Justin D. Hill’s Necromunda novel Terminal Overkill is a grim tale of survival and the search for revenge, which leans hard on the darker side of life in the underhive. The Wild Hydras of House Escher scraped a living controlling territory in the Dim Zone bordering the underhive, until the rise of brutal Goliath overlord Fettnir and the death of their leader, Red Tori. Escaping into the darkness of the underhive, Brielle – teenage daughter of Red Tori – must first learn to survive on her own, before clawing her way back to a position from where she might strike back against Fettnir and claim revenge for what he took from her.
Things start off relatively quietly, exploring family life for Brielle, her mother and – unusually for an Escher gang – her brother. Before long, however, the bodies start dropping and Brielle flees into the underhive; she might already be familiar with violence and death but this is her first experience of it in person, and the intensity of it is shocking for a character who is essentially still a child. Once in the underhive Brielle is no safer, escaping slavery only to have to fight for a place in a ramshackle gang of desperate survivors, along the way facing giant rats, giant spiders, the predations of armed men and even the terrifying powers of a secretive psyker. All along she’s driven by a determination to survive and take advantage of any opportunity to strike back, which she does regularly and with considerable applications of lethal force.
It’s pretty much a given that any Black Library book will be reasonably dark, but at times this verges on horror territory; there’s certainly less of the fun wild west-esque elements which most Necromunda stories include. Instead, this really delves into the nastiness of the setting, from vivid descriptions of the many monstrous creatures (giant spiders being quite a feature of this book) to the desperate people eking out their lives down in the underhive, and the horrors they’ll inflict on others in order to survive. It’s all told in first person from Brielle’s perspective, occasionally veering into a reflective, retrospective tone as though she’s regaling an audience with old memories of her youth. Hill’s conversational style, coming across almost like an oral retelling, suits this approach and makes the story feel personal and believable, which only emphasises the darkness of what Brielle goes through.
Taking place over a number of years, it’s essentially a coming of age story as Brielle develops from a fiery but ultimately weak adolescent into a strong and fiercely determined adult. With a lot to pack in the pacing feels a little strange at times, dwelling (sometimes uncomfortably) for much of the book on grim moments of pain and desperation before racing through the build-up to Brielle’s long-desired revenge in an action-packed final third. In the end it pays off though, with the plot neatly coming full circle as Brielle steps up to essentially reclaim her birthright, having survived everything the underhive could throw at her. It would have been nice to dig more into what the presence of Brielle’s brother means in context of the all-female House Escher, but otherwise there’s lots to enjoy in the matriarchal gang politics, and all told this offers something a little bit different for Necromunda fans. Just be prepared for some really unpleasant moments…and lots of spiders!
See also: RAPID FIRE: Justin D. Hill Talks Terminal Overkill.
