Bloody Books Review - The Remnant Blade by Mike Vincent

Mike Vincent was set a close to impossible task here. The Night Lords were given a huge boost from the pages of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s absolutely hauntingly good trilogy. Three parts to a greater whole that hit to top of Must Read lists without fail. A redefinition of those brutal and unsympathetic horrors that moved the bar for 40k fiction another notch.

However, Vincent quickly manages to break away from any real connections to the Night Lords trilogy by taking a very different path. There's no considerations on the philosophies of waging terror here, but instead a diminished experience. Dalchian Rassaq the Skin-Taker was once part of a Heretic fleet but has experienced loss after loss of the troops under his command under the command of Thelissicus the Gorelord of the Crimson Slaughter. Rassaq and the Blades of Atrocity are left behind so that Thelissicus can shower favour on other warbands. Rassaq may be lacking in numbers, but his ambition sets up a chain of events to rebuild his power base and relevance with the Heretics. This starting block keeps the novel on a clean narrative, pure and simple revenge on betrayals and slights.

Vincent writes a truly fantastic take on the Heretics. There's a rawness to the hatred of the Imperium that comes through in the words spat out in insult that may be difficult to shake. I know I've used "Thronescum" at least once since finishing the book. Vincent understands the tactics and mindset of the Night Lords, planning, sabotage and ambush. Wether it's in the political arena or in void space, the way he deploys the thought process of the Night Lords throughout is incredibly satisfying. In fact, whilst the action scenes are well created moments of chaotic frenzy, it's the political moments in the book that I found I enjoyed the most. The Thousand Son's Leil Jathok's relationship with the Skin-Taker is a another true highlight that shines in the warmth of their greetings and rivalry.

It's something of a shame then that the final section of the book is pure unadulterated action. Not that it's badly written (far from it in fact) but when the reveal of what everyone is tracking comes to the fore it would have benefitted from more character moments to explore the very Rogue Trader feeling weirdness that descends onto the tale. Characters that were prevalent in the background slip further into the scenery as the tale rockets to a close in the final third. It makes for a slightly uneven read, but only because of how good the majority of the novel is.

It's not Soul Hunter, and it shouldn't be.

It's a fool's game to compare the two. But, on it's own merits it's a very measured, focused entry that understood the project inside and out without trying to measure itself against the earlier work. It's a very promising start to what I hope is a series of novels, and I'll be watching Mike Vincent for his future work