Blackstone Fortress Book Review (Warning; Contains some Spoilers)

Blackstone Fortress review (Warning, Spoilers.)

Reviewer's notes; Being an enthusiastic reader myself I love to explore a diverse range of books and series, and recently I've dipped my toe into the Black Library's books; a company run by Games Workshop that publishes novels and series based within the universes of Warhammer be it the classic fantasy ages, the Age of Sigmar fantasy or the grimdark future of the 41st millennium of 40K. Bringing the Tabletop games to life through a large array of different books, genres and types be it anthologies, omnibuses or even novellas for lighter reading. My first experience had only been reading a novella being "Wanted: Dead" by Mike Brooks, based in the murky Mad Max inspired depths of the Underhives I found it to be a real page-turner, with Blackstone Fortress being the first 'full' novel to read, will the end result be a page-turner or a put-downer? 

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In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Treasure hunting. At least, that's what seems to be in store for the Blackstone Fortress novel, but will this story contain vast mysteries and treasures hidden within much like its obsidian subject matter? Or, will it much like many of its seekers, become lost and fall into obscurity within its vast, complex and confusing depths?

Written by Darius Hinks, Blackstone fortress is a story that in some cases feels very akin to any other group-based treasure-seeking adventure, although it certainly manages to stand on its own two feet and distinguish itself from the crowd of other similar stories. 

First things first. While this book is related to the Warhammer 40,000 Universe and its board game equivalent, you don't need to know absolutely everything about the theme to be able to enjoy the book. Something that for other series within Black Library publishing's in many cases would require, as those are more catered to fans and knowledge of the world's history (such as the Horus Heresy series). And whilst there are certain terminologies that can seem unfamiliar or confusing, Darius does a fine job explaining what it means for the most part without succumbing to Dumbing down the audience or over-expositing.

The story itself follows a group of characters, each recruited with their own aspirations and reason for entering the obsidian monolith known as the "Blackstone Fortress" and what they hope to gain from its secrets. However, we don't start directly with the protagonists but instead treated to a prologue relating to future events and character motives in future chapters. Before being dropped straight onto the planet of Prospero; a place where treasure hunters, bounty hunters and anyone of creed, race, and nobility come to before attempting the fortress. It's here we meet the 'main' protagonist Janus Draik; a high nobleman of the family dynasty House Draik, and his assistant Isola. Who've come to the Blackstone fortress to reclaim his honour and be welcomed back into his rightful position. But one would be foolish to brave the ever-shifting mysteries of the monolith alone, which is where we come across the rest of the team including; Religious fanatic Taddeous and his zealot Pious Vorne, the Kroot hunter Grekh, the outlaw pilot Audus and Corval; a high noble Navigator able to utilise the horrors of the Warp to use abilities to shield madness or use its energy as a weapon. As they each use their skills and knowledge to try and overcome the Fortress in search of the ultimate treasure; The Ascuris Vault that dwells deep within the living building's structure. But as with each treasure hunting story, it's not without its perils, and throughout the story itself, you come to know just how and why many enter, but very few leave let alone alive.

The story overall is very much a slow-burning read, with an opening that pulls you in to read more as each crew member is recruited, giving an immersive feel to the environment around them as it lives and breathes. But then the pace becomes a bit of a slog throughout a good half of the book as they explore the ever-shifting chambers, while still interesting to learn how the Blackstone fortress works and defends itself, as well as some of the horrors that lurk within the Icey abyssal depths, it lacks the action-like feel given on the blurb on the back of the novel, which contrasts from the beginning chapters as at times the pace felt like an uphill struggle, padding out until a big event happened. This tends to hurt the feel and flow of the story especially to new readers, as the blurb gives a sense of peril, danger and crew sacrificing/death with "Draik's obsession is all-consuming, and he will risk everything to obtain his prize and its many secrets, including his life or the even that of his crew..." yet even when almost three-quarters of the way through we get close to something like that, the payoff gets put off (minor spoiler: especially with Pious Vorne and her attitude to save Taddeus and the group reaches martyrdom levels) when if it had gone through with the actions, it would've had greater effect. It feels like as if the film "Rogue One" played out but none of the characters died bar one, which makes the story feel less impactful and heavy, and as a result, makes the effects of people's desires feel a lot less needy and reckless with very little repercussions and making the end, while enjoyable and bringing a smirk to my lips, far less impactful of just how dangerous the Blackstone Fortress is and had been made out to be from the mouths of survivors and patrons on the planet Precipice, as it felt less grimdark compared to its board game counterpart and the risks players take to access rewards or even their characters life. In comparison to a similarly structured story; "Prince of Thorns" by Mark Lawrence, featuring a 'main' protagonist with his crew on a quest to regain what he once lost, with an attitude of risking anyone in the pursuit of his goal. Whereby throughout that story his gang one by one sacrifice themselves for him or are killed during the journey, giving an aspect of 'the heroes journey' structure that is used in many forms of media.

