Wait, what?
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440341a&prodId=prod1750023a
You mean, Dan Abnett is finally releasing the first book of the Alizebeth Bequin trilogy? *hyperventilates*.
I haven't read a Black Library book in some time, mainly due to the fact I'm so busy, but man, that's the sort of series to get me started again!
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy (Book Review)
David Stevenson's Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy may be the best coverage of the First World War ever written. This terse, detail filled tome covers, in incredible detail, the political, financial, logistical, and strategic decisions and challenges faced by all of the belligerents.
When I was in middle school, our coverage of World War I started with a class exercise. We broke into groups, were given a written description of our groups’ thoughts (basically- ‘You have an agreement with so and so group to fight a war if they join one, but here’s why you might not want to’), and a group was told that one of their leaders was assassinated. Soon, the entire class was at war. The goal was to show that politicians weren’t so much in control of this war- events just spiraled out of their control, and the result was a conflict resulting in millions of deaths and effects which are still felt today.
Cataclysm challenges that view- it shows, in great detail that politicians deliberately made choices to both initiate the war, and continue it despite appalling casualties. Most importantly, it presents this case in an unbiased fashion as possible- you won’t find much in the way of assigning blame to one country or group in here.
The book is broken into four major parts, and I feel it’s probably handy to at least mention them for and understanding of this book’s value.
In Part One, Outbreak, Stevenson examines the causes of the war- from the decisions taken by politicians after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife to the various diplomatic factors faced by Germany and Austria prior to this event, to the tensions caused by the Balkan Wars, to a bunch of other things. I feel this is probably one of the strongest sections of the book- the causes of World War I are one of the most studied topics in history because there are SO MANY factors that went into it. This book does a fantastic job covering them all. The central theme is, of course, that World War I was a controlled event- the politicians from BOTH sides knew (at least partially) what their actions would cause, and chose them anyway. The first part ends with coverage of the initial attacks in the first year, and the difficulties faced on the Eastern and Western fronts- including why the front lines didn’t advance on West for 4 years, and the ones in the East didn’t move very far to start. It also describes why the Germans chose to keep their fleets at port, instead of going out to attack the various British troopships when they were vulnerable (since the British fleets at Scapa Flow probably couldn’t have arrived in time). The desire to not risk the fleet, keeping it as a ‘political instrument’ would of course present the Germans with problems later- Stevenson shows us early on the decisions made by the Central Powers that ended up hurting them.
Part Two, Escalation, nominally covers the middle of the war- from spring of 1915 to spring of 1917. As we know, there were several major battles during this period- Verdun, Somme, and Cambrai, for instance are all well known. Despite this, the advancements of defensive warfare meant that no advances were made, so in the long run, there isn’t a lot of historical interest that happened (‘escalation and stalemate, both sides applying rising levels of violence yet failing to terminate the impasse’ according to the book). However, instead of boring the reader with page after page of inaction, Stevenson chooses to examine the issues that kept the war going as well as examining, by country, the various issues facing them, from manpower shortages, to morale, to economics, and into new logistical, tactical, and technological advances. He does a great job blending the information in- although the information is fairly terse at times, the information is presented in a way that shows, at each step, how it influenced the course of the war. One thing to note about this section is that coverage of the war is only briefly chronological- much of the section is devoted to discussions about the various topics and how they influenced later parts of the war- not so much when they happened during it.
Also covered in this section are the war aims of the various countries. The people of a country won’t support a war without knowing why they’re fighting, after all. Some of the works towards finding a peace (or in the case of Germany, trying to use peace feelers as a way to split their enemies) are covered here.
Part Three, Outcome, covers the Russian Revolution, the American entrance into the war, the final push of the Central Powers and the collapse of their armies, and their eventual ceasefire and surrender. The causes, progress, and results of the Russian Revolution, are perfectly blended into Stevenson’s coverage of World War I, and the same great amount of detail is put into it as the war itself.
The reasons behind the American involvement in the war, from the various political reasons to the Zimmerman Telegram are covered, but once in the war, the actual fighting the Americans were involved with was very briefly stated, although their presence was ‘indispensable’ to the Allies’ victory.
Also, the various tactical/operational improvements are discussed, especially prior to the Central Powers’ 1918 offensive, which met with early success but eventually drained the German manpower too much to allow them to continue the offensives, or even effectively defend themselves during the renewed Allied attacks. Also discussed is the role of Ludendorff’s mental breakdown in the eventual fall of Germany.
The final part of the book is titled Legacy. Given the grand scope of the war, and its influence to later world history, it’s an apt title. A few different issues are discussed here. First, the Treaty of Versailles, reparations, and the League of Nations are all briefly discussed. The eventual bitterness towards the treaty certainly contributed to the rise of nationalist groups in Germany after the war, so you couldn’t talk about World War I without discussing them. Much of this section, however, is concerned with covering the breakdown of the cohesion of the Allied powers, their reasons for their laxity in enforcing the treaty, and indeed the eventual rise of the Third Reich (although Stevenson makes a point to show that the events of the 1930s and later were not inevitable, but they were more difficult to defuse because of earlier choices). One of the primary reasons mentioned for the breakdown of peace is the lack of American or Russian involvement in post-war security.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in World War I- unless you’re only interest is in the individual battles occurring during the war. Although the book covers the overall strategic decisions made by the powers fighting, comparatively little is written about individual battles. The Battle of Verdun gets about 3 pages of coverage, and some battles (for instance, the Second Battle of the Marne) get only passing mention. There are plenty of resources for readers interested in that. Cataclysm contains a 21 page bibliography- I’m almost certain you could find a perfect book for any topic you’d want listed in there.
If you’re interested in the politics behind war, and the various processes a country has to undertake to keep a war running, as well as the strategy and flow of World War I, I don’t think you’ll find a better book than Cataclysm. My only warning is that this is NOT an easy read- it’s going to take you a month to get through this, but it’s well worth it.
When I was in middle school, our coverage of World War I started with a class exercise. We broke into groups, were given a written description of our groups’ thoughts (basically- ‘You have an agreement with so and so group to fight a war if they join one, but here’s why you might not want to’), and a group was told that one of their leaders was assassinated. Soon, the entire class was at war. The goal was to show that politicians weren’t so much in control of this war- events just spiraled out of their control, and the result was a conflict resulting in millions of deaths and effects which are still felt today.
