Book Review // Vulkan Lives by Nick Kyme
Let's see... Night Lords Legion...Check. Salamanders Legion...Check. Word Bearers Legion... Check. John Gramaticus...Check. Vulkan...Check. Damn, this should be good. Seems like this title has it all. Can it live up to the hype?
Title: Vulkan Lives
Author: Nick Kyme
Page Count: 416 Pages
Format: Kindle Amazon
Fluff:
The latest title in Black Library's bestselling series, the Horus Heresy. In the wake of the Drop Site Massacre at Isstvan V, the survivors of the Salamanders Legion searched long and hard for their fallen Primarch, but to no avail. Little did they know that while Vulkan might have wished himself dead, he lives still. As the war continues without him, all eyes turn to Ultramar and Guilliman’s new empire there. Vulkan’s sons are drawn into an insidious plot to end the Heresy by the most underhand means imaginable.
Review
Right, let's get the awkwardness out of the way first. This middle-of-the-road story could have been written as two separate short stories—one with Vulkan and the Nightlords and another with John Grammaticus and the Word Bearers. Instead, we get the two tales smashed together, causing them to be longer than needed and a natural feeling of not caring by the end.
It was nice to finally have the Salamander's Primarch enter the story alongside the Night Lord Primarch Cruz. However, as mentioned, their book section could have been a novella, which would have been much more enjoyable for me as a reader. The real highlight of the book, though, was John Grammaticus and his mission to recover a fabled spear. He was searching for a relic that he believed would save Vulkan. Shortly after finding the spear, John stumbles into the sightlines of a Word Bearer Kill team who seems to be hunting for him. As all seems lost, he is rescued by Istvaan survivors and soon left wondering if he has been rescued or just another prisoner. Once again if this had been 200 pages it would have been great, instead, we are left hopping back and forth, losing track of characters, with painfully long stretches of zero action and way too many flashbacks.
I would love to say, "I enjoyed this, four stars," but I am left feeling 2.5 stars instead. It doesn't need to be in the story arc, as I think it didn't move the story forward; it just treads water. Overall, it was disappointing. As always, thanks for checking in with me. Let me know in the comments what you want me to read next. Until then, thank you for reading.
