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Necromunda
Soulless Fury
A Necromunda novel
Few are as feared in the underhive as the sinister murderer known as Mad D'onne. With a warrant out for her arrest, many seek her… but even if they find their prey, will any of them survive her wrath?
READ IT BECAUSE
The author of the original run of Kal Jerico novels brings you a look at one of the most infamous and beloved Necromunda characters, pitting her against the entire might of the underhive…
THE STORY
No one knows murder like Mad D’onne. Where she goes, death follows – she is a force of nature, leaving devastated settlements and shell casings in her wake. But even Necromunda has its limits for senseless, unsanctioned violence. Scrutinator Primus Servalen, armed with the personal seal of Lord Helmawr – to which no request can be denied and no door barred – is dispatched to bring the misbegotten scion of House Ulanti to justice, but first she has to track her down… and how do you find one murderer in amongst the bloodshed of the Underhive?
Few are as feared in the underhive as the sinister murderer known as Mad D'onne. With a warrant out for her arrest, many seek her… but even if they find their prey, will any of them survive her wrath?
READ IT BECAUSE
The author of the original run of Kal Jerico novels brings you a look at one of the most infamous and beloved Necromunda characters, pitting her against the entire might of the underhive…
THE STORY
No one knows murder like Mad D’onne. Where she goes, death follows – she is a force of nature, leaving devastated settlements and shell casings in her wake. But even Necromunda has its limits for senseless, unsanctioned violence. Scrutinator Primus Servalen, armed with the personal seal of Lord Helmawr – to which no request can be denied and no door barred – is dispatched to bring the misbegotten scion of House Ulanti to justice, but first she has to track her down… and how do you find one murderer in amongst the bloodshed of the Underhive?
- GenresScience Fiction40k
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 14, 2020
Thirteen years after the publication of Lasgun Wedding, Will McDermott returns to Black Library and Necromunda with Soulless Fury, moving his focus from Kal Jerico to one of the underhive’s other famous names – D’onne Ulanti, otherwise known as Mad Donna. While the estranged daughter of House Ulanti tears through the underhive in search of a young man captured by Cawdor gangers, Scrutinator Primus Servalen is dispatched by Lord Helmawr to reel her in once and for all. As the two women embark on a lethal cat-and-rat chase, it becomes clear that there’s more at stake for both of them than just survival and the death of an enemy.
At its core this is a pacy and entertaining face-off between two great characters, set to the backdrop of the many varied and interesting(ly disgusting) locations of the underhive. The narrative mostly alternates between these two viewpoints, with a few scenes in between which add a little context to what’s going on elsewhere, but while this is definitely D’onne’s novel, Servalen gets just as much page time, to good effect. With two enjoyable characters, masses of relatively small scale but powerfully visceral – and occasionally genuinely brutal – action sequences and a plot which drives unrelentingly forward, it’s a lot of fun from start to finish.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/08/...
At its core this is a pacy and entertaining face-off between two great characters, set to the backdrop of the many varied and interesting(ly disgusting) locations of the underhive. The narrative mostly alternates between these two viewpoints, with a few scenes in between which add a little context to what’s going on elsewhere, but while this is definitely D’onne’s novel, Servalen gets just as much page time, to good effect. With two enjoyable characters, masses of relatively small scale but powerfully visceral – and occasionally genuinely brutal – action sequences and a plot which drives unrelentingly forward, it’s a lot of fun from start to finish.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/08/...
August 12, 2020
Soulless is an adequate description of this book.
It reminded me of watching a bad heist movie. Yes people are shooting, things explode, the heist is going bad, the classic criminal and cop team up and the "people higher up want us dead" moment. But it all falls flat.
The main duo, Mad Donna who (although clearly based on older necromunda stuff of high born gangs hunting for fun in the underhive) has this Harley Quinn vibe to her. Unlike Harley she is neither mad nor fun. Really is she called mad because she is always on her own? Because she raids seemingly random? I fail to see what makes her more mad then any other bounty hunter or ganger.
Then there is Servalen, the "cop" of the story. The thing is she is confusing. On the one hand she is though as nails and due to her psychic null ability unnerves people to do her bidding. But then second half of the book she just seems to tag along with Harley I mean Donna and I really can't seem to understand why or how she lost all that "you do what I tell you to do b*tch" spirit she seems to have been driving on until that point.
Finally there is the "heist" a young psyker whom again I failed to like. yes he is powerful I get why everyone wants him but Donna and Servalen want to not only use but also protect him because .... yeah why do they want to protect him? It is classic heist movie stuff; "the job becomes complicated/ emotions and sentiment get involved" but there is no real explanation for it.
There were quite a few other characters involved which brings me to my next issue. Boring action. Yes a lot of shooting and dying but I really did not care that much because every 40 pages or so a new group of enemies pops up to shoot, enemies unrelated to the previous group. Yeah I am not that invested in any of them or consider them a real threat. Again classic heist stuff; "oh no word gets out now everyone is out for the big prize".
