Star Wars Interviews: The Original Trilogy and Expanded Universe Vol. 1 by Dennis Pellegrom and Bob McLain

A while back we looked at a Star Wars book which looked to recap an older era, but drove me away from it. Specifically, it had an introduction so terrible that it made me give up on the book within the first few pages. However, I promised an alternative to that, and this is the result. Star Wars Interviews: The Original Trilogy and Expanded Universe is just that, it's a collection of interviews focusing on the initial film and the later Expanded Universe. While simple, it's a definite success in that it not has a very energetic structure, but it is often enough to make you want to go back and revisit older products.

Let's get into the how and why.


The Good

One of the major problems when it comes to these sorts of books is simple: They often run the risk of repeating information. You can probably think of any number of interviews from Star Trek, Blake's 7 or Babylon 5 where stories are repeated due to a few basic questions which keep cropping up. While this book could have easily fallen into that pit trap, it instead manages to avoid it entirely. Much of this is down to how Dennis Pellegrom allows those he approaches to speak with any degree they feel comfortable with, and to discuss events to their heart's content. More than that, however, he also has a habit of approaching subjects in a way which encourages people to talk far more.

The benefit of this style of questioning others is evident from the very start, where Anthony Daniels goes into more substantial detail about certain areas than you might expect. The big ones which stand out range from promoting breakfast cereal to working with Jim Henson in that case. While some of these have been delved into before, new stories either crop up while discussing them or they're approached in such a manner that it feels engaging. It helps that Pellegrom also uses notes via brackets to help better flesh out the interview, with reactions or minor details to give each question or reaction much more life.

However, beyond this, there is also the variety of people that the book approaches and covers which works in its favour. We've seen Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and the main cast interviewed many times in previous works. This book also dives into a variety of other individuals who played more minor parts, such as those responsible for behind the scenes work in the films or playing aliens in the famous Mos Eisley Cantina scene. Each has a surprising amount of information to them, and it really helps to offer substantially more insight into what it was like working to bring each film to light.

Of course, in addition to the actors, you also have the Expanded Universe side of things. Honestly, having Jason Court and Shannon McRandle being interviewed was a brilliant surprise in each case, shedding light on the roles of Kyle Katarn and Mara Jade respectively. The nature of playing each character, the direction taken while playing the figures and then their later lives is made to be just as engaging as the film actors. While most books would normally stick this in at the end as a sort of (and here's this) bit at the finale, they are instead treated with the same respect and detail as anyone else in the book. Given the treatment the Expanded Universe has been given over the past few years, that's a very welcome change.


The Bad

One major make-or-break point within the book lies with the style of each interview. Many of these have a much more conversational format than you might expect, and they play out with more substantial answers. As such, it's less of a typically rigid structure and more of a back-and-forth between two people at many points. For some, this will be quite engaging, as it comes across as more human and much more interesting in the form of their answers. For others, this lack of formality might seem like it's taking some time away from what you're here for. It never seems as if Pellegrom is trying to take over the interview himself, but it is worth looking at a preview first.

Another point is that this book is fairly direct in its structure. It openly advertises itself as an interviews book and that's really what you get, besides for one or two paragraphs introducing the actor or creator in each one. While this might sound obvious, in more than a few cases (both with magazines and websites) a few writers tend to beef this out with more information or flowery text to make it seem more impressive. This is another one where your mileage may vary, but it can come across as very minimalist in its design, and that can be offputting.

A final point is that this is written with fans in mind first and foremost. You can see this in the questions, from how Pellegrom refers back to ideas and elements which are more familiar to dedicated Star Wars fans than anyone else. These are typically minor points (like Anthony Daniels' column in Star Wars Insider) but it is something you need to keep in mind. There just might be the odd bit that will throw you off somewhat if you are primarily familiar with this franchise for its films.


The Verdict

Overall, Star Wars Interviews: The Original Trilogy and Expanded Universe Vol. 1 is a book that I can definitely recommend. Even if you're someone who typically avoids these film companion pieces, or doesn't see their value, this one is a definite must-buy. It's really a book which not only helps to seriously shed light on some prior events within a major franchise but, even if you're an old hand who has seen these interviews before, there's always something new in each of them.

Verdict: 9 out of 10

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (Video Game Review)

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (or TABS, as this will become a nightmare to write otherwise) is one of those games which has been about for years. Much like Ark, Subnautica and others, it has spent much of its existence locked away in Steam Early Access. Unlike most games, TABS is one which put that time to good use. While the essential premise has gone unchanged, the overall perspective, style, and even the core units has been radically altered multiple times during its development. Thankfully, the end result is easily the strongest of the bunch.


The Story

There isn't one. You put down units and you fight. Even with the campaign, it's more a structure of various scenarios rather than a proper tale.


The Good

The entire dynamic of TABS is to be an open mockery of warfare, from historical warfare simulators to RTS games. The various armies present are a mix of historically (in)accurate groups from various eras, ranging from cavemen up to the Age of Sail, with a few oddities thrown in. What is truly remarkable about this is just how few of them are truly similar to one another, as the vast majority have some major gimmick or quality which helps them to immediately stand out. 

Take archers for example: You have your basic men armed with bows and arrows, who provide a cheap hard hitting option with Medieval forces. However, those from the Dynasty (a mix of Japan and China) are much more expensive but shoot fireworks, which dig into your units, send them shooting about the battlefield and then explode. Those utilized by the Ancient faction (Greece, Rome, and Persia) comparatively fire snakes, which then act as an independent unit which goes after the nearest threat. Finally, the cavemen skip this entirely and go for a much harder hitting but less accurate spear.

This contrast is present throughout the entire game, and even the most bog-standard fodder at least has some gimmick which helps them stand out in some regard. Whether it's damage, animations or attack time, each will have some surprising aspect which ultimately ends up giving them a few notable differences and advantages. This only gets progressively crazier with super-units, which range from giants to legendary individuals like Vlad the Impaler to gods like Zeus.

