Audio Book Review: Dead in the Water

Man, I can't tell you how much I love me a good Commissar Cain story! It is good to know that in the grim darkness of the far future, there is a dude like Cain around to make sure that the Emperor's will be done.

Just kidding, he's still looking out for number 1.

In this story, Cain finds himself assigned to a backwater river world (see what I did there?) with a low-level, technologically backwards insurgency against the imperium, but due to the logistical nightmare that is the planet, it's possible that the conflict could simmer for decades. Which sounds just right to Cain.

Audio Book Review: Raven's Flight

I've been sitting on this review for a while now, but with Age of Darkness out, I figured I better get this one posted.

Raven's Flight gives us yet another view of the Dropsite Massacre. This time, the immediate aftermath from the point of the Raven Guard. The story takes on two points of view. One from Marcus Valerius an Imperial Army. His family has faithfully served the Imperium and the Raven Guard for generations. But he has been plagued by dreams of death for the past seven days. This coincidently (not really) enough is the same time that the Raven Guard fleet should have translated into the Istavaan system. He believes it is a sign that Corax is in trouble.

Audio Book Review: Garro: Legion of One.

The latest in the Garro audio short stories, Garro: Legion of One is a pretty damn good tale. Nathanial Garro, former Death Guard, is still on a quest bestowed upon him by Macador the Sigillite. He is gathering others like him. Outcasts from both loyal an traitor legions to join what will be come (one would assume) the Inquisition.

In this book they have traveled to where it all began, Isstvan III. He is on a dead world searching for another to join their group, but he is not alone. He has the Ultramarines Librarian, and the World Eater.

Book Review: Fall of Damnos

So I'm a pretty big fan of the Space Marines Battles series. The latest offering from the Black Library is the Fall of Damnos by Nick Kyme. 

I have been having a hard time with some of Mr. Kyme's books. I read both of his Dwarf books pretty easily, but the Salamanders books are foiling me at the moment. I can't put my finger on it, but they are just hard for me to get through.

Fall of Damnos is different. It is an excellent book if for no other reason than I firmly believe this gives us some deep spoilers into the upcoming Necron Codex.

Much like many of the 40k novels that deal with the Necrons, some miners disturb a Necron tomb, and all hell breaks loose. Same thing on Damnos. Before the Ultramarines can get there to help out, the planet is completely overrun except for one city near the southern pole.

Audio Book Review: Slayer of the Storm God

Here is the next of the Black Library audio books that I have taken a listen to. This is Gotrek and Felix story. One thing I found out is that Gotrek is not pronounced "Go-Trek" it is pronounced "Got-rek". Just a funny little thing.

Well this story takes place after one of the books I haven't read yet (the last one being Manslayer) and Gotrek and Felix are in Marienburg with Max Schrieber and someone I haven't heard of before. They are waiting for a boat to take them down the Riek river to Altdorf when (I know you will find this hard to believe) but adventure finds them! This time Gotrek has thrown himself up against a full fledged god! OK, well the avatar of a god, but pretty scary none-the-less.

The is a very nice short story and goes very well with the way that Nathan Long has been writing the Dynamic Duo, but I have got to say that the way the reader, Danny Webb does his job is what makes this story worth while. There were times, when he was reading some of the action scenes, where I was holding my breath (no, really, I was!).

So all-in-all a very good story to sit and paint to. I give this story four severed sea-god tentacles, out of five. OK, sea-god-avatars' tentacles.

Audio Book Review: Hellion Rain

Time for a pure Raven Guard story! I liked The Hunt for Voldorius but it was mainly a White Scars book. This may be the first purely Raven Guard story. Its just a shame it is only a short story.

In this story the Raven Guard are on a planet fighting Tyranids. The people of the world, in a desperate attempt to destroy the massive Tyranid Bioship in orbit, destroy Helion, of the moons of their world. The remnants of the satellite now fall upon the planet creating the name for the story.

