Book Review of "Deliverance Lost" - The Horus Heresy is heating up

I'm a big fan of the Warhammer 40k universe and I've read a ton of Warhammer 40k books. The "Horus Heresy" series, which actually takes place in the 31st rather than the 41st millennium, is probably my 40k book series, because it tells the tale of how the 40k universe ended up as the dystopian nightmare that it is, ruled by fanatical priests and bureaucrats, lorded over by a entombed God-Emperor.

The series is not all high points, but I was very happy with the last installment "The Outcast Dead" and I therefore had high hopes that the next book could continue on this high level.
Many of the later Horus Heresy books have concerned themselves too much with telling various side stories that don't really focus a lot on Horus or the Emperor, and which don't really move the main plot forwards. So for Deliverance Lost, which focuses on the tale of the Raven Guard and their struggle for survival after Horus' attempt to massacre the whole legion, I was hoping for a book full of primarchs and maybe even some more insight into the mind of the Emperor himself.

I'm happy to say that Deliverance Lost manages to deliver pretty well to all of my expectations. It's not quite up there with the best of the books in the series, but it's definitely a worthwhile addition and contains plenty of heretical goodness that makes it a great read for any Warhammer 40k fan.

As I mentioned, Deliverance Lost tells the tale of the Raven Guard legion of Space Marines.
The Raven Guard were among the legions that were ambushed at Istvaan V, when several loyal Space Marine legions came under attack from Horus and his allies, some of which were masquerading as still being loyal to the Emperor.
We join the Raven Guard primarch, Corvus Corax, as he makes his desperate escape from the planet of Istvaan together with the tattered remains of his legion, and heads for Terra to seek help from the Emperor himself. 

Book Review: Boneshaker - Steampunk with a side order of Zombie

A few weeks ago I asked on my Twitter stream what sci-fi book I should read next.
I had just come off the Warhammer 40k book Savage Scars, which I did not much care for at all. So I was in the mood for a real palette cleanser that was completely different from the 40k universe.

Twitter user Trin quickly came to the rescue and recommended that I take a gander at Boneshaker, which is a steampunk novel that ups the ante by mixing in a bit of zombies with its world of airships and grinding gears.

I haven't really read much in the way of steampunk before, so this book sounded like just the thing to break up my series of Warhammer 40k disappointments.

Goggles? Gotta be steampunk then, I recon!

It's the late 19th century as the sparks of a civil war began in America, the Russians had their eyes on Alaska and the rumors of large gold deposits hidden in the frozen underground. To mine the gold in these harsh conditions the Russians contracted the brilliant inventor Leviticus Blue to create "The Boneshaker", an incredible mining machine that would be able to drill out the gold in the hostile Alaskan wastes.

But the Boneshaker never got to mine any gold in Alaska, as Leviticus instead drove the machine out from the basement of his home in Seattle and used it to drive straight through the underground vaults of the city banks and steal their money.
After the dust settled it became clear that Blue had not just performed a spectacular bank robbery but had also caused the release of some unknown gas that seeped up from the underground.

Fast forward 16 years later and a huge wall has been erected to seal off the gas from the rest of Seattle. The gas, now nicknamed "Blight" has the unfortunate side effect of not only being deadly, but also reanimating the victims as shambling monsters with a hunger for flesh.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - More fun than a mime on fire

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is right up there on my list of top sci-fi books.

It is also easily one of the funniest, and probably even the funniest, book that I have ever read.

It is actually the first in a 5 part trilogy (yeah, that is the style of humor that Douglas Adams goes for), but if you like this first one, you will also like the other books in the series, and I recommend simply picking up the complete series right from the get go.

Helpful advice indeed

With it's deadpan humor and outrageous story it never gets predictable and you rarely see the jokes coming until the punchline hits you right in the solar plexus.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy stars Arthur Dent, who leads a dull and mundane existence until he wakes up to one really really bad day.

1984 -Oldie but Goodie

Most people know what the book ”1984” is about in broad terms. A big brother society where the totalitarian government keeps an iron grip on the brain washed masses.

This was about all I knew about 1984, when I decided that I should pick up this old sci-fi classic (sci-fi because of course 1984 was way the heck in the future when this book was written).

I came into the book with the attitude that this was a book that I “should” read as a sci-fi fan, but I honestly did not have too high hopes of it being very gripping.

Fortunately I was very positively surprised. 



1984: And you thought Blade Runner presented a bleak view of the future



While the propaganda infested society is certainly the central theme of the book, it is actually a very personal story about a single mans rebellion against the system and a tale of growing hope in a soul crushing world (A lot like “Up” really, but with more torture and Gestapo-like secret police forces).

Farcasting my way through Hyperion

I recently stumbled on a sci-fi book called "Hyperion" while flicking aimlessly through the Kindle store.

The cover or synopsis did not really catch me, but I downloaded the sample first chapter and it looked alright enough for me to want to give the book a chance.

I must say that I was extremely positively surprised by the quality of the book.

The cover is very low key sci-fi, but you know what they say about judging books by their cover.
That you shouldn't