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catsy2022's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Rating: B-
I wish I had liked this more.
‘It wasn’t anything serious,’ I rasped. Then stopped as the medskin expelled two silvery objects as if it was spitting out watermelon seeds. They hit the floorboards with a distinct tap, one after the other. The bloody, armour-piercing bullets gleamed up at us like two little lies. The room was very, very quiet. I opened my mouth to speak and closed it again.
Stormblood is a cyberpunk science fiction novel with elements of military scifi and inspired by Mass Effect (I read somewhere). Vakov Fukusawa is an ex Reaper, a soldier enhanced by an alien implant injected into his body years prior by the military company Harmony. The implant turned them into berserkers, basically, able to keep fighting and killing until they were literally torn apart due to the healing properties of the implant. Unfortunately, the soldiers also developed an addiction to combat (through adrenaline and other chemicals) and usually went crazy. Now recovered, Vakov has been approached by Harmony again to investigate a series of deaths seemingly brought on by the same alien injection he received. (Phew)
This book contains a rich and interesting world full of mystery and horror, but the way this is shown is in lengthy and continuous infodumps spread through the story, almost in every single chapter. The element of family and loyalty is brought up very early on and constantly. We are inside Vakov's head in first person perspective - he has a LOT of trauma from his upbringing and his past as a veteran - so we get a lot of philosophising about his beliefs. I personally felt that this really did bog down the story a lot, especially in action-packed scenes. His brother in the story came up way too early to be impactful yet showed up in so few scenes that their relationship couldn't be developed. The backstory had to do all the developing.
I was constantly lost in the setting. There were so many scifi terms the author created to give his world life, so many new aliens that he briefly described, I just couldn't keep track of it all. How is a slingshiv different to a butterfly knife, or a normal shiv? I can't remember any of the alien names and I just finished the book. How about a glossary of terms? That would be really cool.
I did like the writing style and the diversity of the characters, however, it did appeal to me in general (rather than the structuring of the book). Vakov himself is mixed Siberian/Japanese - his home planet/country is actually based around their cultures and even has landscape to match. Rolling mountains, icy tundras, etc.
There’s a unique kind of silence after the echo of a gunshot dies down. Pure. Complete. As if every living thing is scared of drawing any attention to itself. It gets the survival mechanism kicking in like no other sound does.
The supplementary main characters were decently developed but sort of fell into some archetypes. Grim was the computer hacker who is just a normal dude, he's a refugee from the war between the Harvesters and Harmony. He reminded me of the pilot in Mass Effect. I couldn't really empathise with the "brotherhood" between him and Vakov. Then Katherine Kowalski, the Harmony agent supporting Vakov in his mission. She seemed cool, very business-like and focused, but then suddenly in the middle of the book she has a more sensitive and human side and the story has an element of romance - which I felt was not really necessary and came totally...out of nowhere.
I think what I needed were more bonding scenes between the characters. I really liked the scene where Katherine and Vakov drink together and talk about their lives. There was just almost near-constant action there was not much room for anything else.
People compare overcoming addiction to climbing a mountain, but that assumes there’s a peak to climb towards. Stormtech was more like swimming in an endless, churning sea. You never truly beat it. You just found temporary ways not to drown.
And on those action scenes... Like I mentioned before, I felt they were bogged down by introspection from Vakov. When he's knocked unconscious or even between some key chapters, there's an entire chapter dedicated to his past with his old squad of Reapers. More and more backstory. Then you have backstory in the main timeline and more reflection from Vakov. Then there are several chapters in a row of Vakov pushing his body to the limit. Getting to the end turned out to be a real slog...
Maybe it's just been the last 2 books I finished in not having a good time with books, but I just struggled with this one. I might come back to it in a year or so.
Some nice quotes:
The people that matter to us aren’t always meant to be in our lives for ever. But the things they did to make you a better person can be.
It’s not such a terrible thing, grief. It means you carry a bit of them with you.
Because trauma never goes away. Loss never goes away.
Instead, I allowed the sensation to crash over me like a wave on a beach, accepting its existence but holding my urges in check until the feeling ebbed away. (some mindfulness in this book)
I wish I had liked this more.
‘It wasn’t anything serious,’ I rasped. Then stopped as the medskin expelled two silvery objects as if it was spitting out watermelon seeds. They hit the floorboards with a distinct tap, one after the other. The bloody, armour-piercing bullets gleamed up at us like two little lies. The room was very, very quiet. I opened my mouth to speak and closed it again.
Stormblood is a cyberpunk science fiction novel with elements of military scifi and inspired by Mass Effect (I read somewhere). Vakov Fukusawa is an ex Reaper, a soldier enhanced by an alien implant injected into his body years prior by the military company Harmony. The implant turned them into berserkers, basically, able to keep fighting and killing until they were literally torn apart due to the healing properties of the implant. Unfortunately, the soldiers also developed an addiction to combat (through adrenaline and other chemicals) and usually went crazy. Now recovered, Vakov has been approached by Harmony again to investigate a series of deaths seemingly brought on by the same alien injection he received. (Phew)
This book contains a rich and interesting world full of mystery and horror, but the way this is shown is in lengthy and continuous infodumps spread through the story, almost in every single chapter. The element of family and loyalty is brought up very early on and constantly. We are inside Vakov's head in first person perspective - he has a LOT of trauma from his upbringing and his past as a veteran - so we get a lot of philosophising about his beliefs. I personally felt that this really did bog down the story a lot, especially in action-packed scenes. His brother in the story came up way too early to be impactful yet showed up in so few scenes that their relationship couldn't be developed. The backstory had to do all the developing.
I was constantly lost in the setting. There were so many scifi terms the author created to give his world life, so many new aliens that he briefly described, I just couldn't keep track of it all. How is a slingshiv different to a butterfly knife, or a normal shiv? I can't remember any of the alien names and I just finished the book. How about a glossary of terms? That would be really cool.
I did like the writing style and the diversity of the characters, however, it did appeal to me in general (rather than the structuring of the book). Vakov himself is mixed Siberian/Japanese - his home planet/country is actually based around their cultures and even has landscape to match. Rolling mountains, icy tundras, etc.
There’s a unique kind of silence after the echo of a gunshot dies down. Pure. Complete. As if every living thing is scared of drawing any attention to itself. It gets the survival mechanism kicking in like no other sound does.
The supplementary main characters were decently developed but sort of fell into some archetypes. Grim was the computer hacker who is just a normal dude, he's a refugee from the war between the Harvesters and Harmony. He reminded me of the pilot in Mass Effect. I couldn't really empathise with the "brotherhood" between him and Vakov. Then Katherine Kowalski, the Harmony agent supporting Vakov in his mission. She seemed cool, very business-like and focused, but then suddenly in the middle of the book she has a more sensitive and human side and the story has an element of romance - which I felt was not really necessary and came totally...out of nowhere.
I think what I needed were more bonding scenes between the characters. I really liked the scene where Katherine and Vakov drink together and talk about their lives. There was just almost near-constant action there was not much room for anything else.
People compare overcoming addiction to climbing a mountain, but that assumes there’s a peak to climb towards. Stormtech was more like swimming in an endless, churning sea. You never truly beat it. You just found temporary ways not to drown.
And on those action scenes... Like I mentioned before, I felt they were bogged down by introspection from Vakov. When he's knocked unconscious or even between some key chapters, there's an entire chapter dedicated to his past with his old squad of Reapers. More and more backstory. Then you have backstory in the main timeline and more reflection from Vakov. Then there are several chapters in a row of Vakov pushing his body to the limit. Getting to the end turned out to be a real slog...
Maybe it's just been the last 2 books I finished in not having a good time with books, but I just struggled with this one. I might come back to it in a year or so.
Some nice quotes:
The people that matter to us aren’t always meant to be in our lives for ever. But the things they did to make you a better person can be.
It’s not such a terrible thing, grief. It means you carry a bit of them with you.
Because trauma never goes away. Loss never goes away.
Instead, I allowed the sensation to crash over me like a wave on a beach, accepting its existence but holding my urges in check until the feeling ebbed away. (some mindfulness in this book)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, and Torture
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