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wittdooley
01-19-2010, 09:25 AM
So I've finally had some time to read again. I'll have a bunch of 40k Lit Reviews coming up:

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[40k Review] Faith & Fire – James Swallow

The Sisters of Battle have always been a faction of the 40k universe that has fascinated me; there are so few women given face time, as it were, in the 40k universe that an entire organization made of up power armour clad females seemed something of an anomaly to me. Couple that with the fact that the figures were so god awfully manly (I just wish they looked a bit more like the illustration on the cover of the book) and the Sisters were something that my interest was never fully in. Truthfully, the only reason I picked up Faith & Fire is because I really enjoyed the author’s—James Swallow in this case—Blood Angel books. However, in Faith & Fire, Swallow has actually swayed me and created a great deal of interest in the Sisters of Battle.

Faith & Fire is, essentially, a book about a mishandled prisoner transfer, but, as any decent piece of fiction has, there are some additional layers to the story. The focus of the story is on Miriya, a Sister Superior of the Order of the Martyred Lady and Verity, a Sister Hospitaller of the Order of Serenity. Miriya is charged with the transport of a dangerous psyker by the name of Torris Vaun, who, in the first few pages of the novel escapes, killing Lethe, a Battle Sister to Miriya and blood sister to Verity. His capture is really the driving motivation for the plot.

The plot here is solid, if not a bit predictable. If you’ve read any 40k novels, the recipe you know and love is there. The thing for me that has always set apart a bad 40k novel from a good one is how that particular piece explores the background and develops the characters. Sadly, Faith & Fire is hit or miss in this area. To his credit, Swallow does a fantastic job presenting the hierarchy and ritual of the Sisters of the Order of the Martyred Lady. We are privy to their daily and more mundane rituals, as well as more rarefied rituals (like the death ritual, induction into the Repentia). This is a major strength of the novel, as it brings forth a great deal of interest in the inner workings of the Sisters Militant, as well as the Sisters Hospitaller via Sister Verity. Sadly, the character exploration of Miriya and Verity is woefully shallow. I actually found myself most compelled by the villain Vaun; he seems to have the most depth of character, he has motivation and backgrounds we wonder and care about, and I wonder if Swallow found writing him to be easier and more familiar, being a male.

Though the characters are a bit shallow and cookie cutter, I imagine most will be coming to this book for background on the Sisters of Battle or some good action sequences, and Swallow does deliver on those two things. However, if you’re looking for a lasting character like Brother Rafen from the Blood Angels books, you’ll find Faith & Fire lacking. Overall, Swallow performs a decent job weaving a tale on an oft-overlooked section of the 40k universe. Yet sadly, for an order so human, so passionate, and so full of zeal his characters fall flat and the novel ultimately suffers.

The Good:
+ Good descriptions of Sisters of Battle rituals and hierarchy
+ Action sequences are fun and appropriately bloody

The Bad:
--Sister Miriya and Sister Verity are underdeveloped as characters
--Plot is somewhat predictable


On Deck: Rogue Star - Andy Hoare
In the Hole: Titanicus - Dan Abnett

Melissia
01-19-2010, 10:33 AM
More bad: Breaks the background in many areas regarding the corruption of Sisters (when the codex states only a single Sister has ever fallen in the history of the organization, it says a damned lot about their piety). It's not... BAD because of this per se. It just is out of character for the organization, like a really bad continuity error in a Marvel comic (like The Dark Knight Returns, when Batman goes around killing cops)

Just_Me
01-19-2010, 12:15 PM
More bad: Breaks the background in many areas regarding the corruption of Sisters (when the codex states only a single Sister has ever fallen in the history of the organization, it says a damned lot about their piety)

Well, personally I have always found that number iffy, it smacks of the sort of propaganda we inevitably see in the codex books. The only faction I am really prepared to imagine as incorruptable are the Grey Knights, and that only because they simply have to be in order to do what they do, otherwise nobody would trust them. Given that the current WH codex is showing its age, and there has been enough fluff material both before and afterwards to suggest that Sisters can in fact be corrupted, I think we need to at least acknowledge the possibility.

