"All this is past. I am a weaver of fate, an oracle who sees all the paths of the future. That is my power, my advantage."
Architect of Fate is a collection of novellas set around the Eye of Terror that feature Kairos Fateweaver - the famed greater daemon of Tzeentch.
Well... at least that's how Black Library has marketed this anthology. Architect of Fate is often puzzling, not very enjoyable, and surprisingly boring. Until the last story, you're also not quite sure what many of these stories have to do with Fateweaver (Hint: not all of them do).
Well... at least that's how Black Library has marketed this anthology. Architect of Fate is often puzzling, not very enjoyable, and surprisingly boring. Until the last story, you're also not quite sure what many of these stories have to do with Fateweaver (Hint: not all of them do).
This collections is probably best reviewed in four separate pieces. An overall rating will be given at the end.
Accursed Eternity starts with an interesting enough premise: an Inquisitor and some Space Marines try to solve a psychic ghost-ship mystery. Unfortunately, most of this story turns out like the ending of an episode of Scooby Doo - surprisingly little pay off.
Accursed Eternity features forgettable characters with no discerning features or personality. I honestly can not even remember either of the two Space Marine chapters from this story. You care so little about the flavorless chapters that you forget who is part of who's squad and which chapter owes the debt to the Ordo Malleus. Cawkwell's writing isn't that bad but it feels like she wasn't given the chance to flesh the story out or give the characters any depth. Thankfully, unlike some other Black Library authors, Sarah Cawkwell is at least coherent.
Accursed Eternity features forgettable characters with no discerning features or personality. I honestly can not even remember either of the two Space Marine chapters from this story. You care so little about the flavorless chapters that you forget who is part of who's squad and which chapter owes the debt to the Ordo Malleus. Cawkwell's writing isn't that bad but it feels like she wasn't given the chance to flesh the story out or give the characters any depth. Thankfully, unlike some other Black Library authors, Sarah Cawkwell is at least coherent.
Regardless, I will be giving her another chance when I tackle her full-length novel, Gildar Rift. Hopefully with some room to stretch her legs and with a little more focus, Cawkwell will produce a more enjoyable work.
2.5 / 5
Sanctus by Darius Hinks
Like Cawkwell's story, Sanctus is also largely unfocused with mostly two dimensional characters. The interactions between Hinks' characters break down into almost comical hyperbole and stereotypes. The most notable example is the gruff squad sergeant's hate of the sniveling inquisitorial acoylte, Pylcrafte. Those two adjectives - gruff and sniveling - describe the absolute entirety of their personalities.
Hilariously, the squad's Librairian spends most of the story just bleeding profusely from his face. This led me to two questions: How much blood does this guy have, and why doesn't his Larraman's organs work?
Hilariously, the squad's Librairian spends most of the story just bleeding profusely from his face. This led me to two questions: How much blood does this guy have, and why doesn't his Larraman's organs work?
Sadly, the best part of this story was when it ended.
The most upsetting part was when I realized that the ending wasn't really an ending...
2 / 5
Endeavour of Will by Ben Counter
By most accounts, Ben Counter is a decent writer. As expected, Endeavour of Will is a decent little story. Imperial Fists fight the Iron Warriors in this fast-paced, action-packed story. This novella is more of a character piece about the dualism between Lysander and Shon'tu and has little to nothing-to do-with Fateweaver. There's a few daemons, but that's about it.
To break down the story: Lysander is a dick, people shoot each other, and there's some crazy techno-virus stuff that happens.
All in all, pretty good. I'm looking forward to Malodrax. Sort of.
3.5 / 5
Fateweaver by John French
The last, but certainly not the least of this anthology, Fateweaver involves the White Consuls responding to a distress call from an astropathic relay station. John French creates a pretty enjoyable tale with decent imagery, cool setpieces, and a memorable villain.
French's satisfying ending is one of the only redeeming features of this anthology. Just like Kairos Fatewaver's obsession about the past becoming the future, Fateweaver links back to Accursed Eternity and links most of the anthology together.
However, like the other stories, these space marines were also a bit boring. In this case, it seemed like French either didn't care, or really wasn't given a chance to expand on their personalities. Considering everything else that happens in this story, he may have decided that an exhaustive characterization would hurt the novella's overall pacing.
Other than that, Fateweaver was well written with some nice supporting characters. John French's background in RPG writing is evident throughout the story. The areas that he creates felt like living, grounded, realistic places.
4 / 5
Overall, Architect of Fate is mostly forgettable. If you're really craving a throwaway read, go buy anything else instead. There's too little satisfaction to be found here.
3 / 5
By most accounts, Ben Counter is a decent writer. As expected, Endeavour of Will is a decent little story. Imperial Fists fight the Iron Warriors in this fast-paced, action-packed story. This novella is more of a character piece about the dualism between Lysander and Shon'tu and has little to nothing-to do-with Fateweaver. There's a few daemons, but that's about it.
To break down the story: Lysander is a dick, people shoot each other, and there's some crazy techno-virus stuff that happens.
All in all, pretty good. I'm looking forward to Malodrax. Sort of.
3.5 / 5
Fateweaver by John French
The last, but certainly not the least of this anthology, Fateweaver involves the White Consuls responding to a distress call from an astropathic relay station. John French creates a pretty enjoyable tale with decent imagery, cool setpieces, and a memorable villain.
French's satisfying ending is one of the only redeeming features of this anthology. Just like Kairos Fatewaver's obsession about the past becoming the future, Fateweaver links back to Accursed Eternity and links most of the anthology together.
However, like the other stories, these space marines were also a bit boring. In this case, it seemed like French either didn't care, or really wasn't given a chance to expand on their personalities. Considering everything else that happens in this story, he may have decided that an exhaustive characterization would hurt the novella's overall pacing.
Other than that, Fateweaver was well written with some nice supporting characters. John French's background in RPG writing is evident throughout the story. The areas that he creates felt like living, grounded, realistic places.
4 / 5
Overall, Architect of Fate is mostly forgettable. If you're really craving a throwaway read, go buy anything else instead. There's too little satisfaction to be found here.
3 / 5
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