Tim Waggoner - Dark War

[H_P_Saucecraft]

Tim Waggoner - Dark War (Angry Robot 2011)

The third Matt Richter book. I've been waiting for the library to get this for a while. I'm going to attempt a review on this one as well & if it goes well enough, I might re-read the first two books & do reviews.

Cover & Blurb:

[andydecker]

Do you know the work of Richard Kadrey? The Sandman Slim novels? They also take this demonunderground in L.A. theme and border on parody. But they are fun to read.

[H_P_Saucecraft]

I've not heard of him before, andy - but I will look out for his work. Thanks.

Do you know if the Jim Butcher Dresden files are worth a look? saw one in the library & it seems similar territory.

[andydecker]

Sept 6, 2011 18:30:44 GMT H_P_Saucecraft said:

Do you know if the Jim Butcher Dresden files are worth a look? saw one in the library & it seems similar territory.

I only know a short-story of it, but heard some good things about it. It is a typical urban fantasy/noir detective kind of thing, where you have your demonkind living unrecognized next door, a complicted magician guild/enforcer thing right out of Hogwarth and a lot of action. Only with a dose of humor.

Hmm, so it is like Anita Blake only without the boobs, the boring vampire-werewolf-lovetriangle and the over the top though girl talk

[H_P_Saucecraft]

I've made a start on this, about 56 pages in so far, though it only seems like 20. My review is likely to be spoiler-filled, so don't read on if you don't want to know.

So far Matt & his half-vampire partner Devona have visted an alternative version of Nekropolis, after being sent for by his counterpart in that dimension.

Nekropolis B is overrun with Hydes - well the name should give you some clue as to what they are. The creatures run riot & give free rein to whatever desire they please & as briefly described - some start indulging in necrophilia & cannibalism, often at the same time ;D.

There's alternative versions of the shops either side of 'The House Of Dark Delights' (Matt's target) - now there's a talent agency, Pickman's Models. After fighting their way through to 'The House', it's no easier inside, with the patrons & Benny (the gender-shifting owner) all infected (& willingly) with the Hyde virus.

Here is where Matt's new tech comes in, with the antidote only briefly returning Hydes to their normal form, he uses VD darts (a combination of Herpes, Syphillis & Gonorreah) - yes, you did read that right, a self-willed zombie using VD darts.

He also meets his & Devona's counterparts, 'Matt' - now a vampire & Devona - now a Zombie. He even manages to argue with himself.
But this isn't dealing with alternative Benny. Matt has a special antidote, but has to wait for the correct 'mid-gender change' point, this done, the cure starts spreading like wildfire & it's time to get back to Nekropolis a.

Of course This isn't without problems - Matt has managed to lose a hand to a Bonegetter's knife. Though thanks to some new spells from his Houngan, he can briefly re-attach it to himself & retain control over it (he can also do this whilst it's unattached), but must have a proper repair job done in 24 hours.

Devona is also pregnant (due to Matt being granted one day as a living man) & after the battle in Nekropolis B, has had to be rushed to hospital. There's a vampire reporter hanging around too - part of the deal Matt made to allow a documentary to made about him. The deal being made with a demon called Murdock (confirming what has long been thought by some ).


I've likely missed some out, but that's it so far.

[H_P_Saucecraft]

After a bit too long a break (Judge Dredd case files have been taking preference on the reading pile) :


Matt still hasn't warmed to vampire reporter Varney & Devona has had a reconciliation with her father, Darklord Galm - albeit for his own purposes. The baby being of interest to Galm, due to its being part Vampire, part Zombie & part Human (conceived when Matt was granted the chance to be human for a day). There has never been such a being in Nekropolis & it could well be powerful.

Modified Vampire 'Ichorus' has popped up & is still wilfully breaking the 'no flying' law. He's convinced there something is hiding behind Nekropolis' moon.

Matt, though still very much the pulp private eye, does seem to be turning slightly mangina (I.E. de-balled, giving in to a 'glare' from his girlfriend, dancing about things & modifying his speech for her, rather than just giving it straight).

Lazlo, the demon driver (literally) is back too & is on fine smelly form.

My only complaint so far is, there seems too much repitition of explanation of things in Nekropolis, which reading the previous two books would explain. 97 pages in & the 'Dark War' of the title looks like it has arrived...

[H_P_Saucecraft]

It's all kicking off! three of Talaith's arcane believe Varvara, the Demon Queen to be responsible for the disappearance of some of their number & are retaliatiing, destroying two of the bridges between domains as a warning & prelude to war.