Cataclysm challenges that view- it shows, in great detail that politicians deliberately made choices to both initiate the war, and continue it despite appalling casualties. Most importantly, it presents this case in an unbiased fashion as possible- you won’t find much in the way of assigning blame to one country or group in here.
The book is broken into four major parts, and I feel it’s probably handy to at least mention them for and understanding of this book’s value.
In Part One, Outbreak, Stevenson examines the causes of the war- from the decisions taken by politicians after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife to the various diplomatic factors faced by Germany and Austria prior to this event, to the tensions caused by the Balkan Wars, to a bunch of other things. I feel this is probably one of the strongest sections of the book- the causes of World War I are one of the most studied topics in history because there are SO MANY factors that went into it. This book does a fantastic job covering them all. The central theme is, of course, that World War I was a controlled event- the politicians from BOTH sides knew (at least partially) what their actions would cause, and chose them anyway. The first part ends with coverage of the initial attacks in the first year, and the difficulties faced on the Eastern and Western fronts- including why the front lines didn’t advance on West for 4 years, and the ones in the East didn’t move very far to start. It also describes why the Germans chose to keep their fleets at port, instead of going out to attack the various British troopships when they were vulnerable (since the British fleets at Scapa Flow probably couldn’t have arrived in time). The desire to not risk the fleet, keeping it as a ‘political instrument’ would of course present the Germans with problems later- Stevenson shows us early on the decisions made by the Central Powers that ended up hurting them.
Part Two, Escalation, nominally covers the middle of the war- from spring of 1915 to spring of 1917. As we know, there were several major battles during this period- Verdun, Somme, and Cambrai, for instance are all well known. Despite this, the advancements of defensive warfare meant that no advances were made, so in the long run, there isn’t a lot of historical interest that happened (‘escalation and stalemate, both sides applying rising levels of violence yet failing to terminate the impasse’ according to the book). However, instead of boring the reader with page after page of inaction, Stevenson chooses to examine the issues that kept the war going as well as examining, by country, the various issues facing them, from manpower shortages, to morale, to economics, and into new logistical, tactical, and technological advances. He does a great job blending the information in- although the information is fairly terse at times, the information is presented in a way that shows, at each step, how it influenced the course of the war. One thing to note about this section is that coverage of the war is only briefly chronological- much of the section is devoted to discussions about the various topics and how they influenced later parts of the war- not so much when they happened during it.
Also covered in this section are the war aims of the various countries. The people of a country won’t support a war without knowing why they’re fighting, after all. Some of the works towards finding a peace (or in the case of Germany, trying to use peace feelers as a way to split their enemies) are covered here.
Part Three, Outcome, covers the Russian Revolution, the American entrance into the war, the final push of the Central Powers and the collapse of their armies, and their eventual ceasefire and surrender. The causes, progress, and results of the Russian Revolution, are perfectly blended into Stevenson’s coverage of World War I, and the same great amount of detail is put into it as the war itself.
The reasons behind the American involvement in the war, from the various political reasons to the Zimmerman Telegram are covered, but once in the war, the actual fighting the Americans were involved with was very briefly stated, although their presence was ‘indispensable’ to the Allies’ victory.
Also, the various tactical/operational improvements are discussed, especially prior to the Central Powers’ 1918 offensive, which met with early success but eventually drained the German manpower too much to allow them to continue the offensives, or even effectively defend themselves during the renewed Allied attacks. Also discussed is the role of Ludendorff’s mental breakdown in the eventual fall of Germany.
The final part of the book is titled Legacy. Given the grand scope of the war, and its influence to later world history, it’s an apt title. A few different issues are discussed here. First, the Treaty of Versailles, reparations, and the League of Nations are all briefly discussed. The eventual bitterness towards the treaty certainly contributed to the rise of nationalist groups in Germany after the war, so you couldn’t talk about World War I without discussing them. Much of this section, however, is concerned with covering the breakdown of the cohesion of the Allied powers, their reasons for their laxity in enforcing the treaty, and indeed the eventual rise of the Third Reich (although Stevenson makes a point to show that the events of the 1930s and later were not inevitable, but they were more difficult to defuse because of earlier choices). One of the primary reasons mentioned for the breakdown of peace is the lack of American or Russian involvement in post-war security.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in World War I- unless you’re only interest is in the individual battles occurring during the war. Although the book covers the overall strategic decisions made by the powers fighting, comparatively little is written about individual battles. The Battle of Verdun gets about 3 pages of coverage, and some battles (for instance, the Second Battle of the Marne) get only passing mention. There are plenty of resources for readers interested in that. Cataclysm contains a 21 page bibliography- I’m almost certain you could find a perfect book for any topic you’d want listed in there.
If you’re interested in the politics behind war, and the various processes a country has to undertake to keep a war running, as well as the strategy and flow of World War I, I don’t think you’ll find a better book than Cataclysm. My only warning is that this is NOT an easy read- it’s going to take you a month to get through this, but it’s well worth it.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Black Library eBooks
Well, I received a Nook for Christmas, and I've been loving it so far. Upon getting it though, I've been looking into where to pick up a ton of e-books, and additionally, ones which I want to read.
I realized today that Black Library produces ebooks for some of their books. That's really exciting. Does anyone have any experience using the ones they produce? How good are they, quality-wise? Just wanted to get some opinions before I pick up any books.
Thanks guys!
I realized today that Black Library produces ebooks for some of their books. That's really exciting. Does anyone have any experience using the ones they produce? How good are they, quality-wise? Just wanted to get some opinions before I pick up any books.
Thanks guys!
A set of wonderful Christmas gifts!
Well, with Christmas (and the gifts) done, I finally can post and enjoy my new gains.
To start, Rob bought me Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour - Poland 1939, an expansion to the Conflict of Heroes series. I've never managed to play more than the first 2 firefights from the first game (Awakening of the Bear), despite really liking the rules. Let's hope I can get some time and drive to get it and this expansion on the table. Thanks Rob!
