Review Category: Books

BIGBY PRESENTS: GLORY OF THE GIANTS

by Ed Fortune

One of the nice things about Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons is the way that all the splat books are ‘themed’ as if they were gazetteers written by some character from the worlds of D&D. Not only is this a nice shout-out to the old Mystara D&D setting, it also adds extra flavour to the whole affair.

The latest in this series is Bigby Presents: Glory of The Giants. Bigby is the wizard better known for his hand-themed spells, and this sourcebook focuses not on giant hands but giants in general. It is, of course, a high-quality hardcover book filled with good and inspirational giant-themed art.

Much like Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, Bigby Presents: Glory of The Giants is a mix of useful upgrades for players, story hooks, monsters, lairs, and setting information, peppered with comments from Bigby himself to add flavour to the book. The 192-page hardback isn’t quite as dense as Fizban’s, but it does do an excellent job of making Giants interesting creatures to encounter. A culture with goals and motivations rather than a collection of creatures to bash for an XP bonus.

Higher-level D&D games are often tough to keep challenging, and you can only throw so many dragons at a party before it gets samey. There are over 70 giant-themed monsters in this book, most of which are a challenge for high-level adventurers. There are also rules for using Giants as high-level patrons, which also slots in nicely to campaigns like Tyranny Of Dragons or Storm King’s Thunder.

Character creation options are interesting. There are two new giant-related backgrounds, and both come with feats attached. This is quite the power bump, and DM’s are advised to allow characters in the same campaign who don’t take these backgrounds to be given the Skilled or Tough feat. This is a reasonable re-balance, but it does feel like a bit of a hack this far down the game’s development.

We also get a bunch of new feats that have prerequisites (much like the Third Edition of D&D), and these basically allow you to build a giant-themed badass. Of particular interest is Rune Carver, which allows a certain sort of magic item creation (and the magic items presented later in the book are pretty powerful). We also get a new sub-class for barbarians, Path of the Giant, which essentially lets you play Thor; you can throw lightning-infused rocks at people and are very strong and hard to knock down. Add a hammer and a fancy helmet, and you, too, can be Chris Hemsworth.

This is a decent DM’s toolkit, with some shiny things for players to get excited about. It’s not quite as packed with plot ideas as previous books of its ilk, but it’s a must for most DMs, especially those with high-level parties, and the new feats are jolly interesting.

Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is out now and can be found here, and a version with special cover art can be found at your friendly local games store.

MASTERS OF DEATH

by Katie Robertson

New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Olivie Blake – most famous for her dark academia fantasy series The Atlas Six – has written a book perfect for fans of ghosts, vampires, and spooky twists and turns. Her hit ebook Masters Of Death – here getting its first physical release – isn’t as well-known as The Atlas Six, but it’s the one that really made us fall in love with her writing.

We meet estate agent Viola Marek (known as Vi), who’s a vampire, and the house on sale is haunted, and its ghost was murdered. When Vi hires Fox D’Mora to deal with her ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Vi, Fox is both a fraud and the godson of Death.

In the first intriguing quarter, we become acquainted with a set of main characters who, on the surface, seem like normal human people who grew up with normal human parents. But as we dig deeper, we find fascinating facts about them. Fox did not grow up with normal human parents but with his godfather: Death. Vi was a normal human person with normal human parents, but one day she was transformed into a vampire. And then our side characters include werewolves, sirens and reapers. On my!

From the opening page, this writer was lost inside the ambience of Blake’s world and forgot that we were reading words on a page. The characters are so well written, each with their own quirks, which (although they are all supernatural beings) made them quite believable. From the first page, it’s like opening a door into a haunted mansion or a medium’s dark and calm apartment. Blake really has a way with words and wields them to create a beautiful, funny, creepy, and immersive world.

Halfway into this spectacular story, we began to get lost. So many questions: what is ‘the game?’ How is the group going to get along whilst going on their quest? Is the spirit a ghost or a poltergeist? (The answer to that last question depends on who you ask!) It was these questions which kept us glued to the book. We started to learn more and more about Vi and about the complicated past between Bradt and Fox, we met the villain, and we saw all of our protagonists together in one haunted, cursed room. All of these factors made it imperative we read on.

If you are planning on reading Masters of Death, be prepared to be lost in the mystery along with the characters. After every flick of the page, there is a plot twist waiting for your arrival, which will make you question everything that you thought you knew.

This book is perfect for people who want a lighthearted, chaotic adventure with supernatural elements and a fun, complex plot. Masters of Death felt like an epic mixture of all our favourite books and TV shows while remaining both original and unpredictable. If you enjoyed Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, you will adore this book.

