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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Abnett's expertise extends to the air, August 8, 2004
Double Eagle sees the focus put on the pilots of the Imperium, specifically a group of fighter- and bomber-pilots who were first seen in one of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels. As per usual, Abnett has superior character development. This book, as with all his others, is truly a page-turner.
Something of an aside to the Ghosts storyline, this novel takes place on a planet suffering from a Chaos invasion in the Sabbat Campaign that Abnett has written so much about. (In fact, there are some references to the Ghosts storyline, but not so that the reader is left confused.) As with Abnett's other works, we see comparatively little of the enemy in terms of internal thoughts, only getting that before they interact with the heroes. There is only one such villain, actually, an ace of aces who seems unstoppable. He makes several appearances, always defeating those he faces, or driving them to extreme measures to flee.
One of the primary characters is the flight commander of the Phantine XX fighter wing. She is a great character, mixing in-combat skill with concern for her wingmates. Others in the unit also provide great characters, the old nice guy, the new kid trying to prove himself. The planes are also like characters, given their jinxes and idiosyncrasies. The unit really is a whole, from machine, to tech, to pilots.
Another arc of the story deals with a bomber pilot who is in another unit. He was saved by one of the Ghosts in another novel, and feels he is on borrowed time, that he should be dead. He meets a woman who has lost pretty well everything, and they find in each other that which they were missing. This is really my favorite part of the book. The human side.
There is a great deal of air combat, which Abnett delivers with exquisite skill. I could feel all the losses and exult in the victories as though I were there. There are a number of close calls, tight squeezes, near-misses. All those things that make such situations interesting to read.
This novel shows again that Abnett is the best of the WH40k authors, at least in my opinion. Despite the lack of a well-determined enemy, this book is a great read. After all, the reader is supposed to feel for the Imperium, not those who hate all life. In that respect, the lack of depth in the enemy is perfect. However, as has been occurring more and more of late in new release books, there were a number of typos. Not the British-American differences in certain words, which I have grown accustomed to through Abnett and the rest, but simple lack of proofreading, I believe. The story was so great, though, that I overlooked that entirely in my rating.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun look at a seldom seen aspect of the 40K universe, July 27, 2004
Yet another strong offering from Abnett, Double Eagle is the story of an Imperial world beset by chaos invaders during the height of the Sabbat Worlds campaign. Told largely from the perspective of the beleaguered Imperial pilots charged with slowing the chaos tide until off-world reinforcements can hopefully arrive, the book gives us a taste of the 40K universe rarely experienced. At first, I wasn't certain whether Abnett could keep my attention for a few hundred pages with such a relatively narrow focus. I need not have worried, however. Thanks in large part to a wealth of rich, three dimensional characters and frequent accounts of gripping aerial combat, I remained captivated through the last page.
If Double Eagle has a fault, it's that the chaos invaders are presented as a faceless, nameless horde with little character or individuality. Abnett wasted an excellent opportunity to create a small, elite cadre of enemy pilots who might have shed some much welcome light and understanding on the chaos psyche. Instead, the reader is treated to only the briefest of glimpses of the one enemy ace who is given a name. This character had a great deal of potential but sadly, that potential was never really realized. It's a shame that Abnett did not see fit to create antagonists as nuanced as the other main characters in the book.
Despite the above criticism, I would still highly recommend Double Eagle to any fan of either Abnett or the Games Workshop family. I suspect that it will probably be a long time before another Black Library author treats us to such an exhaustive or entertaining look at this one small corner of the 40K universe.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Retelling of the Battle of Britain - Ending Fades Into the Sunset, September 30, 2005
This review is from: Double Eagle (Mass Market Paperback)
M. Abnett is a very capable writer who has proven again and again that the Warhammer 40K universe and quality writing can coexist between the covers of a novel or - in his case - comic books as well.
Double Eagle covers a rarely visited aspect of the 40K genre, which is typically dominated by ground combat, aviators and war in the air. For "fluff" and background fanatics, this alone would be worth the price of admission, especially the central, very non-standard Imperial Guard squadron. Above and beyond this, M. Abnett does an excellent job bringing the reader into the story. Characters are surprisingly complex, yet very believable and "human."
The action scenes really stand out. M. Abnett clearly did his homework in talking to current-day Harrier pilots, as the trademark craft of the book - the Thunderbolt - has similar vector capability, and in consulting the historical record, integrating elements of classic true tales of air combat from WWII and other conflicts.
The central tale seems very loosely based upon British retreat in the very early years of WWII and the Battle of Britain, but M. Abnett has woven in enough other elements into the tale that history buffs might be the only ones who take notice.
There are two elements that might be considered weak points. The first is the enemy, whom aside from their ace of aces and his "flying circus," has very little character and acts surprisingly mundanely for a chaos force. Their bombing sorties come in organized waves; their aircraft are uncommonly uniform, except in color or decoration. The second is the ending, though this rather depends on one's point of view. To put it in terms that won't give anything away, it has a European art film ending rather that a US action film ending.
The short summation: another worthwhile offering from M. Abnett, well worth the read even though it isn't "perfect."
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