It's extremely rare that a new piece of science fiction literature captures the imagination these days. Too often it feels like it's all been done. There are only so many settings and plotlines to go around. My encounter with the first Death's Head book was, for lack of a better word, random. It was summer 2007 and hotter than hell in Baltimore. The Barnes & Noble @ the Inner Harbor is one of the best in the country, at least from my experience. Rather bored, and in dire need of an air-conditioned space, I walked in with the goal of taking up the first new release sci-fi I'll see on display. Settling down at the Starbucks with an iced-triple-venti-caramel-macchiato (don't judge me) I ran through a bit of DH.
You know that "love at first sight" feeling? I personally don't, but I'd imagine it's very similar to what I felt after the first chapter. "Hell yeah." escaped my mouth and I couldn't set the book down. I bought it, brought it home, and spent the rest of the night with it - a scenario akin to soliciting a gorgeous dirty prostitute... Which, frankly, is a fairly reasonable description of the novel itself.
David Gunn brings his military expertise, brilliantly dry sense of humor, and a deft touch of imagination to create an easy, interesting read without the agony of technical jargon and overblown plotlines - all from a first person perspective. It's an underused viewpoint in science fiction today, and works out perfect. Twenty minutes into the book, you're not even reading anymore, but rather listening to Sven Tveskoeg - the hero of the novel... or anti-hero as the case may be - tell stories of his military past. Part Master Chief of the Halo series, part Sands - Johnny Depp's character in Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Sven tells one hell of a story.
Sven is an enigma, but certainly not the most complex character in the world - a world in which Earth is a distant memory to some, a myth to others. 85% of the galaxy (which we only assume is the Milky Way) is controlled by the United Free - an advanced, augmented, beautiful and "immortal" utopian society, the remaining 15% is under dispute between the Enlightened and Octovians, and 98.2% of Sven is human. The leader of the Octovians, OctoV, personally seeks out Sven in the galaxy, and the feeling is that the "other" 1.8% of Sven have something to do with it. As it has something to do with his ability to telepathically communicate with alien lifeforms, regenerate from wounds abnormally quick, and just be a general badass. His adoration of alcohol and whores quickly reveal the man is beyond a hangover or a sexually transmitted disease, and Sven's not afraid to show it. In fact, with any break from action the reader is treated with one of the two, sex or drink, and sometimes both.
As Sven bounds from one death-defying activity to another, we meet a variety of other characters - most substantially less interesting. If there's one fault to the story, is that really nothing else develops as detailed as the main character. Which is fine. Sven is an experienced commander, efficient killer, skilled with all types of weapons - and picks up the best one of them all in his SIG-diabolo - a wise-cracking gun with an artificial intelligence. Much of the "comic relief" comes from the sidearm's comments.
There are two more books written since the first in the series came out. It should come as no surprise that the ending is, well... open-ended. We learn quite a bit about Sven, his surrounding environment, all the "forces" involved - but never get to the point. Though interesting, the novel is short - a dedicated reader will likely finish in under a week (you should have no problem doing it in a couple of nights if you have the time off from work/school) - it is an obvious set-up for the rest of the series - which I have gladly picked-up and read. Should you choose to invest in the first of the DH novels, be it at the bookstore or local library, I'd suggest going ahead and picking up the second and third novels, as you'll be instantly hooked.
You know that "love at first sight" feeling? I personally don't, but I'd imagine it's very similar to what I felt after the first chapter. "Hell yeah." escaped my mouth and I couldn't set the book down. I bought it, brought it home, and spent the rest of the night with it - a scenario akin to soliciting a gorgeous dirty prostitute... Which, frankly, is a fairly reasonable description of the novel itself.
David Gunn brings his military expertise, brilliantly dry sense of humor, and a deft touch of imagination to create an easy, interesting read without the agony of technical jargon and overblown plotlines - all from a first person perspective. It's an underused viewpoint in science fiction today, and works out perfect. Twenty minutes into the book, you're not even reading anymore, but rather listening to Sven Tveskoeg - the hero of the novel... or anti-hero as the case may be - tell stories of his military past. Part Master Chief of the Halo series, part Sands - Johnny Depp's character in Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Sven tells one hell of a story.
Sven is an enigma, but certainly not the most complex character in the world - a world in which Earth is a distant memory to some, a myth to others. 85% of the galaxy (which we only assume is the Milky Way) is controlled by the United Free - an advanced, augmented, beautiful and "immortal" utopian society, the remaining 15% is under dispute between the Enlightened and Octovians, and 98.2% of Sven is human. The leader of the Octovians, OctoV, personally seeks out Sven in the galaxy, and the feeling is that the "other" 1.8% of Sven have something to do with it. As it has something to do with his ability to telepathically communicate with alien lifeforms, regenerate from wounds abnormally quick, and just be a general badass. His adoration of alcohol and whores quickly reveal the man is beyond a hangover or a sexually transmitted disease, and Sven's not afraid to show it. In fact, with any break from action the reader is treated with one of the two, sex or drink, and sometimes both.
As Sven bounds from one death-defying activity to another, we meet a variety of other characters - most substantially less interesting. If there's one fault to the story, is that really nothing else develops as detailed as the main character. Which is fine. Sven is an experienced commander, efficient killer, skilled with all types of weapons - and picks up the best one of them all in his SIG-diabolo - a wise-cracking gun with an artificial intelligence. Much of the "comic relief" comes from the sidearm's comments.
There are two more books written since the first in the series came out. It should come as no surprise that the ending is, well... open-ended. We learn quite a bit about Sven, his surrounding environment, all the "forces" involved - but never get to the point. Though interesting, the novel is short - a dedicated reader will likely finish in under a week (you should have no problem doing it in a couple of nights if you have the time off from work/school) - it is an obvious set-up for the rest of the series - which I have gladly picked-up and read. Should you choose to invest in the first of the DH novels, be it at the bookstore or local library, I'd suggest going ahead and picking up the second and third novels, as you'll be instantly hooked.
