Customer Reviews

Shadow Point (Warhammer 40,000)

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

 

 

I looked forward to reading this novel after completing "Execution Hour". It took me a while, but I managed to find a copy that did not have a price tag that threatened to burst the threadbare seams of my wallet like a brood of genestealers erupting from a fallen seed spore!

I came away from the final page of this book, feeling an equal measure of satisfaction and disappointment. If you read the back cover of the book, you'll notice a plot description that refers to the Blackstone Fortresses. It never appears in the story. It is never even alluded to in the story. However, the story is still well-written and will inspire many BFG players. While the series appears to be focused around the exploits of a prominent naval officer during the fabled Gothic War, this installment takes you from the awakening of an Avatar through the building tension between two mortal enemies and their attempts to form an uneasy alliance against a powerful enemy neither of them can hope to vanquish alone, and all the way up to the pivotal space battle that sees a combined force of Battlefleet Gothic and Craftworld Eldar defeating a Chaos Armada in one of the pivotal battles of that war.

There is intrigue, deception, and insightful sequences that help bring further understanding of the internal politics that rule within Abbadon's regime, among the Craftworld Eldar, and amongst the Imperial Navy.

Although I never found out what the Blackstone Fortress is or what significance it has, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it without hesitation to anyone looking for an interesting read.

I purchased this book on the strength of his previous novel, Execution Hour. With that storyline fresh in my head I jumped right into this book. The book is a page turner but roughly a third of the way in there is little mention of Semper or his ship. There is no mention of the previous plotline and the new characters that are introduced are rather shallow and quickly set aside. The detail is superb and when the action finally does begin it is fast and furious. The only problem is that like other Black Library books the novel is limited to 300 pages and thus the books ending is very rushed and leaves you feeling empty and a bit dissapointed. The novel seems to be a set up for a third novel which in my opinion could have been better served by putting out a 600 page book and giving the reader something worth spending money on. I'm sorely tempted to turn my back on this series and go back to Gaunt and his Ghosts. (whose adventures are also constrained by the 300 page limit, but much better written imho.)

After reading the first few chapters of Execution Hour-I really did not think that I would enjoy this story line. In due time of course I became hooked and Execution Hour turned out to be a fabulous story. Its sequal "Shadow Point" takes place some time after the events of its precursor and though there are some open questions left unanswered the book is a truly gripping story. THe focus of this story is basically a build up of things to come in the next book, as the desperate Imperial forces attempt to forge an alliance with the Eldar in order to stop the powers of chaos from attaining an ancient powerful Eldar artifact. However the fragile alliance is threatened by the deceits of the Dark Eldar.
After reading through the book I can imagine several people disappointed at the portrayal of certain elements that do not adhere to strict Warhammer 40K rules or stats (ie. sheer power of the Avatar of the Eldar)---and I say to this that it is as it should be. The writers are portraying their vision of the Warhammer 40K universe and therefore do not need to create a balance between the armies that is necessary for "fair" game play. People are forgetting (or are blinded by favoritism) that the stats in the game are all equalized so that not one single army can said to be the best. Reality (if it were) would be far different.
Shadow Point is an excellant read and another fine book in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Not nearly as good as the previous book, Execution Hour. This book starts well, but seems to be lacking the inspiration to carry itself all the way through. The plot is so straightforward that a lot of the suspense is lost. The dark eldar fail to inspire the dread, loathing and alien maliciousness which I feel they are capable of. Not a bad book, and it does have a few memorable moments. Gordon Rennie has a real gift for describing space battles.