So, I have recently picked up, read and finished the twinned Black Library 40K novels Prospero Burns and The Thousand Sons. And, I have to say, that I am a little disappointed. These books were sold as a pair, that you would read them one after the other and one would shed light on the events and happenings of the other, that the main story line would be told from both sides of the heresy story. Well, personally, I didnt find this to be true at all. For example, and without spoiling things in case you have not read them, there is a central character in Prospero Burns - which was the book that I read first - who is really the focus of the story. And yet, this character make zero appearance in Thousand Sons, despite the fact that it is implied that he would/should. Now.... again, treading carefully around spoilers as much as I can... it is also implied that an alternative version is present, but it was still unsatisfying. Dont get me wrong, the stories themselves are pretty good, but the two books are very different, with totally different writing styles, and they could easily just be unrelated. The fact that they are 'marketted' as two sides of the same coin is somewhat misleading.

Prospero Burns: This is an excellent science fiction book, but not an excellent Games Workshop book. If you are looking for the standard fare of 40K Marines striding through a barrage of gunfire that is deflected off the armour, to crack skulls three times each chapter and four times every fifth.... this is not the book for you. Its a slow burning read, but intriguing, even though it falls back on relying on some of the more worn-out Games Workshop staples - a twist that you simply cannot see coming as you are not given enough information, for example. Still, an enjoyable read.

Thousand Sons: This is a more traditional book, and is both better and not as good as Prospero Burns. On the plus side, it is better paced, and the characters are deeper and better developed. On the other hand, as a Horus Heresy book, it is only partially successful. For me, I want to read a HH book that focusses on the traitor legions, and be carried along. I want to watch their eventual turning and feel empathy for them, that their choices are understandable and rational, given the situation. This book almost accomplishes this, but not quite. I can follow the development of the Marine Chapter, but it never really completes the illusion of putting their side across, and making me feel that the choices that they made - although misguided - were understandable. Also, it suffers from the worst Games Workshop writing style issue, and the one that bugs me no end (even beyond poor editing, which both books suffer from, although not as badly as some BL reads) - chopping between story arcs! Honestly, I get so irritated by reading along with a story, only to get to a climax and find that it is the end of a chapter and the next page joins a totally different situation and character. I understand that this is a 'cliff hanger' and that I need to keep reading and will return to the initial arc soon, but cliff hangers only really work in television. In books, it is likely that I wont actually get back to the first story arc until I have picked up the book, put it down after the alternate story arc, and then picked it up a second time - usually a couple of days have passed by then. And, honestly, its lazy!

So, with those finished off, I am taking a break from novels right now - as life is a little busy at the moment and I dont get the time to sit down to read as much as I like. Hopefully, things will settle down again shortly. Instead, I am turning to a few comics. Right now, I have a stack of the IDW Transformers collections, and I am starting off with Last Stand of the Wreckers.

In a couple of weeks, however, a old title is reborn from DC. Resurrection Man is a line that I picked up the first half dozen or so issues in the late nineties, until Forbidden Planet London messed up my pull (not for the first time) and I dropped it. Its an interesting line, and the only one from DCs '52 rebooted' selection that I am interested in right now. And, the link back to the above books? Its co-written by Dan Abnett.