‘Deliverance Lost’ – Gav Thorpe (Black Library)

There are a number of authors who churn out books on a fairly regular basis, almost to the point where I used to be able to plan my reading year around their output (at least that was the case before the little one decided I would never read any of my favourite authors ever again...) It’s the same deal with series and a number of these can always be relied upon to pop up here and there, throughout the year, as well. Like the ‘Horus Heresy’ books for example.

I’m sure that you already know I’m a fan of this series, and Black Library books in general, but that’s only because (apart from a notable exception) the books are well written and guaranteed to entertain. What’s to argue with there? Nothing really and that’s why I always keep an eye open for what the next ‘Horus Heresy’ book is and when I can expect to get my hands on it. Suffice it to say that I’ve been keeping an eye open for ‘Deliverance Lost’ (having thoroughly enjoyed ‘Raven’s Flight’ when I last listened to it) and when it finally arrived I moved it right up to the top of the reading pile. Was ‘Deliverance Lost’ worth displacing any number of equally readable books though? Well, yes and no...

After the events on Istvaan V, the Raven Guard Legion have been almost decimated and their Primarch is left wondering how he can possibly continue with the fight against the traitor Legions. It looks like the only way forward is to go out in a blaze of glory (three thousand loyalists against hundreds of thousands that number) but then intervention comes from none other than the Emperor himself...
Now Corax, the Raven Guard Primarch, is on a mission to rebuild his shattered Legion with previously secret gene tech handed to him by the Emperor. Corax’s aim is to overwhelm the traitors not only with superior numbers but with superior marines genetically engineered for that crucial edge over their erstwhile former brothers. His job will not be easy though... It wasn’t just the Raven Guard that returned from Istvaan, the treacherous Alpha Legion have infiltrated the survivors and are working from within to thwart Corax’s aims. The Alpha Legion Primarchs have been ordered by Horus to secure the gene tech for him but they want it for themselves as well...

If you think Black Library books are exclusively about big men firing big guns then ‘Deliverance Lost’ will have you swiftly reconsidering your position. It wasn’t the easiest book to get into though...

I’ve read a few of Thorpe’s books (plus a few short stories), just recently, which has given me a chance to work out why I seem to have trouble really getting stuck into his work. I think the bottom line is that Thorpe loves the setting a little too much and that gets in the way of the story itself.

Thorpe throws the full force of his writing into every aspect of ‘Deliverance Lost’ and the end result is a richly detailed work that can bring Corax, and his Raven Guard, to the fore in the best possible way. Brilliant stuff when Thorpe hits the target but what can also happen is that the story struggles to break free of detail that hinders the plot and stops it moving at the speed it really wants to. When that happened, I found myself just wanting things to pick up again. I might even have skimmed a few pages in desperation...

What’s annoying about this approach is that when the balance is right ‘Deliverance Lost’ is a story that approaches being superb. While I enjoyed these moments (and there were plenty of them) they did leave me wishing that the rest of the book could have been the same.

I’ve already mentioned that Thorpe’s attention to detail brings Corax, and his Raven Guard, to the fore in the best possible way and it does, it really does. Fans are absolutely going to lap up this insight into Corax’s psyche (tortured by failure but never once gives up trying to do the right thing) and the flashbacks to his early years really flesh out his character and leave you in no doubt as to why he behaves the way that he does.

The real meat of the book though, for me anyway, is the espionage and counter-espionage that are the inevitable consequences of any dealings with the Alpha Legion. This is where Thorpe really comes into his own, weaving a web of truth and lies that I found myself really wanting to untangle. This is more difficult than it looks... Everything comes together at the end but, in the meantime, there is a lot of misinformation to plough throw. Thorpe seems to find incredibly easy to send his readers down blind alleyways and into dead ends. Thorpe had me thinking that I knew where things were going and then constantly showed me just how wrong I was. I ended up feeling that I owed certain characters an apology for ever doubting their loyalties. Surprisingly enough, this was mostly the case with the Alpha Legion infiltrators where Thorpe has his lead infiltrator battling with implanted memories and doubting where his loyalties should lie. The outcome here may be inevitable but Thorpe strings the tension out wonderfully.

Space Marine books shouldn’t just be about the fighting but, at the end of the day, we reading about Space Marines and that’s what they do so... Thorpe sprinkles the espionage with moments of combat that are as bone crunching as the best of them. What’s more, Thorpe really has you feeling that the death of each individual Raven Guard Marine is another nail in the coffin of the Legion itself (there’s only so many of them left) and that proved to be all the investment I needed to keep reading. Well, that and gigantic Titan war machines levelling a city :o)

‘Deliverance Lost’ can be a stodgy read at times but stick with it and there’s a story inside that will reach out and grab you with everything it has. If you’re a gamer or a fan of military sci-fi/espionage then you really should give ‘Deliverance Lost’ a go when it’s published in January. Recommended.

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten