Warhammer 40,000 benefits from a unique thematic standing, something which few other franchises have mastered: The capacity to slide back and forth between borderline parody and stone-faced seriousness in style and tone, without either clashing. A few years ago we discussed this, dubbing it the "Batman Effect" - Comparing it with how one character could represent the pinnacle of the comicbook Silver Age but also dark, serious and intelligent storytelling. Well, as a character who replaced a vital internal organ with high explosives, Lukas the Trickster sits firmly on the Adam West side of things.
Born out of the most insane elements of the Fifth Edition (non-Ward related ones anyway), Lukas is very much a love-him-or-hate-him character. Either he reflects a type of exaggerated humour that was all too rare in Warhammer at the time, or he passed Adam West right into George Clooney territory. Yes, that is the last time Batman mentions will be made in here. The point is that between his humour and standing as the antithesis of typical Adeptus Astartes, the character stood on a knife-edge of becoming obnoxious. In most cases either an author would be forced to abandon these elements, or might crank them to intolerable degrees.
The Synopsis
With his presence inflicted upon another Jarl, Lukas sets about establishing himself among the younger Blood Claws. With a reckless joy which is matched only by his skill, Lukas proves himself a capable hunter time and time again, despite the frustrations of his brothers. Yet, his constant drive to surpass himself may well have met his match. When he faces Duke Traevelliath Sliscus of the Dark Eldar, the encounter between the Serpent and Trickster will end only in blood on the snow, and neither will walk away from the battle unchanged.
The Good
Let's follow on from that last point in the introduction - The balance required to pull off someone like Lukas. The book more or less manages it, and while he is perhaps not so overtly insane as people imagined from his reputation, the character walks a fine line between juvinile and laughably skilled. While the old trope of the dumbass who is secretly a badass is centuries old by this point, the book manages to find creative ways to express it. Lukas' nature is in stark contrast to the dour-faced and saga spewing figures in charge of his Great Company, but the story presents it in the correct way. He still manages to fit in with this world, so rather than seeming utterly at odds with the Space Wolves chapter, he serves as a facet which is rarely seen.
A major benefit of how the story continually depicts Lukas stems from how it knows exactly when to dial back the humour or divert it. His opening brawl with a company's worth of Blood Claws follows some remarkably childish acts, and serves as a stark reminder of his skill. Equally, his actions during the Kraken hunt makes it clear that while he is irreverent and prank prone, he is far from stupid nor negligent in his skills. He retains all the skills, experience and knowledge of a Grey Hunter, but the way he expresses them is what singles him out from the others. The book focuses somewhat on his evolution, but a stronger part helps to define just how such a figure could exist within this world.
As many of the secondary characters clearly follow the themes and ideas present in Chris Wraight's works. This naturally means that they are far more serious on the whole, and that ultimately they fit more into the Odin side of things than Loki. This helps to further ground the book in the sense that it is still a part of the main 40,000 setting, and sidesteps the obvious accusation that it could simply be non-canon due to its themes. Just take a look at how that accusation plagued the Ciaphas Cain series for years. More impressively still, however, it avoids turning them into caricatures to contrast with Lukas' larger than life nature. A few obviously antagonistic elements within them are quickly shown to have far more depth than you might expect, but it holds it back just long enough to make full use of their inital role within the story. It's only when two particularly important figures meet in a long disused part of the Fang that it starts to deconstruct what the tale initially built up.
Another major point in the book's favour is how it handles the Space Wolves themselves. A massive problem with Wraight's later works - and even a few authors - is how they overplay the theme of internal decay. In Wraight's later books he took the Space Wolves' flaws and exaggerated them until you were left questioning how the chapter was even combat effective. That isn't true here, and the story addresses it in a number of ways. The state of the Fang itself - with areas in disrepair - is one obvious point, but the story handles their tribalism in a few curious ways. One, in particular, suggested that the Wolves' see their changes as improvements and that they were necessary to survive in a changing galaxy. These are minor themes, but it's the sort of approach more chapters need when covering these ideas. Especially the Iron Hands given the downward storytelling spiral they have been stuck on for years.
Obviously, despite the cover and title, this tome was hyped as something of a showdown, depicting the famous clash between Lukas and Sliscus. Given how effective many scenes were with Lukas and how it further fleshed out aspects of their lifestyle, the Duke could have easily been reduced to a secondary role. A simple opponent skilled enough to counter the Trickster or heighten the tension of the battle itself. Well, while it is true that he fills out the role of protagonist, it's clear early on that Sliscus has his own story to follow. The politics of his fleet, ambitions and daring nature quickly marks him out as a very dangerous figure even before he starts cutting people open. This focus and standing is further assisted by his subordinates, many of who stand out more than the Space Wolf supporting cast. This permits them a far better standing than would typically be found in most Marine novels, and allows the Dark Eldar to do more than serve as hired muscle for a real villain.
