that rare beast…a 40k story told from a non-human, non-aeldari, non-tau viewpoint. In this case it’s a necron POV story, which manages to instil an incredible amount of humanity, pathos and humour into characters who you might have expected to be pretty dour and soulless. Speaking of soul, that’s a core theme of this story – whether or not the necrons (those who are self-aware, at least) can actually have souls, and Crowley explores this in (to me, at least) entirely unexpected ways. I really didn’t expect to read an emotional story about an odd-couple pair of millennia-old robots, but I absolutely loved it!
Lastly, Code of the Skies sees Graeme Lyon tackling the Kharadron Overlords, one of my favourite races in the Age of Sigmar. While Old World dwarfs were always rather tragic figures, the Kharadron – while retaining lots of the old dwarf characteristics – are ripe for stories that are a little more fun, playful even, taking to the skies in tales of adventure. That’s exactly what this is – a pacy, tremendously entertaining story which nicely balances out all the airborne action with a few great characters and a strong sense of fun. I would definitely read more about these characters.
Check out my reviews of Isha’s Lament, Severed and Code of the Skies.
The Black Library Weekender 2019
I can’t talk about November’s highlights without mentioning the Weekender, which is the one event of the year that I look forward to the most. I’ve written up lots of my thoughts already (there’s a link below) and plenty of other people elsewhere online have talked in detail about the specifics of the seminars, but I’d just like to reiterate the thing that always makes these events so good, in my opinion. I’m a quiet, shy person by inclination, but having been to loads of these events and met so many great people I find that they bring me out of my shell in a way that nothing else does; the single best thing about the Weekenders is the chance to spend two days in the company of other fans, authors, artists and actors, all of us there because we’re into the same thing.
Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of great things about the Weekenders – fascinating seminars, the chance to pick up pre-release books, CDs and merchandise, the…interesting evening entertainment; it’s all brilliant, and well worth the cost if you can manage it. The social elements, though – even for an introvert like me – are what makes the whole thing really worthwhile. If you you’re not sure about going next year because you won’t know anyone, just get in touch – you’ll know me, we can catch up and hang out, and I promise you it’ll be a brilliant weekend!
Check out my roundup of the Weekender.
Looking forward to…
As always, thinking ahead to December there’s loads to look forward to in the way of new books, and in my case a couple of books I’ve been meaning to finish (or start) for a while. Here’s what I’m most looking forward to over the next few weeks:
- The Black Library Advent series: 24 new stories from BL (12 short stories and 12 short audios), one released each day in December leading up to Christmas – and then two brand new novels getting digital premieres months before the physical books come out. I always enjoy BL’s Advent stories, and I can’t wait for this year’s!
- The Black Hawks by Dave Wragg: to my shame, I’ve STILL not manage to read this, which is crazy considering how much good stuff I’ve heard about it. I’m really, really going to make the effort in December to get it read…this time I’m going to do it!
- Inferno! Volume 4: ok, this is more a case of finishing a book rather than starting it. I’ve been slowly working my way through this anthology since it came out, and I’m loving it so far. I’ve got about five short stories still to read…I can do that in December. Right?
There’s no doubt, I’ve got a lot of reading ahead of my in December! I’m aiming to get a review written for each day’s Advent story as quickly as possible, and I’ll hopefully get plenty more books read and audio dramas listened to as well. It’ll be busy, but I’m looking forward to it!
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So there you go, a few of my highlights from November – seriously, SO many good books – as well as some of what I’m looking forward to the most in December. I’d love to hear about what you’ve enjoyed reading or listening recently, so do drop me a line in the comments below, or get in touch on Twitter. I’ll be back with another roundup post towards the end of the year!