Terminal Overkill

[Knockagh]

Doing this on audio, about half way, and it’s a great listen so far. Reads as a memoir or reflections over the gangers life, which is brilliantly executed. Not usually a fan of listening on a first read but Emma’s voice is terrific. She reads the necromunda intro rather poorly but as soon as it’s past she is straight into a flow.

No comedy necromunda here, it’s cruel poverty.

Being audio it will take me two listens to fully absorb it, but so far it’s the best necromunda offering by a long way.

Edited September 3, 2019 by Knockagh

[caladancid]

Doing this on audio, about half way, and it’s a great listen so far. Reads as a memoir or reflections over the gangers life, which is brilliantly executed. Not usually a fan of listening on a first read but Emma’s voice is terrific. She reads the necromunda intro rather poorly but as soon as it’s past she is straight into a flow.

No comedy necromunda here, it’s cruel poverty.

Being audio it will take me two listens to fully absorb it, but so far it’s the best necromunda offering by a long way.

 

How does it compare to the original Gordon Rennie stuff?

 

edit

 

I should probably be a bit more specific.  It sounds like the answer is no, but does this one have the same sort of grim darkness with humor tone as the originals or is it full on grimmer grim?

Edited September 3, 2019 by caladancid

[cheywood]

 

 

Snip.

How does it compare to the original Gordon Rennie stuff?

 

edit

 

I should probably be a bit more specific. It sounds like the answer is no, but does this one have the same sort of grim darkness with humor tone as the originals or is it full on grimmer grim?

Hill answers that exact question in his interview with Track of Words: https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/08/25/rapid-fire-justin-d-hill-talks-terminal-overkill/ (long story short new Necromunda is serious Necromunda).

[Knockagh]

It’s not a swashbuckling Ciaphas Cain type book at all. I liked the original books and have reread some of them within the last two years, but if your looking for an imitation of that this isn’t it. This is a fresh tone for the setting. It suits it.

The only time I’ve laughed so far was during a pipe unblocking episode and that’s only because I’ve unblocked my fair share of slurry filled pipes around the farm only to find something foul as the culprit. Though never thankfully as up close and personal as we get in the book. It wasn’t funny, it made me want to boke, in a good way!

[Knockagh]

This is awesome, it’s a 40k dungeon crawler adventure. Dead knights on thrones with their magical swords ripe for plundering, chests full of magical vials and vaults full of venomous spiders. If Brielle doesn’t have to draw a card from a ‘Deck of Many Things’ before the end I will be gutted!

The dungeon feel lends itself really well to the underhive environment.

[Roomsky]

Wasn't huge on this, sorry Mr. Hill. Cadia Stands is still pretty good though.

 

Maybe I just don't like Necromunda; I didn't really enjoy the western-gangland vibe that from what I gather is the whole point of the setting. It moves really fast but I felt like a lot of scenes were sort of just there. It was suitably grim but something about it doesn't scratch the itch I normally have with a 40k work. In all fairness, I'm not always big on first-person stories either, so it may have just been the perfect storm to give me a resounding "meh." There are some interesting ideas in play, and it seemed distinct enough to me that people should probably give it a try themselves before passing judgment.

[JustinDHill]

Wasn't huge on this, sorry Mr. Hill. 

Don't apologise man! ;-)

 

I'm sorry it didn't compel your imagination in the way a good book does.

 

On the plus side, I can promise the next two book are not a first person narratives. They'res not Necromunda, either. 

 

 

Bad news maybe for those people who are begging for more Brielle. 

[Knockagh]

I’ve finished this and loved it all. Reverse of Roomsky I’m a huge fan of first person narratives.

 

I’ve just read the interview above and am pretty miffed Mr Hill is off to the horror books. These definitely are not my thing at all, can’t stand the genre in general. Hopefully we will have a return to the underhive for more adventures for Brielle and her spiders. Still chomping through Cadian Honour which is another brilliant offering from Justin. Change of tempo from Stands, setting the ground for plenty more from the 101st. Top stuff. Love the use of a 40k refugee crisis!

[Red_Shift]

Just finished part one and so far I can't put it down. Edited September 12, 2019 by Red_Shift

[Red_Shift]

Finished it this evening. From start to finish, never ending easy, compelling reading. For me, fun and distracting but nothing particularly challenging or new for the setting. A kind of beer and pretzels type offering that was thoroughly entertaining but forgettable in the sense that is another tale of life in the underhive that will be soon forgotten. Which is kind of the way of life with necromunda. In terms of actual enjoyment, probably in my top three this year. It's great reading about the climatic events of the horus heresy but sometimes I just want to have some easy reading.

[Allart01]

I got the audio version with an audible credit, and I will agree that Emma did a FANTASTIC job.

She was just perfect, I hope she'll return for more Escher reading!

 

The story itself was good. I lost myself a couple of times (english not being my mother tongue may or may not be the reason) but I liked it enough to grab myself a paperback editon to keep on my shelf.

The first person pov and the episodio narration are an interesting choice that I think was fitting - they make it quick and personal, just like a Necromunda gang fight.

 

The real winner, here, is the overall feel of the setting. Violent, desperate, absurd. The grimdark is strong here, but it's 100% the good one, and it all makes sense.

 

The ending leaves the door open for a sequel, and I hope we get one. I'd buy it day one, no doubt.

As I've written elsewhere, I would currently elect this one as "THE" Necromunda novel.

[Reyner]

Yeah I got it on Audible aswell it was great. We need more Necromunda stuff! I even picked up the Deserter (was alright) and Expectatio which I preferred over the former. 

[aa.logan]

I don’t think this thread is quite old enough to qualify for the Rate What You Read, so here are my thoughts on Terminal Overkill.

 

I’ve always liked Necromunda as a setting, but have struggled to engage with the older books; this and the Underhive anthology have been absolute highlights of my reading year so far.

 

Like a few others in the thread, I listened to rather than read this with my eyes, and it is perhaps one of the best performances of a BL book that I’ve heard. The narrative is engaging and charismatic, and the range of voices used is fresh and varied. First instance of some non-standard English and even Welsh accents making it to the 41st millennium that I’ve encountered. I just bought some fancy new headphones and they might have added to the sense of immersion, but it manages to *sound* claustrophobic somehow.

 

On the one hand, it is unrelentingly grim; life growing up the child of a gang leader seemed bleak enough, but then we got a closer look at the existence of those (literally) further down the social ladder- the depiction of thralls in the Underhive is awful. Violence is brutal and unpredictable, but casual and unthinking. Despite this, the book manages to be an awful lot of *fun*; Brielle’s charisma means you forgive her an awful lot and enough work is done to justify her worldview. Quite easily, I can imagine the content making one feel physically and spiritually grubby, but it is all handled really well.

 

Unless I missed a reveal or two at the end, the conclusion is nicely satisfying but does leave things open to a follow-up, which I would absolutely welcome.