Not having read Faith and Fire yet, I can't really comment on the specifics of the book, but I would like to thank you for these reviews.

Melissia
01-19-2010, 12:15 PM
Ugh, I guess I was thinking of Daemonifuge. I don't own either, and it's been a while since I read either.


Just_Me: The Sisters are nigh-incorruptible, they've always been that way. They represent the best that humanity has to offer, the most pious individuals in the Imperium, and to paraphrase a game, the light does not shine upon them, it shines from them. Moreso than any Marine, any organization in the Imperium... they are stated to be everything that is good about humanity.

This isn't to say they don't have flaws, bot corruptibility is not one of them.

Nabterayl
01-19-2010, 12:15 PM
Can you clarify what you're thinking of, Mel? I didn't find the depiction of the sisters' psychology to be inconsistent at all, and none of the Sororitas characters in the book fall.

wittdooley
01-19-2010, 12:31 PM
Ugh, I guess I was thinking of Daemonifuge. I don't own either, and it's been a while since I read either.


Just_Me: The Sisters are nigh-incorruptible, they've always been that way. They represent the best that humanity has to offer, the most pious individuals in the Imperium, and to paraphrase a game, the light does not shine upon them, it shines from them. Moreso than any Marine, any organization in the Imperium... they are stated to be everything that is good about humanity.

This isn't to say they don't have flaws, bot corruptibility is not one of them.

Having not read the codex, I can't really comment on that, though I did think Swallow did a fairly good job as painting them as incorrubtible. I did't necessarily see the Sisters' inability to block the Psyker powers as seeds of corruption, though I can see how it would appear so. I also think Verity was a better example of the piety than Mariya was.

If anything, after reading this book I'd really like to see another book focusing on the Sisters, and it actually made me much more excited about the prospects of a Sisters only codex... they obviously have plenty of potential codex choices.

Nabterayl
01-19-2010, 01:06 PM
The way Faith and Fire handled the Shield of Faith, and Acts of Faith in general, was something I really approved of. They were special - when Miriya and Verity use the Shield of Faith at the end of the book, it was a big deal to them. When Miriya used Hand of the Emperor in the cell, it was a big deal to her. I much prefer depicting the faith-based powers as something unusual and miraculous. If they were really as common as they are on the tabletop they'd lose the flavor of seeming like special divine interventions - just "Oh, what? Yeah, I beat space marines and warbosses in arm wrestling all the time. Not a big deal."

Mike X
01-19-2010, 01:06 PM
It just is out of character for the organization, like a really bad continuity error in a Marvel comic (like The Dark Knight Returns, when Batman goes around killing cops)

Batman is DC, not Marvel.

And The Dark Knight Returns is one of Batman's greatest comics, ranked #2 on IGN's Top 25 Best Batman Graphic Novels.

Melissia
01-19-2010, 03:22 PM
I'm not a huge comic book fan, was more into gaming than that. I may even have the wrong batman comic in mind (perhaps it was The Dark Knight Strikes Again? Whatever). Regardless, I just know that the mental image of Batman killing cops, *****slapping robin, and so on and so forth very much breaks with the established personality of Batman. Another example would probably be Superman: At Worlds End.

So pedantic nitpicking aside, miss the point much? Literature where the characters break character isn't good literature, regardless of what medium. A story about a Marine going emo, being scared and hiding, crying as bullets and shrapnel blow over a rock that he's hiding behind wouldn't be very good, either. Nor would (Despite the amusing mental image) a story about Tyranids attending a royal ball and wearing tuxedos as they sip their fine wines.

Mike X
01-19-2010, 03:56 PM
So pedantic nitpicking aside, miss the point much? Literature where the characters break character isn't good literature, regardless of what medium.

