L
ike a moron, I'm reading Warhammer 40k novels, specifically some of the novels concerning the Horus Heresy, 10,000 years previous. The first of these is Horus Rising, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and got me pretty excited about the so-called Black Library. It is written by Dan Abnett, who is among the more celebrated authors of the Library, and he did not disappoint. I then started to move onto the other books in the series, written by other authors; these did disappoint.
The story of the 40k universe is pretty well set and pretty well known. The principal actors of its history are named, and especially in the case of the Horus Heresy, the results have already been carved in stone. I think this has resulted in something of a temptation to just tell the events, put a little garnish on them, and call it a day. Dan Abnett resists this temptation admirably, but his fellow Black Librarians do so less well. What I appreciate about Abnett is his curiosity about the setting he has been charged with exploring. He is much more interested in the world that surrounds the "Great Men" of history, and how the little people react to the giant events that unfold. He is always dancing around the fringes of the Big Things, looking in from the outside -- and this makes for compelling writing, that always has the capacity to surprise. In the first novel, Abnett introduces Remembrancers; Warrior Lodges; the use of the four humours by Space Marines; a heavily ironic story of a second, false, emperor; a minor empire of humans allied with aliens; a prison colony of mindless, but technologically advanced warrior-spiders; a centuries-old advisory committee to the First Primarch; and on and on. None of these were established canon pieces of the 40k universe until he wrote them, and they give the novel, and the universe, a breath of genuine life and interest. He chooses interesting scenes and characters to lay out the themes that interest him. It's a mightily successful book, for being inspired by tiny plastic soldiers.
The books that follow are, as far as I'm concerned, unreadably dull. These authors seem to have simply picked up the pieces that Abnett created, and artlessly shuffled them about, understanding them as the "legal toys" of the canon thenceforth. In the second novel, False Gods, Graham McNeill's only contribution is to introduce a handful of original characters, and have half of them killed off by the end. There are no new concepts, no understanding of the themes he has to work with, and he completely mangles the personalities of the characters that cross over. Every scene is predictable and pat, events that should be given time to breathe are rushed, and others are stretched out in interminable boredom. I got about halfway in before deciding in disgust that I'd just read the summary. The third book wasn't much better, and I figured I'd just skip to the next Abnett-written novel, Legion, the 7th in the series.
This was an excellent choice. The fresh breath of Abnett's joy in creating new worlds, people, and plots is palpable only a few pages in. This plot of Legion is secondary to the overarching thrust of the Horus Heresy, which means Abnett has wide latitude, and he elected to write what is essentially an espionage thriller, that still gets to have unbeatable gene-altered supersoldiers and psychic reincarnators. It is, once again, a pleasure to read. Abnett is no Tolstoy, but it's offensive to suggest he has to be. He understands what his job is, when writing in such a gonzo universe -- know when to be serious, know when to be silly, know when to be weird, and never, ever, play your cards straight. He lets us know that far, far more is happening in the galaxy than just what made it into the "history books", and he's a consummate guide to grim darkness.