The Twice Dead King: Reign

By Nate Crowley

The Twice Dead King Reign, the Warhammer 40k book following the alien android race of the necrons, continues from the first book. The first book set up the characters, setting and personal dilemma of Oltyx: what next?

Well we continue to see some internal struggle with Oltyx, which turns out to be very deliberate and important, but it also helps cast him as heroic – trying to find himself and what he should become. The only problem is, it turns out not quite as he might have hoped. He has to decide what to do with his dynasty, and avoid annihilation at the hands of an Imperial crusade chasing some martyr’s bones.

A great aspect of this book is that it’s worth flicking back through the pages and you’ll notice subtle allusions, hints and tips to what is truly important in the book. ‘The twice-dead’, for example, refers to something in the first book, and from that you can extrapolate what might happen by the end of this book. There’s plenty of foreshadowing which is easy to miss. On page 261 Oltyx jettisons the tombs, which I believe is symbolic but also a callback to something Djoseras told him in the first book at the end of chapter 2 – flesh passes but stone is forever, trying to impart the importance of the tombs and legacy of the necrons. But by the second book, Oltyx realises he must cast off the past to an extent.

The Dynast

A lot of this refers to Oltyx finding himself, an archetypal story which easily resonates with the reader and makes him a great character to follow. Some might feel it makes him too human, but personally I find this is far preferable to having an unlikeable main character.

Other characters play their roles well, I’m a fan of the crazy arcane techno-magicks of the crypteks, so it was hard not to love Mentep’s story arc, or Xott. The characters and relationships of Yenekh, Zultanekh, Lysikor are done excellently and really give you a feeling of necron dynasties, despite being so alien.

Immortal Empires

The settings and interactions feel very Warhammer, and very necron. The skolopendra was a cool inclusion, a creature reminding us of the gothic horror of classic Warhammer 40k, some horrific xenos construct that was native to the home of the necrontyr. Similarly the interactions of the necrons show the Importance of hierarchy but at the same time the lies, deceit and machinations they also use to get ahead or retain power. These aspects make the necrons feel alien and human at the same time, just as what has happened to them has made them retain aspects and yet become so different. Oltyx is the best example of this. Really this journey is him coming to terms with what he is now, even if he doesn’t always like it. There is always a tension in him of needing to be the cruel, merciless ruler, but the human elements he’s retained show sympathy and compassion at odds with this. It’s why this book is genius – it navigates these in a way which is interesting, moves the story forward and fits well.

Talking of fitting well, the book is a great progression from the first book. I wondered more where the first book was going sometimes, but it all falls into place much more effectively here – some of the characters are shown to be more important, or their motives revealed, rather than a lot of vagueness and ‘see what happens next’ being all you know. I think it’s also more refined – there’s less of the comedy, which wasn’t always a hit in the first book (although, it was by no means poorly done), and helps the story move forward. It also gets less bogged down in the Necron terminology or metaphysics, and although these aspects are present, they are utilised better, to explain things or explore characters and their personalities.

‘Sought only the advancement of their own power?” Finished Oltyx, who had heard stories like these before. But Mentep only shook his head, and looked out at the violence of the ocean.

‘If only it had been that comprehensible,’ He whispered. “The warlock sought only to break the limits of the possible, for o reason other than the pleasure of the breaking. They were the worst kind of mad.’ (Pp.186-7)

Sometimes the book feels as if things just come up as they go along. I’m not sure the book flows as well as it could from set piece to set piece. The imperium is threatening Oltyx and his dynasty, but only at sporadic moments do we really feel a pervasive sense of threat. Sometimes events feel like they just come up to conveniently move the plot along. At the same time though, I do really like how character-centric the book is. I just think there could be better flow with what Oltyx and the characters are doing and moving towards.

The flow might have helped also with certain developments, which are hard to talk about without spoiling. I think, for example, that the end of the book will be confusing for some, particularly the weapon that is fired. It probably oversteps the lines between making clear for the reader what happened and fantastical imagery and symbolism.

Final score

Oltyx, his development and relationships with other characters make this book. The way the book ends I would guess we don’t get a third, which is a shame, but he is a brilliant character as we follow him finding his feet. This book stands out because it’s unique, unexpected, imaginative. It’s probably also sorely under-acknowledged for how good it is. It is not perfect. Sometimes it can be hard to follow, lacks flow, and maybe even lacks more action. But the characterisation, the humanity of the necrontyr is cultivated so well here, that it makes for a memorable read well worth your time, and it's set unmistakeably, evocatively, in the 40k universe bringing it to life. For necron fans, it’s essential and the first book was pretty good too (see my review) but for anyone else this makes for a great read. Unique.

9/10