Post by Manius on May 9, 2008 11:46:55 GMT
(Firstly, apologies to John. I finished this a few days ago and thought you’d beat me to it)
As I have mentioned in the thread dedicated to the book “Eisenhorn – Xenos”, coverage of that book is essential to the understanding and enjoying of, Malleus. Where Xenos was a manageable book, predictable in plot and outcome Malleus is a far more advanced piece. Perhaps due to the primary work done in Xenos you are far more invested in all the characters in Malleus and there is real tension and real suspense and a real sense of foreboding in Malleus that was missing from Xenos.
Again, I’ll try not to give anything significant way but the plot in Malleus is a joy to unfold. Full of twists, turns and intrigue it is a true tail of an Inquisitor at work…sometimes even against those he should be working with.
Malleus starts approximately 100 years after the closure of Xenos and we find an improved Eisenhorn, his skills and infrastructure have advanced…but has he already seen too much?
Such is the feeling of foreboding built in the book that you race through it, keen to know the fate of our hero, and in some cases, even more keen to find the fate of his enemies. At no point in this book could I foresee the twists and when I DID think I’d been pre-warned of the summary of a plot line I was pleasantly surprised by endings that just didn’t fit with what I’d presumed.
In sort, an excellent work by Dan Abnett. Right up there with any of the best from his Gaunt series of books and the only downside is that to fully enjoy this you have to go through Xenos…which, in itself isn’t that bad but it purely pails against Malleus.
The linking story after Malleus and prior to Hereticus is disappointing after the previous linking story and Malleus itself…nothing more than a minor ghost story..feel free to skip it entirely, seriously, you’re not missing anything of anything.
As I have mentioned in the thread dedicated to the book “Eisenhorn – Xenos”, coverage of that book is essential to the understanding and enjoying of, Malleus. Where Xenos was a manageable book, predictable in plot and outcome Malleus is a far more advanced piece. Perhaps due to the primary work done in Xenos you are far more invested in all the characters in Malleus and there is real tension and real suspense and a real sense of foreboding in Malleus that was missing from Xenos.
Again, I’ll try not to give anything significant way but the plot in Malleus is a joy to unfold. Full of twists, turns and intrigue it is a true tail of an Inquisitor at work…sometimes even against those he should be working with.
Malleus starts approximately 100 years after the closure of Xenos and we find an improved Eisenhorn, his skills and infrastructure have advanced…but has he already seen too much?
Such is the feeling of foreboding built in the book that you race through it, keen to know the fate of our hero, and in some cases, even more keen to find the fate of his enemies. At no point in this book could I foresee the twists and when I DID think I’d been pre-warned of the summary of a plot line I was pleasantly surprised by endings that just didn’t fit with what I’d presumed.
In sort, an excellent work by Dan Abnett. Right up there with any of the best from his Gaunt series of books and the only downside is that to fully enjoy this you have to go through Xenos…which, in itself isn’t that bad but it purely pails against Malleus.
The linking story after Malleus and prior to Hereticus is disappointing after the previous linking story and Malleus itself…nothing more than a minor ghost story..feel free to skip it entirely, seriously, you’re not missing anything of anything.