Next, the girlfriend bought me a Nook, from Barnes and Noble. I'm in love with the thing. Currently, I'm reading Anabasis by Xenophon. More on all of this in a later post.
When I came home from spending the weekend with the girlfriend's parents, I found on my doorstep a copy of GMT Games' The Spanish Civil War. I had apparently ordered it, and long forgotten about it (I had canceled all my GMT preorders earlier this year because of financial constraints). That was a pleasant surprise, I don't own a single game on the subject, and I've heard good things about this one.
Finally, I received a ton of free ASL products, to help assist with playtesting, as well as being a better player. This included a bunch of the old ASL Annuals, which was a huge surprise. I'm almost done clipping the counters for Beyond Valour, and once that's done, you can be sure to see several battle reports of Advanced Squad Leader as I work to gain more proficiency with the rules and tactics.
I got a ton of other great gifts, but they aren't really relevant to my wargaming, so I won't list them here.
Anyway, hope everyone's Christmas was awesome!
To start, Rob bought me Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour - Poland 1939, an expansion to the Conflict of Heroes series. I've never managed to play more than the first 2 firefights from the first game (Awakening of the Bear), despite really liking the rules. Let's hope I can get some time and drive to get it and this expansion on the table. Thanks Rob!
Next, the girlfriend bought me a Nook, from Barnes and Noble. I'm in love with the thing. Currently, I'm reading Anabasis by Xenophon. More on all of this in a later post.
When I came home from spending the weekend with the girlfriend's parents, I found on my doorstep a copy of GMT Games' The Spanish Civil War. I had apparently ordered it, and long forgotten about it (I had canceled all my GMT preorders earlier this year because of financial constraints). That was a pleasant surprise, I don't own a single game on the subject, and I've heard good things about this one.
Finally, I received a ton of free ASL products, to help assist with playtesting, as well as being a better player. This included a bunch of the old ASL Annuals, which was a huge surprise. I'm almost done clipping the counters for Beyond Valour, and once that's done, you can be sure to see several battle reports of Advanced Squad Leader as I work to gain more proficiency with the rules and tactics.
I got a ton of other great gifts, but they aren't really relevant to my wargaming, so I won't list them here.
Anyway, hope everyone's Christmas was awesome!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Book Review: The First Heretic
Recently finished the most recent release for the Horus Heresy series, so decided I'd write a review of it.
The First Heretic is the 14th book in the series, and is written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden ('easily the coolest name' according to a clip from the DLT podcasts). He's written a few other books for Black Library, but I don't believe I've read any of them yet.
The novel covers Lorgar and his legion, the Word Bearers. There are three phases to the book, which are actually divided to help the reader out:
Grey, the Word Bearers fall from grace, and their punishment by the Emperor.
Pilgrimage, their voyage to discover Gods worthy of their worship and go to the place where 'gods and man meet' or some such, and
Crimson, their first steps as a legion of Chaos.
I'll highlight the good/bad things about the book, and what I think of it overall- I don't think there is much in the way of spoilers, since the basic story (the Word Bearers turn to Chaos) is not surprising to fans of the universe.
First, the overall progression of the story is fantastic. Covering some 43 years of Word Bearers history is pretty significant given the end result of the period. As you read, you get to see how a very very loyal (and faithful legion) gets on the Emperor's 'bad side', and how it is hinted to be very close to receiving the same treatment two of the other legions (the expunged legions). You also get the whole story as to the journey of discovery the legion undertook to search for the gods of the Old Faith- who they are convinced exist, since so many different worlds in very different parts of the galaxy have stories related to them. Upon finding the gods, we get to experience the legion's transformation into the new Word Bearers, as well as read about the first Possessed. The story moved along pretty well throughout. There was plenty of dialogue, which is important for fleshing out the background of the Horus Heresy, but there was no shortage of action (including another perspective of Isstvan V) to help break up the 'slower' parts.
To me, the focus of the Horus Heresy series is (or largely should be) on the Primarchs, and this book does a great job of that. Lorgar features heavily and there are interactions with Guilliman, Magnus, and Corax (briefly), as well as appearances by Perturabo, Konrad Curze, and Alpharius. Corax, Guilliman, and Perturabo really haven't been in the series thus far, so their inclusion was a nice bonus (at least for me). Curze has only been in the Audiobooks, so again, I loved the fact he was in it. Of course, the focus of the book is on Lorgar, and the book does a fantastic job filling in details of his personality and skills (largely as an orator). It also makes a point to show that he is VERY different than his brothers when it comes to combat skills. Lorgar laments several times throughout the book on this, early on saying "I will never understand tactics and logistics with the effortless ease of Guilliman or the Lion. I will never possess the skill with a blade shown by Fulgrim or the Khan," as he struggles with his role in the galaxy. As the book progresses, he struggles with his role and beliefs, finally deciding to worship gods that WANT to be worshipped, and provide gifts to those that do.
This book, like the first few in the series, I think does a GREAT job of really giving the reader a view into the mind of a genetically engineered superhuman- something I think makes these books the best in the series. You get to know Lorgar, his goals, his feelings on faith and the universe (and his place in it), and also you sympathize somewhat with the reasons for his turning traitor. Dembski-Bowden does a fantastic job of getting you inside Lorgar's head, as well as any of the authors in the series have done so far.
I love the new perspective on the battle of Isstvan V. Sure, we read about the battle somewhat in Fulgrim, but here we read about the roles of some of the various traitor legions who came towards the end of the fight, as well as how the massacre at the end unfolded. Lorgar's role in the battle was an interesting read, as well as the interactions between him and two of his brothers.
Overall, I'd say this is a great addition to the series- indeed I think it's one of the stronger books in the series, and although it hasn't moved the story on past Isstvan, knowing the background behind another legion's fall and the brief lead-up to the battle on Calth (where the Word Bearers fight the Ultramarines, delaying their movement to defend Terra) is fascinating. If you love the series, you'll read it anyway. If you have interest in the Word Bearers, there are plenty of background bits to warrant reading it on its own.
**** SPOILERS? ****
You know, there's a point where Ingethel is showing 'truths' to members of the Word Bearers legion, including Argel Tal, and implies/states flat out that the Emperor only learned of the science needed to create the Primarchs (and the Adeptus Astartes and Custodes) by interaction with the Chaos gods. I wonder how true that is. It could be a trick of the Chaos gods, but if it's true... that really throws the Imperium in a new light, and especially changes how I'd view the Emperor. That's just a crazy insinuation. That whole scene is just filled with a lot of revelations about the universe, assuming they are all true.
I LOVE the references to the missing legions. To me, one of the more interesting parts is a member of the Word Bearers implying that they may have had to fight one of those legions at one point, that it was indeed a heartbreaking moment in history, and that the loss of one (or both) of the legions is what gave the Ultramarines their recruiting numbers, helping them to become the most populous of the legions. We may never know what the truth behind those legions were (story-wise, I understand their role from Games Workshop's standpoint), but it is fun to read hints about them.
The First Heretic is the 14th book in the series, and is written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden ('easily the coolest name' according to a clip from the DLT podcasts). He's written a few other books for Black Library, but I don't believe I've read any of them yet.
The novel covers Lorgar and his legion, the Word Bearers. There are three phases to the book, which are actually divided to help the reader out:
Grey, the Word Bearers fall from grace, and their punishment by the Emperor.
Pilgrimage, their voyage to discover Gods worthy of their worship and go to the place where 'gods and man meet' or some such, and
Crimson, their first steps as a legion of Chaos.
I'll highlight the good/bad things about the book, and what I think of it overall- I don't think there is much in the way of spoilers, since the basic story (the Word Bearers turn to Chaos) is not surprising to fans of the universe.
First, the overall progression of the story is fantastic. Covering some 43 years of Word Bearers history is pretty significant given the end result of the period. As you read, you get to see how a very very loyal (and faithful legion) gets on the Emperor's 'bad side', and how it is hinted to be very close to receiving the same treatment two of the other legions (the expunged legions). You also get the whole story as to the journey of discovery the legion undertook to search for the gods of the Old Faith- who they are convinced exist, since so many different worlds in very different parts of the galaxy have stories related to them. Upon finding the gods, we get to experience the legion's transformation into the new Word Bearers, as well as read about the first Possessed. The story moved along pretty well throughout. There was plenty of dialogue, which is important for fleshing out the background of the Horus Heresy, but there was no shortage of action (including another perspective of Isstvan V) to help break up the 'slower' parts.
To me, the focus of the Horus Heresy series is (or largely should be) on the Primarchs, and this book does a great job of that. Lorgar features heavily and there are interactions with Guilliman, Magnus, and Corax (briefly), as well as appearances by Perturabo, Konrad Curze, and Alpharius. Corax, Guilliman, and Perturabo really haven't been in the series thus far, so their inclusion was a nice bonus (at least for me). Curze has only been in the Audiobooks, so again, I loved the fact he was in it. Of course, the focus of the book is on Lorgar, and the book does a fantastic job filling in details of his personality and skills (largely as an orator). It also makes a point to show that he is VERY different than his brothers when it comes to combat skills. Lorgar laments several times throughout the book on this, early on saying "I will never understand tactics and logistics with the effortless ease of Guilliman or the Lion. I will never possess the skill with a blade shown by Fulgrim or the Khan," as he struggles with his role in the galaxy. As the book progresses, he struggles with his role and beliefs, finally deciding to worship gods that WANT to be worshipped, and provide gifts to those that do.
This book, like the first few in the series, I think does a GREAT job of really giving the reader a view into the mind of a genetically engineered superhuman- something I think makes these books the best in the series. You get to know Lorgar, his goals, his feelings on faith and the universe (and his place in it), and also you sympathize somewhat with the reasons for his turning traitor. Dembski-Bowden does a fantastic job of getting you inside Lorgar's head, as well as any of the authors in the series have done so far.
I love the new perspective on the battle of Isstvan V. Sure, we read about the battle somewhat in Fulgrim, but here we read about the roles of some of the various traitor legions who came towards the end of the fight, as well as how the massacre at the end unfolded. Lorgar's role in the battle was an interesting read, as well as the interactions between him and two of his brothers.
Overall, I'd say this is a great addition to the series- indeed I think it's one of the stronger books in the series, and although it hasn't moved the story on past Isstvan, knowing the background behind another legion's fall and the brief lead-up to the battle on Calth (where the Word Bearers fight the Ultramarines, delaying their movement to defend Terra) is fascinating. If you love the series, you'll read it anyway. If you have interest in the Word Bearers, there are plenty of background bits to warrant reading it on its own.
**** SPOILERS? ****
You know, there's a point where Ingethel is showing 'truths' to members of the Word Bearers legion, including Argel Tal, and implies/states flat out that the Emperor only learned of the science needed to create the Primarchs (and the Adeptus Astartes and Custodes) by interaction with the Chaos gods. I wonder how true that is. It could be a trick of the Chaos gods, but if it's true... that really throws the Imperium in a new light, and especially changes how I'd view the Emperor. That's just a crazy insinuation. That whole scene is just filled with a lot of revelations about the universe, assuming they are all true.
I LOVE the references to the missing legions. To me, one of the more interesting parts is a member of the Word Bearers implying that they may have had to fight one of those legions at one point, that it was indeed a heartbreaking moment in history, and that the loss of one (or both) of the legions is what gave the Ultramarines their recruiting numbers, helping them to become the most populous of the legions. We may never know what the truth behind those legions were (story-wise, I understand their role from Games Workshop's standpoint), but it is fun to read hints about them.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Book Review: Brunner The Bounty Hunter (Omnibus)
I finally finished this omnibus, and despite some initial reservations, I have to say I quite liked it.
Let me first mention what's in the book. The omnibus contains three previously published novels- Blood and Steel, Blood Money, and Blood of the Dragon, as well as the short story "What Price Vengeance". All the books/stories in the omnibus cover the exploits and adventures of Brunner, a mysterious bounty hunter known to always get his man, creature, or anything.
