#i am fascinated by the expansion of that dynamic in the audio dramas and books ive listened to

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

If I DO end up doing a rewatch of Torchwood it will be a fun game of "how much of what I consider to be canon has just purely been from reading fanfic these past 7 years, some of the audio dramas and audio books, and the same 4 episodes every time I rehyperfixate?"

[xenosgirlvents]

Farsight, Crisis of Faith-Review

SPOILERS

Let’s get the first thing out of the way; ‘Crisis of Faith’ implies this story is more about Farsight’s dwindling faith in the Ethereals then it actually is. Although that is certainly a part of this novel, it doesn’t really delve too deep into it and, rather, deals more with Farsight’s initial encounters with the Daemons of Chaos.

Synopsis: In sum the story tells of Farsight’s ‘reconquest’ of Vior’los in the aftermath of the Damocles Crusade (the first one). The story is divided into three main pieces; the decision to launch the Second Sphere Expansion and preparation for it, an ambush by Space Marines of Farsight’s expedition within the Damocles Gulf and then, finally, the reconquest of Vior’los itself. Attached to this are some other pieces, presented not in strict chronological order, most important of which is a snapshot of the battle on Arthas Moloch. In addition to this then there is a substory about a Tau Water Caste Member who is possessed by a Daemon of Tzeentch, periodic reports by an Inquisitor infiltrating the Tau back to her significant other and the perspective of the primary antagonists of the story; the Scar Lords Space Marine Chapter.

I make it a bit of a habit of mine to purchase Xenos novels and audio dramas when they come out, even if I’m unsure of their quality, simply since it is the most effective method to encourage more Xenos content in future. Fortunately Crisis of Faith was rather good, not excellent like the Jain Zar novel, but still enjoyable. In many ways it is less the strict story, which is mostly an unremarkable telling of how Farsight beats some Imperium forces to conquer a planet, than it is the amount of information on Tau, Tau characters and society which we get too see which makes the book appealing. So I’ve divided this review, since its nothing formal, just me airing my thoughts for myself, into things and topics which interested me;

Combat: For the most part the combat is fine (though I should note I am not a reader who finds endless description of shooting and chopping fascinating, which is why numerous Black Library novels don’t appeal to me) and there are even some interesting parts. The story doesn’t, usually, spend to much time on the combat, not lingering on it more than necessary for the narrative. There is still a definite feel of ‘Herohammer’ where the overall performance of military units organized into clever movements is less important, seemingly, than the actions of a few exceptional individuals. I honestly wish we’d start seeing less of this in 40k.

Some specifics of the combat I did like is the Tau’s highly practical approach to it; very early on both Farsight and Brightsword point out that the tendency for more than a few Space Marines to not wear helmets is a very exploitable weakness, since a Marine’s head can’t withstand a Plasma Rifle or Fusion Blaster to the face. This reaches its most important point when, confronted by Terminators with Storm Shields who are proving impervious to fire, the Tau deploy optical munitions to blind the receptors of the Helmets, prompting the Marines to discard them so that they can still find their enemy. The Marines are still, thanks to the Storm Shields, immune to fire coming at them, but with their helmets now off a team of Crisis Suits can engage from above them, targeting their exposed heads before they can raise their shields up. Stuff like this, or taking advantage of the Tau arsenal’s capacity for operating from the air (hover tanks, battlesuits) are nice when they’re brought up since they are actually very important advantages, mobility. Similarly the Tau are shown, again, as always being quick to change strategy and tactics to capitalize on weaknesses. After discovering of the importance of the Geller Fields to an Imperial Ship Farsight targets it so that any translation to the Warp will mean almost certain death for the crew.

It is not a Book of Epic Duels really, which suits me fine, since Farsight tends to act towards achieving victory over his enemy without resorting to the ‘I’ll kill their leader myself and then they’ll break’ which has been seen in 40k so many times now. The closest to an epic duel we get is the Epistolary of the Scar Lords final fight against Farsight and his whole band, which is actually won by a Daemon of Tzeentch for the most part. But, for example, the Chapter Master of the Scar Lords and Farsight never actually meet or clash with each other, which was something I enjoyed actually.

Beyond that I just don’t pay attention to scale when it comes to 40k. Books can vary so much, and sometimes seem so impractical with regards to scale in a setting like 40k’s that I tend to, these days, ignore stated numbers and rather read results. Besides the central conceit of 40k has always been that a force of a few hundred can wipe out forces of billions so yeah.

One thing which was very original was that, in the novel, the Space Marines are not the primary military force the Tau struggle with. Once the Tau reach Vior’los, and battle commences, we see Space Marine and Astra Militarum forces being dealt with handily, but it is the Skitarii Legions who pose the greatest problem. The Skitarii have an enormous amount of numbers, with dozens more macroclads being shipped to the planet once the Tau attack begins, and their relentlessness in the face of the Tau assaults are the Tau’s biggest problem to overcome in the consequence. Painting any Imperial military force as doing better against a foe than Space Marines is very rare, so the Skitarii earn definite kudos for it.

