Friday 13 December 2013

Kaldor Draigo: Knight of Titan (eBook Review)

As with the last book review this is posted in full on http://thefoundingfields.com/ and this is simply a preview. If you want to see it in full then please follow the link through to there.


If there are two things Knight of Titan proves it is two points when it comes to writing this form of Black Library fiction: 

 Firstly, these thousand word stories simply do not work with battle. Without the room to deliver grandiose details, descriptive environments or even a basic three act structure any battle is hamstrung as soon as it begins. While some certainly do work, these are the exceptions and it is often the quieter or more contemplative scenes which prove to have much more impact. 

 Secondly, Draigo is poison to almost any tale which requires character. 

 Set during the figure's time in the Warp, the story gives a brief moment of him staggering blindly through the Warp (ARGH!) and considering what events brought him there. If it was his own attitude, hubris or event something unseen beyond his visions.Unfortunately for us, while this might sound good this is barely focused upon at all. A few paragraphs at the most are devoted to exploring these themes but beyond that they are focused upon Draigo's current situation. As such while half the story is trying to portray Draigo as a sympathetic character, the other half is trying to maintain he idea he is Draigod the Supreme Lord of Sues. The two elements simply don't work together and proceed to openly undermine one another even as the story attempts to develop the character in what little space is given. Even then the few efforts to try and make him sympathetic almost feel half hearted throughout a lot of the tale.

No comments:

Post a Comment