Now, I listed the omnibus' inclusions as books, but two of the books are actually compilations of short stories that often have nothing to do with one another. This is one thing that is both a good and bad thing about the book. The short stories (12, I think) let you see Brunner in a variety of situations, and interacting with a variety of people from either his past as a bounty hunter, or the hinted-at past prior to him becoming one. However, you don't often see much connection between people in the short stories, aside from a few cases, and what seemed a fairly important character mentioned in the first story is never mentioned again, which I found a little peculiar. Having a career as a bounty hunter in a world like the Warhammer one would probably be a life where the feel of moving from one adventure to the next would be fairly accurate, so although it's probably not to everyone's taste, it definitely moves well enough to not hinder a reader's enjoyment.
Brunner as a character is more interesting than I originally expected. When you're starting to read through the first story in the omnibus ("What Price Vengeance") you can obviously tell he's very cold, skilled ('unbeatable' is the trait I believe the author was going for), and ruthless. The character seems actually very shallow: he wants money; he takes jobs to get it. However as you read along, you can feel there's definitely more to him, and that there's certainly more to his past than you'd expect. You also learn that he does have a goal (vengeance), and find out why. I won't say the character is very highly developed, even by the end, but there's certainly several steps made in that direction.
The setting is a little different for Warhammer. Much of the action takes place in the city-states of Tilea, and almost the entirety of Blood of the Dragon takes place in some of the darker parts of Bretonnia. Although I thought that the setting would add to the book's appeal, I honestly felt several times that the book wasn't even set in the 'Warhammer universe', despite the obvious appearances of Skaven, Dragons, Orcs and Dark Elves. That's probably an unfair assessment of mine, because as a fantasy setting much of Warhammer's uniqueness is its history and not the races that make up the world... and you shouldn't expect to read its history in every book. The setting is well enough developed to provide a good backdrop for Brunner's adventures, but that's about all- and that's really all it needs to be, given the scope of the adventures.
One thing I loved about the book, but missed much of until about halfway through, is little hints that the author puts into the story, both through characters, dialogue, and Brunner's own thoughts, that tell you more of who Brunner is, and why he's doing it. I will say, after reading the ending of the Omnibus, I immediately read the first story again, because I didn't realize the connection between a few occurences and characters until very near the end. I'm not sure that everyone will miss them like I did, but I think that's a testament to Werner's skill that there are still pieces to pick up from the story even after you've read it.
I would recommend this book to people who like Black Library books, although I probably wouldn't direct people who are interested in either the Warhammer or 40K settings to start with this book. C.L. Werner has some great contributions to the Black Library collection, and although I don't think this is one of his best, it certainly is quite enjoyable, and I hope he continues to write for the character at some point in the future.
Let me first mention what's in the book. The omnibus contains three previously published novels- Blood and Steel, Blood Money, and Blood of the Dragon, as well as the short story "What Price Vengeance". All the books/stories in the omnibus cover the exploits and adventures of Brunner, a mysterious bounty hunter known to always get his man, creature, or anything.
Now, I listed the omnibus' inclusions as books, but two of the books are actually compilations of short stories that often have nothing to do with one another. This is one thing that is both a good and bad thing about the book. The short stories (12, I think) let you see Brunner in a variety of situations, and interacting with a variety of people from either his past as a bounty hunter, or the hinted-at past prior to him becoming one. However, you don't often see much connection between people in the short stories, aside from a few cases, and what seemed a fairly important character mentioned in the first story is never mentioned again, which I found a little peculiar. Having a career as a bounty hunter in a world like the Warhammer one would probably be a life where the feel of moving from one adventure to the next would be fairly accurate, so although it's probably not to everyone's taste, it definitely moves well enough to not hinder a reader's enjoyment.
Brunner as a character is more interesting than I originally expected. When you're starting to read through the first story in the omnibus ("What Price Vengeance") you can obviously tell he's very cold, skilled ('unbeatable' is the trait I believe the author was going for), and ruthless. The character seems actually very shallow: he wants money; he takes jobs to get it. However as you read along, you can feel there's definitely more to him, and that there's certainly more to his past than you'd expect. You also learn that he does have a goal (vengeance), and find out why. I won't say the character is very highly developed, even by the end, but there's certainly several steps made in that direction.
The setting is a little different for Warhammer. Much of the action takes place in the city-states of Tilea, and almost the entirety of Blood of the Dragon takes place in some of the darker parts of Bretonnia. Although I thought that the setting would add to the book's appeal, I honestly felt several times that the book wasn't even set in the 'Warhammer universe', despite the obvious appearances of Skaven, Dragons, Orcs and Dark Elves. That's probably an unfair assessment of mine, because as a fantasy setting much of Warhammer's uniqueness is its history and not the races that make up the world... and you shouldn't expect to read its history in every book. The setting is well enough developed to provide a good backdrop for Brunner's adventures, but that's about all- and that's really all it needs to be, given the scope of the adventures.
One thing I loved about the book, but missed much of until about halfway through, is little hints that the author puts into the story, both through characters, dialogue, and Brunner's own thoughts, that tell you more of who Brunner is, and why he's doing it. I will say, after reading the ending of the Omnibus, I immediately read the first story again, because I didn't realize the connection between a few occurences and characters until very near the end. I'm not sure that everyone will miss them like I did, but I think that's a testament to Werner's skill that there are still pieces to pick up from the story even after you've read it.
I would recommend this book to people who like Black Library books, although I probably wouldn't direct people who are interested in either the Warhammer or 40K settings to start with this book. C.L. Werner has some great contributions to the Black Library collection, and although I don't think this is one of his best, it certainly is quite enjoyable, and I hope he continues to write for the character at some point in the future.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War
Wow, a non-news post!
I just recently finished reading The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War by Norman Friedman. Norman Friedman is a strategist who worked during the Cold War at the Hudson Institute, partially as the deputy director of national security studies. He combines a lot of research, as well as first-hand experiences and knowledge in this book.
I wasn't alive for much of the Cold War (was born in 83, so I was 8 at the 'end' of the USSR in 1991), so this book was of additional interest to me given the influences of the Cold War even today, especially with our foreign policy.
The book starts by talking about the origins of the Cold War, and its various roots, starting with the Spanish Civil War, and Stalin's 1937 attempt to control it. It then moves through World War II, and the various decisions and moves made by the powers through the end of the war.