CORMAN/POE

by Martin Unsworth

The series of movies the legendary Roger Corman made in the sixties that were inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe have been rightfully reappraised over the years. Whether it’s the sight of Vincent Price majestically owning the screen, the anthologies that feature more horror legends, or the luscious colours and sets, there’s something in these films for everyone. Chris Alexander’s book mixes film analysis with Corman’s thoughts, with interview segments with the director to get some great insight into each film.

Some of the anecdotes Corman gives are fascinating, and he’s very honest about the movies. He also talks generously about the actors and the other behind-the-scenes crew that worked on them. He gleefully recounts how he came up with The Terror, which was made on the sets of The Raven. It ended up having multiple directors (including co-star Jack Nicholson), and while not in the Poe/Corman franchise is still worth checking out. Also amusing is Roger bemoaning the fact that the British crew he hired for The Masque of the Red Death (which included the legendary Nicolas Roeg behind the camera) worked too slowly for his usual fast-paced – and money conscious – style.

Chris Alexander’s summing up of each film is a welcome part, too. He gives frank and honest opinions on each film and doesn’t shy away from criticism, which is refreshing considering Corman’s input in the book. His appraisal of The Pit and the Pendulum, for example, features an interesting story about one of the actors who claimed to have directed the film himself!

As a bonus of sorts, the correspondence received from the American ‘censors’ the MPAA, regarding The Masque of the Red Death is also included and makes for fascinating reading. A gallery section highlights some of the various posters from around the world. A worthy addition to any fan’s collection.

Corman/Poe is published by Headpress and available as a limited edition hardback only from their website.

ZOMBIES!

by Alister Davison

The living dead return in this collection from Paul Kane, proving there’s still much life in the old flesh-eaters by looking at them in a variety of ways. The book begins with an unsettling poem that has a sinister steampunk theme, creating an appropriate atmosphere for the stories that follow. Each has a different take on the sub-genre – ranging from a single creature rising from its grave to a future full of them and, despite the author wearing his influences firmly on his sleeve, there’s great fun to be had in knowing what’s to come; to Kane’s credit it’s not always when expected, and tension remains throughout. The writing is versatile, as always, packed with neat twists and suitably shocking moments.

There’s much humour to be found, too, particularly in the Dalton Quale story. It’s a Holmesian romp that has its tongue firmly through its cheek, laced with gore and laugh-out-loud innuendo worthy of Sid James. It’s cleverly done – despite tipping a wink to its audience. There’s genuine jeopardy throughout.

The poem and two other stories are new to this collection, some of which go back to 2001, proving that Kane’s talent to disturb and grip the reader has never diminished, finely honed over the years. As the introduction states, horror fiction has its cycles, but it’s good to know that authors such as this have flown the genre’s flag for decades now and will continue to challenge expectations and deliver stories that pack an emotional and visceral punch.

THEY LURK

by Paul Mount

He may not yet be a household horror name like Stephen King but it’s easy to see why Ronald Malfi is acclaimed as “one of the all-time great horror writers” on the cover of They Lurk, this new collection of four of his early novellas and one brand new piece that, in all honesty, has got feature film written right through it.

They Lurk (the title hails from a margin note written by Malfi’s creative writing teacher on a short story he submitted for her consideration) touches all the horror bases; there’s psychological body horror, a supernatural mystery, good old-fashioned monster horror and in the all-new story Fierce, a very contemporary story of inhuman horror in a cold, remote environment. Malfi specialises in fully-rounded ideas often populated by conflicted characters, people who are jaded, tired, and disillusioned; people who have reached a significant crossroads in their lives or who have made bad decisions that have taken them down a dark path. In Skullbelly, a crumpled private investigator is dispatched to find out what happened to a group of campers who mysteriously disappeared in a woodland area in Oregon, where he hears tall tales of a grisly carnivorous creature that prowls the wilderness. The Stranger explores madness, paranoia and schizophrenia – with a very special twist all of its own – but the collection really kicks into high gear in The Stranger in which David booked into a rundown motel for the night with his much younger girlfriend, is plunged into a night of terror when he finds a man with a gun sitting behind the wheel of his car. ‘After the Fade’ shamelessly homages Stephen King’s The Mist as a bunch of barflies are trapped indoors by the arrival of huge, brain-sucking bugs that emerge from the dark of the night. Best of all, though, is Malfi’s all-new piece Fierce, in which a teenage girl and her mother plunge off the road after a near-miss with a huge tow truck in the middle of a snowstorm. The resulting nightmare – and a flashback to a terrible encounter from her youth – powers a propulsive, hugely cinematic horror story that can’t help but evoke the likes of Jeepers Creepers, Wolf Creek, and even the more recent Barbarian.

Malfi is a clever, considered writer, and there’s something for every terror taste in this scintillating, hugely-readable collection of five tales that will enthral, disturb and unnerve in equal measure. Flesh-creepingly good.