Ulimately the end of the battle is a bit repetitive, its another ‘Tau use the enviroment against them’ this time triggering the volcanoes of Vior’los to melt the Skitarii in lava after evacuating the civilians from the slave camps so they won’t be harmed.

Characters: Farsight continues to be fun to read, and very conflicted. He is very notably flawed too, with a lot of his companions spending their time berating him for his temper and his unwilligness to make harsh decisions. Despite this his attitude of detatched analysis is fun to read, often feeling as if he is, like the reader, trying to puzzle out and understand the story he is caught in.

The Farsight/Kais/Shadowsun trio is explored a little bit more but...still not much. That being said what is shown makes me incredibly hungry for more. The three have an incredibly stuffed up relationship now, despite having been as close as Tau can be in their youth. It is made clear that post Dal’yth the three aren’t really ‘friends’ anymore, with Kais basically never even talking to them and Shadowsun and Farsight’s relationship being incredibly strained. In this dynamic Farsight seems the one most eager to repair their friendship, always thinking of his two companions in fond terms still, and desperately wishing for their involvement in his life (particularly Shadowsun’s). However, standing in his way is his own fame. Its made rather clear that, at least Shadowsun’s, resentment of Farsight has a large part to do with him being seemingly treated as the saviour of the Tau whilst her efforts are ignored. Farsight himself, when appointed to lead the Second Sphere Expedition, points out that Shadowsun has a better win record than him, even on Dal’yth, and is better when operating in support of fleets. Despite this acrimony Shadowsun does still clearly care for Farsight, and we get to see the rather touching scene of Farsight bidding Shadowsun goodbye as she goes into stasis (with the two assuming they’ll never see each other again). Shadowsun feels guilty about something in Farsight’s past, the same way he feels guilty for Shadowsun being ignored in the present.

What we get on Kais is less but sounds awesome. Kais is effectively a broken soul, as Farsight thinks of him, a Tau who is totally lost and alienated, desiring to be alone which is abhorrent to the Tau spirit of community (something Farsight and Shadowsun both feel is important, cooperating as a group). But Kais’ issues are clearly deep, with Kais seemingly fearing becoming close to others. When Farsight rushes over to talk to Kais and Shadowsun before they are put into stasis he comes to late for Kais, with the Earth Caste explaining that Kais asked to be put under instantly, which Farsight notes is very like Kais since it effectively amounts to him running away from contact with others. Kais is clearly described in very ominous and dangerous terms throughout the book, whenever Farsight thinks of him.

Other than these three we have a nice supporting Caste; O’blotai continues to join Bravestorm and Brightsword as Farsight’s main supporting cast (I do wish there had been a female member of the 8 before Torchstar). O’blotai is the strongest of the three in character, serving still as something of a mentor to Farsight, whilst Bravestorm has perhaps the least to do (except be the best in a physical fight cause of his Onager Gauntlet). Brightsword is still Brightsword; the overzealous rookie who can’t get enough of fighting. He provides a lot of humour with his quips, but his overzealousness is also something which causes Farsight trouble.

O’vesa is still here and I love him cause he is so adorably heartless, approaching everything in such a rational method that, without meaning to, he’s constantly infuriating Farsight.

There is a tragic lack of important female characters. This is very frustrating, considering these are the Tau, and I hope we get a Shadowsun novel series too which can then hopefully counterbalance this to an extent. Of the new female Tau we’re introdcued to only three matter; a Water Caste Ambassador who just exists to again show Aun’va is evil, an Earth Caste Terraformer who’s there to talk to O’vesa sometimes and also to help shore up gender balance in the Elemental Council by making it that there’s almost always a male and female Tau representing every Caste and an Ethereal who is basically just Aun’va but less evil but already going to die on Arthas Moloch and does basically nothing.

Non-Tau important characters breakdown mostly to an Inquisitor female, Vrykola, pretending to be a Gue’vesa and the Scar Lords Space Marine Chapter (though the Hammers of Dorn do make an appearance). Vrykola herself does little in the story till the end, but her regular ‘missives’ sent back to her significant other are fun to read, often showing a nuanced take on both the Tau Empire and the Imperium, disillusioned with both in many ways. She doesn’t attempt to deny that much cruelty in the Imperium is not necessary, but she still feels committed to saving the project as a whole. In her own words there are aspects of the Imperium she thinks it would be better without. By the end of the book she has begun to fear she is becoming the mask, so to speak, with a clear sympathy for the Tau which leads to her using her powers against a Space Marine Librarian to save Farsight. She still feels loyal to the Imperium, she confides in her final missive, but she at the same time clearly isn’t dedicated to the destruction of the Tau anymore and even thinks they may be potential allies.