Because the story spends so much time building up the two main figures in this conflict, it takes over a third of the book for the real battle to start. This isn't to say it's without action, but to emphasise the fact it took its time to reach that point. It doesn't rush into things, this means that much of the heavy lifting and narrative establishment is handled very early on, leaving the rest of the book to focus on the violence. Oh my, the violence. Josh Reynolds tends to excel in conversations, character exploration and building a sense of atmosphere. As such, the fact he can cut loose as he did came as a brilliant surprise. To detail some of the things attempted would be to spoil the main draw of the novel, so instead, please simply know this: Yes, it is thoroughly entertaining. Yes, it is as insane as you would expect. Yes, obvious tactics and unconventional methods both play a major part in the story.
The Bad
The real limitation of the book is, more than anything else, that it seems not to quite know when to stop and start things. This might not be clear at first, but after a few times, you might notice how the story seems to "cut corners" in jumping about between events. While this is usually a factor within novels and authors can usually pull it off, this one deals with it in a few odd ways. A particularly big one is, how in the first third, it seems to rely more on verbal exposition than true exploration.
Lukas' own introduction suffers from this thanks to his hectic arrival and trying to gloss over listing the exact details of his antics. On paper (pun fully intended) it's clear that this was intended to establish him for new audiences and contrast him with the other Space Wolves. That said, it read as if there should have been a prologue or even a previous chapter or two as a more definite introduction. Sliscus' own introduction works, but later moments with he and his subordinates fall into the same trap at times. Reynolds can usually pull this sort of thing off, but it stuck out here due to how often it was used.
On more than a few occasions, the story also seemed to both embrace and avoid combat. While specific actions, figures, and even sequences were handled well, the larger scale of events was something left more to background information. The aforementioned Kraken hunt is where this comes into play first, and at that point at least the flaw is not overtly obvious. However, while later engagements take place on a decent scale, you might miss out just how large they are supposed to be thanks to how the story frames the events in question and who it follows. This is likely more a quirk in the writing style here, and you could even excuse this as it's supposed to focus on the major figures over the armies involved. Yet, it can be jarring in how you can miss numbers or scale.
The actual humour of events can be surprisingly hit and miss, and that's thanks in part to the thematics. While there is more than a few genuinely hilarious moments (including a fantastic moment of borderline fourth-wall breaking dialogue toward the end) it's difficult to get to grips with during the story's first half. Lukas' own antics at this point seems to have been written to fit in more with the ancient saga depiction of the Wolves, framing him in a manner akin to Loki. It's amusing to be sure, and one or two of the pranks to get a grin, but the best moments take quite some time to reach. In this regard, Lukas' own reputation among fans might work against him, and one Space Wolf fan I spoke with had to be convinced to keep going with it. Oh, she certainly enjoyed it once she did, but it's that flawed first impression which can hurt it the most.
Perhaps most crucially, however, is how the story struggles to make use of some of its side characters. The Dark Eldar ensemble works well, and a few of the high ranking Space Wolves are a solid addition to the book. Unfortunately, however, Lukas' own abilities leave him overshadowing the other Blood Claws with him, until they are less their own characters and instead become something for him to work off of. There is a clear subtextual message to be had in this, established by an early event, but it's difficult to see them as part of a full unit rather than "Lukas and his bitches".
Yes, that was a cheap and quite crass joke to make, but this is the first time I have been able to work that joke into a Space Wolves book in seven years of writing on here. Plus I'm somewhat surprised Lukas himself didn't subtly make it at some point in there.
The Verdict
The real problem with this one is that it both benefits and suffers from the need to get the ball rolling. The opening act is engaging, but anyone entering this expecting A-Team style madness from the start is going to be somewhat disappointed. With that aside though, it's a solid book and definitely the most enjoyable M41 Space Wolf book since Battle of the Fang. The jokes are genuinely funny much of the time, and it manages to feature all the flaws of the chapter without ever downplaying or ignoring its strengths. Combine that with a fantastic battle between two legendary figures and, for once, the fact we have someone besides Chaos as the villain, and it's definitely one worth looking up. If the cover even gets you to crack the slightest grin, seriously consider buying it.
Verdict: 6.7 out of 10
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