This story is broken up into two parts. One part from the point of view of the scout squad and another from the point of view of the company Captain. Both stories are written well and both of the two main characters, the Captain and the scout Sergent are given pretty good time in the lime light.

Audio Book Review: Throne of Lies

Insert obligatory rant about the price of the Black Library audio books versus the word count of the stories. 

Throne of Lies continues the tale of Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Night Lords. It takes place not long after the book Soul Hunter. In this story the Night Lords are looking for a Hololith that contains the death of their Primarch.

Its been a while since I read Soul Hunter, so I don't quite remember why exactly they are looking for it, but by gum they are!

Audio Book Review: Garro: Oath of Moment

Here is another of one Black Library's audio book. This one if set in the Horus Heresy story arch and it is called Garro: Oath of Moment. This book takes place right after the fourth Horus Heresy book, Flight of the Eisenstein and lets us in on the fate of Garro.

I didn't know the fluff behind this. I didn't know that Garro was a known figure in 40k fluff before I read Eisenstein and I found out much later that people who hadn't read the HH book, knew who he was. Garro is a unique person during the Heresy. As far as I know, he is one of the only space marines to go against his Primarch when he turned from the Emperor. Right there, you gotta respect this guy.

Audio Book Review: Heart of Rage

So I got my hands on another of Black Library's audio books. This time it is Heart of Rage by James Swallow.

The book details a Blood Angels squad entering a dead Tyranid hive ship in order to find an Adeptus Mechanicus team that had previously been sent in to the ship.

This book is read by Toby Longworth he reads all of the BL audio books and he does an excellent job. I was a little critical of some of his voices in Thunder from Fenris (because one of them sounded like a certain California Governor) but I really have no complaints in this one. He voices about 10 different people throughout the book and manages to make each of them pretty distinct.
As for the story itself, it is a little predictable, the Astartes are sent into the Tyranid ship which they are assured is dead, but lo and behold... not so much. Combat ensues... yadda yadda yadda. 

I don't want to sound like I am detracting the story. It is a bit predictable, but I think it is well done. Perhaps it is the sound effects that go along with the audio book, but it did a good job of keeping me interested.

My big complaint, as with Thunder from Fenris was the length. If this book were in written format, it would be a short story, and I believe that this book would fit in nicely with one of the many anthologies that BL has put out, but this is a stand alone story, and instead of coming in a large book for about $13, it is by itself for about $20. 

I went to the gym this morning, listen to the story while I worked out, and on the way home, I was done with it. Seems a bit too short for the money I spent.

I give the book three slaughtered Hive Tyrants out of five.

Audio Book Review: Thunder From Fenris

So the Black Library has been doing audio books for a little while now. One of the first ones they did was a Space Wolf book by Nick Kyme called Thunder From Fenris. I have been wanted to get it for some time now but I haven't been able to find it at Barnes and Noble or Borders. I finally got it off of eBay for a bit under "cover price".

I have never listened to a book on "tape" before, so I really didn't know what to expect. The guy the got to read it, Toby Longworth, did a pretty good job. There are three main characters and Toby did a pretty good job of making them all sound different (even though one of them sounded remarkably like a republican governor from California). I also enjoyed the sound effects. There were bolters and lasguns and howling wolves and the sound of a power axe going into a zombie brain; all were very interesting to listen to.

The story itself was pretty good. It is the tail of 5 Thunderwolf Cavalry. They come upon the remains of one of the own, torn apart as if by beasts claws. Worse yet, another of their brothers is missing, and what the fear for him is worse then death. So begins a chase across a world ravaged by Nurgle, where the dead don't stay dead for long.

The story took 75 minutes to tell which I think puts it at a bit longer than the short stories that the BL puts out, but no where near the length of one of their novels. And while the sound effects were kinda nifty, I'd rather have have a book in my hands. Plus the fact that these audio books cost about $20 for 75 minutes. To me thats just too much.

For the story, I give this a 3 out of 5, for the fact that it was a $20, 75 minute audio book, I give it a 1 out of 5. I don't think I'll be paying the money to get another one of these.