It moves on to discuss the opening moves of the Cold War, from Stalin's military buildup, to the Marshall Plan, to both Tito in Yugoslavia and Mao in China.
The increased tension, the buildup of the two nation's military forces, and the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union are also covered in extensive detail.
For starters, the book is a fantastic resource to anyone who wants to learn about the Cold War as a whole. Not only is there a lot of good information and insight in the book, there's also a very extensive bibliography in the back for further reading about almost any aspect or period of the war.
In addition, the book provides a lot of context for the decisions of the time, as well as gives a great feel for the misinterpretations each country had about one another, as well as how they were exploited. For instance, the "black" (above Top Secret classification) programs towards the end of the war, was used to sop up the Soviet's hard currency in two ways (in addition to the desire to develop some of these projects in secret, of course) - first, because the Americans knew the Soviets wouldn't be able to stop themselves from spending the resources to uncover what those projects were, and second, combined with deceptive leaks to journalists, the US forced the Soviets to spend a ton of money trying to replicate things that even we couldn't do, solely because the Soviet opinion at the time was that the West, particularly the US, could accomplish anything with technology that they wanted.
It also clearly goes into the political, economic, and military decisions that made the US successful during various phases of the war, as well as the decisions made by the USSR that led to their downfall. The book is also very critical of the McNamara era, and the setbacks the period caused on the US's strategy.
The book is EXTREMELY detailed in some places, and I suspect probably more than the average reader will be able to handle, but generally these are contained in only certain areas.
Naturally, if you're interested in the Cold War, this is must-read. Either as an overview, or just to get more information about the 'chess match' played by the two sides, it's a great source.
Of course, the purpose of this blog isn't books, but wargames tend to have a strong relation to an interest in military history. When talking about the Cold War, there's really only one game that comes to mind: Twilight Struggle.
In my opinion, and of course my limited experience, no other game does as good a job of providing a feel for the tension of the Cold War, as well as the consequences of many of the decisions made by each side throughout it. And what's interesting (to me, at least), is finally knowing the history behind some of the cards, and seeing their effect on both the table as well as on my opponent. As I've said, I wasn't alive for the Cold War, and honestly it was barely covered in school. I didn't know all that much about it... but now, I can appreciate both the results of the war, and the topic of the game.
Also, now I want to play Twilight Struggle more :). Maybe I need to get VASSAL running...
I just recently finished reading The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War by Norman Friedman. Norman Friedman is a strategist who worked during the Cold War at the Hudson Institute, partially as the deputy director of national security studies. He combines a lot of research, as well as first-hand experiences and knowledge in this book.
I wasn't alive for much of the Cold War (was born in 83, so I was 8 at the 'end' of the USSR in 1991), so this book was of additional interest to me given the influences of the Cold War even today, especially with our foreign policy.
The book starts by talking about the origins of the Cold War, and its various roots, starting with the Spanish Civil War, and Stalin's 1937 attempt to control it. It then moves through World War II, and the various decisions and moves made by the powers through the end of the war.
It moves on to discuss the opening moves of the Cold War, from Stalin's military buildup, to the Marshall Plan, to both Tito in Yugoslavia and Mao in China.
The increased tension, the buildup of the two nation's military forces, and the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union are also covered in extensive detail.
For starters, the book is a fantastic resource to anyone who wants to learn about the Cold War as a whole. Not only is there a lot of good information and insight in the book, there's also a very extensive bibliography in the back for further reading about almost any aspect or period of the war.
In addition, the book provides a lot of context for the decisions of the time, as well as gives a great feel for the misinterpretations each country had about one another, as well as how they were exploited. For instance, the "black" (above Top Secret classification) programs towards the end of the war, was used to sop up the Soviet's hard currency in two ways (in addition to the desire to develop some of these projects in secret, of course) - first, because the Americans knew the Soviets wouldn't be able to stop themselves from spending the resources to uncover what those projects were, and second, combined with deceptive leaks to journalists, the US forced the Soviets to spend a ton of money trying to replicate things that even we couldn't do, solely because the Soviet opinion at the time was that the West, particularly the US, could accomplish anything with technology that they wanted.
It also clearly goes into the political, economic, and military decisions that made the US successful during various phases of the war, as well as the decisions made by the USSR that led to their downfall. The book is also very critical of the McNamara era, and the setbacks the period caused on the US's strategy.
The book is EXTREMELY detailed in some places, and I suspect probably more than the average reader will be able to handle, but generally these are contained in only certain areas.
Naturally, if you're interested in the Cold War, this is must-read. Either as an overview, or just to get more information about the 'chess match' played by the two sides, it's a great source.
Of course, the purpose of this blog isn't books, but wargames tend to have a strong relation to an interest in military history. When talking about the Cold War, there's really only one game that comes to mind: Twilight Struggle.
In my opinion, and of course my limited experience, no other game does as good a job of providing a feel for the tension of the Cold War, as well as the consequences of many of the decisions made by each side throughout it. And what's interesting (to me, at least), is finally knowing the history behind some of the cards, and seeing their effect on both the table as well as on my opponent. As I've said, I wasn't alive for the Cold War, and honestly it was barely covered in school. I didn't know all that much about it... but now, I can appreciate both the results of the war, and the topic of the game.
Also, now I want to play Twilight Struggle more :). Maybe I need to get VASSAL running...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Book Review: Nemesis
I've recently finished the latest Horus Heresy novel by James Swallow (writer of Flight of the Eisenstein, another fantastic part of the series), Nemesis. It covers a plan by the Imperial assassin cults to send a team of assassins, one from each temple, to assassinate Horus. Of course, a plan is simultaneously put into motion by the traitors to send a vicious assassin to kill the Emperor.
I'll start out by saying that I really liked this book; it's a great addition to a great series. Sure, you know from the beginning that neither of the assassination plots succeed, but that's not really the point of the series. The main interest is seeing HOW it unfolds.
