Book review: Riders of the Dead

Ahhh, Dan Abnett.... So we meet at last. in keeping with tradition, I pay minimal amounts for old books, and so I managed to get my talons into this fine specimen :Riders of the dead by Dan Abnett, primarily known for his 40K fiction.

This is the story of how two brave soldiers of the Empire end up fighting on opposite sides in the great war with Archaon's forces. Clearly, this means that one is corrupted horribly while the other ... isn't. All depending on one's personal tastes, one may find either of the characters more interesting, but it does effectively mean that we have two main characters, two protagonists, only on opposite sides of the mirror. One is Karl, the other is Gerlach, and both assume new identies as the story goes on, and so this tale is a classic "coming of age" in the sense that while these people may be grown men, they are not yet matured by life and circumstances, until fate forces them to leave behind their lives as imperial lancers.

Karl - let me spoil it for you right away - becomes a champion of Tzeentch eventually. He rides with the Kurgan, accepted as one of them, after a long series of trials and tribulations, and we learn quite a bit about these vicious Northeners and their ways. The characters in this narrative are perhaps a bit better than in the other with a nice mix of "he's going to die in a minute"-people who are quickly infused with enough of a story that we care, and genuinely cool characters (the noble Von Marburg is excellent, for example) who deserve the pages they are given.

Then there is Gerlach who ends up in Kislev. Much like Karl becomes one of the Kurgan, so Gerlach becomes one of the Kislevites, adapting to their customs, and indeed to their philosophies. This is probably where the book is at its best, because though Gerlach is perhaps not the most interesting or likable fellow (to begin with) he is thrown into a culture that Warhammer has always treated as an afterthought. Whether or not Abnett's take on Cossack/Kislevite culture is accurate, I have no idea, but it is both believable, interesting and quite cool. The books title, by the way, come from the Kislevite tradition of treating winged lancers as dead from the moment they ride out of their village.

I like this book for many reasons. It offers the level of detail that makes a simple plot work, and it does so by focusing on two neglected areas/cultures. Chaos often comes across as this mindless, somewhat dull crowd of "let's just slaughter you all for the hell of it"-crowd that you cannot really find much amusement with except for the sheer bad assery of it all with the helmets and armour and all, but not many books offer any sort of insight into WHO wears the helmets and armour, or indeed WHY, and Kislev is even more neglected (and sometimes appears down right silly with fur-lined hats, dancing bears, icy tap magic and so on), so this was a most welcome bit of anthropology.

I'll leave you guessing who wins the battle that you have no doubt guessed takes place in the end.

My hat is off to Dan Abnett for this book. I must admit I feared he'd gotten to write a string of Warhammer books for some completely unknown reason (like a few other authors it seems) whilst possessing only a moderate amount of talent or work ethic. It does not seem to be the case, based on this novel at least.

Over all rating: 4.5 out of 5. Genuinely interesting and well written. Simple plot, simple characters, cooked to perfection.