(Please note this small section contains a major spoiler within the book. If you want to read the novel I'd highly recommend skimming to the next paragraph)

One particular gripe I had with the structure and writing was a particular character, the 'supposed' antagonist of Glutt; A psyker from the prologue that went rogue out of anger to his superior bombing the entire planet and condemning the innocent lives of the soldiers around him in an attempt to kill one traitorous general. To begin with, Glutt seems an interesting character as we begin to see the process of what happens when using the ferocious powers of The Warp is not kept in check (much like how say someone imbued with magic has no control over the thin veil of where it originates from.) which hasn't seemed to be expanded upon in my reading experience so far. However, this interest is very short-lived as Glutt only appears three times throughout the book; Once at the beginning in the prologue, once again over halfway through within the 'heart' of the Blackstone Fortress creating a lesser daemon akin to a homunculus, and again at the end with Glutt becoming a Chaos spawn (or daemon) himself. This really doesn't affect the story all that much in honesty, as you could have taken Glutt out of the story after the prologue and really nothing would have changed, for an Antagonist using the 'Heart' of the fortress as an impenetrable safe-haven to nurture a plague garden to release upon the stars, his being there is severely short-lived, with very little impact or emotional connection towards him as a character. Especially with the ending and his death being so short-lived and only to serve a means to one of the characters ends. Much like a plague, this makes the host suffer in terms of story, as there was definitely potential in injecting more of his heretical methods into hindering the crew from unintentionally reaching him, including making undead Guardsmen (which the description was haunting, to say the least) so underutilised and reduced to nothing more than a third-act hazard of unkillable enemies, rather than a slow shambling dread that could pursue our protagonists throughout, stalking the shadows in small numbers that over time accumulate giving a sense of pace and fear. whereas the true antagonist of the story would have to be the Blackstone Fortress for how it constantly tries to test our heroes.

But that's far from saying that this book isn't worth the read, as the positives to manage to bring the story to life and keep the reader engaged and going. For starters, the characters themselves are rich with personality, from Grekh's tribalistic rituals to Taddious and Vorne's fanatical prayers and zealot-like personalities from visions, each character doesn't feel one-dimensional or weak be it protagonist or background character. Each person we meet has a definitive personality that feels realistic within the tone of the 41st millennium, with the later parts of the book really bringing out the main crews pasts and the burdens on their shoulders (with how the Blackstone incites madness within its walls) making for some very interesting interactions and side stories between characters that feel natural, and not at all forced or predictable. The writing itself is expressive and not overly complex with terms only fans would understand, with exploration revealing some trippy and downright inception-levels of mind-bending reality warps. And while it may not be a page-turner all the time, when going back to the story after some time away from it I didn't feel like I had to reread all the way up to that point to up to date like some other novels do, making it an easy read.

Blackstone Fortress gives an immersive look into the grimdark world of Warhammer 40,000 with an aspect away from the typical wars of grandeur and militant warfare and instead focusing on more of the Rogue Trader-Esque theme focusing more on regular humans facing mortality than super soldiers battling grotesque Xenos, in a interesting tale of treasure hunting with a feel of elements from Firefly mixed with Guardians of the Galaxy style of crew based adventure. And while on the whole personally, it would have benefitted more in the style of a Novella rather than a regular-length book, that's what "Vaults of Obsidian" is for, being an anthology of short stories based within the Blackstone Fortress. Overall I'd say if you're wanting a fix of Blackstone Fortress away from the board game, I'd recommend Vaults of Obsidian, but if you want an introduction to the depths of the abyssal monolith with likeable characters that carry the story along before trying the board game I'd say this is worth the read if you enjoy Warhammer 40K, Firefly or Guardians of the galaxy. Though you'd get more adventure and risk like the blurb states through playing the game this books tied with.