Reviews in Motion - 'Atlas Infernal' 1.3 (Final)

Finis!

Atlas Infernal was a fantastic read.

The more time I spend in the 40k universe, the more I come to prefer those stories that focus on the members of  the inquisition: there is just a tendancy towards intimacy and fragility in the relationships between these smaller groups of heroes (or anti-heroes as the case may be) that when combined with usually impossible odds thrown up and the constant temptation of corruption creates all the tension, mystery and danger I need in a 40k novel.

While Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn and Ravenor have much to be credited for in setting the scene for this particular aspect of the 40k universe that I enjoy so much, Rob Sanders' take on the inquisition is equally an impressive addition to the lore and is yet one presented in a style very different to those older works.

While the stakes are certainly just as high, Atlas is just not as... grim a read as those of Abnett's. There is a subtly crazed sense of humourous abandon that permeates this story, which is due to a combination of Sanders' writing style, the tone of how the novel is presented to the reader (see my last post)  and the state of mind of the tale's main protagonist, Bronislaw Czevak (he is mad, in a way, and full of secret doubts). 

Reading Atlas Infernal reminded me very much of watching an episode of Dr Who (and that's meant as a compliment). A slightly crazed Czevak travelling the galaxy in a most chaotic manner (albeit via webway rather than TARDIS!), battling evil while simultaneously managing to confound and annoy his comrades at almost every turn.

While this comparison works for the broader brush strokes of the story's tone - it's not exactly the same: I was never sure about Czevak in the way I am about the Doctor - with the time lord, you just know he'd never willingly sacrifice a colleague for the greater good, but with Czevak I was never sure which way he'd go...

And yet...while Czevak's personality and ambition dominates proceedings throughout the book in a way that constantly drives the story forward, it is his once apprentice Raimus Klute that perhaps is the real hero of the tale - a man that risks both his career and life to finding his long lost master.

So how does the story itself stack up? Well I won't say too much to save on spoilers, but as you may have guessed from the image above, it involves a typically convoluted plot for the creation of galactic wide chaos that only that lovable bastard Tzeentch could come up with.

Suffice to say that everyone is after Czevak: his once eldar host/gaolers, puritanical members of the inquisition and -naturally enough- the forces of chaos. 

The big surprise of the book was a fairly detailed description of the Black Library of Chaos itself - the eldar reliquary of knowledge that is rarely depicted in BL fiction (or any other GW sanctioned fluff) as anything more than a whispered rumour. Sanders' description of such a hallowed location did it justice.

 A highlight of Atlas was the way in which antagonists were depicted.

The Eldar (finally!) came across as a terrifyingly dangerous yet majestically alien presence (thinking back, I'm not sure that the harlequins ever actually said anything in the substantial time they were present- they certainly didn't need to as their actions spoke far louder than words. Their action scenes in particular were vividly described just the way I hoped they would be) and a single Rubric marine of the Thousand Sons was presented as a silent unstoppable monster. 

Oh, a certain chaotic sorceror lord impressed as well. Ahzek Ahriman is not a character that I normally have much affection for (such as he are either usually presented as one dimensional bad guys, or kept so aloof as to be non existant). Here, he was neither and it was a refreshing change.

Atlas Infernal isn't a book focussed on Space Marines (loyal or otherwise), but they are present in small doses and when they do get some attention, they shine.  The presence of Torqhuil not only gave me an insight into the current state of affairs re the Relictors (long looked for by me in the established lore), but reiterated just how powerful astartes are compared to mundane mortals (something I find is often diminished in BL stories where every character is astartes). 

As an aside, I've come to the conclusion that some of the better space marine stories are not really about Space Marines at all, or at least are not the focus. Prospero Burns is an example of how this can be effectively achieved and so is Atlas Infernal (off topic for a moment -  perhaps this a little controversial - as much as PB gives insight into the wolves (and it does), it's not really about them - which is probably why it has received some criticism in the SW fanboy arena. My 2 cents? Although the title is a little misleading (there's not much focus on the burning of Prospero),  I think PB is easily one of the best of the Horus Heresy series, and does the Space Wolves great justice. Read it). 

I should mention that Atlas comes with a certain structural weirdness to its chronology, but it is one that I enjoyed as it added another layer of mystery and in any event is inherent to how the tale is supposed to be told.

Any criticisms are minor - perhaps the end was a little rushed, but that might have just been my impending sense of 'Oh damn, I'm nearly finished' that often skews the experience when you're reading something you don't want to end - I certainly hope there are more books that details Czevak's exploits (and there was a thread or two at the end I thought could still be explored). 

Atlas Infernal is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable Black Library books I've read in a long, long time (and I've read many). It is full of well written action, memorable characters, nods to rarer elements of the universe (the illumanti gets a mention!) and has a sense of tragedy that lingers on after putting the book down. 

It is a story I wish I'd written.

If you're after an experience in the 40k universe that is slightly different to the adeptus astartes centric stories that fill up most of BL's catalogue (while still having some memorable appearances by them) then without a doubt, this book is for you.

I give it nine servo-skulls out of ten. 

Comments

[CJB]

Good review, couldn't agree more, this was one of the best BL books Ive read thanks to Sander's writing style and the character interaction that makes you want to turn the next page just to find out how they're still getting on.

2 things; Prospero Burns is the best heresy novel, so good shout on that one too ;)

And this RiM style is very interesting indeed, keep them coming!

[Sigil]

Thanks! I mean to get through them a little quicker in the future...