Time for another book review. This time, as pictured above, the review is of Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha by David Annandale. I had never read anything by this author before, but was too tantalized by the thought of an Ork-heavy story to pass it up.
PROS:
- Incredible and hilarious story. One of my favorite endings out of any 40k book thus far.
- If you love Orks, this is a priceless book. I have had a recent rekindling of my inner, Orky fire after reading this that makes me even more proud to own my lovable greenskins.
CONS:
- Short: especially for the $12 price tag.
- Perspective: I didn't enjoy the memoir-style-recollection type of storytelling used in the book. I've never really enjoyed first-person storytelling, but it was made worse in this case by the occasional switch to another's perspective. Luckily, each perspective change was labelled with the character's name at the start of the shift.
- Lack of character development. This may be a silly complaint, but it seemed like many of the characters in the story were introduced specifically for the purpose of dying. They were given a name, some history, and then killed off. They weren't developed well enough to convince me to care for their deaths, but in the context of 40k wanton death is the norm. For the purpose of this story (and the perspective it is presented in), I suppose it may have been less of an issue than in others.
To summarize my thoughts on this one: if you love Orks or are a die-hard fan of Yarrick, pick it up. It'll be worth every penny. Otherwise you may want to pass on this one due to the specific taste I think is necessary to really enjoy it the way I have.
As always, questions and comments are welcome and appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
-Symmaccus