Most of this might sound somewhat interesting so far, but here's the big difference: You control none of this. You decide who gets set down where, which maps to choose and who to use, but you don't guide who attacks what. Instead, you sit back and watch them play out, and enjoy the show. Naturally, some of you might be wondering just what the point is of all this and that it sounds boring as sin. In most cases, you would be right, but here two big differences with this one: Everyone looks like a claymation warrior version of Morph (well, besides the Mammoths), and the ragdoll physics of this game has been dialed up to 11.

Seeing the sheer volume of troops stumbling about, being thrown around or getting stuck on terrain has a bizarrely hilarious quality to it. It makes what should be epic duels to the death into an outright farce, and only becomes increasingly funnier when the AI decides to pull an insane maneuver thanks to its pathfinding capabilities. It makes what should be an infuriating flaw into an act of downright brilliant comedy as a mob of knights chase a single bard (cannon fodder and kite unit) over the edge of a cliff to their doom.

The way in which certain units can interact only makes this all the better, with some getting stuck on one another, or even trapped with their arms behind their backs. It's a Dwarf Fortress sense of joy as everything goes to hell in one way or another, and the sheer number of ways in which various units can interact (and work as hard counters) means that the variety of outcomes is always in question. Even the limited variety of maps isn't a hindrance, simply due to the sheer number of times ill luck or a slightly different unit positioning can transform the outcome.

So, with that in mind, what's wrong with this one?

The Bad

The chief problem here is that once you get past the joke, how much fun you're going to have will vary heavily from person to person. The campaigns are required play-throughs to unlock some of the most entertaining units, and entire factions are hidden away among them. These are also balanced based upon points, requiring you to do a bit of additional thinking when approaching enemy forces. However, beyond this and finding a few hidden units, you're just left with the free-play battles themselves.

A further factor is also how there's no satisfying way to engage with the units themselves. Stating that you can't play it isn't entirely true, as you can take control of some units in a first-person view. However, this is not only extremely janky (turning what is a selling point against the game in this area) but it can often be unsatisfying in most cases. A single ballista while supercharged by cheerleaders (and just wait until you see what those can do) against a horde of mammoths works. However, controlling a single melee unit or most general figures isn't all that fun. It doesn't quite hit the high notes of Dynasty Warriors in terms of one-man carnage and the inherent fragility of who you control isn't offset by a heightened degree of speed in most cases.

Finally, and most pressingly, the tactical element of this came isn't always completely spot on. Luck and flaws play a major role in this, so those seeking something with easily predictable outcomes or control will not have any fun. Equally, the game requires a general gentlemen's agreement to have basic fun. If you end up with some overly competitive freak of nature more concerned with winning than just enjoying the spectacle, neither of you are going to have a good time in what passes for multiplayer.


The Verdict

Much like Gratuitous Space Battles, the lack of control is going to be a major win or lose factor on here. Equally, some of the ridiculousness which can come about thanks to the physics engine and the unpredictability of some armies will be a turn-off. It's certainly not Starcraft II or Command & Conquer, but it's not trying to be. This really is as close as you can get to a party strategy game, and it knows it. As such, you're just meant to put down units, have some basic tactics behind them, and then enjoy the show.

If you're someone who doesn't mind throwing armies at one another purely for the one of it and isn't obsessed with winning/min-maxing forces, definitely give this one a look. It's just pure bloody entertainment, albeit with more carnage than blood.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator exits Early Access out on April 1st, but is open for purchase now.

Verdict: 8 out of 10

A Plague Tale: Innocence (Video Game Review)

Escort missions and stealth escapades are typically the death of games. While there are more modern exceptions to this, both areas have developed an understandable stigma thanks to poor design choices and mismanaged difficulties. So, to build a game with both as their core mechanics should have been a death sentence, and encouragement for others to avoid it like the plague. Instead, what we ended up with might be one of the best games of 2019, if not the best games of its type. And yes, I did write this introduction just to make the obvious pun.


The Synopsis

Ser during the events of The Hundred Years War, A Plague Tale: Innocence follows the story of Amicia De Rune and her younger brother Hugo. Driven from their home in France by the Inquisition and hunted across the battlegrounds of the ruined countryside, each of them must discover the secret past to their family. Yet soldiers, warrior priests, and sellswords are the least of their concern. An unending tide of rats and the black plague itself claims even more lives than any standing army, and their swarms hound the sibling's every step...
The Good

Narratively driven and character based, this was a game which was to live and die on how it executed its story. This isn't related to the story itself, which remains excellent, so much as how well it was integrated into the game and would work with the setting. A Plague Tale not only manages to display an excellent narrative throughout much of its gameplay with a quite terrifying villain, but it works in every way to show the game hooking you in through even basic timing. The challenges are linear, but they are so excellently timed in regards to mechanics and movements, that you always feel as if you are just inches away from disaster. Moments so small as trying to dodge about a distracted guard are dragged out due to Amicia needing to guide and help Hugo, making you feel as if you are about to be caught at any second. This could have so easily made it feel dragged out or even slow, but the addition of needing to help Hugo over obstacles helps to overcome this problem. In fact, it distracts you from it by making you feel as if his presence might lead to both of your deaths.

That last point might sound like a bizarre thing to praise, but it ties in almost perfectly to the major story arcs of each character. While most video game protagonists are written to react and observe events as the player guides them along, Amicia is written as someone out of her depth. While the older of the two siblings she is still a child, and that isn't ignored. The responsibility of keeping the two of them alive clearly weighs down on her, and she snaps at her brother in moments of tension, shows impatience and this is further strained by how the two are alienated. Equally, Hugo himself has outbursts of petulance and childish misunderstandings. This creates an excellent conflict which leads to considerable character growth, even when it is made clear that they need to rely upon one another for survival. There really is, one exception aside, no badly written figure among the ensemble cast; with many existing to subvert misconceptions of the era or even common medieval storytelling tropes.