The Scar Lords were already written as participating in the first Damocles Crusade, as part of this is the already existing fluff that their Chapter Master was trapped on Dal’yth in a Stasis Bomb. This paints the background for their burning vendetta against the Tau and their rather young and inexperienced Chapter Master who has only very recently taken command. The Scar Lords are largely painted as competent, their very first ambush wiping out a 1/3rd of Farsight’s initial expedition, if somewhat overzealous, their own recklessness usually being their undoing.

Then there are two other characters to briefly mention; Aun’va. Honestly. Ugh.

Aun’va being evil isn’t a problem. In fact having an ‘evil’ Tau is nice and a lot that can be done with it. But...Aun’va has become a bad cartoon parody. He is so obviously evil compared to all other Tau that its mind boggling. We get it. He’s bad. He basically does nothing in the book except have a scene of ordering a Water Caste Member to kill herself so we can all go ‘so evil’. It’d be okay if he was effective, but he’s basically never got anything right, so rather than getting a cool ‘Tau Palpatine’ feel from him, he just comes across as some obviously evil idiot who lucks into power without performing a single impressive feat.

Then we have Waterspider, a derogatory nickname implying that he can only skim the surface of water, unlike a proper Water Caste member who can submerge within it. Early on he attempts to help translate the markings on a captured Imperial Warp Drive but, activating it, he ends up possessed by a Daemon which makeshim incapable of lying, practically ending his career as a Water Caste member. Honestly its really sad to read him cutting his own tongue and then staring into a mirror, willing himself with all his might just to tell a simple lie...but still can’t. The line between the Daemon and Waterspider himself can seem blurred, and isn’t explicitly delineated (which I loved), and through the course of the book he plays Tau serial killer in the background, whilst also merrily supporting Farsight, wanting to help him spread bloodshed throughout the galaxy. He is a treat to read, particularly due to his inability to lie. He is something of the ‘true’ antagonist, being the final confrontation Farsight has, and also the meta-point of Farsight realizing there are ‘forces’ he doesn’t understand.

Chaos: The Daemons and raw energy of the Warp is often unimpressive to me in fluff, just appearing and then dying, as if they’re just another type of enemy. This book very much plays on Chaos’ subtle role again, something I enjoyed greatly, with Waterspider reflecting the danger of Daemonic Possession. We also get to see funny scenes like, when noticing Horrors wear jewelled bands and such, Farsight tries to offer them gold to negotiate!

Setting: There’s quite a bit on the setting here which was fun to read. Tau political decisions on a macro level first go through the Ethereal Council, the highest political body, before being deliberated on by an Elemental Council which constitutes a body with two representativesof each Caste (including Ethereal) and two seats for the Kindred Souls (non-Tau member races). There doesn’t seem to be fixed membership of the council, rather at each Council the Caste or Kindred Souls can designate who to attend and deliberate. The Kindred Souls on Dal’yth, making the decision to launch the Second Sphere of Expansion, included a Nicassar and a Human. Any major cross-caste decisions are taken by Elemental Quorums, a collection of the two highest ranked members of every Caste partaking in the matter.

There is sadly not as much of the other races as I’d enjoy, the Nicassar gets to make some pointed comments, sensing immediately when the Imperial vessel’s Geller Fields are down and warning the Tau to stay away from it, and some Kroot cheering when Aun’Wei talks about the Tau’s alliance with other races.

One thing that is very nice is we do get an extended examination of how Tau expansion operates, with Merchant contacts leading the way, offering cheap and effective technologies which usually reduce labour and risk of life and damage to the locals of planets. Furthermore the Tau offer free medical care, eliminating, we’re told, many diseases which plague the Imperium on worlds who allow them to land. The obvious conclusions of this is that, as Waterspider says to Farsight, most people who join the Empire don’t do it because they believe in the Tau’va like the Tau do, they just would prefer to live longer, healthier and more safely, and the Tau offer this at a very low price so long as accession into the Empire is accepted. Meaning only groups who value their independence more than their welfare tend to resist them.

We also get to see Vior’los as run by the Mechanicum and...it isn’t pretty. Tau civilians are hunted down, rounded up, marched across the desert to Volcanos, and then thrown into them to be melted alive. Humans are forced to serve as slaves, beaten if they so much as look up from their work stations, and brutalized so badly that even when their captors are killed they just keep working, having no independent will left in them (until some help with Chaos riles them up against their slavers). It is honestly a very sad bit to read what was being done to the population of Vior’los, both human and Tau, and Farsight is very incensed at the atrocities being committed.

Final Thoughts: Its a fine book, I enjoyed it. Its not amazing, I prefer Fire Warrior as a Tau novel, but it is still good and I hope we’ll see similar books about Aun’Shi, Shadowsun and Kais soon. Honestly I’d love for a followup on Aun’shi’s fate right now, and I’d love for a female Ethereal Special Character.