Then finally motivations. At first it is clear cut; the cop wants the criminal and the latter wants to stay free and give the middle finger to the system. Fine fair enough but then the heist element gets in and everyone just gets on board with it and never really do I feel like this was a natural choice. It felt as it did because of the plot demanding it. In the end we do get to hear why donna wanted the psycher. I won't reveal it but is another classic heist stuff "the criminal wants something emotional/ cop is perplexed by this and lets it happen".
Perhaps because I don't particularly like heist movies although I did like Harley quinn's birds of prey movie which plot is strikingly similar to this book (but then again all heist movies are similar) but the difference was, Harley is fun and Donna just isn't. I think I will stick to the gang warfare, it is the stuff I really like about the necromunda setting anyways.
It reminded me of watching a bad heist movie. Yes people are shooting, things explode, the heist is going bad, the classic criminal and cop team up and the "people higher up want us dead" moment. But it all falls flat.
The main duo, Mad Donna who (although clearly based on older necromunda stuff of high born gangs hunting for fun in the underhive) has this Harley Quinn vibe to her. Unlike Harley she is neither mad nor fun. Really is she called mad because she is always on her own? Because she raids seemingly random? I fail to see what makes her more mad then any other bounty hunter or ganger.
Then there is Servalen, the "cop" of the story. The thing is she is confusing. On the one hand she is though as nails and due to her psychic null ability unnerves people to do her bidding. But then second half of the book she just seems to tag along with Harley I mean Donna and I really can't seem to understand why or how she lost all that "you do what I tell you to do b*tch" spirit she seems to have been driving on until that point.
Finally there is the "heist" a young psyker whom again I failed to like. yes he is powerful I get why everyone wants him but Donna and Servalen want to not only use but also protect him because .... yeah why do they want to protect him? It is classic heist movie stuff; "the job becomes complicated/ emotions and sentiment get involved" but there is no real explanation for it.
There were quite a few other characters involved which brings me to my next issue. Boring action. Yes a lot of shooting and dying but I really did not care that much because every 40 pages or so a new group of enemies pops up to shoot, enemies unrelated to the previous group. Yeah I am not that invested in any of them or consider them a real threat. Again classic heist stuff; "oh no word gets out now everyone is out for the big prize".
Then finally motivations. At first it is clear cut; the cop wants the criminal and the latter wants to stay free and give the middle finger to the system. Fine fair enough but then the heist element gets in and everyone just gets on board with it and never really do I feel like this was a natural choice. It felt as it did because of the plot demanding it. In the end we do get to hear why donna wanted the psycher. I won't reveal it but is another classic heist stuff "the criminal wants something emotional/ cop is perplexed by this and lets it happen".
Perhaps because I don't particularly like heist movies although I did like Harley quinn's birds of prey movie which plot is strikingly similar to this book (but then again all heist movies are similar) but the difference was, Harley is fun and Donna just isn't. I think I will stick to the gang warfare, it is the stuff I really like about the necromunda setting anyways.
October 14, 2021
Absolutely one of the worst peices of cover art ever!! I nearly didn't purchase the book because of the cover.
However, in saying that, the story of Mad Donna Ulanti is (in my opinion) one of the best reads by Will McDermott. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters flowed well throughout.
However, in saying that, the story of Mad Donna Ulanti is (in my opinion) one of the best reads by Will McDermott. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters flowed well throughout.
January 27, 2021
I love Necromunda as a setting. It’s part cyberpunk, part western, part urban fantasy, and part 60s mutant sci-fi. It’s just a fun place to visit.
This novel follows a pretty classic tale. The rigid cop hunting the noble high society type turned outlaw. It’s nice to see both these characters are woman, for as much as this story has been done, it mixes it up a bit.
It’s a very readable almost pulpy adventure. I think where it suffered most was adding more than just the main two perspectives. It made it bloated and a bit convoluted at points. However, for the most part this is a good page turner.
The ending tugged at my feels a bit and I hope McDermott follows up on the thread he ended with.
Overall it’s not great but it was above average and just earned a 4/5 from me. It’s good dumb fun.
This novel follows a pretty classic tale. The rigid cop hunting the noble high society type turned outlaw. It’s nice to see both these characters are woman, for as much as this story has been done, it mixes it up a bit.
It’s a very readable almost pulpy adventure. I think where it suffered most was adding more than just the main two perspectives. It made it bloated and a bit convoluted at points. However, for the most part this is a good page turner.
The ending tugged at my feels a bit and I hope McDermott follows up on the thread he ended with.
Overall it’s not great but it was above average and just earned a 4/5 from me. It’s good dumb fun.