They Lurk is published by Titan Books on July 18th

SUBORBITAL 7

by Paul Mount

For the first eighty or so pages, John Shirley’s Suborbital 7 reads worryingly like a novelisation of one of those ropey 1980s straight-to-DVD action thrillers (usually starring Steven Segal or Dolph Lundgren) with titles like Ultimate Power or Hostile Vengeance or Hard Bastard Mission 3. It’s all relentless machismo, fightin’ talk, blazing guns and merciless killing populated by an initially-faceless roll call of characters and peppered with bewildering acronyms and largely-unnecessary intricate aeronautical detail. Mercifully though, once the book has delivered its big action set piece, it settles into its actual story and becomes a taut, claustrophobic space survival story set against a disturbingly-plausible deteriorating geo-political backdrop.

In the near future, a bunch of tough-as-nails Rangers, including Lieutenant Art Burkett, travels to an occupied monastery in Moldova aboard a high-tech suborbital vehicle (the titular Suborbital 7) to rescue a trio of top scientists kidnapped by the Thieves In Law terrorist group. The mission is largely a success, but as the ship leaves the scene, it’s attacked by a missile launched from Russia. Suborbital 7 is stranded at the edge of space, running out of fuel and oxygen and with its operating systems compromised. Tensions rise, loyalties are tested, and the ship soon finds itself caught up in a bitter game of cat-and-mouse between two jittery superpowers with their fingers on the trigger.

Suborbital 7 is initially a slightly stodgy read, its stiff militarism somewhat cold and unappealing, but it soon develops into a gripping incident-packed page-turner as the situation aboard the crippled ‘orbcraft’ becomes increasingly desperate and the “on the ground” espionage and political posturing provide some welcome relief from the stifling, often bloody, confines of the stricken vessel. Characterisation is fairly paper-thin – Burkett’s troubled domestic situation on Earth (his wife is tired of his dangerous lifestyle and is at the point of leaving him) is trite and perfunctory, and the rest of the ship’s crew are likeable enough if painted in broad strokes. But this is really a book about action and edge-of-the-seat suspense, and fans of tech-heavy sci-fi lite survival stories will enjoy this shamelessly gung-ho near-space adventure.

Suborbital 7 is available now from Titan Books.

DR WHO AND THE DALEKS: THE OFFICIAL STORY OF THE FILMS

by Martin Unsworth

Following on from his excellent look at the making of Escape from New York, writer John Walsh tackles the two big-screen Dr Who movies in this stunning coffee table book.

Lamented and loved in almost equal measure by Who fans and sci-fi lovers, the films were produced by Amicus, most famous for portmanteau horror, but without using the notorious Amicus name. Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg teamed up with an American production company (Aaru) to make these family-friendly, beautifully colourful pictures. Walsh’s book takes us through the two movies, Dr Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966), in easily consumable detail. The films are separated into their own sections, and individual chapters cover the cast, directors, set design, marketing, and so on.

Everything about the book is quality. From the embossed cover to the stunning images, many of which are rarely seen and certainly not published. We especially loved the section on the Sugar Puffs promotion for Invasion Earth, in which a lucky muncher won a full-size Dalek. We miss those cereal tie-ins; they were so much fun for kids. Walsh’s research is impeccable, and he manages to speak to as many people who are still around from the productions as possible and uses quotes from older interviews from the folk who are not.

It’s a shame the films are derided by some because they are not official Who canon, but they are lots of fun and hold up well today. Peter Cushing was a wonderfully whimsical Dr (actually called Who), and it’s a shame he didn’t take up the offer of reprising the role in the series proper. With this book, you’ll appreciate those iconic sets, matte painting backgrounds, and brilliant models all the more.

DICE MAN

By Joel Harley

A collection of the short-lived but much-loved 2000 AD spin-off Dice Man, which ran for six issues back in 1986. This compilation of roll-playing games (geddit?) allows readers to step into the boots (one size too small) of Judge Dredd, wield the axe of Sláine, and take on the presidency of one Ronald Reagan.

Collected into a handsome, striking hardback tome, the collected Dice Man is an enthralling return to ’80s-era 2000 AD, scripted by creator Pat Mills and illustrated by a legendary line-up which includes the likes of Kevin O’Neill, Bryan Talbot, John Ridgway, David Lloyd, Mike Collins and Hunt Emerson. This collected edition is a treat for fans of UK comic book history and fantasy RPGs, requiring little more than a dice and a pencil and paper to play. With its dice-rolling, page-flipping mechanic, it’s an experience that no iPad or Kindle edition can ever replicate – even if the stories are short and the games somewhat simplistic.

