Customer Reviews

Double Eagle

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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."

With Double Eagle, Dan Abnett who has been telling wh40k war stories for a long time, moved into a new dimension - Wars in the Air! He has told stories of land war (gaunt's ghosts), of psychic war (Eisenhorn) and Spacemarine wars in space. Now comes the story of an air war.

As usuall, the story and plot are good, the characters compelling and the battles ineresting and engaging. Dan abnett pays attention to small details and he has a talent to make living stories, stories that make you feel as if you're reading a report of actual events.

The only gripe I have with the story is the villains. There aren't any. No characters of any depth for the villains. This could have been a ligitimate choice for the author (to leave the bad guys unknown behind masks) but the chaos pilots seem ordinary, if enemy, pilots. Where are the Deamon powers? Where is the Warp? Alas, Abnett has forgotten it.

This is an AWESOME BOOK!! I am a pilot and this book really rang true with me. The face paced action and great details really bring this book alive. I am an avid player of Warhammer 40k and I did not recognize some of the terms from other sources, i.e. codexs, White Dwarf, ect., but that may be that I have not gotten the chance to read much in the Imperial Navy catagory of 40k books.

Dont listen to any the book's detractor's. This is by far the greatest WH40K ever written. It is a near-perfect mirror of the Battle of Britian and follows the Phantine XX and other characters through the "air" phase of the war of Enothis. If you need more info go out and read this masterpiece, you wont be dissapointed.

Well, this book is truly a good, if not great read. I'm not sure if i was possibly watching a lot of older WWII movies at the time... (maybe?) but this book totally put a smile on my face at how it read to me, like a WWII black and white. It seriously has so much i can't even think of it all; Love, action, suspense, beautifully painted scenes (like parts near the ocean). The characters are interesting (well made) and completely kept my interest during the whole read, especially the Chaos pilot, which was fun to read about because you never hear about Chaos fighter pilots, in-fact you almost never read about anything Air force in the warhammer universe, that was actually... until this book came out (i must've read it right after it was released). The air battles were THE BEST! I mean geez, ever thought about how it must be inside a Marauder under attack from Chaos fighters? Gunning from the turrets and watching helplessly as they slice down bomber after bomber while your throwing round after round from heavy bolters at them? Or how about a dogfight above a believable mountain range, where everything is described in such detail that even the vents on the aircraft are described (like that of the beginning), i mean geez. This is the book that showed me (i was probably like 12-13 when i read it) that Chaos Space Marines are not exactly all that common to find on the battlefield, that the ranks of Chaos are filled more with traitor Imperial Guard, Citizens, or PDF. This book has so much to offer, and truly shows this war on a GRAND SCALE, that unfortunately other 40K books may not fully capture (though i still enjoy reading them). I genuinely cared for the well being and (not just physical but mental) survival of the characters. Im not just saying this because its Dan Abnett's writing (I personally did not fall in love with "Titanicus" like everyone else, but was a fun read), but because this is really greatly described and told. Like i've said at the beginning, think of a good (or great) black and white movie you've seen about WWII, from the Bomber pilot, fighter pilot, tanker, hell even a truck driver, they all have believable and relatable stories to be told, and interesting ones at that. It is the same for this. I could write on much more about this book, but would run the risk of writing a something along the lines of a full summary :D.
Bottom line, this is a great book. The best 40K book ever? I dunno about that, but a great book none the less, definitely one of the best i have ever read (and i've read alot of the 40K universe).
I would say buy it, put up your feet, and enjoy.

...and that's saying something! I've been hooked on Dan Abnett's writing ever since I picked up the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series a few years back. Now I've devoured almost everything he's written. This book was, simply put, a really good read. If you're looking for a story about Gaunt's Ghosts, you'll have to look elsewhere. If you want good storytelling about a group of people doing their darndest to keep the forces of Chaos at bay, then you'll enjoy the book. One of my favorite aspects of Abnett's writing is his attention to small details. The behavior of military men and women, their small mannerisms, their banter back and forth, it's all very believable. As to the people who think that the author doesn't do a good job of "suspending reality," all I can say is, dude, you're reading Sci Fi. 'Nough said.

I first encountered Dan Abnett with Titanicus, and subsequently his Gaunt's Ghosts series. Needless to say I was quite impressed with his writing style and the stories he told. His knack for getting down in trenches is second to none. So I was intrigued when I saw this title with the tagline, "High speed combat in the Sabbatt Worlds." I am a sucker for airplane anything and snatched it up as soon as I could. I was not let down. It reminds me of one of by favorite books: PIECE OF CAKE (FICTION) (Cassell Military Paperback) in that it follows a squadron through a dire phase of a war. Pilots fight and die against ever mounting odds, while battling confidence and morale issues. The air battles are brutal, furious and easy to follow. And the ending, well read and see. You won't be disappointed.

Also recommend: The Dawn Patrol

Dan Abnett has done it again. Double Eagle is a great book. It is a spin off from the Gaunt's Ghosts series and follows the Phantine fliers in the war on Enothis. The air combat is excellent. The action is intense and fast paced. It is similar to the Battle of Britian air war campain during WWII with a very definate Warhammer 40K twist.