March 2, 2021
I love Necromunda, but this was a real slog. This is not how I think Mad Donna or Mad D'onne (name change doesn't bother me at all, kinda seems like a cool call out to her spire origins) should be portrayed. I liked Mad Donna in Survival Instinct, she seemed like a fully formed character there. Here she seemed like a bad parody of Harley Quinn from The Emancipation of Harley Quinn (a movie I really liked). The wig also drove me nuts. It seemed SO impractical as to as to not be amusing even as an insane affectation. I had hopes when, in the epilog, she seemed to find what she was looking for only to her cast away the one thing that showed some humanity. It was nice to see the telepaths foreshadowing play out in a way that I didn't see coming, but over all not a great book.
September 4, 2020
The neocromunda books have, for me, been the most enjoyable corner of 40k for the last few years, so my hopes for this were pretty high.
While unquestionably still a Necromunda book, it has a very different feel to Roadto Redemption and Terminal: Overkill; perhaps that’s because both of these titles feature individuals striving to carve out a living in the Underhive, is he protagonists of this are very much passing through- Passage from settlement to settlement is presented as a matter of course rather than an obstacle to overcome. For all the gore and ever-rising death toll, Soulless Fury just doesn’t share the same relentless bleakness.
We still still the horrific nature of the Imperium and the myriad ways folk tread all over one another to preserve the niche they’re carving for themselves, and we charge breathlessly from bloodbath to bloodbath, but the characters feel a touch, well, soulless for one to truly invest in.
While unquestionably still a Necromunda book, it has a very different feel to Roadto Redemption and Terminal: Overkill; perhaps that’s because both of these titles feature individuals striving to carve out a living in the Underhive, is he protagonists of this are very much passing through- Passage from settlement to settlement is presented as a matter of course rather than an obstacle to overcome. For all the gore and ever-rising death toll, Soulless Fury just doesn’t share the same relentless bleakness.
We still still the horrific nature of the Imperium and the myriad ways folk tread all over one another to preserve the niche they’re carving for themselves, and we charge breathlessly from bloodbath to bloodbath, but the characters feel a touch, well, soulless for one to truly invest in.
May 27, 2021
This book reads with as much action and fun as an 80’s flick. I loved every moment of it. The characters are strong and distinct and the dynamic between Servalen and D’onne is superb. The action is fast paced and clearly written. There really is never a dull moment and I was completely engaged throughout the entire book. Also, it’s great to see such strongly written female characters in any book let alone a 40k novel. I would devour a sequel.
October 20, 2023
This is a weird one. The central character, Mad Donna, is a character from the first edition of Necromunda, who does not have a model or rules in the current edition of the game. Very strange how she merits a novel, then.
In her original incarnation, she was a parody of a certain similarly-named singer, and painted as an over-the-top bonkers stereotype. Here, she's been re-imagined more as a 40k version of Harley Quinn, with a random ogryn sidekick.
In her original incarnation, she was a parody of a certain similarly-named singer, and painted as an over-the-top bonkers stereotype. Here, she's been re-imagined more as a 40k version of Harley Quinn, with a random ogryn sidekick.
December 13, 2021
A solid guilty pleasure. I wasn't expecting much from this book and also know NOTHING of Necromunda/Warhammer
I bought this book for the cover, and Mad D'onne evoked the step on me mommy energy that I was looking for
The world itself was super unique and had some really cool concepts - the story got slightly lame at the halfway point when everyone decided to team up, but it was still enjoyable
I bought this book for the cover, and Mad D'onne evoked the step on me mommy energy that I was looking for
The world itself was super unique and had some really cool concepts - the story got slightly lame at the halfway point when everyone decided to team up, but it was still enjoyable
August 25, 2020
It was ok, in terms of Necromunda novels I enjoyed Sinner's Bounty more.
I found the pacing to be a bit off at times and I struggled with D'onne's character. Servalen grew on me as the novel went on though and I came to prefer reading her parts and perspective
I found the pacing to be a bit off at times and I struggled with D'onne's character. Servalen grew on me as the novel went on though and I came to prefer reading her parts and perspective
October 12, 2020
An enjoyable fun read, it dragged a bit at times and was predictable but the characters made up for it and some progression of the Mad D'onne story is nice. Now if only Forge World would get the minis in stock...
December 31, 2020
It's a good read, not great though. I did not feel drawn into the story like I have been with other Black Library stories.
I hope the others in the Necromunda series are better as I have already brought them all!
I hope the others in the Necromunda series are better as I have already brought them all!
August 1, 2020
This was an excellent fast paced action packed introduction novel for me to the world of Necromunda. Mad Donna and the police chase after a prized psyker. I hope the series continues.
October 30, 2020
Fun, perfect for the genre, not taking itself too seriously.
February 20, 2022
Absolute garbage. Constant action, without any suspense. Maybe enough plot for a 10 page story, but not a whole book.. Little world building, no character development, just useless action.
December 31, 2022
One of the best Necromunda novels I've read.
October 26, 2020
Had a couple of nice moments but in the end it felt too chaotic to care any more about any of the drama happening.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews