A guest review by: Timo
Titanicus - Dan Abnett
What's left to say about Dan Abnett that hasn't already been said?
As with most of Abnett's new releases, Titanicus presents itself as a hardcover. Many people I know don't like this version, but I myself tend to be quite happy holding a "real" book with a jacket in my hand, what with all of Black Library's softcover editions. It has a nice feel to it when you can run your fingers over the jacket and actually feel the letters.
Titanicus' setting is the forge world Orestes under attack by a Legion of Chaos Titans. Following the emergency signal, an Imperial Titan Legion lands, and a colossal battle ensues. What gets left when two Legions of the God Machines collide?
I was skeptical in approaching this book: 400 pages filled with Titans besieging each other sounded interesting enough, since we haven't seen a whole lot of this in Black Library's releases. On the other hand, this could get boring rather quickly. Titanicus offers more than this though; the book doesn't just describe the conflict of the god machines, it also explains the moderati's relationships among each other as well as to their machines. Additionally, it attempts to clarify the influence of individuals and politics on a global conflict of this magnitude. Abnett establishes several interlaced strands of plot, thereby making this book hard to put down because you're just dying to get the answers to questions like "who is cheating who?" or "which dark secret is behind the Wastelands?"
Once again Dan Abnett manages to deliver a fascinating, thrilling novel. He highlights individual fates within a highly epic conflict, establishing an emotional connection between the reader and those characters, be they Moderati or "just" reservists in the imperial army. He installs life in these characters, making them more than just fictional entities: he makes them seem three-dimensional due to the fact that he gives them certain traits that you recognize from friends or co-workers.
The BCD codification of the individual chapters clearly shows what an attention to detail was paid in designing this book. Sometimes designers care about the little things that increase a book's charm, even if those little things are as inconspicuous as a third class reservist in a war of god machines.
I'm sorry to repeat myself but what's left for me to say? Dan Abnett still is the master of suspense in the range of 40k novels.
5 Stars (out of 5)
~Bigred here. I hope you enjoyed this review by Timo. It is hopefully the first of many Black Library book reviews coming your way.