The assassins are covered very well, firstly because you get to see them in action. As the execution force is assembled, the group goes from location to location picking up assassins immediately after their previous missions have completed. Doing so, the reader gets to read about the missions while they are happening, to some effect. Sure, reading about a Vindicare sniping people isn't very interesting (and it's a little corny in the book), but reading about a Culexus (the anti-psyker) assassin in action from the Culexus' point of view was very interesting.
Also, you get to feel that the assassins are people, with real personalities (somewhat) and feelings and such, and you get to see how they interact with one another and how they view one another. They aren't portrayed as single-minded killers. It's especially interesting to read how the Eversor thinks when the focus is on him... ok, maybe one of them is a single-minded killer...
Finally, the book includes an operative from the Venenum and Vanus temples, who aren't really mentioned often in the 40K background otherwise; I think only in the Assassins codex from 3rd edition. They seem to be in there as plot devices, though, as opposed to being there for the necessity of their skills (although the Vanus obviously contributes quite a bit to the mission).
I don't have many complaints about the book, but there are two issues I have. First, I think the book jumps around too much, and not necessarily to the story's benefit. Generally, moving from one character's viewpoint to another can really help drive the story, but only if it's done for that goal. I don't feel that Nemesis is really written to fit with such a goal. There are two separate stories that are going on inside it, and although they are related, the jumping between the two probably should be done a little less frequently. Of course, that's my opinion, and I'm not a professional author.
The second one is very minor, and is more of a confusion than a complaint. There are two parts earlier in the book (one at the beginning, and one in the middle), where Horus could be involved, yet it seems like he's purposely kept apart from the action... then some of the characters directly interact with him at the end, and it really doesn't seem like there was a reason for it. It's probably solely because he wasn't really relevant to the story at that point, but it stuck out at me.
So there are a few things I want to also talk about, but of course, if you haven't read the book, you shouldn't read them. So stop reading if you only wanted a review!
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
The book gives a very clear hint that someone warned Horus about the assassination attempt, and even the First Chaplain is surprised that Horus was aware. There's some suggestion that it might be a spy in the Imperial Palace... but I think the implication is that the Chaos Gods are whispering directly to Horus. We know that when he assaults Terra, he's going to be significantly 'enhanced' by the Chaos Gods' gifts, so I suspect this is the start of them showing their favor to him. It certainly will make future dialogue/interactions with Horus more interesting.
The response from both the Emperor and Horus regarding assassins is one of the final parts of the book, but is very interesting. The Emperor declares a change from the Assassination clades to a more governed form (presumably the Officio Assassinorum), but defends the need to keep such a group because 'in the war to come, every weapon in the arsenal of the Imperium will be called to bear'. Horus, however, describes assassins as 'a tool of the weak'. I just found that rather fascinating- the noble Emperor using a backhanded means to try to end the war, with the traitorous Horus decrying a similar attempt by one of his allies.
I'm very excited to read the next books in the series- I can't wait!
I'll start out by saying that I really liked this book; it's a great addition to a great series. Sure, you know from the beginning that neither of the assassination plots succeed, but that's not really the point of the series. The main interest is seeing HOW it unfolds.
The assassins are covered very well, firstly because you get to see them in action. As the execution force is assembled, the group goes from location to location picking up assassins immediately after their previous missions have completed. Doing so, the reader gets to read about the missions while they are happening, to some effect. Sure, reading about a Vindicare sniping people isn't very interesting (and it's a little corny in the book), but reading about a Culexus (the anti-psyker) assassin in action from the Culexus' point of view was very interesting.
Also, you get to feel that the assassins are people, with real personalities (somewhat) and feelings and such, and you get to see how they interact with one another and how they view one another. They aren't portrayed as single-minded killers. It's especially interesting to read how the Eversor thinks when the focus is on him... ok, maybe one of them is a single-minded killer...
Finally, the book includes an operative from the Venenum and Vanus temples, who aren't really mentioned often in the 40K background otherwise; I think only in the Assassins codex from 3rd edition. They seem to be in there as plot devices, though, as opposed to being there for the necessity of their skills (although the Vanus obviously contributes quite a bit to the mission).
I don't have many complaints about the book, but there are two issues I have. First, I think the book jumps around too much, and not necessarily to the story's benefit. Generally, moving from one character's viewpoint to another can really help drive the story, but only if it's done for that goal. I don't feel that Nemesis is really written to fit with such a goal. There are two separate stories that are going on inside it, and although they are related, the jumping between the two probably should be done a little less frequently. Of course, that's my opinion, and I'm not a professional author.
The second one is very minor, and is more of a confusion than a complaint. There are two parts earlier in the book (one at the beginning, and one in the middle), where Horus could be involved, yet it seems like he's purposely kept apart from the action... then some of the characters directly interact with him at the end, and it really doesn't seem like there was a reason for it. It's probably solely because he wasn't really relevant to the story at that point, but it stuck out at me.
So there are a few things I want to also talk about, but of course, if you haven't read the book, you shouldn't read them. So stop reading if you only wanted a review!
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
The book gives a very clear hint that someone warned Horus about the assassination attempt, and even the First Chaplain is surprised that Horus was aware. There's some suggestion that it might be a spy in the Imperial Palace... but I think the implication is that the Chaos Gods are whispering directly to Horus. We know that when he assaults Terra, he's going to be significantly 'enhanced' by the Chaos Gods' gifts, so I suspect this is the start of them showing their favor to him. It certainly will make future dialogue/interactions with Horus more interesting.
The response from both the Emperor and Horus regarding assassins is one of the final parts of the book, but is very interesting. The Emperor declares a change from the Assassination clades to a more governed form (presumably the Officio Assassinorum), but defends the need to keep such a group because 'in the war to come, every weapon in the arsenal of the Imperium will be called to bear'. Horus, however, describes assassins as 'a tool of the weak'. I just found that rather fascinating- the noble Emperor using a backhanded means to try to end the war, with the traitorous Horus decrying a similar attempt by one of his allies.
I'm very excited to read the next books in the series- I can't wait!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Finished Space Wolf Second Omnibus...
And I gotta say, I'm going to miss reading the series, since I understand this is the last book. I always thought the plot for the books was fantastic- really just a very enjoyable story. My only complaint was seeing the words 'young Space Wolf' about 40 times in Wolf's Honour. Eesh.
