Low Lives (Black Library Novella Series 2 #9) by Denny Flowers
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Goodreads
A Necromunda novella
Even in the nightmare depths of the underhive, there are heroes… or at least those who'd like to be heroes. Caleb Cursebound is one such soul, but pursued by bounty hunters and desperately outgunned, can he even survive, let alone prove his worth?
READ IT BECAUSE
Enjoy an outrageous tale from the underhive starring a larger-than-life character who's in over his head.
THE STORY
Caleb Cursebound, the Underhive’s ninth-most-dangerous man, and his ratskin partner Iktomi are in hiding, having deposed the tyrannical lord of a Necromundan noble house. Pursued by relentless bounty hunters, the pair descend to the remote mining settlement of Hope’s End, the last place anyone would think to look. They soon learn, however, that all is not well in Hope’s End; the people are being terrorised by a powerful Orlock gang, and in desperate need of a hero. Caleb cannot resist the opportunity to prove himself, but there are those who would see his reputation forever tarnished…
Written by Denny Flowers
*This is another story told in the Warhammer universe BUT you don’t have to know anything about it to get it. This is technically a story based in there Necromunda world which I know nothing about. The beginning gives you a quick 1 paragraph explanation of what Necromunda is and that is all you need to know.
With that out of the way, I REALLY enjoyed this! Right after finishing it, I went on the hunt for more because, unfortunately, this is a novella (about 125 pages). I needed more! To my disappointment, there is only a story following a different character (that I just don’t care too much about).
The world of Necromunda is totally up my alley. Here’s a description that I took from Wikipedia:
Art Credit: deviantart.com/andrewdobell
Necromunda is a world covered in polluted ash wastes, the result of thousands of years of heavy industry with no kinds of environmental safeguards whatsoever. Scattered amidst these seas of effluent and unstable continents of compacted dross and ash are between six and nine (the source material is inconsistent) hive cities. These are massive man-made structures, reminiscent of termite mounds on a staggering scale. So large that they break through the upper atmosphere and can serve as tethering points for star ships, the hive cities are described as housing over a trillion people each.
This particular novella takes place in a sort of upside-down (at least that’s how I interpreted it) mining town that has been overrun by a gang, taking all the resources for themselves. Enter Caleb Cursebound and shit just hits the fan – in a hilarious way. Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong for him. Yet he uses humor and “wit” to get through all of it. If you love a good misfit rogue, you’ll enjoy his character.
All isn’t fun and games in this short story, though. Some of the outcomes of the events and characters were quite sad. Obviously, I can’t go into detail here, but I think this story was a great balance between tension, humor, and heartbreak.
If you’re looking for something outside of YA but still fantasy/sci-fi, I recommend checking out some of the Warhammer universe novels! There’s plenty of lore to get lost in. This short story is just a little taste at under 150 pages 🙂
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| Overall: | 5 / 5 |
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