A short book review

Of Dan Abnett’s The Magos

I know the cover looks cheesy. I know game-verse fiction is often (rightly) dismissed as little better than fan-gush, but if you’ve never read Dan Abnett, I think you’re missing out on some truly good Sci Fi.

It was the Eisenhorn trilogy that did it for me. I’d never heard of Mr. Abnett before. Apparently he writes comics. Cool, but not really my cuppa. But as an avid table top wargamer and spec-fiction reader, the books appeared on my radar screen and I took a chance on the first one. Then I bought the second. And had to get the third.

I was hooked.

Yes, it helps to be familiar with the Warhammer 40,000’s grim, Gothic setting, but it’s not necessary. Abnett’s Inquisitor novels are ‘domestic’ 40K; all about conspiracies, cults and covert operations. The ‘total war in the grim darkness of the far future’ is an ever-present backdrop, sure, but they have more in common with police procedurals and Gothic mystery thrillers than grand-scale military Sci Fi. Interesting characters, twisted plots, good pace, depth, solid, efficient prose, I kept flipping to the back cover picture asking ‘Who is this guy?”

An incredibly talented and prolific writer, apparently.

Mr. Abnett is now on my very short list of writer’s I’ll pre-order. (William Gibson and Steven Pressfield are the other two)

The Magos is a collection of short stories packed in with a new Eisenhorn novel. Some of the shorts appear in the Eisenhorn Omnibus and other Inquisitor novels, but several are brand spanking new. Plus there’s a novel at the back of the book.

I’m not a spoilers/book report kind of reviewer, so I’ll spare the synopsis, but if the previous Inquisitor books caught your attention, you’ll want to add The Magos to your Summer reading list. Enjoy.

You can get a copy (hopefully) at your local book store, or Here at Amazon

Have a good day.