Stormblood by Jeremy Szal
I would like to thank Gollancz for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Gollancz
Published – Out Now
Price - £16.99 Trade paperback £9.99 Kindle eBook
Vakov Fukasawa used to be a Reaper: a bio-enhanced soldier fighting for the Harmony, against a brutal invading empire. He's still fighting now, on a different battlefield: taking on stormtech. To make him a perfect soldier, Harmony injected him with the DNA of an extinct alien race, altering his body chemistry and leaving him permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. But although they meant to create soldiers, at the same time Harmony created a new drug market that has millions hopelessly addicted to their own body chemistry.
Vakov may have walked away from Harmony, but they still know where to find him, and his former Reaper colleagues are being murdered by someone, or something - and Vakov is appalled to learn his estranged brother is involved. Suddenly it's an investigation he can't turn down . . . but the closer he comes to the truth, the more addicted to stormtech he becomes.
And it's possible the war isn't over, after all . . .
Science fiction has a rightly uneasy relationship with war. The genre that is pre-occupied with technology and our future often imagines how that leads to yet more violence. If you take a view that SF is always talking about the what we are like now; then that’s a not a good sign on our species health. At the same time. its dangerously exciting seeing what the technology of the future could allow us to do. Many books tend to gloss over the consequences of war. In Stormblood by Jeremy Szal starting a new SF action series I found a refreshingly honest but action-packed tale that war changes both the world and the people who fought in it often forever.
The story is narrated by the lead character Vakoz Fukasawa who resides on the immense asteroid space station known as Compass home to myriad species, factions, industries and crime lords. Vakov fought in an epic space war where the area of space known as the Common was attacked by a ruthless enemy known as the Harvesters who ploughed their way through planets leaving billions dead. The Common’s military wing known as Harmony tried a last gamble merging human soldiers with a mysterious ancient alien biotechnology known as stormtech – fusing with the body at a molecular level it fees regeneration, strength and aggression. The war was won; and the soldiers were left subsumed by a drug that unless they underwent huge rehab could easily leave them furiously angry addicts. Vakoz chose the better option; his stormtech is reduced but still hungry for excitement so he makes a living doing shady jobs in his battlesuit. Until Harmony come calling – stormtech is now being dealed on the streets of Compass; its killing those who have it and those around the addicts – including former members of his regiment and somehow it appears his lost brother has gotten himself involved. Vakoz gets hired to investigate but this means he will find out the secrets of stormtech and he is not the only one who hasn’t left the war behind.
In some ways the idea of the army veteran pulled back in isn’t an unusual part of the action genre. But I think Stormblood gives it a twenty first century makeover and does quite a lot of interesting things with it. Vakoz is yes when we meet him a tough as nails loner with a past and alarmingly proficient with weapons, combat and infiltration but a bit like his super powered battle suits that’s just another bit of armour and Szal works hard to make him not a stereotype. Through the novel we see his very hard childhood, his naivety slowly being broken down when he joins the Reapers and we realise that while in rehab his body is still fused with a form of stormtech which always craves an adrenaline rush so dodgy jobs are just a ‘safe’ way for him to balance what is a curious mix of addiction and PTSD. As Harmony bring him back in to aid their investigations rather than being a loose cannon all the time Szal actually makes this a story about Vakoz having to learn to live with himself; trust his slightly spaced out hacker friend Grim; his no nonsense Harmony lead Kowalski and many more characters he would usually avoid. Traditionally these tales like the lone hero to stay alone and win everything on their two feet – this is a tale about someone learning to be better you ned to let your walls down. Stories tend to shy away from exploring anger – Szal explores that it can be very destructive; yet alluring and in some situations useful. That’s an uncomfortable balance and can easily go wrong if you try to live that way all the time as Vikoz realises and he needs to find a better way out.
On top of this I really enjoyed the story is so much bigger than it initially looks. Very quickly we move from illegal drug-runners to understanding a bigger agenda is at play. With Compass it is reminding me an awful lot of Babylon 5 with a giant populated asteroid full of lives and secrets. The smaller action story hints at some truly great space opera hiding under the surface. It filled with fascinating sights such as pubs that put you into deep space; AI rabbits that manage your home and guard your property and even small scenes tend to throw some interesting angles of what this time’s technology can do
The Harvester/Harmony conflict and beyond gets explored and interrogated and we see alien races all have their own stakes in the peace or battle to come. Szal has neatly plotted these revelations so it never feels like overload but it is tremendously exciting when a seed planted in an early chapter finally grows; usually finely balanced with some deliciously powerful action sequences as foes fight either hand to hand or en mass. If you enjoy battle suits, biotechnology and combat these scenes really pummel you. Then Szal swaps for something more character focused and introspective. I was impressed how I was made to love the battle like Vikoz does but also realise its probably not the healthiest reaction to violence. It’s a story not afraid to mix it up – one minute in the mix of illicit fighting games; then museums of alien histories then some truly nightmarish psychological AI trying to break a victim. It gives the tale an unpredictability as to where its heading towards and that’s always a pleasure.
Stormblood managed to give me a ride I’d not enjoyed in SF for a while this year. I felt by the end there was a huge amount more to explore in both the wider universe and the key group of characters that gets assembled. It treads the tricky path of a certain format but doing it own thing buy adding in a hugely interesting lead character that worked very well. I think fans of the Expanse, the Mandalorian and good space opera may want to get into this series sharpish.