The tight direction of the game helps to disguise its overall linearity and keeps up a constantly engaging pace. You will be lucky to pause and find yourself truly stuck on a puzzle or wander about trying to think around a problem despite their challenges. Equally, the lack of more open areas is something that the game disguises extremely well. This is executed by both the map designs but also the visual direction. This keeps you on track through drawing your attention away from the boundaries and even creating risks which has you unintentionally avoiding them. Oh, and the game is also gorgeous. While the graphics might not be up to SquareEnix standards, the attention to detail and lighting quality helps to elevate it far above the standard you would expect of a B-tier release. Well, that and the soundtrack, of course.

Yet none of this compares with the rats. Swarms of hungering rodents infest vast swathes of the countryside and these serve as an effective stand-in for zombies. A zombie you can isolate, pin down and defend against. A swarm of fast-moving flesh-consuming diseased rats? Their sheer presence and writhing tides are depicted in a way which will always have you on edge. It's less of an enemy than a force of nature, and one which can be used to your own benefit. While the horrors of war are a key factor within the game, and it leads to one of the title's most memorable moments. The fact that you need to cause several of them to continue, and how unrelenting the sense of horror is from their simple impact on the countryside, makes it easy to see why the marketing focused upon them so much. Well, that and one other bit which ties into the first problem below.


The Bad

Perhaps the single most problematic quality behind A Plague Tale stems from its overall twist within the plot. While the story manages to be relatively realistic with some welcome displays of values dissonance due to the time, it starts to go a bit pear-shaped towards the end. It's less A Game of Thrones and more Assassin's Creed in its later stages, with a dash of Condemned 2: Bloodshot in its finale. This is problematic as the plot itself is the essential focus here rather than the characters themselves, switching what had been a vehicle for a stronger piece into being the main focus. As a result, the desperate need to ramp things up for the climax ends up making the story go into a few overly silly areas. These are still effective in their own right, and in another game, this would be downright fantastic. However, here the jarring shift is akin to playing Witcher 3 only to have Final Fantasy X hijack the last few minutes.

A further problem stems from some rather odd issues in regards to certain key stealth segments. While much of the game is excellent in regards to how it handles dodging about the roving bands of guards, it isn't unwilling to make a few cheap shots. This comes largely into play at roughly the third-hour mark, where the tightly paced and otherwise well-directed stealth segments have a bit of a hiccup in regards to getting about a few enemies. There odd moments of spontaneous omniscience or seemingly the ability to see through objects which throws you off. This is almost certainly a bug, but it brings to mind some of the worst moments in the original Splinter Cell or even the Thief remake. It completely undermines the overall sense of reward from making careful moves and conserving resources. I only highlight this point as, when combined with the far more closed in environments, this can leave you feeling as if you are banging your head against a wall.

This is also to say nothing of how A Plague Tale is reliant upon its selling point of the rats. Ironically, at first, the rats themselves serve as an element within a far larger narrative. You can see how they link into many points within the story, and they are hardly in the background at any point. However, their impact upon society or even the sights left in the wake of their rampage carries almost as much horror as their actual presence. At a certain point, some of this is definitely lost, as it begins to focus more upon the rats as a direct enemy rather than a sheer force of nature. This causes the game to lose something, and sadly it ties into that weaker ending described above.


The Verdict

Even with its problems, A Plague Tale: Innocence is nevertheless a spectacular release. Were it not for the aforementioned problems in regards to its finale and odd glitches which turn guards into Judge Dredd with x-ray vision, this might well have attained a perfect score. Even with its linearity and B-tier budgetary standing, it remains head and shoulders above many more recent releases. If you're going to buy a single game in the next six months, this is definitely the one to pick out and keep.

Verdict: 9 out of 10

Siege of Terra: The Solar War by John French (Warhammer 40,000 Book Review)

So, the Horus Heresy has ended, and a few of you are likely asking questions. To get the big one out of the way first: Yes, the previous novels will get a look. I just need to get them out of storage or for life to sit down, shut up and start behaving for once in its miserable existence.

More appropriate questions are more likely along the lines of how this series will be treated. Will it be a simple continuation of the Horus Heresy? What will be changed in the build-up to the siege itself? Is there a major shift in character arcs or new developments which will radically alter the dynamic of the war?

The answer is yes to all of the above. The Solar War is a new start of sorts, but it feels very much like a continuation of the old series under a new label. How that influences it is something which will be heavily commented upon below, along with how it executed a few of its ideas.


The Synopsis

The enemy is at the gate. With the end of the long war across the galaxy and countless pyrrhic victories on both sides, Horus Lupercal now assaults the birthplace of humanity itself. With the full might of the Traitor Legions at his back, he throws everything he has into this effort, making one last roll of the dice to cripple the Imperium. Yet first, he must win the war in orbit to start besieging the ground.

The fortress which the Solar System has become buckles under the constant fighting, as enemy fleets stream into the surrounding space. Rogal Dorn and his forces meet them, move by move and fighting their bloody engagements at every turn. Yet Chaos rarely engages in a truly straightforward battle, and its key to victory lies with someone who was there at the start of this all. Someone who sits alone in a prison, silent and unheard...


The Good

There's one very good part to cite right off of the starting gate, and that relates to escalation. While this is something of a double-edged sword (and we will get into that) the book doesn't simply start big and stay big. It doesn't read like some overly huge event that you cannot keep track of, and some might have expected that. However, that likely would have been a mistake as you need to keep raising the stakes to keep things interesting. As such, the book shows the opening shots and has some very engaging fights at key points, but it's nothing which will dwarf (or seem on the same scale) as the Siege of Terra itself. After all, the last thing anyone wants with a fifteen-year series is for the finale to feel like a let-down. This at least leaves it room to build toward something far more epic.

