Post by Manius on May 8, 2009 13:52:24 GMT
Forth instalment in the “Lost” series
Well, what can I say…where do I start with this one?
I’ve read all the preceding books and this one took me by surprise. I started reading and couldn’t help thinking “This is a hard book to read”.
The structure of the first third of the book is very fragmentary, more so than the preceding book Armour of Contempt but mainly due to the way its been put together…each chapter is made up of many mini-chapters and you’re thrown from one point to another rapidly, too rapidly most of the time to allow the reader to actually engage correctly in the story.
Thankfully, once the initial setting has occurred we get a much more fluid novel and back to “work as usual”. I say “work as usual” but the book in total is another exceptional piece of writing and you can clearly see how Dan Abnett has grown as a writer and become more bold not only in playing with varying writing styles to portray differing situations but also in the increasingly adult material contained in the subject matter.
As someone who has served in the armed forces, I can relate to many of the more gruesome passages described and it adds significant realism and grounding to what is, after all, a work of Sci-Fi Fiction. Take away the Lasguns and you could be reading a description of many real battlefields or any number of the more “dirty” wars that have taken place (…are still taking place?).
One thing that struck me with this book was that this story, perhaps more than any before it, is written and structured in such a way as to be more open to dramatisation for some reason. I believe I saw progression of this in Armour of Contempt but Only in Death takes it a stage further, scripting this book into a screen play for film or television wouldn’t take a genius or much adaptation.
So, a book certainly recommended again if you are in any way a fan of the overall series. However, one to cherish and read several times…not only because the story is complex and you often find sections that make you WANT to go back and check the narrative but because we’ve got to wait until NOVEMBER 2009 for the next book!!
Well, what can I say…where do I start with this one?
I’ve read all the preceding books and this one took me by surprise. I started reading and couldn’t help thinking “This is a hard book to read”.
The structure of the first third of the book is very fragmentary, more so than the preceding book Armour of Contempt but mainly due to the way its been put together…each chapter is made up of many mini-chapters and you’re thrown from one point to another rapidly, too rapidly most of the time to allow the reader to actually engage correctly in the story.
Thankfully, once the initial setting has occurred we get a much more fluid novel and back to “work as usual”. I say “work as usual” but the book in total is another exceptional piece of writing and you can clearly see how Dan Abnett has grown as a writer and become more bold not only in playing with varying writing styles to portray differing situations but also in the increasingly adult material contained in the subject matter.
As someone who has served in the armed forces, I can relate to many of the more gruesome passages described and it adds significant realism and grounding to what is, after all, a work of Sci-Fi Fiction. Take away the Lasguns and you could be reading a description of many real battlefields or any number of the more “dirty” wars that have taken place (…are still taking place?).
One thing that struck me with this book was that this story, perhaps more than any before it, is written and structured in such a way as to be more open to dramatisation for some reason. I believe I saw progression of this in Armour of Contempt but Only in Death takes it a stage further, scripting this book into a screen play for film or television wouldn’t take a genius or much adaptation.
So, a book certainly recommended again if you are in any way a fan of the overall series. However, one to cherish and read several times…not only because the story is complex and you often find sections that make you WANT to go back and check the narrative but because we’ve got to wait until NOVEMBER 2009 for the next book!!