Customer Reviews

Rogue Star (Warhammer 40,000)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Andy Hoare dabbles on both sides of Games Workshop's product lines: game development for the Warhammer 40,000 (W40K) tabletop miniatures game, and in the Black Library fiction upon which it's based. He's done numerous short pieces, and this is his second novel, though clearly the first of a series. This work is more of a lengthy prolog to the series than a stand-alone book. The main characters include: Lucian Gerrit, the brash and insensitive dynastic father; Korvane, the bookish obedient son; and Brielle, the rebellious intuitive daughter.

The book abruptly, some might say inelegantly, thrusts the characters into their assigned roles. You know the personalities of the main characters before finishing the first chapter, and they don't deviate from those patterns for the rest of the work, even when there's clear evidence that to do so would be in their best interest. They form what is clearly the most dysfunctional family in the Imperium. The father blusters, issuing orders without any explanation, and even revels in the concept that his children won't understand his commands. The son, the heir apparent of the dynasty, is blindly obedient to his father and sullenly hostile towards his sister. The daughter is overtly rebellious and completely without consideration for anyone beside herself.

Action scenes provide welcome respite from the Gerrit family affairs, and both the personal- and starship-level conflicts are well written and agreeably paced. However, M. Hoare seems to have based much of his starship terminology from the age of sail, slightly at odds with previous 40K material. The helmsman turns the wheel to steer; Lucian is constantly referring to the drives as "the mains." Any reader of either Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey novels will begin to wonder if they're in the 40K universe or somewhere else.

The plot flows loosely from event to event without building much of a climax, which given the book's purpose as a lengthy prolog to latter works might be forgiven. The "resolution" at the end only serves to prepare the reader for the next installment: Star of Damocles. However, if you're looking for a satisfying, stand-alone story without having to read the rest of the series when it comes out, you might want to look elsewhere.

In short: somewhat clumsy in execution, it does have redeeming features. 40K completists will want to own a copy, but others might wait to see if the rest of the series proves any better than the prolog.

Rogue Star by Andy Hoare is an interesting entry in the 40k canon. It doesn't follow any of the major playable factions in the 40k miniatures game. It isn't represented by any of the GW board games. It'd be a stretch to say it was represented in any of the specialist games (though the argument could certainly be made for Battlefleet Gothic). Before the Rogue Trade RPG, there was little in the way of information about the namesakes of the original Warhammer 40k universe. With all that being said, Rogue Star is easily one of my favorite books in the 40k universe.

The first thing you really have to understand going into Rogue Star is that it is a far different book than any other 40k books you've probably read. It is more about political intrigue and misdirection than direct conflict. There are no Astartes. Hell, we barely get a glimpse of the Imperial Guard. It is the story of Lucian Gerritt, his daughter Brielle, his step-son Korvane, and the fragile hold they retain on their Rogue Trader dynasty. Lucian, simply put, is low on funds, and his dynasty (I gather this as a trade title via name similar to the Medici and Strozzi family names of the renaissance) is in jeopardy of crumbling.

Enter Culpepper Luneberg, Imperial Commander of Mundus Chasmata-- a backwater Eastern Rim planet--with visions of trading grandeur. Luneberg has come into technologies that could potentially swing the Gerritt trading fortunes into the profitable. Thus the tale begins down a road of political intrigue, betrayal, and the unexpected.

The strength of Hoare's writing comes in his ability to develop his characters. Lucian, Brielle, and Korvane are real characters, fleshed out with their strengths and weaknesses. Their familial dysfunction is something easy to relate to, though Hoare counterbalances this with the obvious affection the three have for each other. Lucian is a man of utmost strength, yet of tender weakness, particularly for his children. Brielle is a woman of untamed rebelliousness, yet unwilling to usurp her brother's place in the dynasty. Korvane is moneyed and worldly, yet naïve and ignorant. The dichotomy Hoare shows in the characters is also reflected in the worlds they visit, and done particularly well.

And though political intrigue and maneuvering makes up the bulk of the novel, the action sequences are tense and exciting. We see both the traditional hand-to-hand combat, as well as involved space warfare that seems to remain true to its maritime past. While these scenes are spaced sparingly throughout the book, they are purposeful, and more importantly, meaningful to the exposition.

If Hoare has any faults in Rogue Star, it is that his early pacing may be a bit slow for some. I've started to read the book three times before I finally got through the first three chapters, though after finishing the novel, I find it forgivable. There is requisite setup time that Hoare uses at the beginning to establish his world, and though it begins slowly, it is again with purpose, and overall, the betterment of the story.

Rogue Star is a well written, well paced, and unique addition to the 40k canon. The Gerritts, with all their warts and foibles, are incredibly interesting characters that certainly warrant more attention. Andy Hoare has spun a fun, intriguing yarn that, while not of typical 40k fare concerning Space Marines and Orks, should certainly not be overlooked by any fan of the grim darkness of the 40,000 century.

The Good

+ Great characters. The Gerritts are fleshed out and interesting.