Papa Chatha is missing & we are introduced to his niece Shamika (though Matt is suspicious of her, with her never having been mentioned before & she seems to know rather a lot of magic & be very modest about it). Matt recieves a visit from Father Dis, the supreme Darklord & creator of Nekropolis, though everyone else is frozen by his power, while he talks to Matt. This following a near fight between Scorch (a fire demon disguised in her human form as a teenage girl in a cropped black flag t-shirt & miniskirt) & Bogdan (a warlock, who looks in his late thirties) after the news of the bridges' destruction reaches them (both supporting the darklord closest to their species).

After Matt's conversation with Father Dis, he's not too pleased at the 'improved' documentary footage from Varney, changed at the insistance of his producer. The new footage uses a voice synthesiser to replicate Matt's voice, but giving an ott cliched film noir style, which we are given in italic text.

Meanwhile, halfway to Demon's Roost & trouble has broken out between Demonkin & the Arcane. Matt tries to calm things down, & both sides realise he's talking sense, but that will never do:

"He makes a lot of sense, doesn't he?"
"That he does"

"I hate people who make sense"
"Me too"

Matt promptly goes to pieces, courtesy of the 'Discerpo' spell of a warlock in Elizibethian dress. Granny Red enters into the fray, a creature made flesh from the collective belief of Humans. She started out as a young girl killing Werewolves, but now is a legendary monster slayer, feared by all (I think it's obvious which character she comes from) & mention is made of her working with Matt to destroy a Cyborg Lyke (werecreature) named the Megawolf (hoping this case might crop up fully in a later book or short story).

That's it for now. 160 pages down 250 to go...

[H_P_Saucecraft]

Part 4


The chapter starts with Matt's musings on female bathroom habits - it seems Nekropolis is no different from Earth, women go to the loo in packs there too. Scorch comes out of Nekropolis's fast food outlet 'Sawney B's' with a load of bollocks & proceeds to eat them!

Matt is temporarily back together, using one of Papa Chatha's remote spells, that he's been taught. He takes the opportunity, while the ladies are otherwise engaged, to question Varney (he's suspicious of him as well) .

On the way to meet Vavara, it's time to pass one of the guards - an ape demon named magilla, who also happens to be a one demon innuendo factory, but makes a mistake when he tries it on with Shamika. She sets Chirana on him - a cross between Piranha & Chihuahua (someone needs to write the book ).

Part 5

More shenanigans. The war is really kicking off, Film monsters are escaping from the grotesquearie & Matt has found out who Shamika & Varney really are. Plus an enemy from one of the previous books returns.

Matt & friends have just arrived & at Skully's & this passage gave me a good laugh:

"I was looking for someone who might be able to tell me what I needed to know, and I found him sitting at the bar, talking to a young woman I knew.
Before we could start toward them, the front door opened and a teenage boy with messed hair and a pouty expression walked in. He had the elongated canines of the Bloodborn, but his skin gave off a glimmering sheen.

A couple of bald, overly muscled, heavily tattooed Vampires clad in scuffed leather snarled at the sight of the luminous teen. They rose from their chairs, stalked toward him, flanked him on either side, grabbed hold of his arms, lifted him off the floor, and started escorting him back toward the door.
"Hey, take it easy guys!" the teen whined "It's not my fault I sparkle!" "

100 pages to go...

[H_P_Saucecraft]

Things are getting worse, someone is trying to merge Nekropolis with earth & Varvara is under mind control. Matt knows his only hope is to contact The Hidden Light, an organisation dedicated to keeping the darkfolk from returning to earth, so it's in their interest that Nekropolis is not merged.

Matt & co. still need to stcik to their original plan, but now they have powerful weapons to back them up. wether they'll work against the watchers is another matter. But you just know this is going to get resolved.

I haven't said much about the last 100 pages, but I don't want to completely spoil it (I know this is Vault, but... ;D)

The last pages make it evident that there's going to be another book. I look forward to it, but I didn't find this one as good as the previous 2. Dark War is still good, but I think it really could have done its work in 200 pages or so, rather than 410.

Well that's it for this one, I know I've missed a lot out, but it's my first proper attempt.

Aren't you Vaulters lucky, there's more of my crap to come, Pilo Family Circus is up next .

[dem bones]

It sounds incredibly busy! much as i enjoyed your running commentary, there are two things stopping me taking the plunge: the page count - it's all i can do to finish a novel half that length these days - and the fact its book III in a bleeding 'chronicles'! Fun as it looks, even the prospect of a Piranha-Chihuahua hybrid and a mini-skirted fire demon in a Black Flag t-shirt might not sustain me through what must already be close on 2000 pages. The only 'Chronicles' i've managed to complete are Les Daniels' 'Don Sebastian' series and Laymon's Beast House (unless Mervyn Peake's glorious Gormenghast trilogy counts?)