The Bone Dice
10-15-2011, 02:54 PM
Kevin from the Bone Dice (that's me!) has posted a review of Red and Black at
http://thebonedice.com/2011/10/redandblack/
I have included the meaty bits here, but if you want to see some extra thoughts, please check out our site.
Plot:
Red and Black is a story primarily about Celestian Miriya, a sister of battle. She is tasked to investigate a world thought lost to the Imperium. Hollos (the system she is to investigate) was isolated from the Imperium due to warpstorms. A mysterious messenger tasked with recontacting the Imperium is captured and she is held for questioning. The messenger appears loyal to the God Emperor, but there is a catch (I will talk about this later as it is a minor spoiler). Miriya is to escort her back to Hollos and determine if the system is still truly loyal to the Imperium.
Writing:
The story is descriptive and visceral like most 40k writing. The primary and support characters feel as fleshed out as they can be, but there isn’t much depth to a zealot-nun. I was very happy that despite the writer being a man, there is no hint of intentional or accidental misogyny. The SoBs in the book are stoic, badass, warriors of the Emperor through and through. The first half of the story seems to take the correct pace. The oscillation of downtime and drama is just about perfect. I felt the end 1/3 was a bit rushed. Things that are vital to the story are just rushed through to get to the end and make it under the time restrictions of CD media. The story is good, but the philosophy of the story is even better (more on this later). I am a James Swallow fan, and he delivers.
Voice Acting/Narration:
I admit, I am a Toby Longworth fanboy. His narration is the gold standard for BL ADs. I had my reservations about listening to another narrator, but it is fitting that a female narrates this story, as nearly all the characters are female. Within 5 minutes, I was sold. The two female narrators capture what I would expect the Sisters of Battle to sound like. At the end of the story, I found myself thinking that this could actually be an elder SoB telling a squad of initiates about the life of Saint Miriya. The story is told nearly pitch perfect, with my brain reacting to certain parts of the story not just due to the content, but also the tone of the narrators voice. This how all BL ADs should be read. While it isn’t quite to the level Toby delivers, the narration is great and adds to the story a great deal.
The actual characters are voiced well. The determination with a hint of self doubt in Miryia’s voice is great. Her second in command sounds exactly how you expect a hardened Imperial vet to sound. The Mechanicus character sounds awesome (the machine chattering would drive me crazy if I had to be around him all the time). Ro (I think that is how you spell it) sounds soft and whispy. This is in character with her beliefs and culture (spoiler: the subtle change at the end was a great touch). The inhabitants of Hollos are a bit forgettable, but that is understandable.
The sound effects are great. The bolters, flamers, and plasma pistols sound destructive. The ambient noises contribute a lot to the atmosphere. The music isn’t particularly interesting though.
Overall:
This is a great story with great delivery. It falls flat in a couple of minor places, which robs it of the coveted 5/5 rating, but any 40k fan should give this a listen.
4/5 fleur de lis
http://thebonedice.com/2011/10/redandblack/
I have included the meaty bits here, but if you want to see some extra thoughts, please check out our site.
Plot:
Red and Black is a story primarily about Celestian Miriya, a sister of battle. She is tasked to investigate a world thought lost to the Imperium. Hollos (the system she is to investigate) was isolated from the Imperium due to warpstorms. A mysterious messenger tasked with recontacting the Imperium is captured and she is held for questioning. The messenger appears loyal to the God Emperor, but there is a catch (I will talk about this later as it is a minor spoiler). Miriya is to escort her back to Hollos and determine if the system is still truly loyal to the Imperium.
Writing:
The story is descriptive and visceral like most 40k writing. The primary and support characters feel as fleshed out as they can be, but there isn’t much depth to a zealot-nun. I was very happy that despite the writer being a man, there is no hint of intentional or accidental misogyny. The SoBs in the book are stoic, badass, warriors of the Emperor through and through. The first half of the story seems to take the correct pace. The oscillation of downtime and drama is just about perfect. I felt the end 1/3 was a bit rushed. Things that are vital to the story are just rushed through to get to the end and make it under the time restrictions of CD media. The story is good, but the philosophy of the story is even better (more on this later). I am a James Swallow fan, and he delivers.
Voice Acting/Narration:
I admit, I am a Toby Longworth fanboy. His narration is the gold standard for BL ADs. I had my reservations about listening to another narrator, but it is fitting that a female narrates this story, as nearly all the characters are female. Within 5 minutes, I was sold. The two female narrators capture what I would expect the Sisters of Battle to sound like. At the end of the story, I found myself thinking that this could actually be an elder SoB telling a squad of initiates about the life of Saint Miriya. The story is told nearly pitch perfect, with my brain reacting to certain parts of the story not just due to the content, but also the tone of the narrators voice. This how all BL ADs should be read. While it isn’t quite to the level Toby delivers, the narration is great and adds to the story a great deal.
The actual characters are voiced well. The determination with a hint of self doubt in Miryia’s voice is great. Her second in command sounds exactly how you expect a hardened Imperial vet to sound. The Mechanicus character sounds awesome (the machine chattering would drive me crazy if I had to be around him all the time). Ro (I think that is how you spell it) sounds soft and whispy. This is in character with her beliefs and culture (spoiler: the subtle change at the end was a great touch). The inhabitants of Hollos are a bit forgettable, but that is understandable.
The sound effects are great. The bolters, flamers, and plasma pistols sound destructive. The ambient noises contribute a lot to the atmosphere. The music isn’t particularly interesting though.
Overall:
This is a great story with great delivery. It falls flat in a couple of minor places, which robs it of the coveted 5/5 rating, but any 40k fan should give this a listen.
4/5 fleur de lis