Another definite point in its favour is how it handles certain characters and their dynamics. John French was someone who managed to juggle between the various traitor primarchs expertly in his previous book, and he handles the main players remarkably well here. This is evident with the opening, where Horus himself is in strong form and we get a very sinister echo of something from Horus Rising in his actions. Yet even without this, Khan and Dorn both manage to be given some very interesting character bits which sheds some further light upon their characters even in this new series, and how they understand one another. This builds somewhat toward confirming a link between the two primarchs that had seemingly been retconned out of existence, but it works well here. Remarkably, even when French finds an excuse to throw Ahriman into the mix very early on, he makes it work in that you can see him starting to head down the path we will see him take much later on.

There's also a major benefit in terms of Chaos itself, as the book does feel as if it is trying to dabble with greater things at many points. This relates largely to choice, fate and life-changing decisions more than anything else, along with how each can be so easily manipulated by greater powers. On its own it makes for a very well handled and fittingly thematic choice for this series, as this is ultimately the culmination of so many mistakes and fateful decisions. It even works somewhat better when you consider just who it focuses upon in these moments and how it deals with their psyche.

Interestingly, the story also keeps you guessing as to where it will go next and how things will pan out. We know what the ultimate fate of this conflict will be, as this is the Siege of Terra after all. You know that the enemy fleet will reach Terra and besiege it, so French works around this by weaving other stories into the narrative. This has a few problems we will be getting into on the next point, but it does help to sidestep the predictability which would otherwise be evident within the tale. By offering new narratives and individual chapters to assist with character development, you at least have something more to keep you hooked as the traitors fight their way to the Throneworld.

All of this would be usually great and make for an excellent book. However, that doesn't quite benefit this particular novel for the reasons we delve into below.


The Bad

This is going to sound like an odd criticism above all else, but I do not think that John French was the right person for this book. A follow-up book or second installment, certainly, but this one is somewhat incoherent because of his typical focuses. Really, think about any of French's novels for a moment and think about what makes them work: Small scale character action, individual moments of extreme violence or very broad depictions across single battlefields, the bizarre secrets and hidden details of Chaos, colourful character histories which unfold over time, and roving journeys which cover great distances. Some of this The Solar War was able to offer, but others are at odds with its overall intended role. It doesn't feel like a war so much of the time as a series of major deciding points which are typically set outside of the main conflict, or adjacent to it.

You'll notice very early on that the novel itself typically tries to find ways to skim over the broader details of the war in favour of smaller character moments. The fall of the outermost worlds is something we see little of from any firsthand perspectives, and it instead shows them first from a war room on Terra and then a group of fleeing refugees. These work as supplementary pieces very well, but it lacks the core of some more definite ship-to-ship fighting to keep things interesting. Even when it begins to pick up steam, the actual story keeps focusing on other areas. We learn more about a major Admiral commanding the defense, the dynamic of the primarchs and even one or two examples of skirmishing. However, the broader "war" in question is told almost entirely through statistics and labeled battlegroups. This could have worked even then, but it lacks the same punch or detail that people like Graham McNeill, Dan Abnett or to a lesser degree Andy Clarke would deliver on. As such, it is simply unfulfilling.

Another problem that the book suffers from is that there's little in the way of a real reintroduction to the story. With so many previous plots being brought to a close, characters killed off and sagas simplified toward the end of the Horus Heresy, it seemed as if this could be a sort of jumping on point for readers. It's a whole new series, and while there is some need to generally cover past events or incorporate ongoing character development, it could have started with something that was easy to follow or keep track of. Instead, much of the novel carries on as if it's just another Horus Heresy novel, and offers little in the way of recaps, introductions or proper explanations for a few major developments here. Several of these are clearly written with reader familiarity in mind, and that can be offputting. Even as someone who has been reading this series and keeping up to date with it, I kept feeling as if I was missing something when something was abruptly introduced to the story.

Finally, the overall event is remarkably inconclusive. It doesn't feel like a chapter in a larger event so much as something which just trails off. You can certainly see where it stands in the larger scheme of things, and how it will lead into later tales. However, unlike the books of the previous series, it doesn't feel like a small part of something greater which leaves you satisfied by the end. It's not even that it doesn't close out events for certain characters, but the way in which the book dabbles so heavily in broadly thematic concepts and intangible ideas makes you think "Wait, is that it?" by the end.


The Verdict

Overall, The Solar War is just okay at the end of the day. It's certainly not due to a lack of effort on John French's part, nor even a lack of ambition when it comes to its themes. However, it simply doesn't quite get across and fully connect its myriad of stories, themes and ideas. All too often it seems to want to avoid the more material elements of the naval conflict itself and focus much more on the immaterial machinations of the Warp and the advantages this offers the Traitor Legions, along with small character moments. The problem is that this never fully connects and it means that more than a few events end up feeling as if they are out of focus, or the story is being told through an oddly skewed vision.

Some people might well like this more, and I personally feel that how much you enjoy French's writings will heavily influence your enjoyment. As such I encourage you to read a few more reviews before making your mind up and buying this one. However, even as someone who liked this author's previous works, this one just didn't feel nearly so engaging as his other sagas. As a result, I ended up liking its themes and ideas much more than the actual novel itself.

The Verdict: 5.5 out of 10

Game of Thrones - The Case of Boomerang Character Development

So, Game of Thrones has been interesting, eh? While it's been discussed in passing a few times on here, we've never delved deeply into the series. That was with good reason. I wanted to wait until either the series was finished for a full retrospective or time to sit down and properly compare it with A Song of Ice and Fire. However, the past few episodes have been such a startling cavalcade of disappointments that certain things cannot go unpunished. It would take multiple articles to cover them all, but the big one here is Daenerys. The Queen seems to have followed in the footsteps of her father and decided to lay her vengeance upon those that oppose her, which ended with her flying Drogon over King's Landing and torching everyone in sight.

