Booknote: Deathwatch

Steve Parker, Deathwatch. Nottingham, UK: Black Library, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-84970-447-2.

 

Genre: science fiction

Subgenre: military science fiction, Warhammer 40,000

Format: trade paperback

Source: Bought discounted at Half Price Books. I own a copy.

 

This is a novel I wanted to like more, but it just did not work for me. The novel takes us through the induction and training of six space marines into the elite and secretive Deathwatch. The Deathwatch are assigned to hunt down aliens threatening the Imperium of Man. While they train, Inquisitor Sigma and his agents are investigating a new threat on 31-Caro. 

The novel is arranged into three parts (acts) with chapters in the first two parts alternating between the space marines in training and Sigma's agents investigating. The parts with the space marines training are interesting as we get to learn about the six space marines who will become Talon Squad. Lyandro Karras, First Codicier (Librarian) of the Death Spectres, is assigned to lead the squad, so naturally much of that part of the story focuses on him. We get bits and pieces about the others, though to be honest, I would have liked to learn more about the other marines. Readers interested in Deathwatch lore will be interested in these chapters. 

The chapters featuring the agents were OK, but at times they felt more disruptive of the main narrative about the space marines. The agents are working to uncover the threat, but after a while we can tell they may be over their heads. At that point, I am just waiting for the marines to get deployed, which happens in the third part. 

A big issue with the novel is that pacing in the first two acts is seriously slow, and parts of it are just not that interesting. I kept picking up the book, putting it aside, picking it up again. I honestly was about to drop it, but I was curious enough to make myself finish it. The book redeems itself somewhat in the third part when the marines are deployed. The action ramps up, though that also takes a while. The author apparently likes to just take his sweet old time describing and filling in details. After a while you just want him to get on with it. When he does get on with it, it gets interesting. As I said, the action eventually ramps up. We also get a reveal on the true threat in 31-Caro, and even a glimpse at the underlying machinations of the Inquisition. The novel leaves readers asking more questions than the novel answers. Despite reservations, Talon Squad will go on working with the mysterious, and I'll add, sinister Sigma. I do hate to say it, but given the last part of the book, I am curious to read more about Talon Squad. 

Overall then, this book just drags through the first two parts. I've seen some fan boy reviews, and I honestly fail to see why they rate this book so highly. It is a bit too long; the author needed a ruthless editor to cut some of the filler out. It is not that interesting or exciting until the third part, and then it seems to rush in at the end as the author realized he had to deliver a story with an ending point and the deadline caught up with him. Fans of Deathwatch will probably like this anyhow. As I said, the training chapters are interesting by themselves, and you get clues and hints how things work. For casual readers, this book may be just boring enough they might not finish it. I am glad I finished it, for it had a good ending, but having to drag through the rest to get there was not satisfying. 

I'd say this is a very optional book for libraries. For readers, borrow it if you must. I definitely would not pay full retail for this. I got it discounted from Half Price Books, and even that seemed pricey after reading the book. This is one I should have borrowed. It was just OK. 

2 out of 5 stars. 

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Additional reading notes: 

The book did have a cool quote here or there, so I am sharing them here. 

 

The epigraph to Act II: 

 

 "'The scrying of prime futures carries with it a unique set of problems. One of the most fundamental is simply this: the mere act of attempting prophecy may alter the very futures one tries to perceive.' --Athio Cordatus, 947.M31" (95). 

Lyandro Karras recalls a lesson from his mentor, and by the way, this quote seems particularly relevant in the Hard Times we are living in now. I am seriously considering using this in my email signature line: 

"Those who stick their heads in the sand find only the darkness of ignorance. Shy not from the horror and shame of the past. The hardest memories teach the strongest lessons" (117). 

 

Lyandro Karras quotes Uxol Thay's Necrisod as he sees the underground horros of the cult in 31-Caro: 

 

"And I saw the true face of darkness behind that veil, and it did blind me with its horror" (352). 

 

 

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This book qualifies for the following 2020 Reading Challenges: