Author: Michael Alexander Henke

Book Review: Know No Fear (Horus Heresy #19)

/ Michael Alexander Henke / Leave a comment

Know No Fear: The Battle of Calth
by Dan Abnett

The 19th book in Horus Heresy series, and I think it’s the best so far.  That’s not really surprising to me, it’s written by Dan Abnett, and I find him to be one of the best writers that the Black Library has.

Know No Fear deals with the Battle of Calth, the epic battle between the XIII and XVII legions.  The Ultramarines and the Word Bearers respectively.  From the word go, this book is non stop, fast paced action.  This is a huge, bloody battle between two legions of transhuman killing machines and the book definitely showcases that.  Space Marines are genetically designed for war, and their skills are used to the extreme in this book.  There is fighting on the ground, fighting on ships, space combat, and surrounding it all is the grievous betrayal by the Word Bearers.  The Word Bearers have come to Calth presumably to link up with the Ultramarines and begin a campaign against the hated Orks.  At this point the Ultramarines have no knowledge of Horus’ treachery, and welcome their brother legion with open arms.  It is tough reading and knowing full well what the Word Bearer’s intentions are, and even tougher when the battle begins in earnest.  It begins with a sneak attack by the XVII Legion, and it so brutal, so overwhelming that it’s almost impossible to see how the Ultramarines could survive, let alone retaliate.  It’s a roller coaster, and it’s fantastic.

This amazing cover artwork deserves mention.

Dan Abnett does a wonderful job communicating his story.  He is constantly shifting scenes.  There is so much going on concurrently that you’re never in the same place for more than a couple of pages.  It does quite a bit to help show the huge scale of the conflict.  The large-scale doesn’t just refer to the battle itself, but also to the cast.  There is an abundance of characters, over 75 just from checking the dramatis personae at the beginning of the book.  He uses them all, and he uses them well.  By the end of the book you’ve come to know these characters very well indeed.  A great read.

Comic Book Covers 09/05/2012

/ Michael Alexander Henke / Leave a comment

Here are my favorite covers from the current week of comics.

The Mighty Thor #19

Cover by Alan Davis

Not everyone likes him, but I’m kind of a sucker for Alan Davis art.  I especially like the way that he draws Thor, and this cover is another great rendition.

Hawkeye #2
Cover by David Aja

I love David Aja’s work, and his covers during his run on Immortal Iron Fist remain some of my favorite.  I was pumped to learn that he would be working with Matt Fraction again, this time on Hawkeye.  As this cover shows, he doesn’t disappoint.

Venom #24

Variant Cover by Skottie Young

It’s Skottie Young, and for me personally that’s really all that’s necessary for this cover to be on the list.  It’s a variant cover celebrating Spidey’s 50th Anniversary, and it’s fantastic.

Book Review: Legion by Brandon Sanderson

/ Michael Alexander Henke / 1 Comment

Legion
by Brandon Sanderson

I love Brandon Sanderson’s work.
The Mistborn series remains one of my favorite fantasy series ever.  The man has a fantastic imagination, extraordinary attention to detail, and a great ability to get those things on paper in a truly entertaining way.  In all the books of his I’ve read, it’s his magic systems that stand out.  He goes to great lengths to explain how and why the magic in his universes work, to the point they are almost as much science as they are magic.  Everything is explained, and it all makes sense in the context of the world.

I know Sanderson as a writer of Epic Fantasy novels.  His books tell truly epic stories, some getting up into the 1000+ page territory.  Knowing that, I was surprised when I found out that his next release would be an 80 something page novella.  It seemed like such a huge departure from his earlier stuff, but I’m happy to say that the man doesn’t need 1000+ pages to tell a great story, as it turns out he doesn’t even need 100.

Legion tells the story of one Stephen Leeds, a man with the unique ability to have multiple personae.  These hallucinations, he refers to them as his aspects, are real in the sense that he can see them and have conversations with them, even though no one else can.  There are quite a few of them, and each has its own specialty.  It’s kind of a tough concept to grasp, but Sanderson does a great job of explaining it all in such a few number of pages.  It’s a very quick read, but it left me very much wanting more.  I would definitely call this project a success.

Book Review: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War

/ Michael Alexander Henke / 1 Comment

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War
by Christie Golden

The latest of the World of Warcraft novels, and one of my favorite so far.  With the release of the Cataclysm expansion, Blizzard had indicated that the story of the game would be focusing more on the Alliance vs. Horde aspect, considering that the Wrath of the Lich King storyline had the Alliance and Horde working together.  This book really takes that Horde vs. Alliance dynamic and runs with it.  Garrosh Hellscream is the current Warchief of the Horde, and he couldn’t be more different from the previous leader Thrall.  Thrall had been working towards peace with the Alliance with his friend and counterpart on the other side, Jaina Proudmoore.  They had made great strides towards that peace, but Thrall decided to step down as leader of the Horde and follow his shamanic birthright following The Sundering of Azeroth and the return of Deathwing.  Thrall appointed Garrosh Hellscream as the new Warchief, hoping that Garrosh would continue to strive for peace.  Garrosh is a much more militant personality however, and he is not satisfied with the current shaky peace between the two factions.  He wants nothing less than to kick the Alliance off the continent of Kalimdor and to eventually conquer the Eastern Kingdoms.  To this end he uses some very brutal tactics.  Lady Jaina Proudmoore, long known as a moderate and a the loudest voice for peace between the Horde and Alliance is on the receiving end, as is her city of Theramore.  What we see is a complete shift in Jaina’s views and beliefs.  She knows that peace is no longer an option with Garrosh Hellscream as leader of the Horde, and she prepares herself for war.

This complete turnaround is one of the great things about World of Warcraft.  Many MMO worlds are static and unchanging.  If an area of the world has snow for example, it will always have snow, there are no seasons.  Blizzard decided to shake that up with the release of the Cataclysm expansion.  They completely changed many of the zones in the original continents, and added lots of new content.  Everything old was new again, and it was great to explore places and find new things, places that for many people they have visited for years.  The changes Blizzard brings to the world don’t just manifest themselves in the game, novels like this one are an important part as well.
One of the reasons I enjoy the World of Warcraft novels so much is that while playing the game, I can actually visit the places in the book.  When a building or area is described, I don’t have to try to build a picture in my head, it is already there because I have seen and been in that building.  It helps to make Azeroth feel like a living and breathing place.  With the Mists of Pandaria expansion set for release on September 25th, this book did a great job of getting me excited for the all changes we’ll be seeing in the near future.