This has, understandably, provoked a few interesting responses and a tidal wave of hate mail which has been directed toward the creators. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have left some awkward comments in relation to character moments and decisions, which have ranged from lazy plotting to insulting the audience's intelligence. The big ones people keep citing is how they seem to promote "having the good guys act like the bad guys" is some dramatic and innovative twist which no one has tried before, and having the Targaryen side simply forget that the Iron Fleet exists. There are no shortage of ones which could be brought up, and there is even a good break down of why this is a let down found here. This cites creative mindsets and major differences which means that one group of creators could never quite live up to George R. R. Martin's novels.

There are many ways in which this latest move can be analyzed and considered, but the main one which needs to be fully considered is simply this: Daenerys has always had the potential for revenge in her. We had full story arcs covering this and there were multiple occasions where we cheered her on. The big ones were, of course, the fights to liberate Meereen from its slavemasters and her treatment of the rulers. She crucified hundreds of them by the roadside, and one major subject of the story was her learning to temper that rage when needed. The problem is that, with the show coming to a close, the creators have decided to loop back around to a similar song and dance that we have seen before. Worse still, it's a poor replication of that same song and dance.

In a similar manner to how her presumption and use of titles when meeting Jon Snow seemed to pretend that her development in season two had never taken place, this one just outright pretends that she has learned nothing. It doesn't take the time needed to provoke this kind of response, and instead, it is rushing through things to try and force the story to come to a key point that the writers one. It hasn't developed organically or in a semi-logical fashion as some previous events or, worse still, it's trying to ape previous developments to justify this turn. The big one is a character death provoking a harsh response, or slaying a potential ally within her circle for risking turning on her, both of which we saw done in Meereen. As such, this is less the show doing something new so much as spinning its wheels, just as the finale is upon us.

Yet there are other layers to this turn which makes Daenerys' actions feel far more bitter. How many audiences cheered as she burned slavers? How about an enemy fleet, or the Lannister army? What about her breaking her enemies through these same means? Watchers were wholly behind her the entire way and, while extreme, the show always made a point of making it seem justified. Each could be considered a possible step further down a road which made Daenerys' family name so infamous, and her fans were supporting her the entire way. Now, at long last, that rage has been turned upon someone who does not deserve it, and has shown just what she is capable of when given a target which isn't so morally black. When she desires revenge nothing will stop her, and this episode has shown what can come from that. It can make an audience feel far worse as a result of this, as if rooting for her in the first place was a mistake. There's an engaging quality to this which could work, but the rushed delivery and inability to focus upon the idea here means that it just feels vindictive as a result.

Finally, there is also the matter of the throne itself. Seeking the iron throne, fighting for it and approaching it with the desire to claim power has often been a warning in the series. It either warps people beyond recognition or leads to their downfall. Or both. Even if you ignore the war itself, look back at King Robert's tale and how miserable it made him. This could have been a theme again here, as Daenerys was always someone who seemed to be on a knife-edge in terms of whether she would be able to accomplish there, or what would become of her. However, none of that is focused upon the difficulties of governing from that role or even the pressures which can break a person. The ham-fisted delivery means that while the message itself is present, the execution and narrative devices leave it as an incoherent mess.

Even without the other issues surrounding it, this final stage of development ultimately ends up relying too much upon past trends and cannot make use of new ideas. As a result, it just ends up feeling like a hollow finale which is wallowing in nihilism, leaving you with no one that you wish to root for. Once that happens, you have to ask yourself: Why are you still watching it, and is it ever worth watching again? It's probably a question that a lot of us will be asking ourselves in the future, whenever a fan thinks of going back to watch the series from the start once again.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Most Underrated Monster

Yes, it might be something of a clickbait title, but it is accurate. Dungeons & Dragons is a game we don't often discuss on here, even when we do delve into RPGs. The main is simply that we often focus far more on the outings relating to Warhammer 40,000 and Shadowrun than anything else, and D&D was one which I was introduced to far later than most. However, even with that being said, it's easy to pick out the popular ones on here. Even if a person has never played the game, they will still recognise a Beyonder, a Mind Flayer or the Tarrasque. Well, that and the Mimic, of course. Still, there are many which are just overlooked due to their generic nature, but none that have been quite so overlooked as today's example.

Now, this is one that you may or may not have heard of. However, you will definitely have seen it. This is an incredibly dangerous monster, arguably one of the single worst things that anyone could walk across. It's capable of being enraged beyond all rational means, and will actively fight to the death against almost any intruder. Oh, and it exists in real life:

No, this is not a joke. It's a Hippo, specifically one of the Dire variety. This thing is something few to no campaigns ever bother to use, and something that more than a few parties laugh at if it shows up as a threat. You might be able to see why at first as, as big as their mouths are, they are somewhat comical looking. Then you might start to notice certain things, like how in real life their skin is tough enough to easily shrug off attacks from multiple lionesses, or how they can crush a watermelon in a single bite. Or these stats:

You can find the original sheet for this here if you don't believe me. But, to break this down, this thing has even more HP than a Fire Giant, Yithian or Dragon Turtle. It has a natural AC which allows it to walk through most DPS attacks from parties of munchkins hellbent upon min-maxing their tanks, and enough sheer speed to match most characters who aren't riding horses. It's damn near impossible to knock down at the level you are supposed to encounter them at, while its reach means that if you're just a little too close, it's going to take your leg off.

Keep in mind, this isn't a lumbering beast either. Its Dexterity might not be fantastic, but it's a damn sight better than more than a few creatures intended to tank a few hundred sword-blows at that level, and it has bonuses to make up for that. Things like Improved Initiative ensures that it has a +4 bonus on initiative based checks, and it's Perceptive enough that it will find just about anything it's looking for. Really, it's +22 on a basic roll before you even get into things like the Skill Focus bonus of +3 to boost that up just a bit further. Run to the water? You're just playing into its (completely metaphorical) hands! There's no point in hiding from this thing, it's the Liam Neeson of the animal world. It will find you, and it will kill you.