The Space Wolf series is overall very good though- really really does a good job giving a feel for the whole dynamics of the Space Wolf chapter as well as the personality of their warriors.
Next up is reading some of Pete's fiction, then a Warhammer fantasy book next... maybe Knight Errant by Anthony Reynolds. Don't get to read enough fiction about Bretonnian Knights, after all!
Also, have another brief battle report to post, probably tomorrow. Last one without pictures, I promise!
The Space Wolf series is overall very good though- really really does a good job giving a feel for the whole dynamics of the Space Wolf chapter as well as the personality of their warriors.
Next up is reading some of Pete's fiction, then a Warhammer fantasy book next... maybe Knight Errant by Anthony Reynolds. Don't get to read enough fiction about Bretonnian Knights, after all!
Also, have another brief battle report to post, probably tomorrow. Last one without pictures, I promise!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Blood Bowl, Book Read, and whatever else
Not a whole lot happening at the moment, but did manage to get a game of Blood Bowl in on Saturday vs Ben, primarily as a teaching game.
I used Dark Elves, 9 LineElves, 2 Blitzers, 3 Rerolls, 1 FF, 1 AC (no point saving money in a one-off game).
Ben used Lizardmen, and took 6 Saurus, 5 Skinks, 3 RR, 2 FF, 1 CL, 1 AC.
The score ended 1-1, but it really should have been higher (one way or the other). We had some of the worst luck I've ever seen in a game. Just sloppy ball handling (and terrible blocking) all throughout the game.
Overall, it was still a good time, although I would've loved to win!
I finished reading Palace of the Plague Lord by C.L. Werner. Overall, it was just okay- but it did have two things going for it.
First, it made me want to play the Path to Glory ruleset that Games Workshop put out at one point. Basically, it was a way for people to create Chaos Warbands and play skirmish games against one another, and have your members level up with experience, as well as draw in new recruits. It was a pretty fun little side-game, and had lots of easy modeling opportunities for newer gamers.
Second, I loved the description of the Plague Dragon Bubos, from the book. I think it's going to be a conversion project at some point :).
Next book is the second Space Wolf Omnibus. The series has been great so far, so I'm looking foward to getting through it.
And finally- next year I will be posting pics of my games, which means I won't be using 'counts as' in ANY game from now on. That's more of a personal challenge than anything- should get me off my butt to finish these armies!!
I used Dark Elves, 9 LineElves, 2 Blitzers, 3 Rerolls, 1 FF, 1 AC (no point saving money in a one-off game).
Ben used Lizardmen, and took 6 Saurus, 5 Skinks, 3 RR, 2 FF, 1 CL, 1 AC.
The score ended 1-1, but it really should have been higher (one way or the other). We had some of the worst luck I've ever seen in a game. Just sloppy ball handling (and terrible blocking) all throughout the game.
Overall, it was still a good time, although I would've loved to win!
I finished reading Palace of the Plague Lord by C.L. Werner. Overall, it was just okay- but it did have two things going for it.
First, it made me want to play the Path to Glory ruleset that Games Workshop put out at one point. Basically, it was a way for people to create Chaos Warbands and play skirmish games against one another, and have your members level up with experience, as well as draw in new recruits. It was a pretty fun little side-game, and had lots of easy modeling opportunities for newer gamers.
Second, I loved the description of the Plague Dragon Bubos, from the book. I think it's going to be a conversion project at some point :).
Next book is the second Space Wolf Omnibus. The series has been great so far, so I'm looking foward to getting through it.
And finally- next year I will be posting pics of my games, which means I won't be using 'counts as' in ANY game from now on. That's more of a personal challenge than anything- should get me off my butt to finish these armies!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Various updates
First, started making some progress on the first parts of my painting goal for this month. I'm painting some of the old Cold One Knights, will post updates and pictures eventually :).
I finished reading Fallen Angels as well. It was fantastic, of course. Really looking forward to book 12. Starting to read Palace of the Plague Lord by C.L. Werner. I know absolutely nothing about the book, so we'll see how it is.
Received 'The Pocket At Falaise' on Saturday as part of my Against the Odds Subscription. Looks like it may be good, but it's waaaay down on my list of games to play. First up is 1805: Sea of Glory. Begun clipping the counters and reading the rules. Hopefully can get this on a table by the end of the week.
I finished reading Fallen Angels as well. It was fantastic, of course. Really looking forward to book 12. Starting to read Palace of the Plague Lord by C.L. Werner. I know absolutely nothing about the book, so we'll see how it is.
Received 'The Pocket At Falaise' on Saturday as part of my Against the Odds Subscription. Looks like it may be good, but it's waaaay down on my list of games to play. First up is 1805: Sea of Glory. Begun clipping the counters and reading the rules. Hopefully can get this on a table by the end of the week.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Books!
I finished Gotrek & Felix's 3rd Omnibus over the weekend, from the Black Library.
I gotta say, I really enjoy the fact that Nathan Long has taken over. William King's stories have been very entertaining thus far, but I find his writing style very very bland. Nathan Long took a series that already had a bland-ish premise (basically Gotrek runs around, and kills the biggest and baddest things in the world in order to redeem some dishonor in his past), and breathed some fresh life into it. I have to say I'm quite excited for the next books, whenever I get to them.
I'm starting Fallen Angels by Mike Lee, book 11 in the Horus Heresy series. It covers the fall of the Dark Angels on Caliban during the Heresy. I'm sure it'll be fantastic as I've yet to be disappointed by any of the series thus far.
I gotta say, I really enjoy the fact that Nathan Long has taken over. William King's stories have been very entertaining thus far, but I find his writing style very very bland. Nathan Long took a series that already had a bland-ish premise (basically Gotrek runs around, and kills the biggest and baddest things in the world in order to redeem some dishonor in his past), and breathed some fresh life into it. I have to say I'm quite excited for the next books, whenever I get to them.
I'm starting Fallen Angels by Mike Lee, book 11 in the Horus Heresy series. It covers the fall of the Dark Angels on Caliban during the Heresy. I'm sure it'll be fantastic as I've yet to be disappointed by any of the series thus far.
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