Hello and welcome to this instalment of Short and Sweet, my series of mini review roundups where I look back at SFF books I’ve recently read but haven’t had the time and/or headspace to review individually. Last time (back in October 2022) I kicked this series off with a hefty six books to talk about, but this time I’m going with a slightly more manageable four (well, more like three and a half really). These include a reread of a fantastic Murderbot book, a Warhammer Crime novel I’d been meaning to read for ages, the latest Horus Heresy Primarchs novel, and the next book in a series I’m gradually making my way through.
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Book 5 in the Murderbot Diaries series, albeit the first novel-length instalment in a series mostly comprised of novellas, Network Effect sees Murderbot dragged into another dangerous mission featuring alien remnants, wormhole travel, corporate subterfuge and the return of an old sort-of friend. It has everything you’d expect from the series and more, with all the old favourite characters present and correct, new names introduced who seem likely to play important roles in future stories, and loads of opportunities for Murderbot to have emotions in the midst of stressful trying-to-protect-its-humans situations. As a full-length novel too, there’s room for a much more complex plot and a more in-depth exploration of some of the setting’s cool elements than we’d seen before.
I first read and reviewed this back in April 2021, and I clearly remember very much enjoying it. To be fair, I’m a fully paid-up member of the Murderbot fan club, so any opportunity to read about it is always going to be welcome. Second time around though, having recently revisited all of the novellas (for no reason other than how much I love these books) and therefore being as clear as I’ll ever be on what’s previously happened and who everyone is…I absolutely adored this book! Sure, it has a couple of moments that I’m still slightly confused by (referring to events that are sort of covered here, but not really), and it doesn’t have quite the same zip that the shorter length provides to the novellas, but I’m very happy to accept both of those in exchange for more of everything I love about this series! I feel like this is a bit of a turning point for Murderbot, emotionally and narratively, and I simply can’t wait to see what happens next.
Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley
Published back in 2020, this was the second-ever Warhammer Crime novel from Black Library, exploring a fairly human-level mystery within the seedy environs of the mega-city Varangantua. Featuring the odd-couple duo of Probator Symeon Noctis (born into vast wealth, choosing to mostly give up his family’s wealth and status in favour of a rough life in the slums) and tech-priest Rho-1 Lux (a Mechanicus investigator, and surprisingly human), it’s a tale of rogue servitors, corporate corruption, and the vast inequalities perpetuated throughout Varangantua. With investigators present from both arms of the Imperium, it offers a rare glimpse into the cooperation, or lack of, between the Imperium and the Mechanicus, not to mention an usual perspective on the wildly different social strata of the city.
I’ve had my copy of this ever since it was published, but for some reason it always slipped through the gaps and I never quite felt like actually reading it. Well, two years after it first came out I’m now kicking myself for not having read this sooner, because it’s bloomin’ brilliant! It reads like a proper hardboiled detective story, all noirish first-person narration and tropey but clever characterisation, which is exactly what I want from Warhammer Crime! Like all of this series it offers a great viewpoint on everyday, ‘domestic’ 40k and explores the fascinating setting of Varangantua, but where it stands out even amongst this series is the way it really digs into the contrasts and hypocrisies of the Imperium, with Noctis providing the absolute perfect POV character. He knows he’s a hypocrite, and he’s come to terms with it, and this makes him deeply interesting to read about.
Rogal Dorn: The Emperor’s Crusader by Gav Thorpe
Book 16 in Black Library’s Horus Heresy Primarchs series, this explores the character of one of my personal favourite Primarchs through the eyes of both his Legion and the Remembrancer Order. Set quite early on in the Great Crusade it looks at Dorn’s involvement in the Night Crusade, a campaign in which a full four Legions and their Primarchs were tasked with bringing the light of Compliance to the darkness of the Occluda Noctis. It’s told via short, snappy glimpses of action, diplomacy, introspection and observation and moves quickly through the long campaign, featuring a mix of viewpoint characters both well-known (like Sigismund and Fafnir Rann) and newer, and taking in not just Dorn but also Horus, Fulgrim and the Lion.
This is actually the first of this series I’ve read for over a year (I think it’s the 13th I’ve read overall), as I’ve generally found myself losing a bit of interest in the Heresy, but I’ve always rather liked Dorn and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Unlike Lorgar, Gav’s previous book in the series, this is very much a look at Dorn from other perspectives, and while that won’t be to everyone’s tastes (nor the short sections with no chapter breaks) I thought it worked really well, taking its time to gradually look beneath the surface of his character. It’s a book that covers a lot of ground in a short space of time, cutting out anything extraneous (such as endless, tedious battle scenes) and constantly keeping up its momentum, and while I think there’s still an opportunity to go back and look at Dorn’s early years, as a study of who he is and why he ended up playing the role he did in the Heresy and the Siege, I think this does a fantastic job.
No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
Last time around I talked about book four in this series, and after listening to that I jumped quickly into book five, once again in audio narrated by the excellent Zara Ramm. The series continues to entertain, with its usual mix of slightly daft excitement and interesting historical settings, with Max and her companions going ghost-hunting in St. Mary’s past, attempting dangerous recovery missions during the Great Fire of London and 15th century Florence, and even observing the legendary battle of Thermopylae. While this instalment is perhaps a little more episodic than others, and has a bit less connectivity (and perhaps a little less emotional impact as a result) than in the previous book, it’s still a lot of fun. If I’m honest the very end of the book fell a bit flat for me, but overall I had a blast with it. You pretty much know what you’re going to get with this series, but if you enjoy one then I think chances are you’ll enjoy others.
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That’s everything for this instalment of Short and Sweet. I’ll hopefully be back with another one of these review roundups in a few weeks, once I’ve got some more books to talk about! If you have any thoughts about these roundups, or if there’s anything else you’d like to see me cover, do let me know! You can drop me a line in the comments below, or find me over on Twitter.
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