I didn't miss your point, as my response is a counterpoint to yours, actually. You made claims of canon breaks without accurate information. And how can you complain about breach of fluff when you've just personally complained about a topic you know little to nothing about?

Next time give truer examples, so we don't think of you as ignorant.

Just_Me
01-19-2010, 06:30 PM
Just_Me: The Sisters are nigh-incorruptible, they've always been that way. They represent the best that humanity has to offer, the most pious individuals in the Imperium, and to paraphrase a game, the light does not shine upon them, it shines from them. Moreso than any Marine, any organization in the Imperium... they are stated to be everything that is good about humanity.

This isn't to say they don't have flaws, bot corruptibility is not one of them.

I'm prepared to give you that, the sisters are among the most incredibly devoted organizations in the Imperium, and are nigh-incorruptible. The thing is, there is that funny little word "nigh" there, we throw that word around a lot, nigh-invincible, nigh-invulnerable, etc. The thing is, it means "almost." History has proved that even the most devoted religious zealots can loose their faith, and while I would be willing to concede that the sisters are more pious than just about any religious order throughout history (most likely because their god is actually tangible and demonstrably real), they are still human beings with human doubts and human failings. If Inquisitors can fall, than it seems silly to believe that sisters can't.

However, I don't want to divert this thread into that discussion, if we want to debate the relative fallibility of the Imperium's different organizations, we can do it elsewhere...

Melissia
01-19-2010, 07:04 PM
Mike: I would, but I don't give a damn. There's plenty of bad reviews for comic book continuity errors and crappy writing out there with horrid mischaracterization. Furthermore, you still have yet to say anything counter to my point like you claimed-- you're just picking nits.

Just_Me: Yes, nigh incorruptible. Which is why when you have a story bout Sisters it should NOT be about them being corrupted to chaos. It has only ever happened once in the entire history of the faction. Not multiple times, not dozens of times, not hundreds, not thousands. Once. It shouldn't be done again, and if it is then it had better be done extremely carefully and with great care for the background, not just flippantly say "hey, I know a good idea, let's corrupt some Sisters!".

On a more general storyline, soldiers turning ot chaos is the most overused subject that GW uses in their literature to the point of becoming appallingly bland, and fan-fiction isn't too much better with fan-fiction about Sisters turning to chaos inevitably turning into sexual fancies rather than actual storylines appropriate for the subject.



edit: Meh, you're probably right. I'll drop this and let this stay on topic.

Dark_Templar
01-19-2010, 07:21 PM
Batman is DC, not Marvel.

And The Dark Knight Returns is one of Batman's greatest comics, ranked #2 on IGN's Top 25 Best Batman Graphic Novels.

This.

Also, Batman was known to have little issues with killing in the early days, before the current established personality.

Also, and I do not mean to go OT, but I can definitely understand why Batman would eventually go postal.

AirHorse
02-12-2010, 10:37 AM
I just finished reading the book myself and I have to say I pretty much agree with everything you said in your review.

Vaun was a great character, but the sisters were kind of robotic. Verity wasnt too bad since she got her eyes opened to new things, but miriya seemed to only get emotional since it was kind of expected of her in a very generic way.

I do think that he portrayed the general attitude of the sisters way of war quite well though. Yes they are well trained, well equiped and capable of strong discipline, but they are also stubborn and zealous to the extreme, which cost them lives just to prove a point. Admittedly they didnt really go through a struggle, but I thought he really captured the essence of their methodology, they care more about being symbols of the emperors will than being an effecient warmachine.

They also werent as pious as they seem to be made out in the codex, which was good if you ask me. They were very much in touch with reality as warriors, despite being zealous and faith bound, which was a stark contrast to verity who ended up moving in that direction after seeing some things. The cannoness also seemed to lack any real form of respect for the other branches of the church which I found interesting, but also kind of relieving. If he had done the sisters out as totaly mindless drones who just follow the imperial cult without any thought it wouldve made them far too alien.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a more contextual view of the sisters, though I would warn not to expect anything ground breaking or particularily new :P