Titanicus (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)
by Dan Abnett
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dan AbnettEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-11-24
ISBN: 1844167852
Number of pages: 608
Publisher: Games Workshop
Book Reviews of Titanicus (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)
Book Review: Epic Earthshaking Sci-Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
40K fiction is tricky to write: at its least, it is thinly-veiled comic book fantasy with over-the-top heroic and villainous caricatures slugging it out for galactic stakes. At its best, it rises to mythic levels and shows us a rich, Gothic universe in all its wonder and terror.
'Titanicus' falls on the mythic end of this spectrum. It is both grand and surprisingly intimate of scale, showing us a planetary war from many perspectives. Most surprising and pleasing of all, Abnett does a tremendous job of humanizing the Mechanicus, which are too often painted in broad red strokes as robotic, emotionless, and inhuman. In 'Titanicus', the Mechanicus characters are very clearly all too human despite their modifications. The best example of this is Lord Gearhart, who could very easily have been one of those over-the-top caricatures of Imperial awesomeness, but who is instead central to some of the book's most touching and human moments.
There are a large number of parallel and converging stories being told in this book, and I can see how someone new to (or not deeply familiar with) the 40K universe could get confused. For my own part, I very much enjoy the arcane technical terms and almost complete lack of exposition in this book: it draws you deeper into the story and the setting, and if you're paying attention you'll understand what everything means by the end.
I only had a couple of minor issues with 'Titanicus'. One is that some of the stories (Tarses/Prinzhorn and Tendant Zink for example) don't get much in the way of resolution by the end. In particular I would have liked to see the ultimate outcome of the conflict between Tarses and Prinzhorn. I also thought that the conclusion of Cally's tale was unsatisfying; I'd be more specific, but I don't want to spoil anything. Lastly, I felt that the Chaos forces seemed a bit too vague and elemental as a threat. The complete facelessness of the Archenemy in 'Titanicus' made their presence in the story feel more like a Tyranid invasion than a conflict with Mankind's most bitterly despised enemies. Given the nature of events later in the story, 'elemental' might have been exactly what was intended here, but it seems like a battle against the Traitors should feel more visceral and intimate.
This is the first book by Dan Abnett I've read, but it won't be the last. 'Titanicus' is as epic as its name. Strongly recommended!
Summary of Titanicus (Warhammer 40,000 Novels)
Black Library's best-selling SF author Dan Abnett takes his talents to a whole new level recounting an epic tale of Titans, the massive war machines of Warhammer 40,000.War Books
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