Still, none of this is getting into just what it does if it ends up attacking you. Long story short, you're going to be upright for about three turns at the most. This Pacman of the aquatic world is hitting at 4d6+12 with a bonus to critical rolls which gives them both a doubled threat range and a base attack bonus of +8. That's an average roll of 14, meaning that this hippo from hell is going to be taking chunks out of an unprepared character even with plate armour. Oh, sure, you can dodge, but it's going to typically stay upright long enough to get at least one good bite in, at which point your Rogue is going to be wondering where his legs went.

Combine this with a brutal Strength of 27, Constitution of 24, and a remarkably high Wisdom of 16, and it's going to cause all sorts of hell for a party which doesn't take this seriously. Really, even if you're saving the fantastical stuff for a proper boss, two of these things would be the miniboss of nightmares. A proper herd of five would likely cause a total party kill unless the players are min-maxing their creations.

So, why isn't this better known? Probably for the same reason that people tilt their head and wonder if you're joking when you say that hippos are genuinely dangerous animals. They look a little cartoonish compared with the likes of lions, crocodiles or even rhinos, and they lack the same typical menace. You're lucky if you can ever find Tarzan fighting one on screen and I can't think of a film (well, besides Jumanji) which has truly used one as a threat. Combine that with the fact that this is a game where basilisks, griffins, hydras and dragons show up throughout the plot, and it can be a little hard to build up the enthusiasm to take this creation seriously.

Still, that just makes it all the more of a shock when you decide to drop it on a group of adventurers, or need to keep a few murder hobos in line.

Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker by Steve Parker (Warhammer 40,000 Book Review)

Now here's one that I never expected to see, but I am very glad we got it. Steve Parker is one of those authors who made quite a splash in Black Library only to disappear after a short time. Despite producing several excellent novels and a few great short stories, he disappeared from the grim darkness of the far future, leaving quite the cliffhanger behind. Now, he's back to continue that saga.

The Synopsis

Set some time after the events of the original Deathwatch novel, Talon Squad has been recalled by Sigma once more to carry out their duty. However, unlike their trial by fire, this isn't simply a combat insertion against a feral opponent. An Inquisitor has disappeared on a world recently conquered by the T'au Empire and has promptly refused all efforts to contact her. No one fully knows if she has been abducted or has willingly defected to the xenos race, but her secrets cannot be allowed to fall into their hands. Operating alongside a group of anti-T'au specialists and insurgents, Talon Squad must breach a heavily fortified city and reclaim the Inquisitor at all costs. Yet the Inquisition's manipulations extend far further than any might reckon, as both Librarian Karras and those he commands will suffer in their shadow games.


The Good

For starters, Parker most certainly did not rest on his laurels with this one. Both the first Deathwatch novel and the two short-stories surrounding it were simple, direct and straightforward operations. In each case, the group was dropped into a location already overrun by the enemy, with hostile combatants around every corner and told to steal or kill someone. These were extremely well-written outings which embraced the Dredd mentality of making the everyday efforts of someone exceptional exciting over a defining moment in their lives. Parker could have happily stuck with this and it would have still been celebrated as a great story, but by taking a notable risk with this one he ended up with something far stronger.

The very nature of the Talon Squad's mission this time is the antithesis of the hard and fast strikes of previous tales. They are dropped onto the planet well ahead of time, and a great deal of the story goes into the preparation of their strike and just getting onto the world itself. This takes up a similar amount of space as the previous novel's outline of how the Deathwatch operates and trains their individuals, and it certainly benefits the book. It helps to show how the Astartes of the Ordo Xenos' chamber militant differ from their typical counterparts in operations, methodology and the expectations placed upon them by the Inquisition. It's still the general special forces take on the space marines, but it's a very different kind of one which offers both world building and an excellent new kind of tale.

The secondary characters are also notably stronger here, as is Karras' journey in the wake of the previous book's revelations. Both the insurgents and supporting humans have far stronger personalities than anything offered in Parker's other tales, save perhaps for Rynn's World. Archangel, in particular, is a fascinating take on an Imperial character type due to how she operates and contrasts with the likes of Sigma. Not to mention that she's an excellent contrast to the usual human characters we see working with Astartes and opposing xenos incursions. Equally, the insurgents and those with them are a great take on the usual tribal cultures seen in these books, but with a good mix of self-awareness and decently progressive takes on a few backward ideas. That's true of most of this book, and sadly delving into the two best examples would lead to massive spoilers.

The novel overall could be considered a far more intrusive and questioning take on the usual Imperial-T'au dynamic we see in these works. Usually novels will either adamantly side with one and demonize the other, or twist key details to make sure that you are more clearly on one side. That and they tend to favour one-sided steamrolls of fights to make their favourite group look great. This manages to ditch the majority of that through a few very welcome storytelling devices. The first and foremost among these is that, when we see the T'au Empire and its member species defined, it is through the eyes of extremists on both sides. While you certainly see that they might have points, even offering up few surprisingly nuanced takes on the T'au Empire's more ambitious efforts, it's always coloured by their opinions. 

One resistance fighter complains of the T'au overwhelming and corrupting human culture, and that their terraforming efforts are destroying their way of life. There is a degree of truth in this, but we later see direct contradictions to this fact. Notably with references to T'au culture actively trying to avoid giving the Imperials reasons to support resistance efforts by keeping much of their culture intact and even allowing for a less xenophobic Imperial creed to still be preached. Yes, someone finally remembered that was something the T'au did. 

