Age Of Darkness Short Story Review

Liar’s Due by James Swallow

This is a story which initially piqued my interest and then failed to deliver, though its conclusion set a chill to me.

An Alpha Legion operative comes to a nothing farming planet on the edges of the Imperium and spreads the rule of Horus Lupercal by insidious and subtle means.

James Swallow writes rather well, but this is a great idea, which is only achieved in the final, climactic moments. The scenes that flesh the main body of the story are simply tertiary to the brilliant twist and as a result they feel that way too.

While I appreciate the enormity of the subterfuge being employed by the Alpha Legion, the story as a whole doesn’t hold up overall. It is almost as if the entertainment value is an Alpha Legion agent Swallow has deployed within the story, which only shows up at the end to briefly chill and entertain you before ending you and the story.

Listening to the audio book certainly didn’t help as the coarse and pantomime country yokel accents were luidcrous and annoying.

Certainly more evocative than the last tale, but I still hope for more, which it seems I’m going to geg as this insomnia doesn’t seem like shifting