Judge Dredd’s haunted house story House of Death is the main draw, based on a story by Dredd creator John Wagner. Meanwhile, Celtic warrior Sláine gets the lion’s share of stories, his fantasy background making him a natural pick for the choose-your-own-adventure format. 2000 AD faves Rogue Trooper, Nemesis the Warlock, and the ABC Warriors also get their dues, while the magazine’s original creation – the Diceman – gets a solid chunk of the book devoted to his (or your) adventures. All that and Hunt Emerson’s Ronald Reagan, too! The magazine’s six original covers by Glenn Fabry, Brendan McCarthy and Hunt Emerson are also presented in full colour in the final pages, closing out a magnificent compendium of work.

A gorgeous collection of games and a well-presented archive of ’80s sci-fi and fantasy action. What are YOU going to do?

DICE MAN is out now

SOLDIER: FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

By Martin Unsworth

Who in their right mind would put a book together chronicling the making of the 1998 film Soldier? Despite starring Kurt Russell, being directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, and written by David Webb Peoples (who wrote the bone fide classics Blade Runner, Unforgiven, and 12 Monkeys), the movie disappeared from the public’s consciousness quite soon after its box office failure. It rarely even turns up in ‘beloved VHS’ lists. Despite all that, author Danny Stewart has compiled an interesting array of interviews and a smattering of essays to tell the story of how the film reached cinemas.

Of the interviews, screenwriter Peoples is the biggest catch and opens the Q&A section of the book strongly. Once we get past the first few questions (which should have been lost or at least trimmed in the edit, to be honest), he’s open and very revealing about the experience of writing the script, dispelling rumours that he intended it to be based in the Blade Runner universe (it was marketed by Anderson on release as being a ‘sidequel’ to Ridley Scott’s classic). He finishes on the fact he hasn’t actually seen the finished product!

While not as well-known names, the interviews with the behind-the-scenes crew provide the most interesting information, and Stewart has managed to seek out an impressive array of talent. The only actor present is Mark Bringelson, who played Rubrick. His short chat features a wonderful ‘don’t say anything but say it all’ moment when he says, “Don’t ask me about Gary [Busey]”. By not having any more actors represented, the interviews focus fully on the technical aspects of making the film, which it does well. For example, Vin Ling, the visual effects supervisor, provides a seven-page answer for just one question!

The essays that close out the book are a mixed bag of reviews and analyses that will certainly want to make you seek the film out again. This is clearly a labour of love for Stewart, and we applaud him for putting together something so in-depth about an almost-forgotten movie. If you’re a Soldier fan, however, this should be in your ‘to read’ pile.

WARHAMMER 40,000 ARKS OF OMEN: THE LION

by Ed Fortune

When the lovely folk at Games Workshop sent us copies of the Arks of Omen series for review, we only had an inkling as to how epic this campaign series would be. This five-book campaign for the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game has undoubtedly let the galaxy burn, introducing us to the renewed Demon Primarch Angron (who has a temper), and powerful warp entity Vashtorr and now, with Arks of Omen: The Lion, the Dark Angel’s founder, Lion El’Jonson, aka The Lion.

The main appeal of these books is the story arc; Warhammer 40,000 has a slowly evolving storyline in which only one thing is guaranteed; there is only war.

In the previous book, we saw the forces of Chaos coming very close to winning. The monsters from the warp and their allies are trying to sweep up specific artefacts from across the galaxy to take control of some super-weapon. Arks of Omen: The Lion reveals what that is and how doomed the rest of the galaxy would be should Chaos get its way.

This time the focus of the action is on the secretive order of Space Marines known as the Dark Angels, and the entire storyline takes a bit of a wild detour as we head into some pretty heavy Warhammer 40,000 lore. The Dark Angels are all about secrets, and quite a few get revealed here (though Dark Angels fans will likely know the broad strokes already). It’s not a spoiler to say that the ‘long thought dead’ leader and Primarch Lion El’Jonson, aka The Lion, returns when his people need him most. And, of course, this storyline leaves a few threads dangling at the end for future books.

It’s nicely written, and the art is superb; if you’re into this hobby, this is a good source of inspiration.

Rules-wise, we get stats for the Lion, Commander Dante, and a variety of Imperial Navy/Voidsmen units. Essentially models that came out recently are tied to the release of this book. These are all available on the official Warhammer 40,000 website, but it’s nice to have them in the back of a book, and yes, The Lion is very good at killing things. He’s not great at soaking up damage, though, so you’re going to have to give him some buddies. The new rules for Dante are similarly unexciting; nothing terribly new here.

As this is an Arks of Omen book, we get more rules for the Boarding Actions sub-game. This time covering the Leagues of Votann (Space Dwarves), The Thousand Sons, the Adeptus Custodes and other Agents of the Imperium. Oh, and a lot of missions. These are really well done and bring the entire Boarding Actions game into focus; it really does elevate all the rules printed so far.

A strong ending to a fun series.