On the opposite side, the T'au Commander Coldstar is borderline xenophobic, holds humans in contempt and even performs some very questionable experiments on dissenting voices among his own people. All seemingly with the approval of elements within the Ethereal Caste. However, he's rarely framed as anything besides an extremist who feels that his placement is unworthy of his role, and he mentally justifies these acts in the face of a greater threat. He's an outright villain and someone who believes that the end justifies the means, but it's without the same cartoonish "by the way, I'm actually a villain!" storytelling which has previously plagued the T'au. If we need more stories with them as the antagonists, this will likely become a measuring stick for how to tell it from here on.

So, what of the writing style and combat? To answer the latter first, the combat is as typically blunt and direct as usual. It avoids many of the more descriptive or dramatic choices of outlining scenes than other authors like Aaron Dembski-Bowden or Josh Reynolds typically use, but Parker makes it work. It fits in with his tone of storytelling, stepping away from some of the more mystical or vague qualities of the galaxy to describe something which is bizarrely more down to earth. The fights are extremely brief moments of violence or brawls which rapidly end in favour of one side or another, but this perfectly fits the spec ops style of story. It also helps to separate the story from those which more frequently utilise Chaos as a narrative element, and make its few otherworldly moments far more alien within the tale.

Finally, as an extension of this, describing the combat itself is only part of how the story works. A lot more time is put into the preparation and outline of operations, and an emphasis on how such a small force might be able to maintain its advantage over a superior one. While the natural abilities of the Adeptus Astartes are never downplayed, they aren't quite the unstoppable juggernauts of other works, and they do have to more actively work to overcome their foes. It's one of the better examples of how to balance their superiority with foreign threats in Black Library along with the likes of the Charcarodon novels and Brothers of the Snake.


The Bad

You likely noted that for all the talk of positive qualities in the above section, little time was spent on the main characters. Sadly, there's a good reason for that. Karras gets most of the development here, as outside of one or two moments to better flesh out Chyron and display more of Zeed's flaws, there's little to say of the others. They are certainly described extremely well and have memorable characterisation, but they are stuck firmly in the background most of the time. As a result, their role and presence is very situational to the story, and they gain little development from the story's progression.

Karras himself does well, but his part in this tale is hindered by the story's greatest weakness: It's terrible at re-introducing readers to the series. There's no real moment where it properly expresses something along the lines of "Here is Karras, he's a Librarian of the Death Spectres, and here's his story so far..." in an easy and understandable manner. The one we get is very well told, but unless you have recently read the book directly preceding this one, you will struggle to get to grips with it. This on its own would be a mark against the story, but it's only further exacerbated by Parker's choice to emulate his previous novel.

One of Deathwatch's best qualities was how it took its time to build up the world and characters, showing the development and preparation for their strike. The actual operation only came into play at the very end, and everything up to that point consisted of various secondary elements to help flesh things out. This was repeated again here, but the problem is that there are few to no space marines showing up for a good portion of the story. In fact, there's little to even properly indicate that this is a Deathwatch story at all outside of a few allusions to the Inquisition being involved, and that simply doesn't work here. It holds off on the book's main attraction, and even once it is introduced it isn't in some moment of action or glory as a pay-off for the wait.

The book also opts to suddenly follow up on previous story elements which were alluded to in the finale of the past book but with little in the way of recapping them or fully introducing them. One or two were certainly notable enough to remember, but others take a surprising left turn or have an abrupt addition tacked onto them. More irritatingly, a fair few others are simply treated as ongoing narrative plots rather than something hinted at which is now being built upon. That kind of flaw is jarring and can make even a reader familiar with the books feel as if they have missed something at first.

Honestly, these flaws in of themselves hardly overshadow the strengths of the novel, but the very fact that they dominate the opening chapters only exaggerates many of their issues. Because of this, it becomes a situation where the book is almost encouraging you to put it down or skip over them to reach the actual start. It's a real shame, as a few basic additions could have helped to offset all of this and bump its final score up by a full point.


The Verdict

Ultimately, your enjoyment of Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker is heavily dependant upon how familiar you are with this series. It's an excellent book, and it does more or less everything that a great sequel should in terms of story, character dynamics, and narrative. The new direction, more ambitious plot and the use of its enemies mark it as a modern classic. The very fact that this is the first novel in a long time from an Imperial perspective which did not fall back on Chaos as the hidden villain is an extremely welcome quality, and the use of the T'au is some of the best seen in years. Yet, the fact that it expects readers to be already familiar with these characters and provides no real recap moment to cover prior events means that it can be difficult to get to grips with this one.

Overall, this is highly recommended, but it is strongly suggested that you read some of this author's other Deathwatch stories first. The original novel, or at the very least the short story Headhunted, will cover everything that you need and quickly outline the basics this book skips at first. Even with that said though, I would mark this one down as an essential purchase for this month.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

Callis And Toll: The Silver Shard by Nick Horth (Warhammer: Age of Sigmar book review)

This is a bizarre one, but not for the reason that you might expect. In almost twenty years of reading Black Library fiction, I don't think that I have read a story so openly promoted and yet so overlooked as Callis and Toll: The Silver Shard. It's not that the book is bad, and it even offers the sort of story that Age of Sigmar has needed far more of since its release, with more general colourful figures on realm spanning quests over huge armies. Yet, even one year after its publication, few people seem to have reviewed it.

So, let's remedy that.


The Synopsis:

In the city of Excelsis, a band of mercenaries hunt for a lost relic. Led by a sinister figure who hides his guise behind a mask, only the promise of pay and the desire to escape alive keeps them going. Yet the threat posed by their employer is far greater than any of them could imagine, and the Realm of Beasts will soon face an ancient threat the likes of which have not been seen in centuries. Yet as the aelf hunter Shev is drawn into this plot, she soon realises that she is not the only one which has been drawn to this quest. The Witch Hunter Toll and the ex-Free Guilder Callis are hunting her employer, who has more than merely his greed as his greatest sin.