+ Intriguing plot that takes place in unique setting.

The Bad

--Pacing can be slow at times, making some parts susceptible to skimming.

--Action is sparse and not as violent as other 40k books.

This book, the first in what appears be a good ongoing series, follows the travels of Rogue Trader Lucian Gerrit and his family as they attempt to salvage the dynasty of their fleet and family. Lucian enters into a somewhat risky arrangement to keep the family fortune afloat, and ends up being caught in the middle of a budding interstellar war.

This entry of Black Library was very well done, and a blessed deviation in tone from the grittier and more gothica language of other authors works. It pays homage to all of the standard 40k mystic, with praises to the machine spirit and the Astropathica, but its still grounded firmly in space physics, with naval warfare references of crossing the T and commands being given in a form and diction that would be required to fight in a 3d field. The author glides through some of these sections a bit quickly for my tastes, but the action is intense and well written, with some wonderful scenes of politika and familial backstabbing. Equipment descriptions are a bit awkward, as I knew what he was trying to describe in some instances, but his language to do so was very different from what I'd seen used previously. His attention to detail in regards to ship armaments and personal weaponry is very well done, as his the political undertone of the meetings the main character has with the ruler he encounters at the beginning of the book.

The two children of Lucian are a bit flat, rarely deviating from their assigned roles of obedient son and rebillious daughter, but given the story was almost 1st person from Lucians perspective, this can be forgiven, seeing as how they have many opportunities to be fleshed out in Star of Damocles.

40k philes will see the story coming a mile away though, and may be a touch disappointed on the delivery, but I personally was not. That it slides neatly into 40k canon is also impressive, as it provides a third person view of a well established event, again, only really known if you know 40k canon. Especially given that the book is much shorter than normal BL fare, this was a good opening for the series.

This book was one of my $1 buys. It's an okay story nearly lost in a high pile of purple prose. I'm not terribly familiar with the universe this is set in, but it's presented in such a way than an outsider such as myself isn't completely lost.

For the actual ability to write, Mr. Hoare is a cut above most Warhammer novelists, which is to say his narratives aren't as ham-fisted and trite as we sadly sometimes see. He's no Dan Abnett or Sandy Mitchell, but at least he doesn't read like a Game Designer who thinks he's a writer.

Subject material is good and original, a Rogue Trader family makes a nice change from yet another Space Marines gore-fest. Sadly however, once he has the original subject selected, Mr. Hoare doesn't quite get as much out of it as he perhaps could.

The story flow can be quite jarring. The characters bounce around from one plot device to another, never quite finishing anything they start. You're also left in no surprise as to why the main character's fortunes are in decline, if I were a terrible diplomat and let my insane daughter flounce around without reprimand I'd expect to be in the poorhouse myself.

Finally it suffers from the same lack of editorial control as most 40k novels, in that canon is dismissed or re-written by someone who doesn't quite know the universe the story is set in. Navigators are now deformed mutants who have to be shut away in a hidden part of the ship? Methinks someone is confusing 40k for Dune...

All in all you're left with an above average 40k novel that will titillate your imagination but never quite satisfy your appetite.

Lucian Gerrit is a rogue trader. The starship captain has ancient trading rights granted along the Eastern Rim. Over the generations, the family's fortunes have been declining. Now the family has a pile of debt. Desperate, Lucian strikes a deal with Culpepper Luneberg, Imperial Commander of Mundus Chasmata - a backwater Imperial world. Korvane, Lucian's son, and Brielle, Lucian's daughter, are to help carry out the deal with their father. Word has it that Luneberg had come into a supply of ancient technological artifacts. Luneberg needs Lucian's team as a broker.

Brielle knows that things that seem too easy usually are. When she learns what they really picked up for Luneberg, she realizes that she must keep her father from sealing the deal. She also knows that her father and brother will not thank her for it. Yet should Brielle succeed, they must still manage to flee with their lives and hope they do not end up in an even worse position.

***** Author Andy Hoare shows the strength of a trader family, as well as, the shortcomings. Though the Gerrit family works well as a team, the siblings are direct opposites of each other and may yet come to blows as to who eventually inherits the family charter. The author goes beyond dealing with a madman who controls an entire world, he also gives the family a second world ruled by insanity and possible Alien Fleet take-over of the whole sector. Trust me when I say you will never expect all the twists that appear, nor all the surprises. An outstanding novel that I hope to see a sequel to someday soon. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

In an effort to regain his fortunes and familial glory the rogue trader Lucien Garrit stikes a deal on a forgotten Imperial World in the backwater of space. Unfortunately for him so far from the Imperium things aren't quite what they seem and he finds himself in grave danger. It doesnt help that his two children are fierce rivals for the inheritance he hopes to leave them.

Worth the read but not quite long enough to delve too deeply into any real intrigue.

This is a neat little tale. If you're interested in the Rogue Traders and their seemingly limitless potential for adventure and wealth - you'll enjoy this tale of an ancient family and their gambit to revive their fortunes.