The Good:


The best part of the entire story is its tone and approach. Age of Sigmar has opted for something grandiose, something high fantasy and a few bits of steampunk to keep things interesting. It's a good mix, but in trying to focus upon the epic legends angle, it lost something in terms of its smaller stories. Tales like The Silver Shard are a step away from that, and they allow the reader to see more of the overall world (well, worlds) even when they are brimming with action. They're more Fellowship of the Ring than Return of the King, and it's definitely a welcome change of pace. Because of this, we see far more of the Realm of Beasts, the societies established there and get a good idea of just what the wider world is like. Much of this is present in the second act, which devotes a substantial amount of time to having the heroes travel across a monster-infested ocean to a corsair dominated port city.

The book isn't nearly so tied into the tabletop models as you would expect, and it veers away from promoting the major factions of the game. There are no Stormcast Eternals, Chaos shows up but in a manner that you would not expect, and the Seraphon play a role but vary heavily from their tabletop counterparts. The only groups which retain serious comparisons with their tabletop minis are a band of Kharadron Overseers and the Witch Hunter in the title. None of these are written in complete opposition to their tabletop variants or with an intentional desire to completely break from them. However, it never feels as if there's some requirement to show off each and every one, which makes the world feel much, much bigger as a result.

The story is also excellent when it comes to hinting at things but only showing so much. The various lost cities of knowledge that the groups encounter have been long overrun by greenskins or worse things, and only fragmented memories remain. Details surrounding the prior Age of Myth are key to the story, but Horth does an excellent job of only showing so much at any one time to keep you guessing. Furthermore, these are addressed and delved into in a relatively irreverent style which befits an adventure tale of this nature. While it's not exactly one-to-one, it's the closest that Warhammer will likely ever get to something along the lines of The Mummy films. Well, that or having an atmosphere which has you humming the Indiana Jones theme under your breath as you read it.

The characters are a nicely broad mix of individuals, with conflicting values, desires and roles. They are very boldly detailed and do fit into certain niches as you would expect, but there is a very well rounded quality to their writing and their conversations give them a very human quality. Even though you're always aware that you're reading story, it makes them lifelike enough to forgive an accept that fact.

Finally, the fights are excellently described at many points. This isn't so much the case where the heroes are vastly outnumbered, but any situations where they are facing small gangs of enemies or a big monster stand out well. You can clearly tell where everyone is supposed to be, and actions flow extremely easily from one moment into the next. The fact that the heroes and those accompanying them shift around so frequently also means that it feels constantly fresh, and from the second act onward they remain a strong element in the book.

However, from that last line, I think you know where the weaknesses are going to come into play.


The Bad:

So not to mince words, let's outline this clearly for all involved: The starting chapters to The Silver Shard are quite difficult to get through. They are easily the weakest in the entire book and the way in which they are executed seems to actively avoid Horth's strengths as a writer. There is very little in the way of easing the reader into the wider world, or even the characters in question. It just very abruptly starts, and you have to keep up with it. To make matters more difficult, it also spends almost all of this time following Shev and the main villain. As such, you're left wondering why you are following this character, and why the clearly ominously evil person hasn't revealed himself yet. Honestly, it's the sort of involvement where the mercenaries have been hired by John Not-A-Villain-At-All and then act surprised when he does turn on them.

The environments also lack the varied and dynamic nature of later areas, and much of this is due to how they are presented. We are given a very generic forest environment - with a few fun enemies at one point - followed by a large horde of Orruks occupying a ruin. It's one of these irritating situations where the sheer lack of a proper introduction undermines what is an otherwise good sequence, and that is only knocked down further by later issues. The first of these being that we have a band facing off in a three-way melee against more numerous opponents, which works against Horth's writing strengths, and then a surprise arrival. Callis and Toll's relationship with the villain is also delivered via an "as you know" detail which you can very easily miss, and the ideas behind it only become much clearer when they are repeated later on.

The point of this is that most of the book's failings are made very evident in the first few chapters, but there is little to nothing of its strengths brought up to help balance them out. It's only when things calm down and the heroes have more time to talk that it seriously starts to improve.

However, even considering the difficult beginning, there are a number of other problems which do crop up in the story. The first of these is that it is very predictable much of the time, and you can usually tell how things will pan out. This isn't so obvious in terms of who might arrive so much as how they will act once they do, and what their involvement in the story will be. It doesn't hinder how well these scenes are told, or even how effectively they are used, but you can usually predict how they will act in relation to the heroes. This will certainly bother some people more than others, so it's very much an issue which will vary from person to person.

However, a definite problem overall within the story stems from how it so often makes its titular characters seem like supporting figures within the story. They are introduced late into the book and the importance of their role varies heavily throughout the tale. Because of this, the story can feel oddly out of focus at various points, as if it doesn't quite know who to follow. You can work without a protagonist in some tales, certainly, but in this case, it's as if the book is trying to select a different person for its leading role every other chapter.

The Verdict:

The Silver Shard is deeply divided between very good and very flawed segments, with the latter sadly coming into play first. After reading through it twice it is easy to see just why it might have been logical for the book to be structured in this manner. Yet without foreknowledge of the overall narrative, it proves to be confusing, and it doesn't fully pick up until the second act. Because of this flaw, it's very easy to put down the book and never feel the drive to pick it up again.

However, even with this problem, the story does show a great deal of promise. Horth has a solid style of prose, and a nice balance between descriptions and action when he has more of a general world to world with. He avoids a lot of the more detailed purple prose of other writers, but he doesn't allow this to make the world seem empty or lackluster through his presentation. Plus, for all their flaws, I was interested in these characters and remembered their names long after I finished reading. If there was to be a sequel which improved upon the flaws here, I think it would be a great book.

As for this one, if you're interested in Age of Sigmar at all, I would suggest delving into this one but just keep in mind that it is deeply flawed.

Verdict: 4 out of 10